In Another's Eyes

Chapter 2

Peeta

I wake up in a strange place, pressed close to another body. At first, I assume its Delly but when I turn my head, I realize I'm wrong. This woman's hair is a deep chocolate like color, her olive toned body slim and lithe. Sharp feature grace her face, rose colored lips and long black eyelashes. Delly is pale, with dirty blonde hair and she has a stockier, kind of pudgy appearance. The girl lying next to me is most defiantly not my wife. As I realize what I've done, I don't know what to think.

Delly and I had been high school sweethearts and while I love her, its not the same anymore. She's my best friend, but I know I'm not in love with her anymore. I fell out of love with her about a year ago but I don't have the heart to tell her. Though cheating on her is no better. I still care about her. If she ever found out about this, it would kill her.

I'm brought to reality as Katniss begins to stir. Her dark, storm cloud eyes open and she looks at me. She slowly sits up, pulling the covers around her.

"Why were you staring at me?" she asks.

"I was making sure last night wasn't just a dream," I say and suddenly her phone starts ringing. She reaches for it and answers. He face pales and falls as she hears the caller's voice.

"Gale, I just needed sometime alone," she says sternly. I hear a gruff voice reply and she shakes her head. "I'm not with anyone, I swear! Gale I'd never cheat on you!" The reply is gabled and she shudders as he hangs up. I feel a lump in my throat as I realize that last night, we both turned our backs on someone we loved last night. She sets down her phone and turns to me. "I guess you're wondering what that was huh?"

"Your boyfriend?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"No," she says. "My husband." She says the word 'husband' with such disgust that I'm guessing she isn't too fond of the man she swore to love for the rest of her life. She looks at me with sorrowful eyes and then looks down. "I guess you have probably connected the dots by now huh?"

"Our stories aren't too different," I say. "I had a fight with my wife last night too." Shock travels across her face as she realizes what we both did.

"And you cheated on her?" She asks.

"You were there," I say. "You tell me."She looks down at her hands. She curls her hands over her chest and then I see tears in her eyes.

"I am a terrible person," she says. "I'm the other woman."

"I'm the other guy," I say and she rolls her eyes.

"For you to be the other guy, I would have to care about what we just did," she says. "My marriage means nothing to me anymore." She gathers up her clothing from beside the bed and disappears into the bathroom. What she meant by what she just said makes no sense. She was upset when she talked to her husband, yet what she says makes me believe she holds quite a bit of resentment towards him.

I hear the shower turn on and decide that this would be a good time to see if Delly had been trying to reach me. Her worries are confirmed when I see that I have six missed calls from her. I call her quickly and she picks up on the third ring.

"Peeta!" She gasps. "I was so worried."

"I know," I say. "I'm sorry."

"Are you coming home soon?" she asks worriedly and I find myself asking the same question. I don't want to leave this feeling I've found with Katniss behind, but we have to part sooner or later. "I miss you."

"I don't know Delilah," I say. "I've got some errands to run before I get home." I hear her sigh as though trying to control her fears.

"Please don't take too long," she says. "I love you." I look up to see Katniss standing there, her long dark hair in a braid, the dress she wore last night settling unevenly from the wrinkles it earned spending the night on the floor.

"Yeah," I say. "Love you too." I hang up and Katniss sits on the edge of the bed.

"You have to leave now, huh?" She says. I nod.

"Did you enjoy it?" I ask. "Last night, I mean." She looks down at her hands.

"It was the best night of my life," she says quietly. "Gale's never touched me the way you did. He's never made me feel special or made me feel so good."

"I think maybe you're exaggerating a little," I say and she shakes her head.

"I had at least seven orgasms last night," she says. "I'm exaggerating if I said I've had that many in total with Gale. I assure you, last night was the best feeling I've ever had." She looks slightly embarrassed by her confession, a blush rushing to her cheeks. "My guess is you didn't enjoy it that much."

"No," I say. "I loved it. You made me feel things I've never felt with Delly. I care about her but, I'm not sure I feel the way I should about her anymore." I move over so that I'm sitting beside her. "What's done is done, but I don't see any real reason to throw this away now."

"What are you talking about?" She asks. I reach out and take her hand in mine.

"Neither of us is happy how we are," I say. "We both felt something last night. Something I don't want to ignore." She gives me a look filled with shock.

"Are you suggesting that we keep meeting?" she asks. "Peeta, we'll only hurt ourselves."

"It would hurt more to be away from you," I say and she looks at me with tears in her eyes.

"What about Delly?" she asks. "I can see it in your eyes that you care about her. If she finds out about this, she'll be crushed. I don't want to hurt what you have." I'm about to ask her the same about Gale but I already know the answer to that. She feels neglected. She doesn't care if this hurts him.

"I know, but I don't know if I could live without you," I say.

"It would be better to just go our separate ways and forget about all this," she says and reach out, forcing her to look at me.

"I don't want to forget," I say and pull her lips to mine. She tangles her fingers in my hair and kisses back hard. She pulls away and smiles sadly at me.

"I don't either," she whispers and I see tears in her eyes. "My mind tells me this is absolutely crazy, but I think it's time for my heart to start calling the shots."

"When will I see you again?" I ask and she hands me her phone.

"I'll call you," she says. "Gale works nights a lot. I don't know the next time he'll be gone for sure, but I think we should be safe Wednesday." I give her my phone and she carefully puts her number in while I give her mine. I hand her back her phone and she calls herself a cab. It honks outside and she stands up. She kisses my cheek and smiles.

"I'll see you as soon as I can," she whispers.

"I'll be counting the minutes," I say as I watch her walk out, her kisses still lingering on my lips as I wonder how I'll explain my absences to my wife.

(Song of the chapter: "Dreamwalkin'"~Toby Keith)