Chapter Text
"And here's the living room, where I hope we'll have fondue tonight..."
Cress tuned out Kai's long speech detailing every part of his parents' lavish cabin. She didn't mean to ignore him, but she was much too enamoured with the beauty and detail of every room to really listen to what he said. Every wall was made of wood and the floors were made of rich mahogany, over which rested lush rugs of varying shades of brown. The living room in particular gave off an air of unmatched comfort; skis and pictures of the mountains decorated the walls, while a fire gently burned in the stone fireplace.
"Is there a hot tub here?" Thorne asked, with his hands in his pockets. His hair was still slightly wet from the snow outside; he stubbornly refused to wear a toque. It was all the better, Cress mused. She loved seeing his tousled hair.
Kai turned to Thorne with a smirk. "No, we don't have a hot tub in a cabin in the middle of the snow." He rolled his eyes. "It's out back."
"Ahhh, that's one thing off my shoulders," Thorne sighed, stretching out his arms. "I'll need something to soothe all this." He gestured to himself.
"How charming." Cinder brushed past him with her bags in tow. "Could you maybe be a bit more useful and help me get the bags in?"
"I'll take some," Cress piped up, and Cinder smiled.
"Oh, thank you." She held out a pink duffle bag. "Could you bring this to Winter?"
"Sure," said Cress, draping the handle over her shoulder.
Winter was already tucked away in her room, since she and Jacin had arrived at the cabin with Kai a few days before the rest of the group to make sure everything was spic and span. It was only after they'd made the long drive that Winter sheepishly admitted that she'd left her ski stuff back at home. Cinder promised that they'd just bring it with them. The bag was a bit heavy, but she plastered on a smile and trudged her way to Winter's room down the hallway. She and Scarlet were sharing it, while the rest of the girls would be staying in the room next door. As much as she loved her, Cress wouldn't be the first to admit that she slightly dreaded Iko's messy tendencies, if her excessive luggage said anything. Perhaps it would be fun, though. Perhaps she, Cinder and Iko would spend hours doing each other's hair and talking about anything and everything. The two had known everyone else in the group much longer than Cress did...maybe she would learn something new about Thorne.
She quickly brushed away the thought and walked through the door. Scarlet was sitting cross-legged on the bed, barking into her phone. As Cress put Winter's bag next to the pile of others, she couldn't help but eavesdrop on Scar's conversation. She had left her pet husky under the care of Wolf's younger brother for the duration of their trip, and apparently things were already going wrong. She knew it wasn't really something to laugh at, but Cress had always thought that Scarlet's anger was more cute than anything. She wouldn't have dared say it aloud.
"Oh, thank you, Cress." Winter came out of the bathroom, tying her curly hair into a bun. "You can just leave that there. Is Jacin outside?"
Cress nodded.
Winter smiled graciously. "Still bringing in firewood?"
"He's like a lumberjack."
"Tell him to come inside. We have plenty of wood," she laughed. "If you don't mind."
Cress smiled and went off to do as she was told. Winter wasn't at all rude, and she was doing it by choice, but she couldn't help but feel like she was back with Sybil in the large, lonely house, being forced to do chores. By then, everyone had retired to their respective rooms to unpack and relax. The front entrance was littered with boots and coats; Cress made a little game of skipping around to avoid them all. She opened the door and poked her head out into the cold. The weather had only grown more abominable in the past hour, and the snow fell in torrents.
"Jacin!"
It took a moment for him to appear out of the blizzard. There he stood, with a scowl and an armful of freshly chopped wood.
Cress gulped. "Winter wants you to come inside. She says that there's already plenty of firewood."
Jacin loosened up a little, just a little, and came up the steps to the front door. Cress was quick to move out of his way and held the door open as he breezed into the warm cabin. Left behind, Cress slowly closed the door as she watched his retreating back.
"Thanks," he threw over his shoulder. She shrugged it off. Jacin was cold to nearly everyone; if he wasn't with Winter, Cress doubted that he would've even been part of their group. Humming, she went to the kitchen in search of something to eat, and of course, as luck would have it, was met with Thorne making himself a sandwich.
She stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart hammering, Cress tried to evade him and slip away to the safety of the bathroom. But Thorne noticed her and all attempts of escape were forgotten as he smiled. His suave grin was enough to make Cress' cheeks burn. He lifted up his sandwich. "Want one?"
"Sure," she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. She hoped that she didn't look as flustered as she felt.
It impressed her, how quickly Thorne was able to whip up a second sandwich. Within a minute she found herself sitting at the marble counter with a mouthful of ham, cheese and bread.
"I know we had something to eat back at the coffee place, but I just couldn't help it." Thorne swallowed the last bite of his own sandwich. "You won't tell, will you? People might start noticing my gluttonous habits."
Cress managed to hold down a laugh, and instead shook her head. It was all she could do, with her heart hammering in her chest. "Of course not. We couldn't have anyone saying that about you."
The dull thud of approaching footsteps made Cress' next words catch in her throat. "Guys! Did you see the spas they have in this place?!"
Cress turned her head to see Iko running down in her socks, holding an informative brochure in her hand. She silently cursed her interruption. It was the first conversation that she had ever had alone with Thorne, and Iko had to ruin it...
"Does one do deep tissue massages?" Thorne put his plate away in the dishwasher. "My shoulders hurt like hell and I want to be in tip-top shape for tomorrow."
Iko laughed. "In perfect shape for rolling down the hill. On your butt."
"Don't be so mean," he pouted. "It's rude to mock beginners."
Cress stood to attention at once. Beginner? Thorne has never skied in his life, then. It came as a surprise to her; she expected someone who traveled so much to have have done everything there is to do in the world. "Will you be taking lessons?"
"Yeah. Much to my dismay, I'll be doing the green runs with whoever Kai hooked me up with—some Annotel or whatnot..."
The name made Cress perk up even more. They would have the same ski instructor, then. It took all of her willpower to prevent herself from swooning. Lessons with Thorne, whole mornings with just the two of them...well, with the instructor, too, but that didn't matter. It was like a dream come true. "I'm also taking lessons with Mr. Annotel," she sighed. "I'll keep you company."
He came to stand next to her. "Oh, really? Well, I guess that gets rid of one of my fears—I won't have to be alone with some stuffy old man."
Cress giggled and slipped off the stool. "Yeah, me too."
Iko put an arm around Cress' shoulders. "Oh, look at you two! Tumbling down the mountain together. It's love at first sight."
Cress flushed and forced down her anxiety and embarrassment. If she seemed uneasy, Thorne didn't notice. "Please. Just you watch; I'll be there to help the pretty damsel if she falls."
Cress blushed even more at the word 'pretty'.
"She'll be helping you get unstuck from some tree," Iko teased.
Throne crossed his arms over his chest. "You're wrong. Plain and simple. By the end of the week, I'll be a professional; maybe next year, I'll compete in the Olympics. Ski jumping sounds pretty simple."
Iko rolled her eyes and instead of retorting sarcastically, she blew a kiss in his direction. Thorne batted a hand and put the other on his hip. "Please," he said, sticking his nose in the air. "We'll show her tomorrow, won't we, Damsel?
Cress nodded, hoping to distract herself with a cold soda from the fridge. She sipped it as daintily as she was able. "She challenged the wrong pair," she said, forcing as much confidence and spunk in her voice as Iko.
Thorne began to walk away, much to her dismay, and he gave her what seemed like a salute. "If you'll excuse me, Damsel, I need to go see if I can get that massage. Are you still on for skating later?"
"Of course. And thank you for the sandwich."
Thorne's smile didn't fade as e disappeared around the corner. "Don't mention it."
Cress made her way to the couch and sank down onto the luxurious cushions, her knees weak. Lessons with Carswell Thorne. She could get closer to him than ever before, and maybe, just maybe, they could become the kind of friends that did everything together. She knew better than to hope that he would reciprocate her feelings; he could do so much better than a shy wallflower.
But, despite her reservations, she couldn't help but linger on how he had called her pretty.