Cresswell Shots

Valentine's Day Edition

Today was the holiday of Love, and the weather outside was cold and snow was falling. But her house was warm and cozy.

And she was spending this beautiful holiday all alone, in her house, with nothing to do but watch Netflix. Just like every other day she'd lived since she started high school.

Cress didn't like that she was all by herself, or that today was Valentine's Day and all of her friends had plans. But she couldn't blame them. All of her closest friends had dates and plans for this holiday, and if she could have, she'd been out too.

After watching ten episodes of Doctor Who and six episodes of Psych, Cress jumped at the sound of a knock on her door. Picking up the frying pan she always kept near the couch she was on, she made her way to the door.

Another knock pounded on the door, followed by a masculine voice calling, "Damsel! Don't even think about hitting me with your cast-iron pan!"

"Thorne?" Cress asked. She propped the pan against the door frame and unlocked the door. She threw it open, to see Thorne, standing out in the freezing cold, holding a rose out to her.

He made a silly bow and held the flower out to her. "For you, Damsel. Happy Valentine's Day!"

This only made Cress cringe and slightly blush. "Darla is going to kill you if she finds out you gave me a rose." None the less, she plucked the rose from his hand and carefully avoided touching any thorns. Yet, to her surprise, there wasn't a single Thorne on the stem.

"She won't care," he assured. "After all, she kind of broke up with me," he then mumbled.

"What? Why would she do that?"

He laughed off a little steam for a moment, though Cress knew it was only to feign a joking attitude. "She thought I was spending too much time with you. But that's ridiculous!"

"Thorne, you come over almost every other day. My parents used to think you were my boyfriend, and called you clingy." The last part, even though it was more embarrassing than she liked, was true. For a time, her dad thought she and Thorne were dating, and told her that he was the weirdest teenage boy he'd ever met. It took more than a few hours to explain that Thorne was just a friend, and that they weren't together.

"Oh please. She was just being jealous for no reason. I spent plenty of time with her," he lied.

"You brought her here for a movie night as a day," Cress argued. The more she talked about it, them more Cress tried to hide herself and blushed.

For years, she'd secretly had a crush the size of Jupiter on Thorne, and never told anyone. It made her almost upset when he brought his dates to her house, asking to hang out. Then having to put up with all of the annoying girls he dragged with him. She thanked the stars that her parents were never home on those days.

Eager to change the subject, she looked back to the rose in her hands. "Where are all of the thorns?"

"Well," he said, pulling on his classically smug grin. "There's one right here."

Cress let out a small hiccup of a laugh, and tried to cover her face with her short hair. "I mean, why did you clip them off?"

Without invitation, Thorne stepped passed her and into the house, as always. It was almost second nature to them now. He always came to her house and strut around like he owned the place. Part of it was funny, that he felt so close to her and her family that he could just come in like he was home. Another part of her thought is was a bit childish.

Thorne plopped himself down on the couch where she'd been sitting before. "Binge watching Netflix on Valentine's Day? Tsk tsk, Crescent."

"You're the one who got dumped," she grumbled.

"And where's your war club?" He made a big show of looking for her frying pan, knowing she normally kept it with her when she was home alone. Cress subconsciously took a step to her left to block it from his sight.

He looked at her with suspicious eyes, and leaped of the couch. He practically swerved around her to see behind her, and grinned at the sight of her weapon. Thorne wasted no time in snatching it off the ground and twirling it in his hands.

"I see you still think a thief is going to break into your house," he chuckled.

Cress crossed her arms and turned away from him. The redness of her cheeks was only growing as he continued to make her feel this way. She felt guilty about it, but she wished he could be trying to make it up to Darla right now.

"Come on, Damsel. Lighten up!" He left the pan on the floor and came up from behind her. He grabbed her by her waist and lifted her off the ground.

"Thorne!" she screamed. "Put me down!" She fought him to make him release her. Cress could feel the heat rushing to her head, nearly blurring her vision.

Her pathetic struggles only made him laugh harder. When he finally relented and placed her back on the ground, she scurried away from him and huddled in a ball on the couch.

For a moment, both of them were silent. Thorne holding his tongue in confusion, while Cress struggled to hold back tears.

He couldn't see that she loved him, and it hurt her so much. He just thought of them as friends, and she had to repeat to herself that they were just that, and they would never be anything more.

"Geez, Cress. I'm so sorry. I forgot you hate that." He came to the couch and sat beside her. In on movement, he draped his arm around her and pulled her into his chest. He felt so warm to her, even if he'd just been out in the cold.

"It's okay," Cress sniffled. "I know you didn't mean to make me feel bad."

He sighed, and looked down at her crushed frame. "i guess this ruins my plans of asking you to a Valentine's Day dinner."

Her heart stalled for a minute. "W-what?"

For the first time in his life, Thorne looked uneasy, maybe even nervous. "Okay, I may have lied when I told you Darla broke up with me." He ran his hand through his hair and turned his gaze to the floor. "I broke up with her, because I realized I was with the wrong girl."

Cress gulped. It was hard to tell exactly what he was saying, but she thought she was almost understanding what he meant.

"I know I've been a crap friend to you and have made you be around the girls I was with in the past, and that I'm an idiot most of the time. But now, I want to make a right choice."

He left the couch and walked to the place where Cress had accidentally dropped the rose he gave her. With careful fingers, he picked up the rose and brought it back to her. On one knee, he began, "Would you be my date to a romantic dinner tonight, Crescent. I would absolutely love it if you joined me, and maybe came with me on a few dates in the future."

Cress's heart was set aflutter as he waited for her answer. He wasn't treating her like a little girl, but asking her out. And not even to be his rebound girl. Thorne broke up with Darla, to be with her. It was just like a dream come true.

Pinching the stem of the flower between her fingers, she took the rose from him again and said, "I'd love to, Captain."

...............

And that's the story of how my husband finally realized that he loved me from the moment we met. Even if it took him a few years to get there. -Cress

Cress! -Thorne