Bar stools and polka dots

It was a Saturday morning and Winston was sitting at the counter with a mug of coffee and his laptop. Jess was making breakfast at the stove. Nick walked into the kitchen yawning and waved at Winston.

"Hey man."

"What's up?" Winston lifted his head slightly in a nod and kept his eyes on the screen.

Nick walked over to Jess, gently placing his right hand on her waist and kissing the top of her head. "Morning."

She smiled and flipped the eggs in the pan. "Morning Nick."

Nick walked past her, got a mug out of the cabinet, and filled it with coffee. He turned around and leaned against the counter, yawning again. "What's everyone up to today?"

Winston closed his laptop as Jess put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him. "Thanks Jess." He looked up at Nick as he grabbed a fork. "Going to play basketball with Schmidt after breakfast, wanna come?"

He rubbed his eyes and sat down across from Winston on a stool. "Nah, late night at the bar last night, I'm taking a nap."

Jess placed a plate in front of him and squeezed his arm.

"You didn't need to make breakfast for us, Jess"

Winston took a bite of eggs. "Hey, speak for yourself. She can make breakfast ANYtime."

Jess shrugged and kissed Nick's cheek. "You said you were hungry for eggs."

Nick frowned. "I did?"

"Yeah, last night." Winston raised his eyebrows. Jess looked at Winston and overemphasized her words. "When he got home from work last night, Winston." Jess grabbed her tea from the edge of the counter and leaned over between the guys, taking a sip. "Besides I know it's been awhile since I cooked for you guys."

Nick smiled and his gaze lingered on Jess' eyes. "Thanks Jess."

Winston stuffed a piece of bacon in his mouth and pointed a fork at Nick. "You better keep this up Nick, I'm loving this 'I just want to make Nick happy' crap".

Jess rolled her eyes and stood up. "Well, I'm off."

Nick grabbed her arm. "Wait, you made breakfast and you're not eating?"

She shook her head. "I'm not really hungry, and besides, I need to start grading those essays.". She had decided to teach one more semester of her adult Creative Writing. Ourse over the summer.

Nick frowned. "Jess, it's Saturday, you should take a break."

She shrugged her shoulders and played with the teabag in her mug. "I fell asleep last night and I really just want to get them done." She smiled and started walking to her room, waving her arm as she left. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

Nick watched her leave as Winston stared at Nick. "Damn, you've got it bad."

Nick grimaced and went back to his food. "What?"

Winston laughed and shook his head. "Nothing man. You guys are just too much, that's all."

Nick couldn't help but smile as they finished their breakfast.

Jess had stacks of papers lined up against the pillows on her bed. She was laying on her stomach facing them, and reading a student's essay when she heard a knock at the door. "It's open." She yelled, not looking up from the paper. Nick quietly came through the door carrying his laptop.

"Hey there."

"Hey." She smiled and readjusted her glasses.

"Need some company?"

"Hmmmm." He started to frown when she let out a giggle. "Nick of course you can come in, you don't have to knock!"

He smiled and walked around to the opposite side of the bed. He carefully sat down and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Still grading essays?"

She stretched her arms out in front of her, and then rested her head on her hands. "uh huh. Exciting, right?"

He sat up and leaned his back against the pillows, stretching his legs out and setting up his laptop and headphones. "I won't bother you, I promise. Just thought you might be lonely."

She pushed up and leaned on her elbows, tucking her hair behind her ears. "That's so sweet. I missed you last night, why were you so late?"

He rolled his eyes and started untangling the cord on his headphones. "Stupid drunk idiots got in a fight, I had to wait for the cops to show up and give them a statement."

Jess' eyes got wide. "Nick, why didn't you tell me?! You didn't get hurt, did you?"

He laughed. "No, I stayed BEHIND the bar." She watched him with a smile on her face as he became increasingly irritated with the tangled cord of his headphones. He started yanking it in frustration. "Damn cord, it always does this."

Jess pulled her knees under and sat up, reaching for headphones. "Gimme."

She quickly and delicately untangled the cord and handed it back to Nick. "There." She tilted her head with a smirk on her face.

He shook his head, placed them over his head and laid them on his shoulders. He pursed his lips and tried not to laugh. "Thank you, Day."

She stretched her legs back out and laid down on stomach again, reaching for a piece of paper. "No problem."

Nick watched her as he put his headphones on, as she immersed herself into the assignment she was reading. After a few minutes, she combined all the piles on her pillow and silently slid up the bed. She pressed her back against Nick's body and rested her head against the pillow, the essay still in her hand. Nick smiled and pulled his left arm up, just enough so his hand could play with her hair. He loved spending time with her like this. Even if they weren't talking or doing anything exciting, he just wanted to be able to relax with her and enjoy her company. Over the past few weeks, these were the moments that he looked forward to the most, as strange as that was sounding to even himself.

A few more minutes passed until Jess was finished with the essay and leaned over to place the pile of papers onto the nightstand. She rolled over and hugged Nick's arm. He laughed as he took off the headphones and closed his laptop. He gently reached out and took her glasses off, and placed everything in his hands on his nightstand. He rolled over on his side to face her, her eyes now closed.

Nick placed his left hand between his head and the pillow and gently stroked her cheek with the other. She smiled and sleepily opened her eyes. "Wanna take a nap with me?"

He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to him. "hmmm, that sounds like a plan. Do you want a blanket?"

She whispered, already starting to doze off. "I'm good. Just hold me." She nuzzled her head into his neck as he pulled her even closer and they fell asleep.