"It's literally freezing in this aisle," Thorne complained. "It's just milk, honestly Cress." She was taking an awfully long time deciding between three different brands.

"There are just so many," she sighed happily.

Thorne reached into the freezer. "Take this one. It's organic, fair-trade, non-GMO, and all that jazz. Plus, it's 2% so you can't make the case that it has too much fat, nor too little fat replaced by too much sugar."

She stared at him in bewilderment.

"What?" he said, shoving the milk into her cart and urging her along to the next aisle. "I've watched a lot of food documentaries."

Thorne hadn't realized that when he'd offered to swing by Rikan Corp to pick her up, he'd offered to take her grocery shopping as well. Cress had insisted that the short notice she'd received from him about dinner didn't allow her enough time to adequately plan out a meal, so he'd caved against his better judgment. He certainly hadn't expected to end up in the grocery store for almost an hour. Cress had been transfixed by the international food aisle that this particular store had, and they'd gotten stuck there for far too long. The whole thing felt way too domestic for his comfort zone.

When they arrived at her place, Thorne was surprised to see that she had a townhouse all to herself. For some reason, he'd expected a small apartment with at least a roommate or two. The driveway even merged with a little path that led to a decently-sized backyard. The most impressive part of the townhouse, though, was that giant window panes were installed where one would normally have walls. Once inside, he stared at the frozen-over creek in her backyard, feeling as though he could walk right through the air to reach it. Most of the snow from the storm had melted by now, but a light dusting still remained.

"No curtains?" he asked.

"I have curtains in my bedroom, but that's it."

"But you have no privacy in the rest of the house from your neighbors."

She shrugged. "Claustrophobia, remember?"

He did remember. It was hard to forget their time trapped in the elevator and all of her crying. Still, he did think it a bit odd that someone would go out of their way so much just to avoid smaller spaces. Then again, he obviously hadn't bothered to research the topic, so he let it go.

"So...what are you making?"

Cress placed two of her bags in front of the fridge and bent down to pick out what she needed. "Chicken French. Well, a variation of it."

Thorne's mouth watered. "Excellent choice. How much sherry do you use in your version?"

She stopped unpacking the grocery bags. "Wait, you can cook?"

"Of course I can cook," he bragged. "Is there anything more attractive than a man who knows how to cook? If there is, tell me, because I need that information."

Cress seemed to be thinking it over. "I'm not really sure," she said. "I've never really thought about it."

"It was sort of a rhetorical question." Thorne studied her for a moment and then decided to lean against the small island in the middle of her kitchen. It was granite. Another detail he hadn't been expecting. "Anyway, I'm nowhere near as good as Scarlet—she's one of my friends—but I know enough dishes to impress the ladies."

"Interesting," she said, though she didn't look that interested at all, really, and went back to unloading the groceries. "I kind of thought you'd have servants to cook for you."

"Uhh, servants? No, absolutely not."

"But you're friends with Kai," she continued. "I figured you'd be really rich too."

"Ah, you're after my money."

Cress looked flustered. "No!"

"I was just kidding, Cress. I grew up wealthy like Kai—maybe not as wealthy—but I choose to live more modestly now. I can tell you more about that some other time."

"Okay," she replied. "Well since you know how to cook then, we can put you to work. Why don't you start by making the egg and breadcrumb mixture?"

Dinner went rather smoothly. Besides being a good cook, Cress was shaping up to be a lot more stable than he'd perceived her to be in the elevator. She remained a bit reserved, yet had enough to say to keep his interest. It was obvious that she was shy around him, but with a little encouragement she seemed to come out of her shell just a bit. Cress laughed at his jokes, which was a definite plus. She had a warm, youthful, and almost naïve disposition that was kind of refreshing. She wasn't particularly flirty though, which was different from what he'd expected.

Then again, he hadn't really known what to expect when he'd accepted her invitation to come over. Besides, of course, that she was attracted to him. Naturally. Still, he continued having difficulty reading her, despite that the fact that he was no longer blinded by the darkness in the elevator. Thorne wasn't as convinced after dinner that she was as into him as he'd imagined. Not that he needed her to be. But he'd rather enjoyed kissing her at the Masquerade, and he wouldn't mind a Round Two, particularly if it didn't involve her passing out halfway through. So when Cress asked if he'd like to stay and watch a movie, he was more than happy to say yes. In his experience, "watching a movie" was code for making out on the couch.

"I think we should watch Tangled, so you can see why I like Rapunzel."

Interesting. Maybe this was her thing. Maybe she just needed a little bit of that fairy tale to get her going.

"Sure," he replied.

"You don't mind? I know we already talked about Disney and all that, but it really is a good movie. My favorite."

"How bad can it be?" he asked.

She brightened. "Great! The movie is under the DVD player, so if you don't mind setting it up, I'll make the popcorn!"

Popcorn? Were they really gonna do this? Or did she just want to seem less desperate? Whatever. He would just go with it.

Cress was so into it. Unbelievably into it.

The movie, that is.

She was captivated by every word, acting as though she'd memorized it. She even sang along to some of the songs. It was ridiculous. Okay, it was a little cute too, but definitely still ridiculous. He couldn't believe she was falling for this nonsense. Thorne watched as Flynn Rider gave up the stolen crown so he could be with Rapunzel.

"Ugh," he groaned, "he's so weak!"

Cress didn't take her eyes off the screen. "It's so romantic," she breathed.

"He had so much game and gave it up. For what?"

"For love," she said.

Thorne snorted. "Love? Please. They've known each other for what? A day? And look at this poor shmuck, he's been duped by that little Blondie into thinking that this is the life he wants."

Cress didn't respond. Thorne chewed on his popcorn as more so-called heartbreak and singing unfolded in front of him.

"Besides, who would want to live in a palace?" He shuddered. "And tied down like that?"

She paused the film and looked at him as though he'd murdered a puppy. "Are you joking? Who would turn down all those riches?"

"Cress, wealth isn't everything. Some wealth, good. A lot of wealth, bad. Just look at Kai. No, wait," he amended, "actually, don't. I probably shouldn't talk about him 'cause he's your boss." That slope could get slippery really quickly. Kai didn't need other people knowing about his drama.

"What exactly do you do for a living then, so you don't have to worry about money?"

"I'm in the stock market business." Thorne tossed a piece of popcorn in the air and caught it in his mouth.

"You work for a trading company?"

"I work for myself."

"You're a consultant."

"No."

"So you don't have a job, is what you're saying."

"Who needs a job if you can make money without actually working?"

Cress turned around in the couch and pulled her legs up so her whole body faced him. Then she leaned in as if she could better understand him if she were closer.

"Yes...?" he asked.

"I don't get it."

"I invest and I take a lot of risks. Calculated risks, of course, but I've studied the market since I was in high school and I daresay I've figured out quite a few tricks. My risks usually pay off. I'm quite talented."

"I always thought the stock market was a bit like gambling."

"You're not far off," said Thorne, impressed by her observation. "I was really into gambling when I was younger, mostly in college. I love the thrill of it but it comes with a world of trouble. Not that I don't still enjoy the occasional trip to Vegas now and then, but I like to think of what I do now as...positive gambling."

She tensed. "Is it legal?"

He threw a piece of popcorn at her. "Yes. I'm not in college anymore, Cress. I definitely dabbled in a lot of illegal stuff back then, but I've moved on from that. Turned my life around and blah blah blah. You can't stay on that path forever."

He winked at her, and she seemed to relax a bit. "Good. I can't be hanging out with people who are involved with illegal things."

Thorne eyed her suspiciously for a moment. Kai had said she had a shady past. Surely he didn't mean that she had a criminal past, did he? Nah. There was no way Kai would hire someone like that. Someone like him. But Thorne didn't dare broach that subject with Cress. She probably just wanted to make sure he wasn't dangerous.

"Come on," he said, scooting closer to her. "We really need to finish this movie. I think Flynn Rider's going to have a heart attack if he doesn't make sweet, passionate love to Rapunzel sometime soon."

Cress rolled her eyes, but then turned excitedly back to the TV. Thorne rested his head back into the couch, a smirk playing on the corners of his lips.