"Another beer?" Thorne asked Kai, already grabbing one for himself.

"Yeah, why not?"

Thorne grabbed a second bottle before he closed the fridge and made his way over to his couch. He and Kai had decided to come to Thorne's place; it had been quite a while since the two of them had hung out without Cinder or the rest of the group. Beer, pizza, a game of football - it was a nice break from flower arrangements and butter crème flavors.

Not that angering Cinder and Cress had been the best way to get said break.

Thorne couldn't believe he had been scolded by Cress. Again! He hadn't forgotten how she had taken the news about his less idealistic view on their profession or his choice to work in it. It had been easy enough to brush off Cress's reprimands then. It was an entirely different one to actually feel conflicted about it now. Thorne couldn't say he liked feeling that way one bit.

Thorne knew himself well enough that he wasn't bothered too much by Cress's head bumping into Cinder's or for ruining the dance lesson because of a friendly competition with Kai. Cinder, Thorne was sure, would already be over it too. She got angry quickly but that wasn't unusual for Cinder ... at least, when it came to Thorne. Her annoyance never lasted long though — Thorne could always count on that. She would roll her eyes and everything would be forgotten. Cinder was simple like that.

No, Cinder wasn't the one he worried about. But Cress's disappointment with him ran a bit deeper. And, unlike Cinder, he didn't know Cress well enough to predict her reactions. And he had been totally taken aback by her speech yesterday.

It hadn't occurred to him how Cress must have felt. For him, going to Regolith Décor had been the most obvious choice. It was one of the businesses Thorne worked with on a constant basis. And presenting the designs he had picked before he even knew that he would have to work with Cress seemed logical. There was no way he would ditch a perfectly good concept.

Even waking her had made no sense to him. He had his own business to mind to. He'd had to get up early to get his Rampion towed to a mechanic before renting a new car - and he had still been on time. It was not his fault that Cress hadn't set her alarm.

He could have set the record straight then, but he had been so taken aback, he didn't have any idea how to respond. He had even lain awake, conflicted and not knowing what to do about the situation. He knew well enough that he would have to work with Cress, despite everything. And she had been right about one thing: He would need someone to take over everything while he was fulfilling his duty as the best man. The question was, did it have to be Cress?

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Thorne clucked his tongue. "You might want to raise that offer. My thoughts don't come cheap."

Kai didn't miss a beat. "Take-outs on me then. So, spill."

"There's nothing to spill."

"Uh-uh," Kai said, his tone doubtful. He had been petting Boots but retracted his hand when the kitten bit playfully into his hand. "You think Cinder and Cress are still mad at us?"

"Nah. You know Cinder as well as I do. She can't hold a grudge."

"True. But what about Cress?"

"You tell me. You're friends with her. I've only known her for three days." Boots scurried over to Thorne who deftly swooped him up and hugged the kitten to his chest, little paws playing with the strings of his hoodie.

"You've formed opinions about people faster than that," Kai reminded him. "Women, specifically."

Thorne grunted. "What is this, an interrogation? I just told Cinder that I had way more fun with this game when my ex-girlfriend—"

"Yes, yes, we know all about that." Kai took another sip of his beer, but clearly watched him from the corner of his eyes. "You don't like Cress, is that it?"

And there was the crux of the problem, wasn't it? Because after three days with Cress, it wasn't hard for Thorne to admit that he liked Cress. She might feel differently about him now (and Thorne honestly couldn't blame her) but he liked her. It was hard to pin-point exactly why. They were total opposites in so many ways. Then again, he and Cinder didn't have a lot in common and they liked each other just fine. Cress kept him on his toes, her wild accusations were amusing (just like her alcohol-induced show) and Boots liked her. A big plus in Thorne's book. But mostly, Cress was a breath of fresh air. He had never met anyone who was so honestly (and hopelessly) romantic and idealistic. It was new and fun and Thorne liked everything new and fun.

Which meant he didn't exactly wanted her to leave. It was nice to have another friend in the crew, especially now that Cinder and Kai had so little time to hang out and Wolf lived permanently on Scarlet's farm. It would also not be the worst thing to have someone help him working on Cinder and Kai's wedding, he had decided. However, he wasn't sure how he could work with her. He might like her well enough but her ideas and his ... It was one thing to like her as a friend, a totally different one to work with her professionally.

He wouldn't have minded if Cinder and Kai had picked Cress's idea (the decorations were just a minor part of the whole planning job) and they could have teamed up. But her presentation just hadn't been convincing.

Cress had told him that she usually worked differently. But most wedding planners he knew already came prepared with two different concepts to the meeting with the couple. Just to get a general direction if the couple didn't already have very specific ideas of their own. That's why he had thought out a sleek modern design and one that was more romantic (and had been surprised that this had been the one Cinder picked).

Thorne didn't get the appeal of trying to personalize a wedding the way Cress seemed to be so adamant about. Most couples just wanted to wow the guests - and sold whatever he, Thorne, came up with as their own personal aesthetic. In Thorne's opinion, Cress's approach was a waste of time and effort - and it didn't even pay off.

He didn't dare mention any of this to Kai though. He was convinced that Cress was a great wedding planner. Thorne didn't want to tell him that he thought differently.

Thorne settled for something innocuous. "Cress is fine. As far as I can tell at least. You know her better than me." He thought of a way to turn the conversation around. "How well do you know her actually?"

"What do you mean?"

Satisfied by Kai's confusion, Thorne nestled deeper into the cushions. "I just mean ... anything I should know about? I tell you, Cinder won't be happy if you invited an old flame to your wedding," he told Kai with a pointed look.

He obviously knew the answer from Cress but he liked seeing Kai squirm, irritated by Thorne's implications. "Cress and I were never romantic. Cinder knows that."

"Uh-huh. No high-school sweethearts then? I mean Cress is cute—"

"You think Cress is cute?" Now it was Kai's turn to grin. "Is that what this is all about? You like Cress?"

"What? No!" That wasn't the derailment Thorne had in mind.

"Uh-huh." Kai echoed him with a smug grin. "You just want to make sure you're not pursuing one of my exes? That's sweet, Thorne. I'm touched really. But don't worry, as I said, Cress and I were never more than friends."

"Ha-ha. Nice try. I'm not interested in Cress."

"I wasn't the one saying that Cress was 'cute' though." Kai winked at Thorne, making him want to groan.

"So you two never dated?" When Kai was silent a tad too long, Thorne gestured wildly at his friend causing Boots to cling to his sleeves trying to catch the movement. "Kai, no! You did?! Damn, Cinder won't be happy if she—"

"No, Thorne. We never dated. But in case you think it matters, I was her prom date."

Thorne whistled. "Kai, you old ladykiller. Who knew? Sure nothing happened?" He changed his tone as if lost in a memory. "The high-school band playing some romantic tune, someone spiked the punch, all those crazy teenage hormones - no one could blame you for some heated, passionate kisses with"—this time, he refrained from mentioning any descriptors that Kai could use against him and settled for—"Cress."

Kai gave him a deadpan look. "Ah yes, how could I forgot about our heated, passionate kiss. I'm sure her forehead is still tingling." At Thorne's confused look, he elaborated. "I gave her a peck on the forehead at the end of the evening. Like friends do."

Thorne raised his hands, settling Boots on his lap where the kitten started to curl into a ball and purr. "Alright, alright. So, no sweet romance between you two, got it." Thorne thought of more ways to stray the conversation from Cress's abilities as a wedding planner. "Hey, how did you get to know each other in the first place? Cress has never been to California, right? Did you grow up in Burlington? Because that would be news to me too."

He could see several emotions playing on Kai's face. Thorne was surprised; he had thought it was an easy enough question. He had no trouble recounting how he had gotten to know Wolf, Cinder, Iko, Scarlet and Kai in a few short sentences. Even Jacin and Winter, who he only met two times. He wasn't sure why Kai took his time answering.

"It's a long story—"

Thorne waved his hand at him. "Not interested then. But say, was she always so ..." he trailed off, wondering how to phrase it.

"So ...?"

"So crazy about weddings? I mean almost scarily obsessed if you ask me. Though that's part of her charm, I guess."

Kai laughed. "Oh yes. For as long as I've known her actually." Seeing the question in Thorne's eyes, he supplied, "Which is about 15 years. Which I already told you about, by the way."

He had feared as much. "So, she was one of those girls playing make-believe with her own dream wedding?"

"Definitely. She made up all these wedding scenarios for us. As kids, mind you. It was completely innocent, so don't get any ideas." Kai's fond smile turned into a laugh. "Though she ditched me quite a lot actually. Sometimes to set me up with her Skipper Barbie, Little Cress, to play the wedding planner for us, or to marry her teddy bear instead of me."

Thorne guffawed. "You were ditched for a teddy bear?"

"Yep. I was relegated to the priest, officiating many happy ceremonies between Captain Bear and Cress."

"Her bear was a hotshot captain? No wonder she ditched you," Thorne teased, clinking his bottle against Kai's when his phone rang. He checked the caller ID, startled when he saw which of his contacts was calling him.

Cress. He hadn't expected her to call and he had no idea what she could want from him.

He picked up. "Hello, Cress. We were just talking about you." Kai perked up when he heard who was calling.

"Hello, Thorne." There was a strange undertone to her voice he couldn't place. "I'm glad you picked up the phone."

"For you? Always."

"Good." There was a rustling sound. Cress talked to someone, her voice muffled, before she spoke to him again. "Sorry, just had to give directions to the cab driver."

"A cab? Aren't you with Cinder?" At Kai's questioning look, Thorne could only shrug.

"No. But that isn't the reason I'm calling." There was a slight pause. "I did realize a few things."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Sorry, no time."

When Kai leaned closer to listen in, Thorne stood up and walked over to the fridge to get another beer. He had a feeling he might need it. "No time? You know you're the one calling me right?"

"I know. I promise it will make sense soon enough."

Somehow, he doubted that but instead he said, "Then why are you calling me?"

"Um ... is Kai with you?"

Thorne took a sip of his beer, wiping the foam from his lips. "Yeah. Want to speak to him?"

"No. Just .. can you and Kai come to the address I'm going to send you? In like an hour? Or two?"

"You still haven't gotten enough of me?" he drawled and added a wink to Kai for good measure. He was starting to enjoy the barely restrained curiosity on his friend's face.

He almost missed what Cress said next. "Don't flatter yourself. Now can you come? Please?" When he didn't answer right away, she took him by surprise. "You owe me one."

He raised an eyebrow, even though she couldn't see it. "I do? That would be news to me."

"Yes." There was a new resolve in her voice. "For not giving me a fair chance. I deserve a fair chance, Thorne."

Leaning against the counter, Thorne contemplated her request. He hardly thought he owed her anything but he was curious about what she could want from him and Kai. And if Cinder was in on it, he chiefly wondered. "You sure? It's such a fine Sunday. You would have to offer me something big to get me to drive around the city without knowing what to expect," he teased her good-naturedly.

She ignored him. "Will you be there?"

He sighed but it was only show. By now he was curious "Alright. But you better make it worth my while—"

But Cress had already disconnected the call.

Thorne stared at the display for a few seconds before pocketing the phone, at loss with what had just happened.

"Everything alright between you two?" Thorne wasn't surprised by the question. Kai was bound to be curious about their call.

"Peachy," Thorne reassured Kai, his tone easy.

"Then what was that?"

For once, Thorne had no answer. He was glad when his phone alerted him to a message - as expected, from Cress. He opened the message and did a double-take at the very familiar address.

What was the girl up to? He should have been annoyed but he couldn't help but be intrigued. "Seems like we have somewhere to be."

A/N: After the chapter that focused on the budding friendship between Cress and Cinder, I thought it would be nice to give the boys some room to talk too. I hope you liked it and take the time to review. Special thanks, as always, to lovelunarchron for betareading this chapter.