Sorry you guys. I keep forgetting how heavy a commitment it is to write a multichapter. But part of my new years resolutions is to be more attentive to my stories and such. So hopefully things will just get better concerning my updating schedule
November 23, 2014
It was just another Sunday night. Jess and Nick were curled up in the couch, watching a rerun of The Walking Dead. Jess was lying down with her head resting on Nick's lap, right next to the large bowl of popcorn.
It was during the commercial break when Nick broke the silence. "I was thinking of applying to business school."
Jess looked up to see Nick bashfully avoiding her eyes. "You are?"
"I just...Clyde is starting to think about retiring. I mean not like he's selling the bar or anything but he's starting to look for someone to be in charge for the day to day thing." His hand came up to rub the back of his neck, making Jess shiver from the sudden breeze that hit her skin.
She scooted up so she was sitting right next to Nick. "Wow Nick. That's really good."
"You think? I'd still be working at the bar of course so we can afford to…" Jess pressed her hand at Nick's mouth to stop his rambling. The suddenness of her action resulted in her accidentally slapping Nick with the force.
"Ow! Jess!" Nick recoiled from her hand with shock.
"Sorry, sorry. I just… Nick that's sounds like a really good opportunity." Jess beamed as she climbed up on his lap and wrapped her arms around him.
"I mean I do still have to see if I can get in and stuff like that." Nick whispered into Jess's hair as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "And I still need to figure out how to pay for this and…"
"I can help you pay for it, you're not the only one with a job here Miller." Jess grinned, her cheeks starting to hurt from being stretched to its limit.
Nick rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to let you pay for my education Jess. I'm pretty sure I can work something out. Get a loan or something like that. And like I said it's no use planning this stuff now I haven't even applied."
"But you're going to get in when you do. I know you will." Jess said as she started to bounce from her excitement, stirring up a different kind of excitement for Nick. "And I can pay for the groceries and rent and stuff so that'll ease your mind."
Nick frowned "Jess I told you I'm not going to let you take a hit from our expenses. It's not like our rent is cheap..."
She kissed him soundly interrupting his monologue, "Details, details. We'll figure this out. God I'm so happy for you."
Nick grunted into Jess mouth, his grip on her hips tightening. "Yeah we'll figure it out later." He whispered before flipping her so that she was lying down on the couch.
March 4, 2017
"I want to help but I don't know how." Schmidt muttered as he walked back into their bedroom. His feet barely making a sound on their carpet.
Cece looked up from her laptop at his words with a frown."They need to work this out themselves Schmidt."
"But they're ruining each other. One of these days the dam's going to break and then what?" Schmidt lay down on the bed and stretched his legs out, savoring the feel of their 4 inch gel memory foam after chasing around a very hyperactive one year old. He stretched out his arms, grabbing one of the pillows and placing it below his head.
Cece sighed as she pushed the laptop away. "I don't know, Schmidt. I dont know."
They sat in silence for a while, the only sound were their mixed breathing and Cece tapping on her keyboard, her eyes darting around the screen at a fast pace.
"By the way are these new sheets?" Schmidt asked as he fingered the new teal bed spread.
"Yeah, it's egyptian cotton. I changed it this morning so you would stop whining about the jersey knit sheets making you sweaty." Cece rolled her eyes at her fiance's ridiculous complaints over the last couple days, not turning away from her screen.
"I refuse to wake up with my…" He bagan.
Cece grabbed the pillow next to her and threw it at Schmidt's irritated face. "Keep your voice down, you might wake Claire up."
Schmidt pushed the pillow off of his face, sat up and kissed his fiance's forehead. He was rubbing her temple, easing away the prior worry when the laptop screen caught his eye. "Bahamas? Oh no, tell me you don't have another overseas shoot."
"No...I was actually thinking about our wedding." Cece whispered, a faint blush blooming at her cheeks.
A large grin spread on Schmidt's face. "Our wedding?"
"I mean Claire is turning two this year. And we said that we weren't going to drag this engagement forever and it's only going to be a small wedding anyway…" Cece trailed off. Her eyes avoiding Schmidt's gaze. "I'm not saying we should do it now. Not with all the drama between Nick and Jess but I just want to have our options ready for when we're ready and it's a good time to do it and..."
"I'm not trying to stop you here." Schmidt kissed up the column of her neck. "The sooner you become Mrs. Schmidt the better."
He nudged the laptop away with his leg as he lowered Cece down into the pillows as his lips slowly made its way to meet hers when suddenly a sharp cry came out of the baby monitor on the side table.
"Every time!" Schmidt groaned angrily as he pushed himself off of the bed and headed towards the door. He turned and pointed at Cece. "We're finishing this later."
"Whatever you say," Cece winked at Schmidt as she pulled the laptop towards her to resume her researching.
March 5, 2017
Nick sat behind his desk, giving himself a few minutes of reprieve before he finished filling out this month's reservation calendar. He let his mind wander to what Winston told him the other day.
Should he take a break?
The bar seemed to be going fine and he was sure that Bob could handle the place for a night or two. But then again when it came to him all he usually had to do was leave the room before things start to fall into chaos. What would happen if he actually left? He's never been in a position of power like this that he isn't sure of the proper protocol.
"You're thinking. That never ends well." Nick turned to see Winston standing at his office door with a small smile on his face. "You look busy. Want me to come by later?"
"No, no it's okay." Nick said as he gestured Winston to come in.
"Look man, I just came by to apologize for what I said the other day." Winston said as he sat on the chair next to Nick's desk.
Nick reclined on his chair and started to throw newly sharpened pencils into the ceiling. "I don't know man. I mean I was just thinking about it actually."
"And…?"
"Maybe you're right." Winston did an inner victory dance before facing his long time best friend again.
He straightened his face to get back to the core matter at hand. "So what are you going to do now?"
"I don't know yet. I mean I feel like if I leave then…" Nick gestured wildly with his hands.
"The whole place will spontaneously combust in flames?" Winston finished for him.
Nick flailed his arms wildly with his eyes wide and nodding at Winston as if saying 'Exactly!' accidentally knocking over his cup of pens.
"Nick you do know that that is very unlikely to happen." Winston commented as he leaned back into the chair.
"Whatever Winston." Nick leaned back on his chair, rubbing his weary eyes.
"Nick, Jess is an amazing girl. Admittedly she may be a little nuts but so are you. But if you keep pushing her to the side like this she'll leave." Winston saw the brief flicker of fear flash through Nick's eyes.
"No, she won't. She won't...would she? I'm doing this for her she can't..." Nick started as his breathing started to pick up.
"Yes she can Nick. With how you've been treating her lately she really can. I know you Nick. For most of our lives. And I know that you're doing this for her but sometimes you can get carried away without you realizing it." Winston tried to keep his voice calm, knowing that if any form of accusation seeped into them then Nick would blow.
"Treating her how? I haven't done anything." Nick asked defensively.
Winston threw his hands up in the air. "Exactly. You haven't done ANYTHING. When was the last time the two of you did anything remotely romantic?"
Silence fell in Nick's office as Winston watched Nick process his words.
"I can't lose her Winston. She's it for me. Like it." Nick sighed.
"I know, bro." Winston leaned back into his chair.
Nick met Winston's eyes. "I want to marry her."
March 13, 2017
"What happened to you two Jess? I mean not what happened last week...but you guys haven't been the same in months." Cece whispered as the two lay on the couch watching Dirty Dancing.
Jess's eyes kept on straying towards on the bouquet of red roses that rested on the coffee table, along with the yellow ones that arrived today. "Your husband is doing a good job coaching Nick."
Cece raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"
"Come on. The roses?" I grinned sadly, "I love him but he's not the smoothest guy we know."
"They hold their own meanings!" A shout from within the apartment rang out, making Cece roll her eyes.
"I just wonder if he's doing this at Schmidt's urging or because he wants to." Jess whispered.
"You're kidding me, right? That boy would move mountains for you." Cece tucked a strand of hair behind Jess's ear. "But you didn't answer my question, babe."
"I know…" Jess trailed off. "nothing happened."
Cece raised her eyebrow disbelievingly.
"I mean literally nothing. He got so busy with business school and working, and I still had my work. We knew that him working and studying would put a strain on our relationship, we hardly ever saw each other. I just never imagined it would create this chasm between us." Jess's voice cracked as she continued. "Sometimes I'd try and ask him to do something but then he'd just be so short and stressed. And I get that. And I understood why he took it out on me but then it just started happening more regularly. And I couldn't even tell him anything anymore. He just became so closed off and cold…"
Tears started to pour from Jess's eyes. "Cece I never felt so alone. I was sleeping right next to him but I never felt so alone…"
Jess tried to wipe away the tears quickly falling on her face. "I thought things were going to change after he graduated from business school but…"
Cece gathered the crying girl in her arms, sighing into her hair. Schmidt stepped out of the hallway with Claire in his arms, his face showing that he heard Jess's speech.
"When you came here that night and you told me what happened...I didn't know that it was THIS bad leading up to it...I...God I'm so sorry Jess." Cece whispered as she tried to control her tears.
Claire squirmed in Schmidt's arms, wanting to get down. Schmidt obliged and watched his baby girl run carefully to her mother and Aunt Jess and wrap her little arms around the two.
"No no sad Momma…"She whispered.
Real life just gets in the way of other things sometimes.
We're one or two chapters away from that fated day. And yes I know that some people are getting confused by the way the timeline of this story is going but basically the first part is the past, showing how Nick and Jess's relationship progressed, the middle is not exactly the past but basically the days leading to the big fallout, and the bottom is the Post-fallout. By the time we've hit that fated day the set up of the story will just be the past and the present seeing as the "future" will be the current time.
You can now track my updating times, thoughts, possible ideas on twitter: perspectivesinp
Reviews? Comments?
Thoughts are much appreciated.