Peeta came out with an assortment of dishes balanced carefully on his arms, Glimmer following him with utensils and water. The place was almost empty, just Katniss and Prim and two other tables, whose occupants were clearly in awe of all the attention the women were receiving. He gently set down a long oval dish down in the center, it being filled with four scoops of what looked like ice cream, then gave each of them a small round plate with three pieces of different kinds of cakes, and another small square plate to each, with two truffles and a strawberry dipped in both white and milk chocolate on a stick.
"Oh my God, Peeta, what is all this?" Katniss asked, licking her lips at the tempting looking last course. With the way he had been bringing out the food, good intervals between each course, she wasn't near stuffed and knew if he had made bigger portions, she wouldn't have had any room for these. She was thankful he knew what he was doing.
He pointed first to the ice cream, "Going left to right, we have a blood orange gelato, then salted caramel, next to coconut, and finally a cinnamon vanilla. Then, on your round plates, there is my infamous chocolate cake with champagne icing, carrot cake with cream cheese icing because there's no way of improving that combo, and a piece of my lemon cake. Lastly, we have a hazelnut chocolate truffle and a raspberry filled one, with white chocolate drizzled on it and tuxedo strawberries. I hope you like it."
"Holy crap! Where do I start?!" Prim exclaimed, picking up a spoon and a fork, not sure where to begin.
Peeta laughed, "I suggest the gelatos, cleanse your palette a bit, but really, it doesn't matter. It's your ending to dinner."
Katniss looked up at him, "This was way too much Peeta. But damn if I'm not going to have a bit of all of it!"
He laughed again, touching her hand that was on the table. It didn't escape Prim's eye either, as she took a small scoop of the caramel gelato, her eyebrow rising. "Good, I'll leave you two with your desserts, would you like any coffee? I should have asked before I brought it out, sorry."
"No, no, I'll be up all night if I do that," Katniss laughed it off. She was pretty sure she'd be up late anyways, thinking about the chef and his hands. Prim shook her head, taking a gulp of her water. Before he left, Katniss grabbed his hand, which he smiled at, "Thank you, Peeta. This is really wonderful."
His smile was so genuine and when he answered, she felt so satisfied, "Believe me, it was all my pleasure."
She smiled in return and he walked back to the barn in which the kitchen was set up. Glimmer made sure their waters were filled before she left, filling the other patrons waters as well. Katniss dipped her spoon into the blood orange gelato first, letting it sit on her tongue for a moment before swallowing it, "Oh….my…God! Is there anything that he makes that doesn't taste good! I've never had food like this before!"
"You're gonna have to give him a blowjob tomorrow night, this food was too good."
"Prim!" Katniss chided as her sister laughed, reaching for a different gelato. Her younger sister just shook her head. Katniss let it go, mainly because she knew Prim wasn't near stopping and she wasn't going to totally throw that idea out of her head just yet. Instead she focused on the remaining treats in front of her. Where to start, where to start?
By the time Peeta came back, the only thing left was the little mint sprigs on a couple of the plates. With dark blond eyebrows raised, he jokingly asked, "Liked it?"
"I'm not sure who you were actually trying to impress, but I can tell you this much, I'll be telling all of my doctor friends about this place!" Prim proclaimed. "And not just because they can afford it either."
"Jeeze, Prim, that wasn't tacky at all." Katniss quipped, leaning back into her chair and rubbing her stomach. "How is it we ate all that food and I'm not even stuffed? Peeta, this was amazing, all of it."
"Good, I'm glad you both liked it. Prim, I prefer it when people come here by word of mouth. And I mean, if you want to put a good word in on Yelp, I wouldn't mind that either." He replied with a wink to the blond woman, who smiled back. "Umm, Prim, if you wouldn't mind terribly, can I take Katniss away for just a moment? We'll be back in a few minutes, I promise."
"Well, if you promise….." Prim said laughing, getting up and walking towards the entrance barn again. Turning around before she got very far, "Hey, can I get the check, I still have to pay."
"No, you don't. Tonight was completely on me." The good-looking owner claimed. When Prim and Katniss looked like they were about to argue, he continued, "Next time you two come here, you can pay. But tonight's on me."
Prim almost started to complain, but Peeta waved his finger at her, shutting her down. So, she instead headed towards the barn again. He put his hand out and Katniss slipped hers into it. It was warm, calloused; she knew he'd worked hard for a long time. She stood up and let him guide her to the field near them, where it seemed he was heading towards the trees that skirted it.
"How did you find this place? I mean it's not far from the city but not exactly isolated either." She asked, in awe of how the moon played in the shadows of the branches overhead. He stopped just inside the forest, where they could see the tent and tables just fine, but they were slightly hidden by the thinner trees in front.
"Well, I moved into the city, looking to expand my dad's bakery actually and I did, I opened one in the city, but I wanted something else, so I left one of my brothers in charge of that one, while I worked to find someplace to open a full-fledged restaurant. But that's not why I brought you over here. I mean, we can talk about all that tomorrow night, right?" He questioned, pulling her hand up to his lips and gently placing a kiss on her palm. Katniss felt as though her heart skipped a beat and a throb at her center.
How was someone who had been so hardcore in wrestling in high school, who was so clearly talented in the kitchen this delicate and downright sexy? She took a step forward and not saying a word, wrapped her other hand around his neck to pull his head down as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. She wasn't sure what had come over her, just that she wanted to feel his lips on hers. Lips that were firm yet soft slightly wet because he had just licked them prior to her doing this, a faint taste of spearmint on his breath. Yet, it was the smell of him that intoxicated her more; cinnamon, a smoky wood, soap, all of it all him. And she knew he had been running around the kitchen, yet somehow, he still smelled so fresh. All this she noticed as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer, his body heat blending with hers, his tongue slipping into her mouth as one hand tangled into her long dark hair.
When she pulled back, Katniss was lightheaded, but splendidly so. She had never been kissed like that, and she was the one who started it! Peeta's blue eyes were slightly glazed but a deep azure, there was enough light that she could see them wonderfully. He kept his hand on her waist; maybe he could tell she was whoozy, a good testament to his kissing skills. Katniss raised her fingers to her lips, looking up at him while she did so. "I….that was…..wow."
Peeta chuckled and pulled her in for a hug, a strong, tight hug, nuzzling her neck as he did so. "Then you're definitely coming back tomorrow?"
Katniss smiled, happy as could be, "Oh yea….."