The door closed behind him and Thorne was back in his apartment.

It was one of the rare times he would spend more than a couple of nights at home in-between his trips.

His boss insisted on him taking part in a conference with other people from the branch, as well as hotel owners and airline representatives. And since the conference was in L.A. there was no need for him to be anywhere but at home.

"Home, sweet home," Thorne said unenthusiastically, as he hung his keys on a nail in the wall.

It was a simple one-room apartment with an open kitchen and a shared space that served as a living and bedroom. He had divided his small space into corners with some shelves where everything he needed was stored efficiently. The couch could be turned into a bed though he kept it as a bed most times anyway. The bed was still unmade from the last time he slept here (he was so used to freshly made beds every other night when he travelled, he never felt inclined to do his bed at home).

It was a practical place with few personal belongings.

Actually, just one.

One world map hang on the wall, with marks on all the places he went to, as well as wanted to visit.

The US was practically drowning in little, black dots while the rest of the world remained mostly untouched.

Not quite what he envisioned when he started his job. But soon, he would leave the domestic flights behind him, he was sure of it and then he could travel all over the world.

He spent the next hour settling in, though he kept most things in his suitcase, except for the suit which would have to be cleaned.

His fridge was pretty much empty except for a few bottles of beer, wine, microwave meals and some spoiled food he quickly threw into the trash.

So take-out it was.

Another hour later he was sitting on the corner of his bed, chewing on a spring roll, watching some cop show.

Thorne was bored out of his mind.

There was no need for him to wake up early, so he might as well go to a club, enjoy the nightlife only L.A. could offer.

He could meet a pretty girl too.

It had been awhile since he met with a woman with the idea to go home with her. The last time had been with Luisa and that evening had been cut short by Cress.

Now, there was a pretty girl he wouldn't mind meeting but it was like all they ever did was meet. And those quick encounters often didn't lead to much. Sure, he liked spending time with her. She was funny, engaging in many ways and was very easy on the eyes. It also helped that they shared the same lifestyle, come and go as you liked, no questions asked.

But it seemed all they had was leaving each other behind. Those kisses had been nice - correction, those kisses had been amazing - but if that's all they were ever going to have ...

It was time to find someone he could have for a whole night, not just six minutes here or thirty-four minutes there.

He wanted more from Cress, sure.

But he wasn't sure that more was going to work out for them.

He was picking up his jacket when he saw his phone signaling a text message.

There weren't many people lately he got texts from except... Cress.

He unlocked his phone to find a message from Cinder instead.

Releasing a breath he didn't know he had been holding, he read the text.

"Late shift is over. Are you back in L.A.? Want to meet for a beer at the sport's bar? I can pick you up."

Straight to the point as always. He very much missed that.

Missed Cinder.

He quickly replied that he was at home and she better not pick him up in her ugly, orange nightmare fuel of a car.

Pretty girls could wait. It was time to meet his best friend.

(Who was pretty too of course but in a best-friend-kinda way. Which didn't count.)

A/N: As always, many thanks to kiminicricket for betareading despiter her busy schedule. :D