A/N: In the last chapter I mentioned my updates would not take long, but it has been months and I apologize for that! I found a wonderful beta who offered to help me edit the whole story, so if anyone wants to read it again I assure you that you will find more consistency and fewer errors. I made a mess, so as a bonus I am going to add another chapter, the chapter of the actual "one night stand". The best place for this one is after the first chapter, so it will become chapter 2, and chapter 2 will become chapter 3 and so on. I will upload it tomorrow to allow everyone time to read this note. I hope to make amends for the delay and all the changes. Thank you all for reading!

ONE NIGHT STAND

CHAPTER 6: Magnets

My nerves are on the edge. Between Prim's poor health and work I've been cranky and tired all the time, but if I'm honest the main reason of my irritability is that I'm missing him. I've been working nonstop and when I'm not, Peeta is. He has seen Prim but not me. He will get the procedure tomorrow and I know it's not a life or death situation but I'm worried.

I'm on my way to the bakery. He is doing so much for us. I can never repay this debt. I know he cares about Prim but he could give his back to us easily, yet he has been nothing but supportive, kind and sweet to us. I know that if I allow it he would be helping us with money, too, but I don't like being in debt and already owe him more than I can pay in this lifetime.

He's spending a lot of his time in doctor appointments, then at work and when he finally has time to spare I'm the one who has to work. He visits Prim every day and I kind of miss him but there is no way I let myself do that. I don't want things turn confusing between us. We are friends now and I shouldn't let this attraction I have for him interfere in our relationship. We have Prim to focus on.

Anyway, I'm not cut out for relationships.

I decide to go and see him before the procedure. I leave Prim with my mom and called Haymitch to tell him I'll be late. I shouldn't be doing this though, but I keep telling myself it's not that I miss him, it's that I owe himand that's the only reason. The one and only.

Rye opens the door and gives me a knowing smile. "Katniss what a pleasant surprise! I didn't know you were coming to visit," he smirks. "Peeta someone is looking for you here". He calls to his brother while letting me in.

The place is simple but cozy, masculine, paintings on every surface. I guess they are Peeta's. I didn't think he was this talented. I try to take a closer look at one of the paintings when I have to do a double take. What truly catches my eye is Peeta Mellark walking toward me with a look of surprise, barefoot, in sleeping pants that hang low, so low, on his hips, a white t- shirt, tight in all the right places, wet hair and a towel resting on his neck. Oh. God.

How can someone look like this? There should be a law against it.

"Katniss, is everything all right?" I can hear the surprise in his tone.

I nod because… what else can I do? I'm ogling, and honestly I don't want to stop. Rye snorts and I feel my cheeks burn.

"Um ... sorry I came without a warning ... but I wanted to see you before the..."

He smiles to me and glares to Rye "I'm glad you did, I haven't had the chance to see you. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Um ... no ... Just wanted to see you." Oh shut up Katniss and look somewhere else already!

"You have to try the Mellark chocolate, Peeta makes the best," says Rye, throwing his arm around my shoulders and leads me to the kitchen under the inquisitive gaze of his brother, who rushes to free me from his Rye's hug and offers me a chair at the kitchen bar. Rye is still smirking, making fun of both of us. The bastard. He takes a cup and fills it with hot chocolate, and I can see him leaning expectantly, watching my reaction.

"Mmhmmm Peeta this is so good." I lick my lips. Rye starts laughing while Peeta is looking everywhere but me.

"Ok you kiddos, I'm leaving, I have a date. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," says with a wink.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" I ask Peeta once Rye is out.

"Not much. Are you going to be there?"

"If you want me to, yeah."

"Katniss, of course I want you to be there. Why do you think I don't? "

And then it's out. Everything that has troubled me since I found him is out of my mouth without even thinking. I blame the stress for that. "Peeta I feel like Prim and I are a burden. You had your quiet peaceful life until I come to fill it with pain and worry. I feel horrible all the time and tomorrow you're doing this and I just felt like I should talk to you before you were laying in a hospital bed, hating my guts."

He gives a long drink from his glass of water obviously thinking of what to say and lets out a long breath. "Kat, you're right, now I worry a lot more, like all the time, for Prim's health… for you…I'm still processing all of this. I can't think of anyone braver than you, but I also know you're scared to death. You aren't sleeping and all your time is spent between going to work and taking care of our little girl. On top of that you have another job at night. So, yes, before you my life at the bakery was quiet, boring and predictable, meaningless… and now no matter how much I worry or how much it hurts that Prim is suffering from this terrible disease, now I feel alive. I wake up every morning excited thinking 'what am I going to do today to make her laugh?, what time will I come and see her and I wonder if you are going to be there. If I will be on time to see you before your shift. The point is that my life is 100 % happier since the day you showed up because now I have two reasons to live and fight for."

I feel tears in my eyes already and yet he goes on. " I am not a believer but I'm thankful every day because you're back in my life and I never, ever could hate your guts Katniss, not even if you try to get me to."

Peeta puts one hand on my cheek and takes a step closer to me. I think he's about to kiss me and I'm anticipating the contact of his perfectly full lips. My heart is beating out of my chest at this moment. "Please, don't think that way." He just caresses my cheek and disappointment seeps into my heart.

That's when I realize that I want to kiss him. Badly.

And then I realize that I can't let this happen. I have to run. I get up from the chair too quickly, almost knocking it backwards.

"I have to go to work and you need your rest. I'll see you tomorrow Peeta."

He is still looking at me with his kicked puppy face, so I go before I do something stupid like climbing in his lap, tangling my hands in his hair to pull him into a kiss and have my way with him.

So instead, I give him a quick hug before I leave and I tell him "Thanks for doing this."

Does he feel the same way? When I try to release him from the hug, he hugs me tighter. Then tilts his head and looks at me decidedly, then he loses his hold and looks into my eyes, down to my lips. He closes his eyes as to not lose courage. In just a second I feel his lips pressed against mine. Softly, barely touching.

I'm surprised and it takes me a second to react, not because I wasn't looking forward to it, but because I didn't expect that he wanted this, too. It ends before I can make a move.

I feel a fear that paralyzes me momentarily. I say momentarily because when Peeta realizes that I'm not moving he takes my lips between his, wetting them with his tongue and that definitely shakes my paralysis away.

His lips are so soft that I am taking them both between mine and I suck softly, testing them slowly with my tongue, he growls and I take my hand to his neck where I can feel through my fingers the tips of his still wet hair. I hold his face closer if that's even possible and press my chest to his. He sighs and then I can feel the magnetism and that hunger. The same one I felt that night, more than three years ago, returning to consume my body. I also remember that back then I wasn't able to stop, and I think I'm not able to stop it now. I have a lot more to think about, and now fear is what's consuming me. Fear and guilty.

I shouldn't be this selfish, I have no right to want this, to think about him this way when my kid is so sick, get carried away by him is what brought me to this situation in the first place. I am a terrible mother. He must feel that I'm paralyzed again.

"Katniss?" He asks, breathless.

I take a series of breaths trying to regain control over my own body because I can remember what a panic attack feels like, though I haven't suffered from one of them in a long time. I untie myself from him slowly, with impressively great effort, feeling cold in the process. He was so warm and strong. And I must sound like him: breathless and confused when I answer, placing my palm on his chest, pushing him lightly away from me.

"I should go. I'll see you tomorrow."

I take a moment to look at his eyes before walking away and I'm thinking of that look while I walk; lustful, dizzy, confused.

After my shift at the bar I spent the night in a fitful sleep, full of nightmares.

I wake up long before Prim, which is the strangest thing in the world, because normally I literally have to beg her to let me sleep five more minutes, although I know she doesn't have any idea yet what minutes mean. For her it's so relative, if she is playing five minutes is too little, if she is waiting five minutes can be eons. Anyway, I wake up before her because I wanted to get to the hospital earlier, but mom had to have one of her bad days today and Hazel has her shift at the hospital. I had to track down Gale and bring Prim to his garage to take care of her for a while.

But I also couldn't sleep thinking about that kiss. How right it felt, how good it tasted, how good he tastes, and how wrong it was. I should have known better. This could complicate things and only add awkwardness to the formula.

We still have a lot of things to talk to about. We've been so caught up in Prim's health and finding ways for them to bond that we haven't talked about what role he wants to play in her life when this leukemia hurricane passes, because it has to pass.

Peeta has the effect of clouding my judgment. I'd rather shut my mind off and let my body take over. The problem is that Peeta's effect on my body has already gotten me in enough trouble.

I can't let that happen again.

Thanks to titania, for really improve my story, I'm learning a lot with you.

And thanks to Peetasbreadgirl for beta-ing this one, for your suggestions and for drawing a smile on my face with that paragraph ;)