"I mean he never even proposed."
"What? I thought you were engaged?"
"We are. Were. But all he did was hand me his grandmother's engagement ring while I was grading some tests, I didn't even have a chance to see what it was before he said the words "let's do this". That doesn't count as a proposal does it?"

"Yeah, I mean, no not really. Not at all actually. That sounds like something a hooker says to its client." Jess giggled at that, but then she thought to herself, how would he know that? Don't overthink this Jess, you just met this guy, you're not allowed to judge him. Yet. "Even I, the King of Stupid, could think of something more romantic than that." Something was making him bold tonight, maybe it was his recent re-break up with his girlfriend that made him finally see the light.

"King of Stupid?" She asked questionably.

"Yeah. I'm a mess! I've never been good at relationships or anything like that, but any bet I could think of something better, something more… idealistic." Jess looked into the eyes of the guy she just met, and then the words came tumbling out of her mouth before she could even think about it.

"Propose to me."

"What?" He wasn't sure he heard her right. He needed to hear her clarify what she just said.

"Pretend I'm the girl of your dreams. That we have been dating for over a year and everything is perfect. That you were ready to take that leap and spend the rest of your life with me."

He just stood there, staring into her big blue eyes. Was she serious? He wasn't able to make up a best man speech for his brother's wedding, of which he had 10 months to prepare for.

"Was that a really weird thing for me to just ask? I mean we just met." He continued to say still. Why did I have to ask that? What is wrong with me? What is wrong with him? Is he actually taking me seriously? Any other guy would have run a mile by now. Maybe he was different. Why isn't he speaking? Oh my God just stop thinking. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. I'm just gonna go and-"

"No wait." So she did. She waited, for what felt like an eternity. And then he spoke.

"You are a beautiful woman, the most beautiful woman I have ever met. I love everything about you, and I always will. And, you would make me the happiest man in the world, if you would be my wife." Jess was frozen. It was simple, yet beautiful. A smile formed on her lips and she saw him relax.

"Wow, that was-"

"Cheesy?"

"No! No it was beautiful. Really. The girl that ends up with you is possibly the luckiest woman alive"

"Ha! I'm not so sure."

"Why?"

"King of Stupid. I ruin anything good that comes into my life!"

Jess looked at him and shook her head. "Don't think so low of yourself, one day you'll find the right girl for you and everything will just fall together perfectly." He looked at the expression on her face, she was telling the truth.

"Thank you, umm…"

"Oh, Jess."

"Well, thank you Jess, really. I'm Nick."

He held out his hand for her to shake. She took it. Nick searched her beautiful blue eyes.
"Nice to meet you."
"You too." He said with a smile of which she returned. He let go of her hand and she looked down at her hands, moving a strand of hair away from her face. Never had he been so into a conversation with a customer before. He wanted to hear more, but he wasn't completely sure why. Not that he cared. He always hated when people confide in him, that was the worst part of being a bartender for him. But tonight, it was the best part.

"Seriously, "Let's do this"? What kind of proposal is that!"

"I know, I was so crazy to say yes. But I did. I'm such an idiot. All these times he said he was going on business trips, those late lunches with his boss that turned into dinner. I can't believe I didn't see it before!"

It was past closing time, the bar was now empty. They had now moved from the bar to a booth and were sitting at the back of it, moving closer to each other every chance they got. Bodies now only inches apart. They were so deep in conversation that they hadn't even realized what time it was. Cece had left the bar hours before, giving Jess a big hug and Nick a curious look before she did. He didn't take note of it, he was too busy wiping down the bar and helping other customers.

"You're not an idiot! You loved him, you would have done anything for him. So anytime he lied to you, you believed him. Trust me, I know. My ex did the same thing to me, I didn't even realize she was just using me because she didn't want to be alone. Just don't put yourself down! You're not an idiot, he's the idiot for doing this to you, he had this amazing woman in his life and he chose to ruin it. It's all his fault. Ok?" Jess couldn't help but smile as he continued to compliment her, her elbow was resting on the table and her head on her hand, "But hey, you're young, you're beautiful, you have a steady job, you can have anyone you want! Don't settle. Especially for someone you think you're meant to be with because he was your first love. You deserve better."

Jess' smile grew, she dropped her hand from her face and put it on Nicks arm. "Thanks Nick." He looked down at her hand. Her soft fingers moving slowing up and down his arm. He looked up and saw that she had moved even closer to what she was before. Their faces only inches apart now. "Really, I mean it."

"Anytime." He replied with a smile forming at his lips. And then she turned away, removing her hand from his arm, she wrapped her fingers around her drink and emptied its contents. He just sat there, bedazzled. Was it possible that he felt himself falling for this girl after only knowing her for a few hours? You're crazy if you think this girl could fall for a guy like you. But it's worth a shot, after all, she has been talking to you for the last 4 hours. Give it a shot, ask her out, then you can go into a pool of self-pity if she turns you down, when she turns you down. Nick felt the two sides of his brain argue and it was giving him a headache. He lifted his hands to his head and began to rub his temples.

"Hey, are you ok?" Jess asked, the concern it her voice calmed him down, and he drained out the voices in his head.

"I think so."

"Maybe we should call it a night, you looked exhausted."

"Yeah I think so, do you need me to call you a cab or-"

"Or maybe you could drop me home?" Nick looked up and met Jess' gaze. God she was beautiful, he couldn't let this opportunity pass him by.

"Ok." He cleared his throat, "Yeah sure. Just give me a minute to finish up in here." He said with a small smile.

"I'll be here." Nick then stood up and walked over to the office to finish up for the night.

A few minutes later Nick returned with a jacket in his hand. "You ready to go?" Jess stood and nodded. She walked slowly behind him as he reached for the door handle and gestured for her to walk through.

"What a gentleman." She said with a smile and a slight laugh. He let out a small giggle in response and placed a hand in the small of her back leading her out to his car.

When they reached his car, they both reached for the passenger door handle at the same time. Nick stood frozen as he felt Jess' fingers on the top of his hand. They stood there for a second until Nick turned his palm over to meet hers. Their fingers danced around each other and then in unison, they joined their hands together. Nick took in a deep breath. What do I do now? What's my next move? Oh wait I don't have any moves! It wasn't until Jess moved her body to directly in front of him that he was broken from his thoughts. He raised he gaze from their joined hands to meet hers. Faces now centimetres apart. Their noses practically touching. And then, at the same time, when they both couldn't handle the tension anymore, they closed the space between them. His lips met hers, in a soft sensual kiss, well at least that's what it started out as. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stepped up on her toes to meet his height, he had grabbed her waist and it was as if he was holding on for his life! Her lips began to move faster, and he met her speed. The kiss quickly became a deep passionate kiss. She moaned in his mouth and he slipped his tongue in hers. Oh. My. God. Jess thought. Why have we been talking all night and not doing this?

All of a sudden they were moving backwards and Jess was being pressed up against the passenger door, but as she did, the car alarm went off interrupting the kiss. They broke apart in shock and Nick, breathing heavily, began searching for his keys, of which he dropped when they first began the kiss. When he finally got a hold of them, he pressed a button and the alarm stopped. Nick stood there, completely embarrassed.

Jess decided to break the deafening silence, letting out a laugh which allowed Nick finally relaxed. He smiled at her and she smiled back. She reached forward for his hand and pulled him back to her for a short yet promising kiss. They broke apart once again and looked into each other's eyes.

"Take me home Nick." She said with a smile and a shine in her eyes. Nick had never met anyone like her. He felt lucky, and to think, today was usually his day off at the bar. Imagine what would have happened if he hadn't been called into work at the last minute just hours ago.

TBC