Gummy Bear Kisses

Chapter Five

Effie argues with Cinna about how I shouldn't wear red on my date with Peeta tonight. "She should wear black-"

"Effie, red. Red is one of the more seductive colors-"

"But black is sexier," she retorts. "Fine," he gives in. "Thank you."
"So where is he taking you?" Cinna asks me. "I have no clue," I answer honestly. I don't. "All I know is that he's taking me out to dinner."

"You cannot be seen at a fast food restaurant-"

"But I love my Mickey D's," I laugh. "Of course you do. You usually order like three Big Macs when you go."

"I'm a hungry girl," I say, kicking my feet up. "Anyway, there's no way he's going to take me to a fast food restaurant. In middle school, maybe, but now, no." Cinna smiles and starts on my hair. "So how do you really feel about Peeta?"

"Honestly, I love him. I hate myself for not going out with him earlier in life. I know he's a really sweet guy and he cares about me...probably a lot more than Gale. Yeah, Gale's my best friend, but Peeta did everything for me. He tried his hardest to get me to go on a date with him. I remember in kindergarten he proposed to me," I say, laughing a little. "How'd he do that?" He asks me, curling my hair. I show him the ring on my finger. I didn't wear it until I moved out of Panem to New York so I could model. It's a silver ring that has a small black pearl in the middle surrounded by small diamonds. "How'd he afford that?!"

"Well...I don't know. It was for Valentine's Day and he proposed to me during recess. I couldn't tell him no, or at the time I believed that no wasn't an option when being proposed to. I came home with it and my mom told me to give it back to him. When I was about to leave, he gave it back to me, and told me to keep it. I was rushing to get to my flight, so I only nodded my head and ran." Effie comes back into the room holding up a dress and black heels. "You'll be wearing this," she tells me as Cinna begins to brush some of the curls out of my hair. "Okay." Once he finishes my hair, he does my makeup. He gives me minimal makeup and passes me to Effie. She puts me in the dress and zips the back. She helps me into the shoes before there's a small knock on the door. Cinna gets the door for me. Peeta steps inside wearing a gray tuxedo. He smiles when he sees me. "Wow, y-you look...beautiful," he stutters, making me blush. "Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself," I reply. He smiles and sticks his hand in his blazer. He pulls out a red rose. "Uh...I thought you'd like a rose."

"Thank you, I love it," I say, smelling it's sweet scent. Effie takes it away from me. "I'm going to go find a vase and some aspirin," she says, walking into her living quarters. He extends his hand and I take it. "Ready to go?"

"Yes," I answer. He leads me out and we take the elevator down to the first floor. We walk to the door and out, where he has his car parked. He opens the passenger door for me. "M'Lady," he says. I get inside and he shuts the door. He gets in and cranks the car up. The radio turns on, starting to play Wanted by Hunter Hayes. We both look at each other at the same time. I see a twinkle in his eyes, and I feel guilty. I should've just accepted his offer the first time. We would've already had a family by now. There's an awkward silence between us before we both speak at the same time. "I'm sorry-"

"I love you-" we both stop at the same time. We don't say anything else to each other the whole ride. I don't understand why. We arrive at a very nice restaurant. Peeta helps me out and hands the valet his keys. We walk to the podium in front of the door. "Reservation?" The woman asks, not looking up from the book. "Mellark, table for two," he tells her. She looks up, and gawks when she notices me. "U-Uh...this way," she says, leading us inside. She leads us back to a patio like space. The only thing here is a table with candles surrounding a single rose and a perfect view of the ocean. It's so simple, yet elegant. I love it. We are seated at the table. "Hello, my name is Cressida, and I'll be your waitress tonight. What would you like to drink?" I pick up the menu and look through the drinks. I want to say water, but that's what every girl says on the first date. "Sojourn Cellars Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, please," I say. "Make that two," Peeta smiles. "Very nice choice," she says, writing down our choice. "I'll be right back." She walks away from us. "I didn't know you drink," I say. "I only drink on special occasions, and I mean...what's more special than you," he replies. "Stop, you're making me blush," I smile. He chuckles. I pick the menu back up and look through my options for dinner. Peeta does the same. "Mmmm, the Chicken Cordon Bleu seems good," he says. "I'm probably going to get Roast of lamb with a balsamic reduction," I reply, closing the menu and sitting it back down.