Thanks for the reviews! I don't own New Girl or anything associated with it!
By the time Saturday dawned, Nick didn't know how to act around Jess anymore. The loft was so charged with tension that all his normal conversational skills had burnt to a crisp. That morning at breakfast, Nick had reached past Jess to grab the cereal and accidentally brushed her shoulder with his fingers. Instead of ignoring the insignificant gesture, or chuckling like a normal person, Nick had jerked his hand back like he'd been scalded and said, "nah, no cereal for me this morning!" before bolting to his room.
But Jess wasn't doing much better. She Skyped with Cece from her closet for 45 minutes and took the longest shower in the history of time before locking herself in her room and blaring Queen's greatest hits. Nick had told her to be ready at 7, and by the time 6:45 rolled around, he was feeling pretty jittery. Schmidt and Winston had been giving him dirty looks all afternoon and he felt uncomfortable in his suit. He rarely dressed up, but tonight, he forced himself. He didn't want this to feel like any other Saturday. He owed her something special, and if he was being completely honest with himself, he wanted to see what would happen if he and Jess were lifted out of the vacuum of the loft, their roommates, and every other day.
He walked into the living room right on time to find Jess waiting for him, her jacket buttoned up to her throat. She was more dressed down than he was; tight jeans, tall brown boots and a plaid coat, but she still took his breath away. She whirled to greet him and he saw her face fall when she took in his fancy duds.
"Oh Nick, you're all dressed up! I didn't know exactly, I mean, I wasn't sure how, you know what? I should just change really fast. It'll just take me two minutes"
Jess started to blaze a trail back to her room when Nick reached out a hand to stop her. He snagged the crook of her elbow, just like he'd done that night after True American. The moment wasn't lost on either of them; Jess froze in her tracks and Nick felt little goose bumps erupt on his skin.
"Jess, don't change, please. You look great. I like your hair and your coat, the whole thing," Nick finished, his ears burning a little.
Jess smoothed her jacket a little self-consciously. "I thought you might be a fan of this coat, it kind of reminds me of a certain someone I live with and his not-so-diverse sense of style," she teased twirling in her plaid, flannel outerwear. "However, after seeing your ensemble tonight, I might have to amend my former statement," Jess said throatily.
Nick stood a little taller. "Well I'm glad I can keep you on your toes. You ready to go?"
"Yeah, where are the guys? I wanted to say goodbye," Jess asked with a frown.
"Winston's out and Schmidt…"
"Schmidt's here, but he won't be seeing you off!" came Schmidt's muffled yell from his room. "This is unwise Nicholas and Jessica. You must embark on your evening unendorsed!"
Nick opened his mouth to yell something back, but Jess put a hand on his chest to stop him. "I've got it," Jess whispered. "Ok Schmidt, we'll just have to soldier on without your endorsement," Jess yelled. "You're right, Nick taking me to dinner as a thank you is crazy reckless. I don't know what he's thinking! You better watch out buddy, he might buy you a beer or send you a note next. This guy is unhinged!" Jess flashed Nick a grin. "Let's go while he's quiet," she said in an undertone, tugging Nick to the door.
Once they were safely in the hall, the giddy teasing faded away and it was just the two of them. Nick gulped a quick breath, offered Jess his elbow, delighting in the way she tucked her hand inside, and steered her toward the elevator.
He'd had pretty good luck with the opentable and Zagat advice and found a very nice restaurant with room for two just five blocks away. It was an Italian chophouse and had a fireplace, so he didn't have to worry about food he didn't understand or weird strobe lights. As an added bonus it was gorgeous weather, so they could walk, which was an extra stroke of luck considering his car had been less than reliable lately.
"So where should we go?" Jess asked as they strolled outside. "Are you in the mood for something in particular?"
Nick stopped walking and gave her a funny look. "Uh yeah, I'm in the mood to eat at the restaurant where we have a reservation. Jess, did you not think I'd plan the evening? I told you I'd take care of this."
Jess looked a little abashed. "I know you did, I just didn't want to assume anything. You and I just usually grab and go and I didn't want you to think I expected some big she-bang."
"Well, quit worrying and let me take it from here, ok?" Nick said, a little needled.
"Ok, I'm sorry," Jess said softly. "I'm excited to see what's next. Charm the pants off of me Miller," she chirped.
Nick let out a little puff of laughter. "Ok, let's go. Is it cool if we walk? It's not very far and it's so nice out."
"I'd love to walk," Jess said, falling into step beside him. "It's great for people watching and it gives me an excuse to do this," she flirted, sliding her arm back through his.
Feeling bold, Nick straightened his arm and laced his fingers with hers. "How about I do you one better?" he asked, smiling.
"Hey, no complaints here."
Nick was relieved to see that the restaurant he'd picked looked as good, if not better, in person as it had online. It had a pretty patio and little garden that wound around the front. The lighting was cozy but not too dim and he was thrilled to report that the trees were strung with twinkle lights. Winston would be psyched. Nick could tell Jess was very taken with the whole scene and a hot rush of pride bubbled inside him at the thought. He was the one responsible for that delighted smile on her face. He made it happen.
He held the door open for her and gave the Maître D his name. They barely lingered in the entry way for two minutes before the hostess led them to what was clearly the best table in the house. Jess now looked downright bemused.
"Nick," she said as they settled in. "This is really something. This place is so cute and the table is perfect. I wasn't expecting this."
"Well, I told you I wanted to thank you formally. Miller gratitude comes with a suit and fettuccini. And champagne," he added as their waitress appeared with some bubbly.
"It just keeps getting better," Jess quipped as she raised her glass.
"Wait, don't drink yet," Nick interjected. "Let me do a little toast."
"By all means," Jess said.
"Jess, that situation in Chicago could have been a nightmare. It almost was. But thanks to you, I got through it. Thank you Jess, you always drop everything to help me, and I uh, I really appreciate that. So, drink up!" he finished, embarrassed.
"Cheers!" Jess said, clinking his glass. Her eyes were shining after his little speech, which made him feel less like an idiot about giving it. When she lowered her glass her cheeks were pink. "Man, I feel really stupid about my jeans now, I should have gone with a dress! I look all wrong," Jess chastised.
"Jess, don't be ridiculous, you look gorgeous in everything," Nick spouted, not even thinking. As soon as the compliment left his mouth, he felt exposed. He had never directly commented on her looks before, aside from a generic 'you look great' or two. Now he'd basically confessed that he thought she looked beautiful day in and day out.
Nick chanced a look at Jess' face and as he expected, she looked flabbergasted. But before he had too much time to process her countenance she blurted out, "Are we on a date?"
Nick froze for a second, all kinds of thoughts and feelings swirling around inside him, fighting for the upper hand. His heart and head were beating each other senseless, so he went with a standard deflection. "This is a thank you thing. To say thanks! I owe you, because of Chicago and Elvis and everything, to say thank you. You know because…"
"Because you owe me?" Jess quirked an eyebrow at him, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth."
"Yep that's the ticket," Nick said, bobbing his head up and down like crazed puppet. At that moment Nick looked into Jess' eyes properly, and he could have sworn he saw the faintest trace of disappointment. "Well I do owe you," Nick said, lowering his voice a shade, "but I also just wanted to take you out. You're fun to hang with, and easy on the eyes," Nick teased, giving Jess an exaggerated wink.
She giggled and nudged his foot under the table. He felt a little thrill race through him and made a conscious effort to beat back the voice in his head that was laughing at his pathetic attempt to pretend tonight was no big deal.
The conversation was easy as he and Jess ate their dinner. The first bottle of champagne had long disappeared and a second had magically taken its place when they were half way through their salads. By the time their pasta arrived, Nick was feeling warm and relaxed and a tiny bit giddy. Jess was in the middle of a college date horror story and he was hanging on every word.
"It honestly started out so normal, he was nice, we grabbed coffee and he asked me out for dinner that weekend. I was thrilled because, let's face it, college guys usually don't even bother with a meal, they just try to meet up with you when you're already out at a bar."
"Unfortunately, true," Nick concurred.
"Right? So I was happy to have an evening to look forward to, something to dress up for. Anyway, dinner was fun and we took a walk afterward and we stopped near this beautiful old bridge. It was so romantic, I was all a flutter and then he turned to me and said 'I would love to see you again, but if we're going to make a go of this, I have to know right now that you're prepared to grow out your bangs.'"
Nick almost spit out his champagne. "He said what!?"
"I'm not even kidding," Jess said solemnly. "He told me he just really had a problem with 'forehead drapes.' His actual words."
"Oh my God, what an idiot!" Nick laughed. "Seriously Jess, you're lucky. He sounds like a freak! Thank the Lord you found that out on date number one."
"True, true," Jess laughed. "I was a little shaken after him though. I did consider growing them out for a while," she said, tapping her forehead.
"What? No! Your bangs are my favorite!" Nick said, feeling a little champagne high. He reached out and smoothed them to the side of her face, mocking up the grown out look. "No, no, no, see? That's all wrong," he finished, fluffing her bangs back across her forehead. "That's the Jess we all know and love." Nick bit back the end of his sentence with a little glimmer of panic, "What I meant was—"
"Here you are sir, madam," their waitress interrupted, plunking a beautifully detailed piece of tiramisu down between them. "Compliments of the gentleman over there."
Nick and Jess swiveled around in their chairs to follow the waitress' gesture just in time to glimpse a familiar, albeit slightly grayer figure, pick his way across the restaurant to their table for two.