Jess stood with her back to the slightly adjacent loft door and smiled at Nick. Some girl, in the woods, on a towel. That made a lot more sense. Certainly more than some 'hired gun' like poor Winston. Though she knew she had no right, Jess was… relieved about that. She stood and looked at him, wondering how and when and in what world Nick Miller had invested in a pink shirt. She was jolted out of the moment by the chirping of her cell phone. She fished the phone from her purse, knowing exactly what the ill-timed interruption was about.
"I have to go meet Teddy," she murmured as she slipped her phone back in her purse. "I should go."
But… that wasn't exactly true, was it? Sure, she was curious as to why Teddy had wanted to meet for a drink out of the blue, but the outcome of her evening wasn't in any real question. Even if Teddy had 'nonsense' on his mind, she certainly didn't. Not with the… whatever it was… she had going on with Nick. For a moment, she felt guilty. She hadn't exactly been misleading Nick, per se. But judging by his awkwardness all evening, she had a pretty good idea he thought Teddy had ulterior motives. And, more importantly, he might've gotten the impression Jess was open those motives. She admitted to herself then that she hadn't exactly been in any hurry to set him straight on the matter. It was in that moment of guilt, magnified by her exhaustion with the entire situation, that Jess decided to cast one final line to see if Nick bit. She adjusted the purse on her shoulder, steadied herself, and looked her roommate in the eye.
"What do you think?" she asked, just loud enough for him to hear.
Nick just stood and stared. She wasn't surprised. And really, she should've known better. After their disastrous 'first date' devolved into her all but pleading with him to tell her how he felt, she should've known to expect no less from Nick Miller. Or rather, no more. She looked down and took a breath to gather herself. She reached up to adjust her glasses before leaving, and despite every part of her trying not to, she looked at him once again. Just to see if maybe, maybe he was giving her something back. And, of course, he was not. She quickly turned through the door before her watering eyes could give her away. No way she was giving him that, she thought as she shut the door behind her.
She trudged toward the elevator and told herself 'never again'. Again. She thought she'd learned her lesson on that embarrassing night at the haunted house. The night she opened up to Sam and told him what she wanted only to have him reject her, leaving her bruised, both literally and figuratively, covered in Halloween makeup, feeling every bit the clown. He was kind about it, of course, but it had crushed her all the same. Looking back, she wasn't sure if she had ever gotten past that with Sam. That she would've ever been able to fully open herself up to him again. And now she wondered if that was why their eventual end was so easily put in the rearview by what was quickly becoming a nightmare scenario with her surly roommate.
She pushed the button for the elevator and looked back to the loft. She didn't know why she bothered. She certainly didn't expect anything. She turned back to the elevator doors and instead thought of Russell, and how stupid she must've seemed to him at the end. Throwing away a good, well-meaning man who truly cared for her. A man who thought the world of her, and actually had the means to show her a good deal of that world. And for what? To chase some kind of 'passion' she only ever read about in books or watched in movies? Well, she'd found 'passion', alright. But it wasn't uplifting and beautiful as she'd always romanticized. No, it was clumsy, messy, and above all stupid. Really, really stupid.
The elevator pinged and she stepped inside. She pressed the button for the lobby and turned back to face the door. It was one thing to be wrong, she thought. One thing for Russell to simply know better. He was older, after all, and had experienced the profoundly stupid 'passion' with his ex-wife. He had learned his lessons the hard way. But it was another thing for him to find himself in the middle her 'first date' with Nick. To witness first hand exactly where Jess' search for passion had gotten her: defending her relationship with her roommate to her ex-boyfriend via valet card. And she couldn't even do that right, apparently. She should've just listened to Russell. He clearly knew what-
Her thought was interrupted by a hand grabbing the elevator door and pulling it back open. She stood frozen as Nick took a deep breath and came at her. He had a look on his face she had only seen once before. The look was full of intent. It was honest, even if it didn't seem completely sure of itself. It was the look that got them into this whole mess.
"What are you doing?" she muttered, mostly to herself.
He stepped to her side and, to her complete surprise, lifted her off her feet as though she were nothing. A gasp of surprise (and probably more) escaped her as she instinctively joined her hands behind his neck.
"Let's not think about it," he answered.
He carried her through the hall, then through the open loft door, kicking it shut behind him. As they made their way to his room, she realized her mouth was hanging ever so slightly open. She closed her lips and looked up at Nick. He had a look of absolute focus and determination as he was trying to gracefully navigate her through the loft. She caught herself wondering how Nick was doing this with such ease. She knew she was hardly a heavy load, but then, Nick was hardly in shape. Though, judging by the pounding of her own heart, she imagined a rush of adrenaline was likely assisting him in his endeavor.
She felt Nick move his arm from her back as he reached for the door to his room. She clung tighter to his neck as he pushed the door open. He returned his arm and looked deep into her eyes as he turned her through the doorway and stepped into his room. His eyes broke away and looked down at the bed. Jess' eyes were soon to follow. Is this what this has all led to? Were they really about to do this? Were they-
The realization hit Jess that they were doing exactly the opposite of what he had suggested. They were thinking. And she had had just about enough of where that had gotten them. When Nick turned his eyes back to meet hers, she decided to put an end to all the nonsense.
Before either of them had a chance to get in their own way, she pulled Nicks face to her own, pressed her lips to his, and completely ensured that every last thought emptied from both of their heads.
Thank you for reading.