Chapter 2: Sweet, white wine
Hope you enjoy, please let me know if you do :)
After a turbulent few months, the life of Jessica Day was beginning to show some semblance of 'normal'. The transition from girlfriend to single girl had not been smooth. She'd spent most of her summer vacation living on Cece's couch, watching endless reruns of Dirty Dancing while consuming vast amounts of breakfast cereal. Finally, Cece had convinced her she needed to find a new place to live. Trawling Craigslist, she had had some interesting experiences with potential roommates. First, was the share with three women who were strippers and had a pole in their living room to practice. This seemed okay until she worked out that at least one of their boyfriends was a drug dealer ("You don't know any cops, do you?" he'd asked). Then there was the old lady with seven cats who was letting her attic room; Jess loved cats, but this lady didn't believe in restraining the animals with things like litter trays - oh, the smell! One guy she had met seemed normal, had a good job, the apartment was clean and close to work – but then he'd suggested they could negotiate the rent if she was willing to talk about 'extras', yeah she got out of there fast.
Finally, she had met Melissa. Melissa was the perfect roommate. She worked as a flight attendant (so was rarely home), was super clean, friendly and had the same taste as Jess. Moving in was a cathartic moment for her. Collecting the last of her belongings from Spencer – Cece came for back up – decorating her new place; it felt like starting again for real.
On top of all this, Jess had started dating Paul. Wonderful, sweet Paul. He was a teacher at her school and they had gotten together at Thanksgiving when they had found out neither had plans. A dinner date and two bottles of wine later and they were officially an item. He was so different from Spencer – he wrote plays and played the violin, he was so responsible and caring. He was exactly the kind of guy she should be dating.
Christmas was almost upon them (along with a visit to her parents in Portland) and school was finally finished for the holidays. Jess was keen for Paul to meet Melissa properly, so they had arranged to go for a drink at a bar near her new apartment. Melissa was on a layover in Atlanta, so Jess had told her to pick a place and she would meet here there.
Climbing into her car after her last day of work, she punched the address into her phone and set off her maps program. She started on her way, singing along to the radio as she went and thinking about how excited she was to see Paul. It was their two month anniversary tomorrow. She was anxious that Melissa liked him. Cece was not overly enthusiastic about him when they met. She'd said, 'he's okay'. He was not okay, he was great. Fantastic. Just what she needed. She hoped Melissa agreed.
Pulling onto the road that held the bar, Jess began to feel like she had been here before. The houses, the road looked familiar… Then she saw it, the long low building in the distance. Clyde's Bar. It was the bar she had went to the day she had broken up with Spencer. Her mouth went dry. It was where the bartender she had practically molested worked. Nick.
Crap, she thought. This was not good; she had planned on never seeing him again. She hoped and prayed he was not working tonight, really, what were the chances? Pulling into the parking lot, she checked her makeup in the rear view mirror and then grabbed her purse and headed for the door.
Gingerly stepping inside, she scanned the interior. It was only 7pm so the bar was not busy, but it was a Friday night so she knew it would start to fill up soon. The familiar smell of oiled wood and astringent detergent filled her nose, as she adjusted to the darkened atmosphere. Her eyes darted around, checking for signs of Nick, phew. She didn't see him. Maybe she would get lucky. She'd make a quick run for a drink and then go hide in a booth until the others met her.
Arriving at the dark, wooden bar she placed her purse on it's polished surface and tried to catch the attention of the pretty, female bartender, when a random thought popped into her head, I bet she and that Nick guy are doing it. What was that? Why on Earth was she thinking about that guy? She swallowed and lifted up her hand, waving it to get her attention.
"Can I help you there?" the voice was deep and accented and came from behind her. She whipped around and there she saw him. Nick. That guy. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the flicker of recognition cross his face and his mouth form a large 'O'. The both paused and stared at each other, unsure of what to say. Jess wished the ground could open up and swallow her as she felt a rush of warm blood flood to her cheeks, reddening them. Then, he seemed to compose himself, shaking his head as he raised the bar hatch and rounded back to face her, standing across the bar. "Hey, er, Jess right?"
"Er, yeah, ummm?"
"Nick," he answered. Why was she pretending she didn't know his name? Nick. Nick was his name. The name she has fantasized about during her lowest moments, the name of the man whose scorching car kiss had made her feel so Goddamn hot that it still gave her shivers thinking about it.
"Yeah… Nick. Great to see you again." She plastered a huge grin on her face, hoping it would hide how nervous she was.
"Soo," he began, "How are you? Can I get you something?" He placed a black paper napkin on the mahogany surface in front of her.
"I'm great, great, meeting my boyfriend here soon, he's great, fantastic. You should meet him, I think you'd like him. So I'm waiting for my boyfriend and he should be getting here soon and…" she trailed off, losing her train of thought amidst her ramble.
"You'd like?" he offered.
"Oh, yeah, I'd love a white wine. Sweet. Like my boyfriend." Oh dear lord she was rambling on and on. Someone please stop me, she thought. Nick was silent as he removed a bottle from the cooler beneath the bar and poured her a generous measure of straw coloured liquid into a sparkling wine glass.
"There you go," he said placing it before her, "So, you got back with-"
"Spencer? No, no way. Na-ha. Nope." She paused and slurped a mouthful of wine, "I'm dating Paul now. He's a teacher. I work with him. He's great." Stop you idiot, stop. To calm herself she took another large sip and sat rolling the glass between her hands, feeling the cool wet condensation dampen the palms of her hands and calm her slightly.
"Great," he replied as he took a sip of his own glass of Coke. Sounds like you're happy, then."
"I am, I really am. Actually, I should go find a booth…" With that she tipped her glass to Nick and slipped away from the bar as quickly as her little feet could carry her.
Sinking into the soft leather seat of the circular booth, she felt a wave of shame flood her body. Way to play it cool, Day. She was sure that Nick Miller now thought she was a psychopath. She had appeared at his bar dressed only in a trench coat, practically molested him when her drove her home, and now she reappeared at his bar only to ramble on as if she were high on pain meds. Damn. The thought he thought she was crazy really irked her. Why do you care so much? she asked herself. She didn't know the answer. But she knew that the opinion of this practical stranger mattered to her for some reason. She solaced herself by starting to work on her large glass of cool, syrupy wine.
Catching his breath, Nick watched the enigma that was Jessica Day stumble away from the bar towards a booth far in the corner of the room. He sighed deeply. Seeing her big blue eyes had brought back vivid memories of her lips; the feel of her body in his hands, pressed against his. He shook his head. This girl had occupied his thoughts for weeks after they first met. He dreamt of her and what he would like to do to her… He held his breath whenever a dark haired girl entered the bar. He even tried searching Facebook for her. But to no avail. He had resigned himself to a sweet memory until here she was back at his place of work. When she saw him, she had appeared flustered, surprised. He wondered if she remembered their kiss. How could she forget? It was without a doubt one of the hottest kisses he had ever experienced. Shaking his head, he turned to serve a couple of guys who had just arrived at the bar, whilst his mind was filled with thoughts of her.
7:45 pm. Her glass of wine now only held a single drop. Melissa was late, maybe her flight was delayed. Paul had called; he was stuck at school taking down scenery from the Christmas production, he promised to get there as soon as he could. Jess felt self-conscious sitting alone as the tables around her began to fill with the weekend crowd. Hipsters, college kids, couples and corporate types still in suits. She just wanted to go home now. She couldn't face him again. Even the thought of seeing Nick made her body start to feel warm and her heart beat a little faster. Jessica Day, she told herself, you are dating Paul, stop behaving like a school girl with a crush. But even as she thought this, her mind returned to the feel of his stubble on her skin, his hands pressed against her body. Phew, she needed to calm down.
Just then, a body slid into the booth next to her and a glass of appeared on the table. She looked up. It was him. "I hope you don't mind, I finished my shift and I'm waiting for my roommates," Nick said. Momentarily she couldn't speak.
"Um, sure, I'm still waiting for my friends too. They're running late," she said, composing herself. They sat within touching distance of each other. He was dressed similarly to last time, but his shirt this time was plaid, shades of green and blue. It brought out the olive tone in his skin and made his eyes and hair look darker. She watched him as he nursed what looked like a Jack and coke .Oh, the drink…"
"My treat, for the company," he interrupted. He glanced sideways and watched her as she took small sips with her pretty, rose red mouth. Her hair was curly as the last time they had met, but it was tidier, more polished. She was wearing a royal blue satin dress with a scooped neckline which brought out the color of her eyes and the creamy whiteness of her skin. Her perfume filled the gap between them and he began to regret his decision. What are you playing at Miller? You could have sat at the bar or in the office and waited. She has someone. Why are you torturing yourself? But for some reason, he felt drawn to her, like a magnet. She was so different to the women he usually met. She had this glow about her and he wanted to know more. "So, since we're waiting together, why don't you tell me a bit more about yourself? All I know about you is that you like to run around LA barely dressed, have a thing for vodka sodas and need to be watched when parked in cars with strangers." He was feeling bold and smiled at her.
Covering her face with her hand she groaned, "Oh my God I'm so sorry. I'm so embarrassed. I was drunk and feeling crappy…" she lowered her hand and locked eyes with him.
"Hey, it's fine, I'm just teasing. I wasn't complaining was I?" A silence filled the space between them as they both locked eyes and look a sip of their respective drinks. Jessica felt a crackle of attraction pass over her as her heart beat faster. She let out a small chuckle.
"No, I don't suppose you were. So, you want to know about me? There isn't much to tell," she began.
"Try me," he replied, relaxing into his seat.
One hour and two drinks later, they were still alone in the booth. Jess had told Nick about her job, her friend Cece and growing up in Portland. He told her about his roommates, dropping out of law school and his childhood in Chicago. Ah, so that's the accent, she thought. She loved his voice, it was low and a little gravelly and oh so attractive. It struck a chord and made her body vibrate, especially when he said her name… Oh, stop it! Stop thinking these thoughts.
"Jess!" she looked up when she heard her name called. It was Paul. She suddenly felt guilty and her cheeks rose into a flush again. You weren't doing anything wrong, just talking. She stood up and hugged Paul, as he moved to sit beside her, placing a dry, chaste kiss on her cheek.
"Paul, I'm so glad you're here," she said loudly. She wanted Nick to hear. She was taken. TAKEN. Taken. "This is my, er, new friend, Nick," she pointed at Nick and the men stretched out hands and shook across the table. "He works here, we've bonded over a love of alcohol," she chuckled again. Why do I feel like I need to explain myself?
"Nice to meet you Nick."
"Likewise Paul, actually, I see my friend here now," he paused and waved at a dark haired guy who was standing near the bar, "So I'll leave you two to it." He twisted his body and stood up, walking away. Jessica felt a wave of disappointment. She had to admit she enjoyed his company. He had made her laugh with his self-depreciating brand of humor that she seemed to gravitate towards. Oh well, she thought, turning her attention to her boyfriend.
Walking away towards Schmidt, Nick's mood sank. Those minutes with Jess had been pretty much the best he had spent in weeks. She was so lively, so funny, so… He couldn't quite put his finger on it. His heart was a little heavy as he resigned himself to the fact that nothing was ever going to happen. She was just a nice girl. I bet she is like that with everyone.
As Paul talked about his day and the problems he had had removing 500 laminated stars from the school auditorium, Jess's mind wandered. She glanced across the room and watched Nick as he talked with his buddy. She bit her lip. She hadn't wanted their conversation to end. He was so, so interesting. They really clicked, she felt it. But no. Paul is your boyfriend, concentrate on him. She turned and smiled at Paul. Trying to be interested in his stories about his upcoming violin recital. And failing miserably.
It was midnight. Melissa had failed to turn up; she'd called an hour ago apologising. She'd had a major delay and wouldn't make it. Working her way through a few more glasses of sweetened wine Jess had loosened up and let herself relax into Paul's conversation. He was a good guy. He had a good heart. He was always being so nice. His clean shaven face and shiny straight hair looked so clean … unlike his. Messy. Dirty even. She shook her head again. You've got to stop this.
"Oh, man, I think we ought to go, early morning bike ride tomorrow," he said starting to stand up. She passed him her keys and slid out of the booth to stand up. "Shoot, I need to use the bathroom, will you be okay?"
"Um, yeah, sure," she answered and stood by the booth as he walked away. Suddenly Nick appeared, he looked a little worse for wear and his friend was nowhere in sight.
"You're leaving?" he asked, slightly slurred.
"Yeah, Paul has early morning plans," she explained.
"Shame, I was hoping we could talk a bit more." He was swaying ever so slightly.
"Maybe another time," struggling to focus on his face through the haze of alcohol.
Silently, he placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye, "Hey can I tell you something?"
"Sure," she asked, curious. He leant forward until his mouth was level with her ear. She could feel his warm breath on her neck and she shivered involuntarily.
"I like you. A lot," he whispered, before pulling back.
"Hey Jess! Come on!" Paul called across from the bar, not giving her a chance to respond.
"Um, I, er, gotta go," she responded, searching his face for more clues to his motivation. Was he serious? Was he just drunk? His face gave little away as he continued to gaze into her eyes. Finally she broke away from the stare saying, "See you around?" before running over to Paul.
Nick sank into the booth Jess had just vacated and placed his head into his hands. That was dumb Miller, you but idiot, she's going to think you are some kind of stalker. But her last words rang in his ears. See you around? Was that a question? Did she mean it? Sighing, he finished the last of his drink, the sting of the whisky burning his throat on the way down.