After a restless night filled with more than his fair share of reoccurring worried thoughts, Kai woke up to the sun peering through the blinds. Rubbing his eyes, he glanced at his cell. 6:30 A.M. Ugh. He looked over at Thorne, who was snoring loudly, and willed himself to fall back asleep. After several minutes that dragged on like hours, he resigned himself to getting up at the same time that he always did. Like clockwork. Stupid body.

Pulling back the covers, he realized he was shivering, and remembered that he had left his hoodie downstairs with the girls. Well, at least they wouldn't be cold. His instinct was to go for his daily morning run, but considering the snow fall last night, he couldn't quite muster up the enthusiasm. Besides, he didn't have the right clothes with him, and the less time he had to spend in Thorne's massive closet, the better. He opened the door hesitantly, and Thorne's wall-to-wall mirrors stared back. While Kai always thought he looked presentable and well-dressed in his clothes, Thorne always looked like he'd stepped out of the latest fashion magazine. He was way too stylish for Kai's taste, but he knew that both Thorne and the general female population would highly disagree. After rummaging through a few drawers, he managed to find a sweater that fit him decently enough.

When he got downstairs, he couldn't help pausing in the living room to see how the girls were doing. He saw a bundled figure in his hoodie, and he smiled, happy that he'd made the right choice. But as he looked closer, he realized it was actually Iko, not Cinder, who was wearing his hoodie. This made him laugh a little to himself; not at all what he'd intended, but at least it was getting put to good use. Although, on second thought, he made a mental note to make sure Iko didn't think it meant that he was into her too.

"You're up early," someone whispered behind him. He turned and saw Cinder standing behind him. She had a blanket wrapped around her and a mug in her hands. "I made some coffee, want some?" She pointed in the direction of the kitchen and Kai followed her silently.

He slid into one of the bar stools as Cinder passed him a coffee. "Thanks."

"Couldn't sleep?"

"I don't really sleep that well in general. I'm used to getting up really early for work. Ah!" he exclaimed, a thought occurring to him. He pulled out his phone and dialed his secretary. "This is Kai…yes, good morning to you too. How does it look down there? That's what I thought. If anyone asks, I'll be taking the day off. You should do the same…I understand…thank you…bye."

"Sorry," he said, putting his phone back in his pocket. "Duty calls. What are you doing up so early?"

She shrugged. "I'm used to getting up early too. Guess we have something in common. Although, I don't think my employer will be as understanding as yours. Or as you, if you're the employer—whatever you are," she mumbled. "I really do have to get going soon."

"It's a snow day. My secretary said traffic is moving like a snail. I'm sure they would understand."

"I don't think so."

"What about if Thorne gives them a call? Considering that you're working on his car, and he's one of their top clients, I bet he could convince them otherwise."

She shook her head, but sat down across from him anyway and took a sip from her coffee, looking thoughtful. "About that…" she trailed off.

"What?"

"Listen, I know you don't really know me at all but I was sort of wondering if you'd be able to be honest with me about something."

"I can try."

"Is Thorne really as much trouble as Scarlet said? I mean I know you probably have loyalty to your best friend, but—"

"He is my oldest friend," said Kai, smiling at her. "And yeah, I am pretty loyal to him. But something you should know about Thorne is that he doesn't try to hide who he is. He's one of those 'take it or leave it' kind of guys. He likes who he is and, frankly, he thinks women should appreciate him for who he is."

"That sounds kind of arrogant," she said, her brow furrowing.

"Well, Thorne definitely has a lot of that. He would probably just call it "confidence" instead. It depends on how you look at it. But to answer your question, I'd say that he can get himself into trouble sometimes, but he's a pretty good guy overall."

"Not a player, then? He gives off a bit of a player vibe," she said quietly, averting her gaze.

Kai laughed. She was as astute as he had thought. How could he accurately describe Thorne without making him sound bad? "Not really. He doesn't just go out with anyone, and I don't think he purposely hurts anyone either. But his personality is, well, one of a kind, I guess, and a lot of girls are attracted to that sort of thing. He has a hard time staying in long-term relationships, but I don't think he's necessarily afraid of commitment. He just…has fun. Maybe he just hasn't found the right person yet."

She looked down at her mug, and he instantly felt bad. Also like he'd botched up his explanation. "But hey—maybe that right person is you!"

She looked doubtful. "Honestly, I don't think we would work out that well."

"Hopefully not because of what I said."

"No, even when I met him yesterday, I wasn't really sure about it. I mean, honestly, I think he seems nice and I kind of enjoy joking around with him, but…he's not really my type, I think."

"Well, if I'm honest, I don't think you're really Thorne's type either. Though," he amended quickly, "Thorne does seem to be quite interested in you."

"Why don't you think I'm his type?"

"It's just that you're not what I expected. I've known Thorne for a long time, and he tends to go for a certain type of girl." The supermodel kind, he added in his mind.

"Oh," she said, and her face fell a bit. "Sorry if I don't—I mean—I don't—"

"Oh!" blurted Kai, feeling stupid. "No, no, that's not what I meant at all. You're—I mean—I was just telling Thorne last night that I was glad he picked you."

"You were?"

"Yeah, I think you're a…healthy departure…from the usual type of girl he dates." Actually, Cinder was more like the type of girl Kai would date. He was surprised by the realization, and buried it away.

Thorne came down a while later and grinned when he saw Cinder sitting with Kai. "Hey gorgeous," he said, sliding in next to her. She looked shy again and smiled.

"You sleep okay?"

"Yeah, thanks again for having us."

"Of course. I'm glad to see that you're getting along with Kai. He needs more normal human interaction in his life." He swiveled to smile mischievously at Kai.

"And I've been thinking, you and Iko can come hang out with us any time. You make a great addition to our group. But as friends, I mean. I know I'm pretty irresistible, and I think you're great, but I think we'd be better off as friends."

Kai stared at him. Was this how he normally broke it off with a girl? He sounded like a moron. He half-expected Cinder to cry. But she just rolled her eyes. "You're not really that irresistible, you know."

"Speak for yourself. No hard feelings, though?"

"None. I feel the same way."

Thorne looked relieved. "Well that's great, then."

"I think it would be nice to hang out again sometime," said Cinder. "I work a lot so I don't have that much time off, but I don't really know that many people around here. I guess I could use more 'normal human interaction' in my life as well." She smiled at Kai. He felt that same little emotion he had felt last night stir in him again.

"So do you need a ride home? Kai can give you a ride, I bet."

"Actually, I texted Torin that I'm going to take the subway. But you're welcome to join me."

"I can go by myself, it's not a problem."

"No, we're all gentlemen here," said Thorne. "Don't want you walking alone. It's a big, bad city, darling."

She bit her lip. "I'm actually extremely late. Lost track of time."

"Well do you want some cab money, then?" Kai offered, wondering if she was trying to avoid him.

"Oh—no, thank you, the subway's fine." She suddenly looked very worried.

"Hey, what about Iko?" asked Thorne, looking around.

"She's still sleeping. She hates getting up early."

"A woman after my own heart," he joked. "Well, how about this then? Kai, you accompany Cinder, and I'll make sure Kesley and Scarlet get her home safe."

"Maybe it's not a good idea to leave Iko here by herself," said Kai.

Cinder shook her head. "Oh, believe me, Iko will be thrilled to wake up and find herself with Thorne."

"Really?" said Thorne, puffing up a bit. "And here I thought she had a thing for Kai."

"Iko has a thing for…attractive men. Period."

"So you do think I'm attractive then?" said Thorne, while Kai rolled his eyes. He felt relieved when Cinder did the same thing.

"Since we're friends now, I guess…yeah, maybe, but only when you're not being so cocky."

He beamed at her. "I think we're going to be great friends, Cinder."

The walk to the subway was longer than he anticipated—and much, much colder. Cinder didn't look bothered by either the walk or the cold, though.

"Who's Torin?"

"Oh, he's my father's private driver."

Cinder gawked. "You have a private driver?! Wow…"

Kai felt slightly ashamed. "I try not to use him much, but I got pickpocketed on Saturday night and I have to get to the DMV to get a new license. Actually, I should probably do that today."

"Where'd you get pickpocketed?"

"Believe it or not, I was at my birthday party. It was at the Villa, and I guess it must have happened in the elevator or in the lobby."

"That stinks. But happy birthday!" She gave him a thumbs up before sticking her hands back in her coat pockets.

"Thanks." The same complacency he had yesterday ran over him when he thought about his party again.

"And the Villa…huh. Probably a pretty fancy party, then?"

"The fanciest. Black tie."

"You go to those kinds of parties a lot?"

"Unfortunately."

"Oh, you don't like them?"

"I don't really want to talk about it, if that's okay," he said, wanting to change the topic.

When they got to the subway, Cinder made a big deal about going her own way. It was like she didn't want Kai to know where she lived, let alone what line she would take. He wanted to be a gentleman—just as Thorne had said—and make sure she got home safely, but she wasn't having it.

"Really, I'm fine, I live on the completely opposite side of the city," she said.

"You don't even know where I live."

"Probably near the Villa." True, but…

"I really don't mind."

She held out her hand to him. "Thank you, Kai, for accompanying me this far. I've really got to be going—I insist."

He shook her hand but couldn't shake the feeling that she was trying to get rid of him. Sometimes he wished he could be as smooth as Thorne. Maybe he should have just talked about the stupid party.

"Okay…" he started to say, but she took off ahead of him, and disappeared into the crowds.