Considering Nick was feeling nervous, he had hidden it very well. Dressed in a crisp white shirt, smart trousers, and freshly shaven, he looked the picture of calm as Sarah had met him at the fancy restaurant he'd booked. She'd arrived fashionably late, giving him that stomach sinking feeling of not quite knowing whether he'd been stood up or not for a good fifteen minutes until she rushed in through the door, wearing a knee-length navy blue dress that hugged in all the right places. She was full of apologies but he waved them away, lying that he'd only just arrived himself.

They took a seat, ordered drinks, and ate some ridiculously small plates of food. Both were pleased to find that conversation had flowed as easily as the alcohol they were consuming. Nick noted with appreciation that she certainly liked her liquor. Not only that, but she had matched him drink for drink so far. Quite a feat. She laughed heartily at his jokes, and listened genuinely when the topic of conversation had somehow, regrettably, veered onto his failed relationship with Caroline and the subsequent misery he had endured. Worrying he had dampened the buoyant mood of the night, Nick tried to steer the subject back to Sarah.

"So, you work at the art gallery, huh?" he asked

"I do." she confirmed with a nod "It's early days, still settling myself in. It's not really my world...I prefer to create the art rather than display it" she said with a wry laugh

"No kidding?" Nick raised a brow, intrigued "You're an artist?"

"Well, I'm trying to be" Sarah tucked a strand of hair that had escaped from her side plait back behind her ear "but unsold paintings don't exactly pay the bills, so...for now...I work at the gallery." she gave a small shrug, a little embarrassed at her admission.

They were interrupted by their waitress appearing at the table, and suddenly became aware that they were the last customers still in the restaurant. Nick sheepishly asked for the bill and tried to hide the look of shock in his eyes when he saw the cheque, a tight smile plastered on his face. Sarah offered to pay her share several times, but was refused vehemently by a shake of his head.

"No, I got this." Nick insisted "Can't be stealing food from the mouth of a struggling artist now, can I? I mean, I'm making the big bucks as a bartender right now, so this_" he held he bill aloft "is just...it's nothing!" causing them both to laugh.

"You really love it at that bar, don't you?" Sarah asked, her eyes shining "you always look so *comfortable* behind the counter"

"You know, I really do" Nick replied, sincerity clear in his voice "You might not believe this, but I actually went to law school_" the surprise across her face making him smile and lean in closer to her "_for real, I was studying to be a lawyer. But, I quit, because that wasn't *my* world."

His turn to shrug

"I went to work at the bar, and I've never regretted it once. Not once."

He meant it. He'd never felt more at home than when he was behind that counter. The regulars were like family. Intoxicated, rowdy, sometimes grumpy family. But he loved it.

"Well, I hear lawyers and their money are overrated anyway" she teased

"Is that so?" Nick cocked his head

"Oh, yeah!" Sarah continued with an exaggerated wave of her hand "A man with a six figure salary, his own home AND a pension plan? No thanks! I prefer mine living on the bread line, smelling of alcohol and peanuts" she laughed, before meeting his gaze and wondering if she'd let the booze loosen her tongue a bit too much and whether she should perhaps reign it in a little.

Instead, Nick rose from his seat and offered his arm to her. "Then let's get outta here!" He declared.

...

Once outside, the fresh air made Sarah suddenly aware of how giddy she was feeling from the intoxicating mixture of alcohol and the presence of this delightful man currently stood at her side, cradling her arm in the crook of his and smelling divine. She held on a little tighter to steady herself before they continued up the street, neither of them entirely sure where they were heading to, but happy to see where the night would take them.

A little way down, they passed a small pizzeria, the smell of dough and pepperoni wafting past them. Nick's stomach grumbled. The tiny portions at the restaurant had barely been enough to satisfy his hunger. He stopped outside the door and turned to her sheepishly.

"I'm so sorry!" he grimaced "but do you...uh, would you...mind if I just...stop in here? Am I a terrible person?!"

"You'd only be a terrible person if you didn't share your pizza with me..." Sarah replied with a smirk, and Nick could barely hide his relief as they ducked into the store.

"If I had known you were a pizza and beer kinda gal, I coulda just saved myself $100!" he shook his head in feigned irritation before grinning at her.

"Well, next time the pizza is on me" she offered

"Next time, huh?" Nick raised his eyebrows

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for a deep pan" Sarah laughed, her brown eyes dancing in the lowered lights.

...

The loft was dark when they stumbled through the door, Nick closing it behind them with his foot and expertly guiding her towards his room whilst they continued kissing in their drunken stupor. If he was honest, this wasn't quite how he thought the evening was going to end, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't thrilled at the developments unfolding.

The rest of the guys appeared to be asleep, judging by the silence. Even better, he thought, no awkward interruptions and meetings in the hallway.

Pushing his bedroom door shut, they giggled as the two of them tripped and fell against it. Those beers at the pizza place had clearly tipped them over the line of merry to completely and utterly drunk. With over enthusiastic shushing, they righted themselves and started kissing again, this time leaning against the door for the stability that neither of them was currently capable of. Nick started tugging at Sarah's dress, eagerly trying to remove it over her head whilst walking her backwards across the room and dropping his pants at the same time, causing them both to topple on to his bed and dissolve into fits of giggles once again.

"I'm sorry" he slurred "I won't pretend to have a lot of game...but, what I do have is usually better than this!" he continued, before snorting into her hair.

Sarah looked at him, her face suddenly serious "I'm currently lying here with my dress halfway over my head and my underwear on display. I think I win the no game contest!" she fixed him with a wonky smile, before pulling him above her.

"Probably best to just get on with it then?" he asked, whilst pulling her dress the rest off the way over her head.

"Probably" she whispered back, her grin disappearing beneath his lips.

...

Jess had woken early. She'd planned on doing some work before going into school that morning, but the battery on her laptop had died during the night and she was damned if she could find the charger. Muttering curses to herself, she searched her room fruitlessly before remembering that she had leant it to Nick the other day.

Of course he still had it!

Nick Miller never returned the things he borrowed!

She padded out of her room and, after hearing him singing to 'Groove is in the Heart' from the shower at the other end of the hall, had assumed she didn't need to knock before pushing his bedroom door open.

She assumed wrong.

Upon hearing the mutual screaming of the two women, Nick had bolted out of the bathroom after grabbing his towel and ran down the hall to find Jess open mouthed and flustered in his doorway. Sarah was wide-eyed and red faced, trying to cover her modesty with his sheets.

"Jess! What are you doing?!" He yelled, leading her back into the hallway and trying to pull the door closed to block her view of Sarah still in his bed.

"I...I..." Jess stammered, her eyes still fixed behind him

"Quit staring!" he hissed, trying to keep his voice low

"I'm not staring!" She protested "I was just taken by surprise, is all!"

"Yeah, no kidding. I'm pretty sure Sarah was too! You can't just go barging into my room, Jessica. We have the knocking rule for a *very* good reason" he glared at her, neither one of them wanting to mention his naked Jamaican dancing at this moment, but both fully aware what he was making reference to.

Jess blinked at him for a moment. Not quite sure what to say.

"I'm sorry" she offered meekly, before saying it again louder, directed over his shoulder towards the bed "I'm sorry, Sarah! Um. Nice to...meet...you..." Jess shrugged and offered an apologetic glance in response to Nick's look of frustration.

"Goodbye, Jess" he said through gritted teeth as he stepped back into his room and closed the door on her.

She stood in silence for a moment before suddenly realising that she had left without the item she'd gone there for in the first place. Jess grabbed the door handle again, this time being sure to knock loudly. Several times.

"What now, Jessica?!" came Nick's exasperated voice

Peeking into the room, and avoiding anyone's gaze, she explained the saga of her laptop battery, the missing charger and her urgent report.

"It's on the desk" he sighed, waving her in.

Jess dashed across the room, grabbed her charger and then span on her heel to thank him. She stopped in her tracks at the sight of Nick perched on the end of his bed, still wearing his towel, and the small blonde next to him. Sarah was still wrapped in his sheets.

It unexpectedly caused Jess to draw in a small, sharp breath before choking out a strangled "Thanks" and running back to her own room.

She closed the door and slid down to the floor. Her face was flushed and her heart was pounding. She felt sick, angry, sad all at once and had no idea why. She tried to swallow down the taste of bile riding up from her stomach.

'What on earth is up with you?!' She thought, running a hand over her face and forcing herself to take some deep breaths to regain composure.

Nick had had girls over plenty of times before now.

Many a naked night guest.

Many.

Not once had it ever bothered her before.

Not once.

'But this time it's different' the voice in her head piped up.

She scoffed to herself and shook her head.

No it wasn't. It wasn't different. Why would it be different?

'Because this time - you're jealous...'

"Shut up!" She scolded herself "I'm *not* jealous!"

She swallowed hard.

Breathed harder.

Oh. My. God.

She closed her eyes and let her head fall back to rest against the door, not able to move with the gravity of her realisation.

She was jealous...