Katniss opened the door to her condo Thursday to find Gale staring at her, his gray eyes flashing with impatience. "You can't avoid me Katniss," he declared as he stepped inside.

"I wasn't," Katniss shot back, lifting her chin defiantly. "This week has been really busy. I have a new book to sell and an entire section of the magazine to edit."

"Flavius told me he saw you and Johanna at the new restaurant by BTU last night. I would think you would see each other enough at work. And apparently you weren't too busy for Peeta," he growled, taking a seat on the sofa.

"Really, Gale, really? I have dinner with Jo and the girls every Wednesday. That has not changed. They have been my friends since college and have stayed with me through everything the past five years, so I make it a priority to spend time with them. I don't always get to see them at work. My job is not social, unlike yours," she dug, taking the seat on the sofa farthest from him. "And I haven't seen Peeta in years….so we spent the weekend catching up. He enjoyed my cabin, unlike you."

"I didn't come here to argue with you Katniss-"Gale began, but she cut him off.

"Peeta and I needed that time to talk about Finnick," she explained.

"Peeta told me about the connection," Gale admitted, sadness in his voice. "I'm sorry you went through that alone. I would have been there if you had let me."

Katniss stared at the carpet. "I know, Gale, I know. I….I couldn't. I wasn't strong enough to deal with everything and I didn't have the strength to come to you for help. The pain was so deep that I didn't know if I would make it out. I couldn't bear to open up the wounds left by what happened between us again on top of it all."

Tears slipped out of her eyes as Gale closed the distance between them and took her hand. "For what it's worth, I always have hated the way things ended between us. I still love you Katniss. You may not believe it, but is the truth. I never stopped loving you."

More tears slid out of her eyes as she looked up at him, not sure what to say. Gale used his free hand to wipe them away. Her heartbeat increased at his touch, a reaction she couldn't control. Despite all of the bad that had happened between them, Gale being so close always made her pulse race.

"So you didn't come here to argue. What do you want from me Gale?" Katniss demanded. "You want to be friends after all this time? I don't think Glimmer would approve."

"My feelings for you are not affected by my feelings for her. They never have been. I still love you," he declared again.

Gale leaned in to kiss her and Katniss let him, savoring the fact that it just felt good to have someone that close. He murmured sweet phrases in her ear, assuring her that he still loved her and letting her know how good it felt to be with her again. Katniss began kissing him back, lost in the heat of his words and familiarity of his kiss. Moaning as he bit gently at her bottom lip, she threw her arms around his neck and straddled his lap. I can't believe he remembers how that turns me on. It has been too long since I have felt like this, she realized.

Katniss lost herself in his kisses, not really paying attention to the fact that things were going further until Gale pushed her now unbuttoned blouse aside and kissed a trail from her collarbone to her breasts.

'Hmmmmmm," Katniss whimpered, her heart pounding in her chest at the feel of his lips on her. She could feel how hard he was against her thigh. "Mmmmmm," she whimpered again, a flash of heat running through her as she remember how he felt when he was inside her.

"Wait, wait, wait!" she scolded, pushing herself away from his chest. "You're MARRIED. We shouldn't be doing this."

Gale used the space to pull his own shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Then he drew her back to him and popped the closure to her bra open. "Sure we can," he muttered, running his hands over her breasts. "She doesn't need to know."

Katniss felt her resolve weakening as she felt Gale's lips on her breasts. Glimmer did this to me, she realized. And this does feel so good. Nobody needs to know, she thought, pulling him closer.

That was all the encouragement Gale needed and soon they were making love as intensely as they had when they were engaged. It's like we never stopped, she thought.

After their clothes were back on, Gale held her in his arms, running his fingers through her hair, they way he had done so many times before. "I love you, Catnip, I want to see you more. Please don't shut me out again," he begged.

"Gale….," she started, remorse beginning to hit. " I….I don't know….You're married. You made that choice a long time ago…..this-this was a mistake."

"This wasn't a mistake," Gale argued. "We were meant to be part of each other's lives again. I still love you and I think you still love me."

Katniss got up and started pacing around the room, not answering his unspoken question about her feelings for him. She glanced over at the bookshelf and saw her wedding photo. Oh Finnick…. she thought, guilt hitting her head on. "Gale, you-you-you need to go. I need to think," she said, placing both hands on her temples as though she could shut out all of the feelings running through her.

Gale began to protest, but Katniss cut him off by marching to the door and holding it open to speed his departure. "Ok, Katniss, I'll leave," he said. "But think about us."

When he was gone, Katniss sank to her knees with her back against the door. "What did I just do?" she muttered, tugging at her ring. "Oh, Finnick, I'm sorry."

Screaming in frustration, she managed to pull herself to her feet and ran to the bathroom, shedding her clothes as she went so she could jump into the shower to wash the scent of Gale's spicy cologne off her skin. She stayed in the shower until it ran cold, still not feeling clean.

I can't face the world tomorrow, not like this, she realized as she crawled under the heavy blankets on her bed, feeling like she would never get warm again. I need to be alone. She picked up her phone and left Effie a voicemail saying she was ill and would not be into work the following day. She texted Johanna the same message and then turned her phone off,

Katniss took a sleeping pill, knowing if she didn't that she would be awake all night, crying as she had done some many nights after the break up with Gale. I don't know if I can do this again, she thought as the pill kicked in and she drifted off to sleep.