Jess woke up as the alarm went off. She opened her eyes slowly and just laid there until her sight adjusted to the dim light coming though the curtains. After a while, she stood up and put her glasses on, checking her appearance on the mirror.
This was going to be a big day, she expected. Her first day of teaching Creative Writing. She picked out her sexiest matching underwear, a dark-green lace set. It made her feel confident and powerful. It was just what she needed today.
During her shower, Jess lets her mind wander off and thinks about Sam. She recalls the great, wild sex. But, most of all, she recalls the moment she lost it. The moment she said she wanted something more and he shut her out. It had hurt. She'd felt crushed. It still hurt a little bit, but after Nick had given her a mini motivational speech, she felt like it didn't matter anymore. She was starting over.
Nick. He was such a great guy, she thought. Sometimes, she couldn't help wondering what it would be like to kiss him. To touch and to be touched by him. Even though he was angry most of the time, he was a lovely person.
Jess turned off the water, wrapped her towel around her body and stepped out of the shower. She went back to her bedroom, got dressed, put her makeup on and went to the kitchen to grab a bite. Only Nick was there. Apparently, Schmidt and Winston had already left.
'Morning, Nick'
'Hey, Jess!' he answered, smiling. He looked like an angel when he smiled. 'So, ready for the first day of school?'
'Yeah, I think I am. Hey, thank you for the other day, in the pool', she added, a bit shy.
'No worries. That's what friends are for, right?'
After that, they stopped chatting and just looked at each other, both of them with a tiny smile on their faces. When a few moments had passed, Jess decided she had to leave. She picked up a muffin and headed for the door.
'Wish me luck, bye!'
'Good luck!'
Jess' first class went smoothly. Her students were very nice and inspirational, in a way. When she finished, it was raining, so instead of going home she decided to go to the café next door and grab a cup of coffee. She ran the distance between the school entrance and the café door, the raindrops falling on her face.
Once inside, she ordered coffee and a croissant. Even though she hadn't had lunch, she wasn't very hungry. Jess ate and drank while going through an architecture magazine she'd found lying on a table. When she was done flipping through the pages, she looked outside, towards the school, and saw a familiar face there, on the rain.
It was Nick, holding flowers, standing in front of the school entrance, with a weird expression on his face, as if he was making a decision. After a while considering whether she should go and talk to him, Jess decided for it, since she was the obvious reason why he was there.
She stepped out on the rain.
'Nick?'
He looked around, a bit surprised, until their eyes met. He smiled and walked closer.
'Hi. I just came to, um... give you these and see how your first day went', he said, moving the flowers as if they weren't obvious before.
'Wow, thanks', Jess replied, a little surprised that he would do something like that for her. What if he felt the same she did?
Nick stepped closer, their faces just a few inches apart, and handed her the flowers. 'I hope you liked them'. She could feel his cool breath on her face. Still, she didn't move a muscle. She stood there, on the rain, just looking at him, while he did the same.
Then Nick moved. But not to kiss her, as the previous moments had led her to believe. He hugged her, tight, and then kissed her hair. The two moved away and smiled at each other.
'Why don't we go inside? It's starting to rain harder.'