Nick rolled over in his bed to face Jess. She was asleep, her eyes softly closed, her breath warm and quiet. He stroked the back of his hand down her delicate rosy cheek as he watched her sleep. At his touch she stirred, opening her eyes slightly. Their eyes met and a small smile formed on her sleepy face. "Hi" she croaked, her eyes still heavy.
"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you, you looked so peaceful." Nick answered apologetically.
"No no, you didn't wake me."
"How are you feeling?"
Jess suddenly remembered yesterday, the test, telling Nick, the sex... She smiled. "I'm fine, great actually." Her hand rose up and onto his cheek. She leaned forward a pecked his soft, plump lips. "Do you want to go out for a meal tonight to celebrate?" Nick sighed, "I would love to but I have a late shift tonight, what about tomorrow?" Jess nodded understandingly however, couldn't hide the disappointed look on her face. She sat up, pushing covers off. She turned and rested her feet of the floor, her back to Nick. Standing up, she grabbed her bathrobe from the wardrobe and wrapped it round herself. "Wait here" she said turning to look at Nick. Jess left the room leaving Nick alone in their bed. Nick couldn't help feel terrible that he had to work tonight. After a few minutes Jess came back in holding two cups of tea. She handed one to Nick and smiled, "don't worry that you have to work tonight, we have the rest of our lives to celebrate." Nick smiled and sipped his tea.
Later on that evening, Jess went down to the bar to see Nick. However, when she arrived she couldn't see him anywhere. Cece was working behind the bar, "Hey Jess!" She called over. "Oh hey Cece, have you seen Nick anywhere?"
"No he isn't working tonight, I took his shift"
"What?" Jess looked confused. Why would Nick lie about working? Where was he? Cece poured Jess a glass of pink wine and pushed it towards her. "What's going on with you two then, huh?"
"Nothing, he said-" she took a sip of wine "he said he was worki-" Jess jumped up and ran in the direction of the toilets. Cece ran after her following her inside. She waited until she came out of the cubical, "What's going on Jess?" Cece said after hearing Jess throw up. Jess looked up at her and gave her a small, innocent smile. "I'm pregnant."
"WHAT?" Cece's jaw dropped. "Have you told Nick?"
"Yeah, of course!"
"What did he say, did he freak out, was he happy, do the others know?" Cece began speaking fast, asking a million questions a minute. Jess took her hand to calm her down. "He was… I don't know. He was happy but we haven't spoken about it really. I think he is in shock." Jess told Cece, who now was staring silently, frozen on the spot. Suddenly, she leaped into Jess's arms, "I'm so happy for you!" She cried. "I got to get back to work" she squealed still struck by the excitement. They left the restroom, Cece going back to the bar and Jess leaving to find Nick.
As Jess stood in the elevator, going up to the apartment, she began to think the worse. Maybe he started freaking out and left me? We didn't really talk about it... As the door opened she walked down the corridor and stood outside her apartment door. She remembered when she and Nick got back from Mexico and they had a spat over carrying a key and then he kissed her. This made her smile. She got her key out of her purse and opened the door. Standing frozen she stared at the surroundings ahead of her. There he was, her amazing boyfriend standing in front of her; hundreds of flickering tea lights around him, Rose petals sprinkled on the floor. Slowly she stepped into the apartment, astonished to she was experiencing at that moment. As she approached Nick, he gently bent down onto one knee, looking up at her, a serious look on his face.
"Jessica, these three years since you moved in... have been the happiest years of my life. Before I met you, I was just a grumpy old man. I know I am still a grumpy old man," he laughed, "but you've made me so much more. You have taught me about love." A tear trickled down his face. "I haven't felt this way about anyone before and I never thought I would until I met you." He watched as Jess knelt down opposite him, tears streaming down her face but a smile on her lips. Nick's throat went hard, struggling to continue speaking. Jess piped in to relieve him.
"You give me hope, Nick Miller. You give me the belief that I need in myself, that maybe my life could go somewhere. I have felt lost and I felt lonely in a world full of people. Then I met you." She burst out crying, holding her head on his shoulder.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I don't ever want to let you go" he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small black box. Jess took a deep breath in. Opening the box, Jess gasped at the sight of the beautiful ring. She felt every kind of happiness inside her heart. "Will you marry me?" He whispered.
She looked up at him, her face serious, "I don't want you to do this just because I'm pregnant."
"I love you, that is why I am doing this." Jess leaned forward and kissed him. "So is that a yes?" He said, hopeful.
"YES! Of course it's a yes, you clown" and he placed the ring on her finger.