Everlark, #10 (Hello Darling!)
Hello, Sweetie! I've missed you!
I'm sorry if this isn't any good, but here you go :)
“Prim? Prim? I can’t hear you, my phone’s acting up. Hold on.” Katniss looks down at her phone, irritated to see only two small bars of reception. She shakes it in anger, foolishly trying to will it to pick up a better signal. She puts the ancient, blocky cell phone to her ear.
“Jesus, Katniss. Get a new phone. How long have you had that thing?” Prim asked, frustrated, used the common occurrence when talking on the phone to her older, miserly sister. “You know that half the time the phones are free with the plan.”
“Well, when you are working two jobs to help put your younger sister through school, let me know how much time you have to go cell phone shopping.”
Katniss waits for her sister’s remark, but it doesn’t come. She alternates glancing at her phone and placing it up to her ear while yelling her sister’s name to no avail. She looks down at the screen on her flip phone one last time before there is a loud bang. Her car comes to a jolting stop and the side of her face slams into the steering wheel.
“Son of a bitch.” She groans while rubbing the left side of her jaw. The last thing she needs is an expensive ticket and her insurance rates rising. Hopefully, going slow down the quiet neighborhood street will work in her favor. She knew the four way stop was coming up, but being distracted by her failing phone made her miss the large red sign she stops for at least twice a day.
She’s startled by a gentle tapping on the glass of her driver’s side door. With a deep sigh, she unbuckles her seatbelt and braces herself for the rightfully angry person she just ran in to. Instead, she looks up and into the bluest pair of eyes, and possibly the reddest cheeks, she’s ever seen.
He opens the door for her, panic all over his face. “I am so sorry! Are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?”
Katniss dismisses his concerns with a wave of her hand. “I’m fine, I just popped my jaw on the steering wheel. I’ve been through worse.” She gets out of the car and takes in the scene before her. She was worried about having rear ended someone, but she now sees she’s hit the back wheel panel of a brand new metallic orange truck. Her stomach drops at how expensive the vehicle looks.
“I didn’t know there was a four-way stop there. This is my first time in this neighborhood.” He observes her for a second, really looking at her for the first time. His next question isn’t as panicked, but more shy, “Are you sure you don’t want an ambulance?”
She nods, when it finally occurs to her that he was apologizing to her. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why did you say you were sorry?”
He looks at her like she just grew a second head. A very pretty second head, if he was being honest. “Because I ran a stop sign causing you to crash into me?”
She looks into his eyes, his impossibly blue eyes, and realizes she can’t let him take the blame for this. She can’t owe him like that. “It wasn’t you, I ran my stop sign. My phone was acting up, I wasn’t paying attention.”
He chuckles at her admission and runs a hand through his wavy blonde hair. “So, we’re both terrible drivers?”
She smiles, despite the seriousness of the situation, “Yeah, I guess so.”
They both stare at each other for a moment, before Katniss breaks the awkward silence, “So, isn’t this the part where we exchange insurance information?”
“Oh, yeah, let me run to my truck and grab the card.” She watches him jog the few feet to the passenger door, trying not to notice the way his t-shirt clings to his arms, or how nice his ass is when he leans over to reach inside his glove box.
Realizing she needs to give him the same information, she ducks inside her car to grab her purse. Hopefully, he didn’t notice her checking him out. She rummages through the small leather bag, and hands him the card when he returns.
“Katniss? That’s an unusual name. It’s pretty.” She blushes, taking the card he brought for her. “I’m Peeta, by the way.”
They exchange information and make easy small talk, something Katniss hardly ever does, before the police arrive much sooner than either one of them had wanted.
Luckily, Officer Darius, one of Katniss’s oldest friends, is called to the scene and writes up both of their tickets with the smallest possible infractions. Hopefully keeping both of them out of trouble with their insurance companies.
They watch the police car pull away and it’s funny how neither one of them moves to get to their own vehicle.
Peeta kicks at the ground before speaking, “Well, I guess this is goodbye.”
Katniss nods slowly, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Looks like it.”
“And you’re sure you’re going to be okay?”
“Uh-huh.” She looks over at her old car, slightly dented and worse for wear, trying to get up the nerve and do something bold for once. She slaps her hand on her forehead, cringing when it rattles her aching jaw, “Oh, you know what, I forgot to write down the last couple of numbers from my insurance card.”
He’s confused, but doesn’t say anything as he hands her the slip of paper. She takes a deep breath, hoping this isn’t one of the biggest mistakes she’s ever made, and writes down a few extra digits on the piece of scrap paper. She hands it over to him and makes a beeline for her car.
He gives her a small wave as she drives off, wishing the circumstances for their meeting had been anything else, until he glances at the piece of paper crumpled up in his hand. He doesn’t bother hiding the broad smile on his face when he sees the new addition is her phone number.