I think she could hint at it. She might super cautious about giving other people a reason to go after Gale, or her to get to him in the arena. She doesn't want to be like, OMG I LOVE HIM and then get him killed.

Life isn't drama and action all the time, and a roleplay doesn't need to be either. We're going to have pretty solid angst and drama coming up kind of soon anyway. Like, we're not going to get much of a break from the death and the threats in the arena, especially after the group is split up because Prim is going to want to find Katniss and Haymitch right away. I imagine Haymitch would also want to reunite just to make sure everyone is alive. And it's not like they aren't going to kill anyone, so I think a little bit of fluff and sweetness is a nice before we ruin their lives.