Jess sat huddled in the dark living room slurping ice cream, sipping wine, and watching Dirty Dancing for the millionth time. Schmidt and Wilson were out and Nick had been tunneled in his room doing weird stuff on his computer for hours. Nick rolled his eyes as he emerged from his cave. Jess stared straight ahead and ignored Nick's exasperated sighs. Nick slammed the cupboard closed as his angst filled the room. "God Nick what's your problem?" Jess finally snapped. Instead of answering, Nick threw a turtle-faced look towards the television. "What?" Jess squeaked, daring him to criticize the film with her eyes.
"Nothing Jess" Nick quickly grabbed a beer and headed towards his door. Jess intercepted him in the entryway.
"Would watching something else cure your funk?" Jess rumpled her face into a frown. Nick stopped, taken aback by her kindness. "Your pick" she said, nudging him.
His eyes glimmered and a slight smile played at his cheeks when he thought of a great suggestion. "Anything scary" Nick said with a menacing air. He took a swig of his beer and went to retrieve a DVD. He chose Paranormal Activity knowing how jumpy Jess got watching horror films.
"No, no, no" Jess said shaking her head. "Please Nick! You know how I get!" Jess begged with her eyes and moved closer to his face. Last time the gang had watched a scary movie Nick had found Jess sleeping on the living room couch and she jumped when he walked through the room, letting out a small yelp, only to fall back asleep. In the morning, she didn't remember and he'd been nice enough not to mention it but the memory still occasionally played in his mind.
"Jess, you said you wanted to cheer me up, freaking you out will cheer me up" he teased.
"Haha, very funny" Jess said. "I'm not scared, I just prefer-"
"What? Something you've seen a thousand times" griped Nick. Jess rolled her eyes and plopped down on the couch. She had to prove him wrong. Jess downed a glass of wine for courage and got comfortable as Nick set up the DVD.
Jess and Nick sat down, not touching, not even able to look at each other. "This isn't scary," Jess guffawed after the first fifteen minutes of the film. "It's just a bunch of time lapse video."
Nick threw her a grin across the couch. "Just you wait" With that, something jumped in the film and Jess jumped. Nick's heart skipped a beat, but not because of the movie. Jess scooted next to him, her bare knee brushed against his thigh and her breast brushed against his arm. Nick chuckled nervously "See, told you you're scared"
"I'm not scared Miller, I'm just getting comfortable." Jess shook her body and rested back against his arm. Jess reached across Nick's lap to take a sip of wine and he caught a whiff of her hair, mango apricot shampoo. He knew he'd be kicking himself later for this self-induced frustration. The music got louder in the film and Jess began to wriggle, shifting herself closer and closer to Nick. Nick tried to suppress a grin but burst out laughing as Jess screamed loudly and threw herself into his arms.
"Ready to turn it off yet?" Nick asked, he smiled because he wanted to win but deep down something pulled his body towards hers and he didn't want the connection to break. Jess looked up into his eyes. Their faces hung close together, intimate in the blue tv glow.
Jess squinted her eyes in his face "No chance." Jess picked up her bowl of ice cream and tried to focus on her little slurps instead of the movie and the heat searing her from Nick's body. She enjoyed the strength of his arm as he easily slipped it around her shoulder. She thought she felt him pulling her closer by degrees, but maybe it was her, slipping further into his grasp. The ice cream was cooling her off until a demon attack began on the screen. Jess was so startled that her spoon, dripping with ice cream flew into the air and onto Nick's crotch. This time it was Nick's turn to yelp. Jess hid her face and somehow ended up face down in the ice cream on Nick's thigh. "I'm sorry Nick," Jess said as Nick pushed her away. He grabbed the nearest thing, one of Schmidt's many fancy handkerchiefs, and used it to wipe up the ice cream without moving, Jess smiled as he began to wipe the ice cream off her forehead.
A little ice cream remained by her lips. "Don't apologize," Nick's voice crackled. He wavered by her face, inches from her lips. "I won, you were scared."
Jess scoffed and went to turn away. "Shut up Mill-" Her voice was stopped by his lips, softly planted on hers. She pulled away startled for a moment. "And for the record I wasn't scared," she paused. "of the movie" Jess stared up into Nick's eyes, so honest and warm for the moment. She was drawn to their vulnerable quality and the softness of his kiss. She pressed herself against him and kissed him back harder, more vigorously and he reciprocated, hands clasping her tightly to his chest. They lost all sense of time and kissed as the final demon murder and the credits rolled across the screen. They kissed until the DVD returned to the menu, letting out a repetitive pattern of ominous music and video noises. As Nick began to undress, the keys to the loft entrance jiggled in the lock. Jess and Nick shot apart instantly. When the light turned on and Schmidt and Cece appeared, Nick was struggling to put his shirt on inside out and Jess' hair tossed out in every direction.
Schmidt dragged Cece through the loft. "I'm going to have words for you two in the morning." He gave the couple a knowing grin that could only be described as unsettling. When Schmidt and Cece were gone, Jess and Nick let out a sigh. Jess gathered her bowl of melted ice cream and empty wine glass and put it in the kitchen.
"Well good night" Jess said, hustling towards her bedroom. Nick shrugged and slumped back to his own room. Just another in an ever-expanding list of confusing encounters with Jess that had been building up for months. Nick lay in bed staring straight at the ceiling. What was Jess scared of? He wondered.
A small knock interrupted his thoughts and he slipped to the door. His heart leapt into his throat when he saw Jess, her pajama top lilting off her shoulder, looking scared with wide eyes behind her glasses. "I was just wondering," Jess asked. "Could I sleep in here tonight? Just sleep," she emphasized with a soft innocent look that made Nick wish she wanted much more. Nick gave Jess a sultry, quiet look and nodded. He pulled her into the room and tucked her into his bed. He slipped off his sweatpants. When Jess felt his bare legs she groaned. "Really Miller!" She put on her Judy Garland voice and joked "You better not be getting frisky with me."
Nick laughed, "I'm just trying to get comfortable" he mentally punished himself for taking the risk. However, Jess quickly scooted back towards him in the bed. His heart still hadn't left his throat. He swallowed to steady himself and quietly asked "If you weren't afraid of the movie, what were you afraid of?" His breath on her neck made her gasp. Jess blinked her eyes like she'd been struck in the face. She shook her head and bulged her eyes, emphasizing her point "you." Nick held Jess tighter. He'd felt the same way too, more terrified at the prospect of watching the movie with her than the movie itself. "I'm glad you're here," He whispered. "I'm scared too."