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Chapter 4.

Peeta POV

I have been parked outside Finn's house for over thirty minutes now. My mind is in a daze and even though I know I should go and knock his door I can't seem to make myself move just yet.

I kissed Katniss. I can't believe it happened. I kissed the girl of my dreams. I hadn't gone there with the intention of kissing her, jez I would have been happy just to have had a conversation with her. Somehow though, she had ended up in my arms and nothing could make me regret that. She had felt amazing. That kiss had been amazing. I had touched my lips to hers and something had clicked inside me, like it was meant to be. It sounded stupid. In my heart though, I felt vindicated. It hadn't just been some stupid crush. We belonged.

She hadn't given me an answer though. I had asked for 2 weeks with her and she had looked shell shocked. I had given her my number and begged her to think about it. Pulling myself out of my daze I pick up my phone. Nope, nothing.

I wasn't really surprised. She probably thought I was crazy, I mean I showed up at her work and practically assaulted her. Memory of that kiss flared up in my brain again as I remembered her soft lips, the smell of her skin, the feel of her back, I feel a twitching in my pants and reluctantly pull myself out of my daydream. I want her more than ever now. The reality of having Katniss in my arms was overwhelming. She made the dream pale into insignificance. I needed advice.

I jump out of the car and as I approach Finn's door he pulls it open.

"I wondered when you were gonna actually come in" he greets me. He looks at my down trodden head, "Was it that bad?"

My eyes meet his and as he assesses me he sounds a slow whistle. "Man down! You have that crazy been hit by a thunderbolt look man. What did she do to you!?"

I shoot him a confused look and release a sigh "I kissed her Finn".

Finn looks at me in shock. "Well that explains it! Congrats man!" He wraps his arm around my shoulder patting my back. "I can't believe you kissed Everdeen!"

We make our way into the kitchen and Finn fires me a cold soda from the cooler.

"Ok, fill me in, what happened?" Finn asks as he takes the seat opposite me.

I tell him what happened, brushing over the kiss part but I can't fool him.

"Sooo how did it feel? Did it live up to your long held expectations?"

I look him in the eyes and wrinkle my forehead as I think how to respond.

"It was the best few moments of my life" I answer simply.

"Oh man, you are in deep now. So how did you guys leave it?"

I'm about to fill him in and ask for advice when I feel a low buzzing from my jean pocket. I anxiously pull out my phone and see a number I don't recognise. The message is short and to the point, a bit like its composer.

Ok, you have one shot. Pick me up at 6.30pm tomorrow.

My heart soars. She is letting me take her out. I have a date with Katniss Everdeen!

Finn is eyeing me speculatively.

"Who was that?"

"Oh just Katniss" I flash him my biggest grin. "I have a date!"

I pull up at her door five minutes early so anxious as the day had passed at a snails pace. I don't know why Katniss has agreed to go out with me, but I'm thanking my lucky stars she has. I nervously jump out of the car and approach her front door. Her house is one of the nicer ones in this neighbourhood with a wrap around porch and several comfortable seating areas. I rap on the white hardwood door and wait. My heart is beating out of my chest. The door opens and there she is. She looks amazing. She is wearing a mid thigh floral dress in shades of green, a short denim jacket and some boots. My mouth goes dry. Her hair is down. I try to swallow.

"Hi". I manage to croak out. "You look great Katniss."

She looks at me shyly from under her long lashes.

"Thanks Peeta. Um, you look good too." A bright flush fills her cheeks and she drops her head a little letting a vale of silky brown hair cover her face. I don't think I've ever seen her look more breathtaking.

Just then a small blonde head pops her face around the door.

"Hi. You must be Peeta. I'm Primrose, but you can call me Prim." She shoots me a cheeky smile and extends her hand.

"Hi Prim. It's really nice to meet you." I reply, noticing Katniss face has become even redder. I shake Prims hand and shoot her one of my best smiles.

"Well you kids have fun tonight." She laughs teasingly and Katniss head shoots up sending her a glare.

"Eh Prim, shouldn't you be getting on with your homework." Prim just laughs and shuts the door. It's just us now. We are alone.

"So eh…. I wasn't sure what you wanted to do tonight so I was thinking dinner for starters?"

Katniss lifts her head "Sure sounds good." I give her a small grin and lead the way to the car taking care to open her door for her. I try not to notice her dress riding up her thighs as she makes herself comfortable in the passenger seat.

As we drive away from town she slowly starts to come out of her shell.

"So Mellark, what sort of tunes are you into?" She asks as she flips though my CD collection. "I see The Lumineers, The Killers, Mumford & sons – we have some similar music tastes, I'm impressed." She shoots me a speculative look raising her eyebrows.

"What did you think I'd be into?" I smile over at her.

"I dunno, I was thinking maybe some generic pop band." She laughs back at me and that's how we continue, laughing and joking at each others taste in music and movies as we slowly start to get to know each other. After about twenty minutes she looks over at me.

"So where are we going for dinner? We are pretty far from anywhere here"

I take the next left and pull into a popular spot by the lake.

"I was thinking picnic?" I shoot an anxious look at her. "I mean only if you want to?" I was thinking it would be better than Sae's Diner – is this ok?"

She shoots me a brilliant smile. "Sounds great! You better have packed plenty I'm starved!"

We make our way down to the lake and I set out the blankets I have brought and lay out the containers of food.

"So what have you brought me?" She shoots me a cheeky smile.

"We have fresh bread baked by yours truly, pasta, salad, cheese and a chicken". I glance worriedly at her "Is this ok?"

"Are you kidding? This is great." She shoots me another shy smile and my heart races again.

We tuck into the food and Katniss praises my bread which makes me happy. It is so comfortable being with her. It is a lot easier to talk to her than I imagined it would be.

"So how come we have never been friends before now?" I ask her seriously.

Her smile drops from her face and I could kick myself for getting serious.

"I dunno Peeta. I guess I don't make friends that easily." She shrugs her shoulders. "Besides which, I think you have probably enough friends; is there anyone you aren't friends with?" She looks at me with a teasing smile.

"I have friends sure but besides from Finn and Delly I wouldn't count any of them as best friends." I look deep into her eyes. "I've always wanted to be your friend though…".

The atmosphere slowly starts to change between us. The sun is setting over the lake leaving the sky slashed with red and orange strokes. She shivers slightly and I lift a rug to put around her shoulders. Just as I am about to pull away her hand grabs mine and my eyes lock with hers.

"I can share." She whispers gently and I sit down beside her pulling part of the rug round my shoulders and my other hand creeps round her waist. Her skin feels hot underneath her clothes and her breathing accelerates. I can feel a magical web of desire being woven around us. I'm conscious of every breath she takes and every small movement.

"Peeta…. What is happening?" Her head turns and our lips are only inches apart. I can see the confusion in her eyes. I'm confused also. My heart is hammering and I long to move my fingers which are resting on her hip. We both slowly draw towards one another and I can feel my lips tingle before they even touch hers. I angle my head down and our lips connect. It's just like the first time. Desire races through my veins as my lips mesh with hers. She feels so soft and warm. I let out a moan from the back of my throat and pull her closer to me. Her hands reach round my back and into the hair in my nape. Her fingers feel amazing. I gently sweep my tongue over her lips and she opens for me. Everything explodes then. Her tongue tangles with mine as I taste her and she lets out a low groan. How have I lived so long without this I wonder fleetingly. I kiss her until we have to stop for air.

"Well that was the best first date kiss ever." I pant with a smile against her lips.

The chemistry between us is dangerously close to getting out of hand and I need to slow things down so I don't scare her away.

"How about we take a walk and then head into town to get some ice cream?" I ask brushing her hair back from her face.

"I think that's a good idea." She answers wryly.

We pack everything up and decide to go for a walk round part of the lake. She is not hard to talk to when she lets her guard down and when I take her hand she looks startled but doesn't pull away. After, we make our way back into town to Effies Ice Cream parlour and have fun picking different flavours and toppings. It has been an amazing night and when I leave her home I can't help but pull her into my arms and slowly kiss her again.

"Tomorrow?" I ask when we break apart.

"Ok Peeta. Tomorrow." She gives me another peck on the lips and disappears into her house.

Ok, so that was pure fluff but you know its all not going to run smoothly! I have the next chapter nearly done so I will update soon. Thank you soooo much for following!