When I woke up I was drenched in sweat. For once it wasn't because of a nightmare. Instead it was from a dream, a wonderful dream. I felt Finnick's hand run over me, his lips over my body, my hands running over every smooth hard muscle in his body. I haven't had a dream like that in months. I used have them all the time when I was younger when my hormones ran wild and free.

Waking up to the images of Finnick in my head made me smile. He has shown me such a wonderful night and now he wanted to spend another day with me. There was a part of me that was flying high, so high I felt like I was floating in space. But the other half felt totally different; I knew that the person I truly love is the one who shows his love through fear and jealousy. How could I even compare Gale and Finnick? They were on completely opposite sides of a spectrum, showing love in the only way they knew how.

I sat up from the bed, the heat from the sun beating down through my window. The room felt like a sauna. I washed away the sweat and remaining sand that was stuck to my feet. The idea of being alone with Finnick again made me wash my body as fast as I could so I could see him that much sooner. I dressed simply as possible, I wasn't going to be wearing my cloths anyways. When I walked out into the main car no one was around. Usually at this point Haymitch would be drunk as a skunk and everyone else would be enjoying breakfast. But today it was almost a eerie silence.

It wasn't long till Finnick arrived. He looked like his normal god-like self. His smile seemed to dazzle in the sunlight of the bright new day. He greeted me with a kiss.

"You ready for your swim lessons?" I nodded in agreement and we headed out. The first thing I needed was a swimsuit. Finnick picked a shop near the beach. When we entered the woman behind the counter greeted him like an old friend. She must have been a big fan of his. Her eyes seemed to grow to the size of dinner plates when she saw him.

"We need his first pair of swim trunks." He said. The woman looked at me, circling my body, taking measurements with a tape measure before coming back out with a few different pairs of trunks. All of them were gaudy, either embroidered with different types of gems.

"These are made of a special type of silver spun to very fine thread before being hand-stitched into a fine garment." I was forced into the dressing room with the silver shorts in my hands. When I tried them on they were softer than silk. I came out to show Finnick. A large smile grew across his face.

"Perfect." He said as he went to the counter to pay. "I also have a special order waiting to be picked up." The woman went in the backroom before coming out with a small wrapped package in her hands.

"Special delivery from the capital." He paid the woman before pulling me from the shop. As we walked to the beach I wanted to know what he had purchased.

"So what did you have delivered from the capital?" He held the package tightly under his arm. There's no way I could snatch it out from him.

"Just something special. You'll see."

When we arrived at the beach it was virtually empty. A few people with dotted the sandy stretch of land. I guess most people didn't care to go to the beach when you live within walking distance from it. The sky was a shimmering clear azure with large dollops of cream-colored clouds and a sun so big and bright it made me feel like I was made of wax and was going to melt.

"I'll be right back, I have to go change." He kissed me on the cheek before running off to one of the few changing tents that lined the beach. I looked to the open sea, the frothy waves crashed onto the sand before receding. I could only imagine what lay across the body of water. Maybe there was so much more; a place with no Hunger Games, a place where people could live free without fear, where you could love without being scared.

"Peeta!" A voice called to me. I turned to see my missing travel companions coming down the beach. Katniss, Prim, Gale walked through the sand as Haymitch and Effie trailed behind. Effie shaded herself with a large umbrella that matched her new spring green one-piece suit. Haymitch didn't bother changing from his normal cloths.

"What are you doing here?"

"Gale suggested that we all come here today." Katniss said as they came to where I was standing. Of course he did. I wanted to smack him as hard as I could. He wouldn't let me out of his sight again, not alone with Finnick that is. "We all got up early to go shopping for swimsuits. We were going to ask you if you wanted to go but we thought you were going to be with Finnick again."

"I am," I said through my frustration. "He's teaching me to swim. Do you know how to swim?"

"My dad taught us when we were younger. We would have been here sooner but Effie couldn't find anything to match her swimsuit." Katniss began to strip off her clothing. She was wearing a blood red bikini underneath. Gale followed suit and stripped off his shirt. His shorts were onyx black. He dropped his discarded shirt into the sand. I couldn't help but love his body. It was strong, well-toned muscle, with the sliest scared up from years of trekking through the woods. He knew I couldn't resist him.

"Come on Prim, let's go for a swim." Katniss pulled her little sister along to the water.

"Enjoying the view?" Gale asked as he swayed behind me. He knew how to mess with me. He wanted to make sure I didn't forget about him.

"Is there a reason you wanted to invade my day at the beach?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know what you're talking about. It was such a nice day I figured we all should go to the beach. You and Finnick just happened to be here." He was playing games with me now. Somehow this felt even worse than being in the Hunger Games. This wasn't any kind of physical pain; it was emotional, and stung so much worse. "Speaking of, where is fish boy?"

As I was about to tell Gale off the changing tent open and out stepped Finnick. His swimsuit consisited of nothing more than a golden net material, wrapped around the lower half of his body and tied in a knot in the front. Almost every inch of his body was exposed. Every muscle was golden tan, build and toned to perfection. As he walked the net flickered in the light. My jaw would have hit the floor if it could. Gale glared at his so intensely I thought he might pop a vein in his head.

"Well what do we have here?" He walked up to Gale and me. Being trapped between these too was enough drive anyone crazy. Most girls would only dream of being here, but here I was, as two of the most beautiful guys in the world had a cockfight over my attention.

"Everyone decided we wanted a day at the beach." Gale said back.

"The more the merrier." Finnick turned to me. "Ok ready for your swim lessons? First lets get this shirt off of you."

Finnick tugged at the hem of my shirt but I stepped away. If one thing came of being next to two guys whose bodies were as amazing as these two, it was self-consciousness. "Can't I keep my shirt on?" Finnick shook his head.

I sighed before pulling it off of me. I wasn't anywhere nearly as nice as them. I was shorter, stockier. They were tall and lean and build like statues. Both of them looked me over. I felt my face burn hot and red as a cooked lobster. I wanted to cover up. The scars that dotted my body were the worst part. After the games not everything seemed to heal correctly. Most of the cuts Cato had left were now deep scar tissue. I put my arms around me.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," Finnick said as he pulled my arms away from my torso. "Your body is beautiful. Now come on, lets get in the water." Finnick and I ran to the water leaving a very agitated Gale behind. Stepping into the water, it was much warmer than it was last night. He pulled me out until it was up to my thighs.

"Ok, the first thing you need to know about swimming is you have to relax. You don't have anything to worry about so don't get scared if you go under. I will pull you up." Relaxing was not an easy thing. I should have learned this as a kid. Now I was a grown man just stepping in the water for the first time.

"Now, when you're in the water, you don't want to be afraid to put your face under for a second or two. It's all a part of learning. But the basic thing you need to do is paddle your arms and kick your legs in synchronized timing." He demonstrated by diving into the water and moving like through the water like a fish. He signaled for me to try. I took a deep breath before diving head first into the water. The water invaded every hole in the head. As water shot up my nose I freaked out and forget everything Finnick had taught me. I gasped for air, the salty water filling my mouth, stinging my throat. A rough hand grabbed me by the arm and hoisted me out to the surface. Gale had pulled me out. I coughed up the water in my throat.

"You ok?" he asked. I nodded my head; I was shook up but fine. Finnick came over as fast as he could but Gale stopped him from coming any closer. "Real smart, he could have drowned."

"He's in very little water. This is all a part of learning. You can't let a little water in the nose get to you. Try again."

"Why don't you back off?" Gale said stepping closer to him, looking like he was going to start a fight. "Let him recover."

"It was one try. He needs to keep going. That's how you learn." Gale stepped up the older boy and pushed him back. Finnick stumped back before moving towards Gale and pushing him in response.

"Stop it," I croaked. The salt water messed up my throat. The two stepped away from each other. "It was my fault. I freaked out." Gale stormed off in frustration. Over the next hour or so I spent much of my time sinking like a stone but slowly I began to get the hang of it. We took a break from his lesson to relax.

"You're really picking it up."

"Thanks. You're a good teacher." Finnick kissed me again. I felt strange doing it in front of everyone. "I'm sorry about Gale."

"Don't be. It's not your fault. He may not be able to tell you his feeling but actions speak louder than words. He's protective of you." Gale was with Katniss and Prim, the two of them taking turns tossing the younger girl into the water. I could easily see the two of them being together, playing with their child in the water. Maybe that's something he really wanted, and it was something he could never get from me.

"Still, I guess I'm the cause."

He ran his fingers through my damp hair. "Not at all." Katniss came in from the ocean and took a seat next to us.

"Hey, Finnick, can I talk to Peeta?" Finnick didn't object. He got up and joined Gale and Prim in the water. We watched as Prim clung to him in the waves. "You know, he's a really nice guy." She watched as her sister sat in his arms.

"Yeah he is." I said back. Finnick was a great guy.

"So what do you think about him?" He question had a lot more depth beneath it. She wanted to know if him and I were getting into something. As much as I loved looking at him, listening to him, and being around him, something inside me longed for the other boy, the one I knew I could never full have.

"I don't really know. It's all very new and confusing to me." I didn't know how to think about him. He was one of a kind.

XXX

After a while the others retreated back to the train. Finnick and I stayed until the sun began to lower in the sky. Finnick's skin only seemed to turn a more golden brown, a perk of spending your life at the beach. But my pale skin turned as red as a lobster. Sunburn was something I never experienced before.

"Come on, I have something that will help that." We got dressed and headed back to Finnicks house in the District Four Victor's Village. The houses reminded me of the restaurant he took me to, covered in shells or driftwood. They were reflections of their district. Finnick opened the door and turned on the lights. Everything inside was bathed inside a strange faint glow. He led me upstairs to his bedroom. Everything was a deep and calming blue. "Lay down on the bed and take your shirt off." I obeyed. As the fabric of my shirt pulled past my skin it left a trail of fire. I fell inot the soft fabric of the covers. They were cool to the touch and helped the burning. Finnick went to the bathroom and came back with a jar of ointment in his hand.

He climbed on the bed next to me. As he did my heart began to race. What was he going to expect from me? I'm sure plenty of people had come home with him, and I was no exception from that. He took a large dollop of the cream and touched it to my burning flesh. The pain instantly subsided. His fingers moved across my back, spreading it around, leaving a nice cooling effect. "It's from the Capital. They sell this stuff for people who spend too much time in the sun. Turn over."

I didn't want to turn over. After having his hands running over my back my body had responded in a different way. But I had no choice; he flipped me over before I could do it myself. His fingers began to run over my chest and stomach. I looked into his eyes and felt lost in the sea. I bushed hard. As his fingers ran along my skin, he looked down at me. Without warning he leaned down a kissed me. His lips filled with passion, pressed to mine, made my blood began to run.

His hands continued to run over my body. When he broke away he pulled his shirt over his head before kissing me again. Our bodies pressed together, his skin on my skin. Our mouths danced with each other's. "I want you Peeta." He said pulling away for my lips to kiss my neck. "I want to feel all of you." He began to kiss my chest. My breathing became more ragged as his teeth wrapped around my nipple and chewed lightly. I gripped the sheets, my toes curling from the pleasure.

His mouth moved down my stomach, a trail of kisses making a path until he reached my belt. He slowly began to undo it but I couldn't hold it back anymore. I grabbed his hand. "Stop, stop." I cried out.

Finnick sat up on the bed, his face filled with disappointment. "I'm sorry." I said, covering my face with my hands. Embarrassment flooded me but I knew I couldn't do it, I couldn't sleep with him. It wouldn't be right for me and wouldn't be fair to him. He pulled my hands away from my face.

"It's okay." He whispered. "I understand."

"No," I said sitting up. "It's just that all of this is so new and everything has been moving so fast and…"

"It's Gale." He said, cutting me off. My heart dropped in my chest. How could he ever think that was the reason? "Don't try and deny it. I knew how you felt about him before all of this. I knew it was foolish of me." I wanted to argue that that's not why I couldn't do it but every reason I came up with wasn't enough to argue. He was right. It wouldn't be right for us because he's not the one I wanted to be with. I nodded my head in agreement. You could almost see his heart break. "I wish I could say something to make you love me the way you love him. But I do think you deserve better. You deserve someone who isn't afraid to show how much they love you."

He held my hand tightly as he confessed everything he felt inside. "I know. But I can't help the way he makes me feel."

"Stay with me Peeta." He said, pulling me closer to him. "We can run away together. Take a boat and just set sail from this place. There's a great big world out there. There has to be somewhere where the Capital could never find us." The thought of running away was something I never thought we could do. Could there be a place where people were allowed to be free? Where people didn't have to kill each other for fun? It was an alluring idea. But it could never happen. I couldn't leave Gale behind.

"I don't think the capital would ever let that happen." I stood from the bed and put my shirt back on. The sunburn no longer hurt. "I think you should take me back." But Finnick had different ideas.

"Stay the night." He said pulling on my hand to keep me in the bed. "Please, nothing will happen. I-I… I just don't want to sleep alone tonight." As my best judgment told me that I shouldn't be there I felt bad leaving him alone. One night wouldn't hurt. I sat back down on the soft mattress and into Finnick's arms. It was comforting to have someone hold me… even if it wasn't the one I wanted.

XXX

Three days. I had been tied to the tree for three days. My stomach was non-stop rumbling. My throat was bone dry. Everything around me started to feel like a dehydration-fueled haze. My body ached from days of standing. So this is how I'm going to die, tied to a tree. This was even more humiliating than getting stabbed, at least then you die with honor and dignity.

My wounds had stopped bleeding for the most part but without proper medical attention they would become infected. The ropes that bound my arms are bloody from cutting into my wrist. As I accepted my fate Gale's handsome face came into my mind. Everything word that I would never be able to say to him flooded my mind. I had so many chances to tell him how I felt. Now I was going to die without ever getting that chance. If I got out of here I swear, I will tell him everything. I won't hold back. I'll live my life without that fear.

I pulled at the restraints with all my might. They ropes dug into my already raw skin. Every ounce of strength I had left in me flowed into my arms. My muscles screamed in agony as I pulled. But it was no use. I slumped over, giving up. This was it. The end was going to draw near.

XXX

"Peeta," I was shaken awake. For a second I didn't recognize my surroundings. Finnick's handsome face appeared before mine, his eyes filled with concern. Without thinking I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. The tears began to run down my face and onto his skin. It all seemed so real again. Just like I was there.

"Hey, hey… calm down. It's all right. No one is going to hurt you," he said calmly, whispering in my ear. "I know what it's like. It's been ten years and I still have those nightmares." It took me a couple of minutes to calm down. He just holds me, never scared or wavering from my touch. His fingers rake through my hair. I just let him hold me.

When we finally release each other I feel shameful from my behavior. I should be used to this by now. "It's alright, it's not an easy thing to get over." He pulled me closer and kisses me on the lips. This time when he does it feels different. None of the passion and longing that had been there remained. "Come on, let's get you back before they leave you here forever… not that I wouldn't mind." He made me smile a real smile. For the first time in a long time I laughed.

We stopped outside the doors of the train. We both stood there awkwardly like our first date. He both smiled at each other. "I guess this is goodbye." I said trying to break the silence.

"For now." He said as he leaned in a kiss me softly on the lips. "I'll be in District Twelve for the final feast. All the victors are welcome to join." He took my hands in his. "I'll be there for you Peeta. Just give me one last chance. If you choose him by then, I'll know. But I'll be waiting for you. Just remember, you deserve to be loved as much as you give." His words struck me deep inside. Talk about twisting the knife of guilt. I hugged him before boarding the train.

Everyone was sitting around the breakfast table. I took my seat with the rest of them. Katniss smiled at me. I just blushed back. I knew what she was thinking. I'd have to tell her I couldn't go through with it.

"Mr. Mellark, if you're going to stay out all night like some kind of hooligan then please inform use next time." Effie said fanning herself.

"Ah lay off, the boy was just out having a good time. Tearing it up like he should be." Haymitch remarked with a rising of his glass. "To the victors go the spoils." Somehow everyone thought that the spoils I had received were inside Finnick's shorts.

Gale's face was deadly serious. Everyone seemed to be having a good laugh but he didn't find any of it funny. He stood up from the table a stormed off, his chair falling to the floor as he walked away.

"Oh my, such terrible manners."

I ran after him. "Wait," I grabbed his arm. Before I could even get a chance to react he slammed me against the wall, the air getting knocked out of me. His face was inches from mine. He looked like he was going to be foaming at the mouth.

"I hope you had a good time. Did you let him fuck you? I hope it was worth it. You're dead to me." He released me from his grip letting me fall to the floor as he went to his cabin. Everyone began to gather around me. I ran to the back to the train. On the caboose I watched as the beautiful sandy beaches and trees disappeared. I was leaving behind paradise and maybe my only chance at happiness.

So yeah, that happened. This chapter should have been done two weeks ago. For some reason I just wasn't sure how I wanted it to end. Plus I've been working a lot and I kinda lost that spark to write for now. I have been watching Teen Wolf so I might start writing for that. But I'm glad this chapter is done. I can't wait till next chapter. It's going to get dirty crazy sexy fun. Johanna is going to make sure of that. Please review and thank you for reading.