Chapter Text
“Katniss, can you please attempt to look something other than bored beyond tears? I do declare, your surliness is going to cost you a fine match if you’re not careful.”
“Aunt Effie, why do I have to be here? You know how much I despise dancing and these clothes. And these men,” Katniss sniffed. “They are the most boorish, boring—”
“Attitude,” Effie snapped. “Chin up; smile on. You are an Everdeen from the most glorious plantation in South Carolina, and your responsibility is to represent your kinfolk back home at the Seam with class and dignity.”
Katniss reached up to pat her intricately braided hair and fought to suppress the pang of longing for home at her aunt’s words. She’d left the Seam, her family’s plantation, for the high society of Charleston three months prior, and she missed her parents and her younger sister Prim more than she could admit. She’d also left Gale, her best friend and the man everyone assumed was her suitor, when her mother had arranged for Katniss to debut to Charleston society under the capable tutelage of Effie Trinket.
Effie had been a fixture in the right social circles since her own debutante ball a few decades earlier, and Katniss knew that her successful match to an eligible suitor would mean financial salvation for the indigo plantation the Everdeens called home.
“Sorry, Aunt Effie. I’ll smile pretty and pretend all the men in this room are the most brilliant, funny, and interesting ones in the entire world,” she sneered before turning her attention to an unsuspecting male to her left. She tossed her best simpering smirk in an attempt to pique his interest.
Effie tittered next to her. “Oh, darling, you’ve caught the eye of the most eligible suitor in the state. That’s Finnick Odair. Gorgeous and heir to a fishing fortune. His family produces almost all the seafood in the state.” They watched in anticipation as Mr. Odair crossed the space between them and presented himself.
“Ms. Trinket, you look quite lovely tonight.” He kissed her aunt’s hand and then asked, “And who is this lovely young woman? Please do me the honor of a formal introduction. My night won’t be complete until I’m able to dance with this ravishing beauty.”
“Oh my, Mr. Odair. You do flatter.” Effie turned and provided an introduction. “Sir, this is my lovely niece, Katniss Everdeen. Katniss, this is Finnick Odair, of the Charleston Odairs.”
Finnick bowed and offered his hand. “Ms. Everdeen, will you do me the honor?”
She nodded and followed him to the dance floor where he turned her and pulled her close against him.
“Mr. Odair, I hardly think it’s appropriate for you to hold me so tightly. Do you always manhandle the young ladies who agree to dance with you?”
“Only when they’re dressed like you. This doesn’t look like a little girl dress.”
“Yes, I’m all grown up.”
“You certainly are,” he agreed and inspected her with a deep green stare. “I wonder, Miss Everdeen, if those silver eyes of yours are guarding any secrets? Got any that are worth my while?”
“Well, you know high society, Mr. Odair. Everyone always seems to know my secrets before I know them myself.”
He grinned at her impertinence and swept his gaze over the room. “I think that’s true. You know, a woman as beautiful as you are shouldn’t be made to suffer through a night like this without the best company.”
“Oh, are you about to introduce me to a friend?” Katniss asked with wide eyes and enough sarcasm to cause her dance partner’s ears to tinge red.
“Little Miss Sass.”
“Peacock,” she returned without missing a beat.
“Hmmm… Maybe I will introduce you to another eligible suitor. I have someone in mind, actually. Someone who I know has admired you from afar for a long time. I think you knew him once.”
She balked, but he twirled her across the room until he stopped in front of another young man—stocky build, ashy blonde waves, deep blue eyes, and a smile that could melt butter.
“Peeta Mellark, my good man, can I introduce you to the loveliest of acquaintances?” Finnick questioned. At the other man’s nod, he continued. “May I present Miss Katniss Everdeen? Ms. Trinket provided me with a formal invitation, and my benefit is your gain. Miss Everdeen, Mr. Mellark is one of my best and closest friends. He is a much higher quality companion than I could ever hope to be. Peeta?”
Peeta bowed to Katniss and kissed her knuckles with a gentle pass over her skin. At the feel of his breath against her, her skin pebbled.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Everdeen,” he said in a deep baritone that echoed to her toes.
“Likewise,” she mumbled and stared at him. “Mellark… That sounds familiar. Do I know you?”
Peeta flushed and nodded. “You pushed me into a pond once. I pulled one of your braids, and you slugged me. We were five. You were wearing a red plaid dress, and your hair was in two braids instead of all fancy like it is tonight. I was visiting my cousins, the Cartwrights, for the season. You were less than impressed.”
“I remember you,” she gasped, and he smiled at her with a hint of shyness. “Vaguely.”
He flinched, and his smile wavered. She’d upset him without meaning to, but now she couldn’t stop.
“I’ll leave you two alone. It was nice to meet you, Miss Everdeen. Katniss,” Finnick said in farewell, and suddenly the two were alone.
“So the skinny little blonde rich boy is all grown up, I see.”
“And you’re still just as disagreeable as you were when we were young. Don’t you ever get tired of scowling?”
“Corsets and petticoats do not help my mood, sir, and you would be wise to remember that.”
“How could I forget? You’ve just told me about your underwear.”
Furious, she turned to storm away, but he caught her elbow and steered her to the middle of the dance floor.
“Mind your manner, Katniss. Aunt Effie’s watching,” he mocked in a sing-song voice.
“It’s Miss Everdeen. I hardly think we’re on intimate enough terms for a first name basis already,” she sniffed.
“Well, I don’t know, sweetheart. We’ve known each other for over a decade, you’ve punched me and discussed undergarments with me. Seems like we’re bordering on intimate territory.”
“Why you—”
“Yoohoo! Katniss, dear!” Katniss groaned at the sound of her aunt’s voice.
“What now?” she muttered under her breath. Without warning, Peeta grabbed her hand and pulled her from the ballroom and out into the gardens surrounding the mansion.
“Shhh. In here,” he ordered and shoved her through a gap in the hedge and into a secluded corner of the gardens.
“Mr. Mellark! This is inappropriate. This is—”
He silenced her with a sudden kiss. His mouth captured hers with a ferocity that melted immediately into gentleness. His tongue teased the crease of her lips, and she parted them under his insistence. The touch of his tongue to hers elicited a strangled groan that coursed through her veins and into the quiet night air. Heat burned through her, and her limbs went limp as an uncomfortable heaviness settled between her thighs. She wanted to rip her clothes from her body and press her bare skin to his. His fingers splayed over the curve of her neck, but she desired them in places she didn’t dare consider. She needed him inside her, rocking into her hard and driving her frustration and anger from her in a frantic coupling that left her breathless and yearning for more.
She’d just tilted her head back in an unspoken request for more, when they were interrupted.
“Well, I never!” Effie trilled and grabbed Katniss’ arm. “Just what do you think you’re doing, young lady? Kissing a man without a formal introduction. And you! Mr. Mellark, I expected better from you. What would your mother say?”
Stunned, Katniss gaped at Peeta. She’d never imagined what she’d felt when he kissed her, never understood the desperate pull she’d heard talk of in quiet, disapproving voices when a scandal rocked her neighborhood. Now that she had, she wanted his hands and mouth back on her. Not having it left her desolated. Peeta appeared scarcely better. His cheeks were flushed pink, and his eyes were intensely dark as they raked over her and then fixed onto Effie.
“Good evening, ma’am,” he offered in greeting. There wasn’t a hint of apology or shame in his gaze as he held hers. In fact, he almost sounded bored.
“This is highly irregular, the two of you being alone in the dark without a chaperone,” Effie tutted. “Whatever shall we do to escape ridicule?”
Katniss tried to hold her temper in check, but she was tired of being passed from one man to another without any say over her own life. “Maybe we should just get married. That makes as much sense as anything else, right, Aunt Effie? We’re alone in the dark for a moment, and suddenly I’m tainted.”
Effie studied her carefully. “That’s not a bad idea, darling. I’ll arrange for a formal introduction.” Effie pursed her lips and sniffed, “By tomorrow, you two will be officially courting.”
“No!” Katniss gasped and swung her eyes to Peeta. “We barely know each other.”
“Then you shouldn’t have kissed him,” Effie insisted.
“He kissed me! I didn’t want him too!”
“Well, then,” Peeta chuckled. “You shouldn’t have kissed me back. It’s going to be an adventure courting you.”
Katniss threw up her hands and stalked back into the party. With a sinking sensation, she realized nothing would ever be the same again. Whether she wanted it or not, Peeta Mellark was her new suitor.