A/N: Hi! First things first. I am so sorry. It's been what, 9, 10 months now. I don't even know what happened. I got so caught up in school and my original story (on Wattpad) that I just didn't end up finishing the chapter until now. I promise, I have not given up on this story, and I never will. I am also still really into it and stuff. It's not like I'm forcing myself to write it. I'm just going to have to figure out a writing schedule. Again, I'm so sorry, and updates after this will not take nearly as long. If it's getting too long, feel free to PM me about it. Please forgive me?
Anyway, I hope you like this new chapter! You guys totally deserve it.
2. Kiss a stranger
Quite honestly, this had been one of the items on the list Cress had been most afraid of. Before Thorne had come into her life, she'd never even kissed somebody (although she'd daydreamed about it plenty of times). She still got a little nervous kissing him, although it was hard to tell which of the butterflies in her stomach were from nerves, and which were from happiness. Now, she was expected to kiss somebody she didn't even know? The thought was a little more than terrifying.
Thorne was leading her along a lamp-lit street. They were still in Florida, and he had told her he had everything planned. As they walked, he started to talk.
"So, we're going to a small pub, restaurant kind of thing, but Cress, don't freak out, okay. It's nothing to be afraid of. I've looked it up, I checked it out, and it's a really mild, calm one. And I will never be far away, so if you need me, just say my name."
"Okay," she said, but the prospect of going into a pub, even if it was a small one, and kind of a restaurant, was scary, but it was nice to know Thorne would be by her side for all of it.
They reached their destination after another block or so, a fairly small, homey looking place called Giordano's. Inside, it looked like an Italian style restaurant, with checkered tablecloths, the lighting low, and filled with the smell of tomato sauce and the sound of quiet conversation and laughter.
Thorne brought them over to a podium where a black clad man was writing something in a large book. The man looked up and smiled at them. "Table for two?" he asked.
"Yes, please," Thorne replied, giving a smile back.
The man lead them over to a tall, rectangular table clearly meant for couples. There was a small candle in the middle, and the man set two menus on the table. "A waiter will be with you shortly for your drink orders." he said cheerfully, then walked off.
Cress looked at the large chairs and sighed. While the seat would be easy to get onto for Thorne, it reached a tiny bit above Cress's waist. Throne looked over at her and chuckled a little at her predicament. He stepped over to her and grabbed her hand. She took a step up onto the bar about a foot above the floor, and Thorne put a steadying hand on her waist. She hauled herself up onto the seat, and grinned triumphantly at Thorne, who smirked at her and easily got into his own chair.
She glared at him, and he grinned back. She opened up the menu, scanning the options. "Want to share a pizza?" she asked, looking up at him.
"Sure," he said, but he sounded distracted.
She squinted at his menu, and saw that he was looking at the desserts. She rolled her eyes. He could be a little ridiculous sometimes. A young woman came up to them and held up a notebook and pen. Cress noticed the gold ring on her left ring finger catch the light beautifully. "Can I take your drink orders?" she asked, smiling pleasantly at them.
"Yeah," she said, "Also, I love your ring."
"Thanks! My boyfriend just proposed last weekend," the girl gushed, dimpling at Cress.
After they had ordered their drinks, and the waitress had left, Thorne took Cress's hand. She looked up, a little surprised. "Someday, I'm going to get you a ring," he said, smiling at her.
Her eyes widened, and the butterflies woke up to flutter in her stomach. She beamed back, and he placed a kiss on her hand. "So, you ready to do this?" he asked.
She knew that he meant the list item, and she nodded her head, hopping off the seat, and then groaning silently when she realized that she would have to get back up again. They picked their way through the tables and small groups of people. The bar area wasn't crowded, but Cress still got a few strange looks from people who obviously thought she was much too young to be at a bar.
While people were normally wrong when they assumed how young she was, in this case, they were actually right. She was too young to drink. But, she didn't have to order anything. She took a deep breath.
"Okay, I guess I'll go first again," she said, and turned a little circle, trying to figure out who to approach.
She finally settled on a boy who didn't look much older then she was. Cress held her head high and tried to look confident. He was stirring a clear plastic straw in some sort of red drink, causing bubbles to rise to the surface.
She lifted herself onto the stool next to him, and she thanked the stars when it wasn't too much trouble, as it wasn't as high as the chairs at their table. She was glad she hadn't made a fool of herself in the trying to simply sit down next to this stranger.
Once she was settled comfortably in the seat, she noticed him looking at her. "Umm, hi," Cress said, smiling awkwardly, "Mind if I sit here?"
The boy shook his head, and Cress released the tension in her shoulders. She hadn't realized how afraid she was of being told that he did mind, because that would have been so embarrassing. Thorne would probably never have let her forget it.
She sat still for another moment, and then stuck out her hand. "My name's Cress. What's yours?" she asked the boy, trying to be brave and initiate conversation.
The boy looked surprised, like this was very new to him. He took her hand, and said rather quietly, "I'm Pierre," he said, and Cress heard that he had a French accent.
"Nice to meet you," she said, grinning up at him.
After a little pause, Cress pointed at his drink and asked, "What's that you're drinking?"
"Oh! It is my favorite drink. It is called a Shirley Temple, and it used to be very popular."
Cress's eyebrows raised. "I've read about that! A lemon-lime carbonated drink, or a ginger ale, with a cherry flavor, right? Named after some ancient child actress from way back when?"
Pierre seemed impressed. "Yes, that is right!"
Cress smiled, and was glad she had chosen to talk to Pierre. They continued chatting, and Cress saw out of the corner of her eye Thorne return to their table upon seeing their waitress return with their drinks. He seemed to also be ordering their food, and Cress hoped he would get a good pizza.
Cress and Pierre were just talking about what kind of pastries were the best, when his port dinged. He took it out from his pocket, and Cress saw that it was a video call. The picture on the screen showed a laughing blonde girl, who looked very happy. The name on the screen was 'Croissant', and Cress guessed it was a rather strange nickname.
"Oh, sorry! That's my girlfriend," he said, smiling down at the screen adoringly and standing. "It was lovely talking to you, Cress."
"Oh, yeah! It was really nice. You're a fun guy, Pierre," Cress replied, standing up along with him.
Pierre grinned, and embraced her briefly, before leaning down and air-kissing both her cheeks, adding in a peck on the lips. He handed her a card, and began to walk away. "Stay in touch!" he yelled over his shoulder. Cress laughed and waved, watching him exit the restaurant.
Cress looked down at the card in her hand. It had the his name and some contact information. Cress sighed, happy she had made a new friend and that the list item was now completed. Pierre had practically done it for her. She had been worried she was going to have to find a new person.
She skipped over to Thorne, who was sitting at the table. After another brief struggle with her chair, she looked over at Thorne, and saw that he was pouting. "Thorne, what's wrong?" she asked, a little concerned for his well being.
"Oh, nothing," he said grumpily.
"Obviously something is wrong, Thorne. Did you eat something bad? Tell me," Cress said, rolling her eyes.
"That guy over there," he told her after a pause, "He gave you his port number. And he kissed you."
Cress raised her eyebrows. "Okay, so what I'm hearing here is that you're jealous."
Thorne scoffed. "Right. As if. No, I'm not jealous. I just want to go and give him a piece of my mind," he grunted, glaring in the direction Pierre had exited.
"Thorne," Cress said in a soothing voice, "Thorne, he has a girlfriend."
Thorne looked over at her in surprise. "Oh," he began, "That's not what I was expecting."
"Yeah, you doofus. And he gave me his port number because he wants to stay in touch as friends. Friends," she replied, emphasizing the last word.
"Okay. All right then," Thorne said, and Cress was glad that he looked at least a little embarrassed.
Cress was touched that Thorne cared enough to get a little jealous, but Cress hardly wanted him to turn into one of those overprotective boyfriends, who shot glares at any man who talked to their girlfriend.
"So...," Cress said, grinning a little. "Are you going to do it, or what?"
Thorne sighed melodramatically, but stood up obligingly. He strode over to where a little girl and her family were dining, and talked to the kid for a bit. She saw him laugh a few times, and when he stood from the crouch he had been in, the little girl jumped down from her seat and threw her arms around his legs, smiling up at him. He leaned down and ruffled her hair, smiling back, and placed a small kiss on the top of her head. Then he waved at the family and walked back over to join Cress.
Cress rested her chin on her hand, and smirked at him as he sat down. "What?" he asked her, looking adorably confused.
"Oh, nothing," she replied, looking up at him. "That little girl was really cute."
He narrowed his eyes at her, and she giggled. "I didn't know you were so good with kids, Thorne."
He lifted his chin in the air, pretending to look haughty. "Kids happen to adore me, Cress. As does everyone else," he replied with a wink, causing her to snort.
"Okay then, you charmer. Whatever you say," Cress said, fighting a smile in an attempt to look somewhat serious.
She failed. She burst out laughing, trying to stop giggling while Thorne stared her down from across the table. One look at his expression sent her into another round of giggles.
Thorne sighed, pretending to look annoyed, but Cress could see his mouth lifting at the corners. "I'm sure I've said this before, but never change, my dear Cress."
She shook her head, assuring him she wouldn't, just as their food arrived. They served themselves slices of pizza, and dug in, enjoying themselves in the dim room, the sound of their talking and laughter mingling with that of those around them, completely at ease.
As they were eating, Thorne looked up from his pizza. " Okay, one, this is really good pizza," he said, taking another bite, and Cress nodded in agreement. "Two, I just realized that the two people we kissed weren't really strangers. We knew their names and such."
"Now Carswell," Cress said, pretending to scold him. "A stranger by definition is 'a person whom one does not know or with whom one is not familiar'. We weren't exactly very familiar with Pierre and…" she trailed off, unsure of the little girl's name.
"Cassie," Thorne supplied.
"And Cassie," Cress finished.
"I suppose," Thorne mused. "So, list item complete?"
"Yes," Cress said, not trying to keep the note of relief out of her voice.
"Hey, Cress?" Thorne asked.
Cress looked up from her pizza, and swallowed the big mouthful she had just taken forcefully. Which in turn made her choke, slowing her down more than chewing would have.
"Sorry," she said, wincing. "Yes?"
"Thanks for agreeing to do this. I know that it made you nervous, but I'm really glad you're doing it with me. It's more fun than it would have been alone."
Cress felt her cheeks go red. "Umm, it's really not a problem. I've actually had a lot of fun so far. I'm glad I'm doing it with you, too."
Thorne grinned, leaped up, and hugged her, before planting a kiss on her forehead. She blushed a deeper red, and Thorne squeezed her tight to his side, before returning to his seat. "Now, I'm going to finish my pizza," he said, already taking another bite, "Because it is seriously good."
Cress laughed, joining him in devouring the rest of the food.
A/N: So, how was it? Was it worth the wait? Probably not. But feel free to tell me in your review (if you choose to leave one, which would be greatly appreciated)! Also, I have actually been to Giordano's. It's not in Florida, but it did have good pizza, and I had the same struggle with the super tall chairs as Cress. That's also where my aunt told off some guys who were cursing loudly in the bar area, which was pretty awesome. Alrighty, I'll stop rambling. If you'd like, tell me what you think they're going to do for the next list item (trespassing). Until next time, everybody! I will update more regularly! Bye!
Brynn
