Cece loaded the last few glasses into the dishwasher under the bar, quickly checking her nails to see how much damage she had incurred over the course of her shift. Digging around in her jeans pocket she fished out her phone and checked it for the thousandth time but there were no messages, she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing so she let out a nebulous sigh and shoved it back in her pocket. She had left her mother alone in her apartment for the day and was still weighing up whether or not that had been a good idea. She had done several sweeps to remove anything remotely incriminating but she was positive her mother would still find something.

As she checked around her area of the bar everything seemed to be in order, she didn't want to give Mike any reason to get on her back, not tonight. There was a break in customers so that was her chance to make a run for it but she contined to check the bar obsessively. She was about to give the wood another wipe down when a shot glass full of amber liquid appeared under her nose. She felt the towel being extracted from her hand as Nick sidled up next to her, throwing the towel over is shoulder.

"Drink this, you look like you need it." He smiled.

She allowed her shoulders to drop and relax for the first time all evening. "Thanks." She threw it back without question, grimacing as it stung the back of her throat, but grateful for the warmth that soothed her momentarily.

"Stop stalling Cece, it's gonna be fine. Look I know better than anyone what Schmidt can be like but I really think he'll be on his best behaviour tonight."

"It's not Schmidt's behaviour that I'm worried about."

Nick offered a half smile of pity. He couldn't reassure her about the behaviour of someone he didn't know, but he did know a little something about troublesome parents which put him in a unique position of patience and understanding that had made him a surprisingly good confidant for Cece in recent weeks. He had actually learned a lot about Cece because of it, a lot about her had come to make sense to him. Not that she didn't make sense to him before, but now he felt like for all his efforts he finally got her. All her energy went into pleasing her mother, that's why she didn't seem to give a rat's ass about most other people's opinions of her, it's what made her such a resilient bar tender when it came to over amorous customers and what made her a little scary from time to time. One other thing he had learned was that when Cece was nervous, she talked, even to him. He figured maybe she thought he could offer some advice, which he had endeavoured to do obviously, but he wasn't sure what effect it had. Probably none judging by the fact he was having to serve her a shot of whiskey just to steady her nerves. He took the glass from her hand and moved to fill it up again but she placed her hand on his wrist.

"No I'm good thanks, I can't show up drunk that'll give her way too much ammunition.

Nick nodded and screwed the cap back on the bottle. "You'll be fine Cece, now go on, get outta here."

She smiled and placed her hands on his shoulders giving them an affectionate squeeze. "You won't be late will you?"

"Scout's honour." He saluted. "I'll be done here in an hour and I'll be there for nine on the dot. I promise."

"Thanks Nick." She finally got herself on the other side of the bar and headed for the door, waving back at him. "See ya. Nine o'clock."

"Nine, got it." He yelled after her.

Nick set the whiskey bottle back on the shelf and began to tidy up behind the bar. He was still confused as to why he was going to this dinner but Cece's Mom had insisted she could only get the full measure of Schmidt by spending time with his friends so here he was, about to blow half his salary on a meal he couldn't afford all in the name of love and friendship. He had actually been glad to take on Cece's problems for a couple of hours, it had distracted him from his own, to a degree anyway.

Jess had slipped out to work that morning at the crack of dawn. If he had awoken at six in the morning and insisted on talking to her in the vain hope she would offer some clarity on the night before, the chances were he would just have come across as creepy and desperate more than anything else. So instead he had listened to her hum while she was in the shower, listened to her make yummy noises as she drank her coffee and then listened to the door close as she left without so much as moving a muscle. He knew he wouldn't get an answer from her even if he had. She had been pretty clear on the 'not wanting to talk about it' part.

He had his suspicions of course but he had quickly squashed them when they began to run too rampant. There was no way...there was no way Jess was thinking about him like that...there was just no way. Jess was too sensible, she had her head screwed on way too tight to be considering anything so frivolous. This was more than likely his imagination creating situations that weren't there. It had to be. Whatever had her acting the way she was, he was going to get to the bottom of it one way or the other.

Jess eyed up the nice, new underwear she had bought which lay on top of the pile in her drawer, tempting her. She picked it up and toyed with the possibilities of what the night might bring but she soon slammed them back down with indignation. What's the point? she thought to herself, it would just be a waste. She sighed and pulled a set from half way down the pile which happened to match the colour of her dress, they weren't particularly sexy but they were good enough she supposed. Slipping her robe off her shoulders, careful not to ruffle her freshly curled hair she dropped it to the floor and stepped into her underwear, moving in front of the mirror once everything was in place. Once she had a good view of herself she scooped both boobs up to the top of her bra with the palms of her hands to give her cleavage that little boost. She smoothed her hands over her stomach and contemplated just how long it might be before anyone ever saw her naked again. She went to all that effort to keep herself in shape with nobody to enjoy it but her, she figured she might as well just live on cake and cheese and be happy.

She ran her hands down the material of her dress as it hung on the door of her closet. It was a darker shade of red than she usually wore and cost a few more dollars than she could afford but she liked it. When she had tried it on it had fit her in all the right places giving her that womanly feeling that only a few of her dresses really did. She pulled it from the hanger and handled it lovingly as she lowered it to the floor and stepped her feet into it. She shimmeyed it up her body and hooked her arms in either side but then she reached that inevitable obstacle that plagued every single woman all over the world. She bent her arms almost painfully in every angle to try and pull the zipper up but it was no use. She dropped her hands to her sides and stormed towards her bedroom door. She flung it open with the expectation that Schmidt would be pacing nervously on the other side as he had been for the last couple of hours.

"Schmidt could you help me with...oh!" She stopped as she found Nick leaving his bedroom at the same time. He looked impossibly handsome in a black shirt and dress pants and as the smell of his aftershave hit her square in the nose she almost passed out into his arms but she swallowed hard and tried to fight past it. "Wh...what are you doing here?"

He raised his eyebrows, surprised at her question. "I live here."

"No I mean I thought you were meeting us at the restaurant after work."

"I needed to change first."

Now he had thoughtlessly drawn her attention back to his outfit dammit. She knew she was dragging her eyes up and down his body but there was precious little she could do to stop it. Finding Nick in a dress shirt was like striking gold, it didn't happen very often but when it did, oh when it did. He had folded up the cuffs, the sleeves sitting just a little higher up his arms in a way that drove her nuts. She could see just a hint of his chest hair as it poked out above the second button on his shirt. She was staring, oh god she was really staring.

"Uh where are Winston and Schm..."

"They're downstairs getting a cab." He interjected before she had a chance to finish. He didn't intend to be rude but he didn't want the small talk, he couldn't take it again. The atmosphere had changed between them too much in the last forty hours to chit chat about cabs and the weather, which he was certain would come next. She looked amazing but it made him border on mad as he clenched his jaw at the sight of her. He could really have done with her looking just a little crappy for once. He watched her squirming, trying to fiddle with her zipper and the movements of her hips really weren't doing much to help his situation. He sighed and took a step toward her.

"Did you ah...did you need help with that?" He gestured towards the zipper at the back of her dress completely unsure why he was intent on complicating things further. When she didn't answer he moved toward her with his hands poised to help her out but she back away from him sharply.

"I got it Nick!" She snapped and stepped back into her room, closing the door in his face. She backed up against the door banging her head against it in frustration, the neatness of her hair wasn't such a concern anymore. She counted down the seconds in her head until she heard the door knock because she was positive she hadn't gotten away with that little spectacle. Sure enough she felt the vibrations on her back as he knocked on the door heavily. She closed her eyes hoping to transport herself to an alternative universe but the door rattled harder as he banged it again.

"What?!" She grunted loudly as she kicked herself off the door and allowed him to enter with a face like thunder.

"What the hell is wrong with you Jess?!"

"Nothing."

"Why are you being like this? Have an done something to piss you off?"

"No.

"Then what is it Jess ...WHAT?!"

A few long moments of silence passed by. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she glared at him but nothing came out. Thank god nothing came out. But she was painfully aware of a horrible feeling twisting around in the pit of her belly as she saw the look of utter disappointment on his face. He didn't deserve this, he really didn't but she had to keep her mouth shut - she had to. She watched his head drop and his shoulders slump in dejection as he rubbed his eyes harshly before turning to leave. She had almost made it to safety, the door was almost closed and he was almost out of sight when she felt the words start to rise up in her throat, all of them racing against the other to make it out of her mouth and ruin her life. She took a few quick breaths to level her head but it was all bigger than her now, there was no way back, only forward.

"I am mad at you." She barked.

Her turned and moved back into her room tentatively. "Finally a little honesty, care to tell me what I've done."

"That's the problem, you haven't DONE anything."

"Agh Jess I can't take this would you just drop the cryptic and tell me what I did to make you so upset with me. Is it about last night, about that girl coming on to me? Why does it bother you so much that she wanted to have sex with with me?!"

"Because I wanted to have sex with you ok!"

Nick's mouth dropped open and he felt a hard weight on his shoulders. It took him several moments to realise it wasn't the world turning him upside down. As he registered the look of embarrassment and surprise on Jess' face he realised it was Schmidt's heavy hands resting hard on him pulling him back towards the door.

"Come on guys let's go, we got a cab. Come on, come on we can't be late!" Schmidt whined as he bounced up and down, jiggling Nick frantically in the process. Once he had ushered a reluctant Nick towards the doorway he moved behind Jess yanking her zipper up and pushing her out the door behind Nick. They all bundled into the elevator which was suddenly making Jess feel completely claustrophobic. She had just made a huge mistake. She prayed for some secret door in the elevator to open up so she could jump out and run away but she had no such luck. She could feel Nick's eyes burning into the side of her face but she didn't dare look at him. Schmidt gabbled to Winston loudly and it set Jess further on edge, she understood he was nervous but she needed quiet so she could collect herself and figure out a way to back track with Nick. She tightened the grip on her clutch bag as the heat of humiliation continued to rise up her body and flood her face. She prayed she didn't look as red as she felt but knew she most likely did by the way Nick couldn't stop staring at her with a look of concern that made her want to crawl into a hole and die. She closed her eyes willing the elevator to move faster so she could get the hell out and get some air and when it finally stopped she bolted for the door but not before Nick grabbed her hand pulling her back. But she couldn't, she just couldn't so she pulled away.

"Nick we have to go or we're gonna be late." She turned and walked away leaving him trailing behind.

Nick twirled his pasta round on his fork over and over as he stared at Jess. She had made a point of putting Winston in between them so that he couldn't touch or talk to her, he couldn't even so much as catch her eyes during the meal. Never in all his time of knowing Jess had she confused him as much as she had now. So she wanted him, he knew that now but he still didn't know what any of it meant. They couldn't possibly be talking about getting back together, even he wasn't sure they were ready for that yet. Plus this didn't quite fit his picture of their grand reconciliation, there were no romantic confessions, no grand gestures, no mind altering kiss. Instead it had been a short squabble in her bedroom, two hours of ignoring each other followed by some cold pasta. Not really the stuff Nick's dreams were made of.

He was tempted to ask Winston to trade with him but he didn't exactly want to invite any third parties into their drama, that would involve way too many questions and judging faces which he wasn't in the mood for. Not that Jess would talk to him anyway even if he did get next to her, it wasn't a conversation that was particularly appropriate for the ridiculously fancy restaurant Cece's Mom had chosen. Jess had warned him that it would be a little more upmarket but with its uncomfortable chairs, ironically dark lighting and coronary inducing prices it just wasn't Nick's thing and he wanted nothing more than to be back in the loft with Jess so they could talk everything out.

But Jess was too busy talking to everyone but him, she was too busy fighting Schmidt's corner which he had to admit she was doing a particularly good job of. Jess had a trustworthy face which certainly wasn't going to do Schmidt any harm and Jess knew how to keep Schmidt in check. Sometimes Nick envied the simplicity of her relationships with Schmidt and Winston, but the truth was, what he and Jess shared had never really been simple. There had always been more layers to them which they were still peeling away and uncovering as time went on. This was a new layer he definitely wasn't expecting. Just because he and Jess had never been simple did that mean they weren't capable of it? Did that mean they couldn't strip what they had down to the basics and simply enjoy being with one another? Nick churned the thoughts over and over in his mind, completely oblivious to Cece's Mom talking to him until he saw the stern look Schmidt was shooting him from across the table, followed by a swift kick to the ankle from Winston. Schmidt plastered on the biggest smile Nick had ever seen and it was freaking him out as his friend spoke to him though gritted teeth.

"Nick, Maya was just asking you about your job at the bar."

"Oh right yeah, um Clydes, it's nothing great but I enjoy it."

Maya squinted her eyes and nodded with a slight frown - oh yeah he had seen that look before. "Why do you enjoy it so much? I can't imagine it's particularly challenging."

"Yep, that's probably what I like about it."

"Hmm I see." Maya turned back to her food unenthusiastically and was about to corner Winston before Jess piped up.

"Nick is actually like an assistant manager now so..."

"And that's what you want Nick, to be a manager?" Maya queried looking ever so slightly more interested.

"I've thought about it I guess, yeah."

"Nick's been there for years." Jess continued. "He knows that place inside out so he could be the manager no problem, he could do anything he wanted to."

Nick smiled at Jess but she still didn't look at him choosing instead to stab her fork into the leftover fish bones on her plate just for something else to look at. But in jumping to Nick's defense she had unwittingly drawn Maya' sting back to her.

"So Jess how is your work. Cece tells me you have taken an interest in another teacher, I wouldn't have thought that was wise for a vice principal."

Oh shit, Jess was screaming in her head. She had just told Cece that to throw her off the scent about Nick and now...oh shit. Jess had seen Nick sit bolt upright at the revelation and she could feel his eyes on her making her skin burn red. She could only imagine what he thought of her in that moment, dipping her finger in more than one pie when the only pie she wanted to dip into was...what the hell was she talking about? She shook her head and shuffled in her seat to sit up straight. She was aware she had taken far longer than would be considered normal to answer Maya's question but part of her was hoping she would just forget she had asked it and move on to someone else. It would have been so easy for Jess to bring Schmidt into the firing line as a distraction but she would never do that, it wasn't fair. "Um..." She coughed. "No, that was just...um no there's nobody at the moment."

Cece looked at Jess in confusion and then guilt when she realised she had dropped her friend into something that had made her decidedly uncomfortable. "Mom I was just rambling, I probably got the wrong end of the stick, right Jess?"

"Right." Jess smiled with a sharp exhale but it seemed she wasn't getting off that lightly as Maya prodded further.

"No Cece I distinctly remember you telling me that Jess had set her sights on someone. Someone she already spends a lot of time with."

Nick's ears had pricked up to the point where there was a very real possibility they might shoot right off his head. He couldn't take his eyes from Jess, he had tried and it was physically impossible. Things had suddenly become very interesting, either there was another guy and Jess had straight up lost her mind or he was the guy and he was about to straight up lose his mind in a thousand different ways. Maybe there was another guy on her mind, it wasn't impossible, it's not like it wasn't permitted. She was single. Nick tried to weigh up in his mind if that affected how much he wanted her but he swiftly came to the conclusion that there was very little that would make him ever stop wanting her. There was a burning sensation in his chest that resembled jealously but he squashed it hard with everything that he had, it wasn't his right to feel like that anymore. He had never thrown his weight about with neanderthal jealousy and he wasn't about to start now, that's not how he and Jess worked. Acting jealous just spurred Jess on in the wrong direction, he had got a glimpse of that during the whole Jax incident two years ago and he had been careful not to repeat it.

For the first time in his life Nick was praying for dessert to be over and done with, he couldn't even remember what he had ordered which had literally never happened in his whole life. There was no time for his usual pause for unadulterated admiration when it did arrive, it was straight into his stomach within two minutes. He grabbed for his wallet the second he swallowed his last mouthful, desperate to pay up and get out of there so he and Jess could talk. It was all he could do not to scream out loud when the rest of the table took it upon themselves to order coffees. He pushed his chair out with every intention of following Jess when she got up to go to the bathroom but grunted in annoyance when Maya decided to go with her. His annoyance was somewhat shortlived though when Maya eventually took it upon herself to cover the entire cheque. In spite of the subtle ribbing over his job he was never adverse to a kind gesture, especially when it involved a free meal. He was just glad it was over. Finally they grabbed their coats and headed for the door but as Schmidt pulled him to one side for a debrief he lost Jess and the others.

After a few moments of intense reassurance for his best friend, Nick finally caught sight of the streetlights shining through the front door of the restaurant and the blur of Jess' red dress as she disappeared through it. He tried to pick up a light jog to get past Schmidt but he was too busy basking in his successful wooing of Cece's Mom to be in any kind of hurry. Growing impatient Nick rested his hands on Schmidt's shoulders, masking it as a gesture of support and affection and ushered him quickly outside where he found the gang guarding two cabs, Jess one and Cece the other. He saw the unmistakable look of panic on Jess' face as she helplessly watched Winston get into Cece's cab and then 'puppy dog' Schmidt come bounding eagerly after his fiancee leaving her and Nick alone on the sidewalk. Without saying a word she closed her eyes and crawled into the back seat leaving the door open for him.

Nick furrowed his brow and shook his head as the incessant shrill of the driver yammering into his phone started to grind on him. Not that the driver was interrupting any in depth conversation between him and Jess, that had yet to even get off the ground but it was adding another level to his irritation. Jess was sitting as far away from him as she possible could, one swift yank of the door handle and she would be out on to the road in a millisecond, that's how hard she was pushing herself up against it. She had her neck craned so far towards the window he worried she was in danger of pulling of some sort of exorcist move.

Nick knew the fifteen minute journey was already set to feel like a lifetime with the atmosphere the way it was but as the car slowed behind a build up traffic he knew it was time for them to start talking. Pushing his knuckles down on to the seat he pushed his butt up and little closer to her narrowing the chasm between them. He nudged her elbow with his making her jump like he had just woken her from a nap.

"So you have your sights set on another guy huh?" He asked with a tentative smile.

She sighed and turned even further away from him "No that was just...no."

Nick ran his hand through his hair clutching at it tightly. "You can't just ignore me Jess. It's not fair."

"Yeah well after humiliating myself I'm just not feeling that chatty tonight Nick."

"You have no reason to feel humiliated."

"Really because the way I see it I have put myself out there twice in the last three weeks now and both times I've been met with the same blank expression so yeah it's a little embarrassing to get shot down like that."

"Shot down? Jess I did not shoot you down I didn't get a chance to."

"Oh great that makes me feel so much better."

"No that's not what I meant I...look Jess I didn't know ok, I didn't know that something was happening here I mean we've been broken up for a year."

"I know that."

"The whole thing with the mug, I thought we were just playing, you know, flirting. I didn't think you would ever really go there."

Jess shrugged and stared intently at her fidgeting hands. "Look Nick can we just put this down to a moment of weakness please. I'm sorry ok, I'm sorry I stirred this all up again. You're happy doing your thing with whoever and I don't want to spoil that for you or make things weird so let's just forget all of this."

"That's what you want."

"Yes. You're right this was just a flirtation, for old times sake. Nothing more than a little nostalgia or something. I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do so don't worry. I get it. I really do."

"Jess."

"What?" She risked a look into his eyes and saw an intensity that caught her off guard.

Nick raised his hand slowly and placed it inside her knee making her skin twitch under his cool palm. "I didn't shoot you down."

They both stayed still for a few moments, their muscles frozen into place and they both frantically contemplated what might be about to happen. It wasn't too late for Nick to take his hand back and put it down to nothing more than a comforting gesture from a friend. But that's not what it was, they both knew that. The way his thumb stroked lightly over the soft skin of her leg, they way her skin broken out in a shiver, the way his hand had now slowly started to slide down her inner thigh and they way her legs parted to allow it. This was way more than just comfort.

The journey his fingers were making felt torturous. His usual confidence was shaken by the longtime absent feel of his skin, the fear of what he was about to do and the fact that he was about to do it in the back of a cab which wasn't their usual style. The weight of uncertainty was heavy but his need for her was heavier. Dusting his shaking fingers down the soft skin of her inner thigh, Nick could feel every vein in his body pounding with fear. Fear that she would stop him and fear that she wouldn't. Her eyes were fixed to his hand, watching it cautiously as it disappeared under her dress. Her breath hitched and she grabbed his wrist.

"Nick."

They locked eyes for a moment as their heavy breaths mingled but he didn't move his hand, nor did she make him, she simply circled her fingers lightly round his thick wrist and held them there. His eyes darted around hers desperately trying to find some sort of answer but he could only see that she was pleading for the same from him.

"Do you want me to stop." He whispered, blowing the stray hairs at the side of her face. His voice was quiet and tentative but the confidence in his touch was growing as she continued to permit his action. She shook her head and closed her eyes, pausing for just a second before she pushed his hand higher. Her legs fell apart just enough to give him all the access he needed. He pressed the palm of his hand firm against her and she jumped, sucking air harshly through her teeth in surprise. Slowly he smoothed his fingers from bottom to top, forming smalls circles of pressure in just the right place, watching her bite her lips, stifling a whimper as his tortuous pace made her squirm. Leaving his hand to its own devices he turned his head locking his eyes on her but hers remained closed. He willed her to open them, to have that connection they used to have but she kept them closed.

His eyes flickered to the driver who was still far too engrossed in the road and his conversation to pay any attention to what was going on behind the screen in his back seat. As he leaned against Jess he could feel all her muscles begin to soften and her breath suddenly quicken as he pushed his fingers inside her underwear. Her eyes widened in shock as she searched anxiously around her to check they weren't seconds away from being thrown out of the cab, or worse. She was whimpering with each breath now as Nick remembered how to touch her exactly the way she liked. The strain in his groin sat painfully unattended to but he had to be patient. Jess gripped his thigh abruptly as he pushed one finger inside her, soon followed by another and moved in and out slowly. He felt her grasp on his leg tighten as his pace quickened and when her gasps became open-mouthed silence he knew she was close. Pushing as far inside as the angle would let him he could feel a dull ache setting into his wrist but he kept going. Kept her going.

Nick shifted in his seat to get closer to her when the cab came to a sudden stop. They both felt an abrupt jerk back to reality as Schmidt's hand rapped loudly on the window. Nick snapped his hand from Jess' underwear as she crashed her knees together so forcefully they hit hard off the door making her yelp in pain, a stark contrast to the sensations she had been feeling seconds ago. Nick paid the driver in a bluster as he glared at Schmidt through the window desperately trying to figure if he had caught them. They both let out a sigh of relief as Schmidt prattled on about himself, muffled by the closed window, the most they could make out was that he was demanding their presence as they showed Maya around their humble abode.

Jess rearranged her dress around her thighs and shuffled out of the car quickly without a word, Nick followed behind her nudging and pushing at his groin to try and control the situation that had 'arisen' before they made it upstairs. He could think of one way to relieve it but there was no time and Jess was already tottering towards the front door to the building smoothing down her hair and pressing the back of her hand against her distinctly flushed cheeks.

As Nick welcomed the cool air on his face he couldn't help but smile. Maybe they didn't have that much to talk about after all. Maybe talking wasn't the answer this time.