Teaser: "Six Weeks" by: Titania522

Title: Six Weeks

Author: Titania522

Rating: Mature

Summary: Summary: College-graduate Katniss Everdeen thinks she has her whole life figured out. Back in her home town, she has a job, a family and a fiance waiting for her. However a chance encounter with a local baker calls into question everything she has ever known. How can six weeks turn her life upside down? 

Teaser:

He continued to gaze out at the water, imagining the feel of the salty sea lapping over him as he skirted over the waves, when he caught sight of a swimmer cutting through the water with powerful strokes.  He was mesmerized by the precise, powerful movement, as if the she were slicing through a mirror-smooth pool and not the gentle, but relentlessly resistant waves of the Gulf.  

The swimmer stopped and straightened in the water.  She pushed strands of dark brown hair that had fallen loose from her braid, pinning them behind her ear.  She turned from where she was swimming parallel to the shoreline and waded out of the water in the direction where he stood captivated by her every shift and movement. As she emerged, Peeta forgot for a moment how to breathe.  Later, when he told the story of this first glance at who, to him, was probably the most striking girl he’d ever seen, he would completely and unashamedly confess that it was as if he had seen a mermaid take human form and emerge from seas that had only moments before seemed anything but magical.  

The water, which appeared loathe to release her from its hold, receded as she made her way on land, leaving long fingers of dripping water cascading from her strong, defined thighs. She wore a two piece, deep green bikini that contrasted with her dark, olive-colored skin.  Even from where he stood, he could tell she had strong features, large, light colored eyes that stood out against the dusky smooth color of her skin.  

Before Peeta could form a rational thought, he felt his legs propel him forward. It wasn’t until he was nearly to the front door of the stand that he paused to consider the action his body had taken without consulting with his rational mind. What on earth was he going to say to a girl like that?  She probably had a dozen guys a day trying to talk to her and would shut him down the minute he opened his mouth to speak.  The outside world invaded his consciousness - the cry of an infant further down the strip, Haymitch, Finnick and Philip’s voice bantering behind him, the dull crunching of tires along the pavement as cars made their way slowly down Beachfront Avenue.  

As he resolved his decision in his mind and made a loose plan for speaking to her, he heard Philip call out to him, “Peeta, we gotta go! If we don’t get back by nine, mom’s gonna have our tails.”

“Yeah, Phil, just give me a sec,” he answered as he stepped out onto the sand.  

“Dude, I’m serious!  She just called!  Our shift is over in three hours. You can come back later!”

“Oh, yeah, you guys gotta stop by tonight,”Finnick interjected.  “We’re having a bon fire and the whole gang’s coming out.”

Peeta paused. He felt the tug of his mother’s relentless will,  She was not above taking a broom or a rolling pin to either of her boys, even now that they were grown men. With a heavy sigh, he took in a last glimpse of that rare girl, toweling herself off, and turned away from her. It was for the best, anyway, he persuaded himself. A girl like that wasn’t going to give him the time of day, not with him dressed in his baker’s uniform, stinking of sweat and burnt bread. He shook his head at his idiocy.  He had zero chances with a girl like that.