I totally plagiarised a scene from 'The Ugly Truth' here (just kidding it's nothing like it but it inspired me a little). Go watch the movie if you want. You will get more enjoyment out of it than this fic.
Weeks go by and they're practically inseparable.
Nick spent most of his time at Jess's, his excuse being that it was always boring at the loft when Winston and Aly were working so much. They both knew it was definitely not the real reason behind it, but neither said a word. Jess had grown to enjoy having someone to cuddle up to at night and he had just enjoyed her.
It had truly slipped back into an all too familiar groove between the two of them.
Jess would leave the door open for him when he finished late at the bar, that was, if she hadn't spent the entirety of his shift sitting across from him. She would be the first person he texted when something interesting happened in his day. Even if nothing happened, they checked in with each other all the time.
But the one thing that hadn't changed over the past few weeks, was that line that Jess had clearly drawn between them. That line that Nick passionately hated. The line that meant there was a such thing as too much PDA or too many flirtatious comments. Jess had made it clear to him that the line was not to be crossed, no matter how hard Nick pushed.
He wasn't worried though. He was just enjoying the time with her, his best friend. Plus, he knew eventually he could break her down.
One afternoon, Nick was lying flat out on the couch in Jess's apartment, flicking between channels while sipping away at his beer.
Jess had left to go shopping with Cece a few hours earlier but that hadn't phased him at all. He appreciated being able to watch the game without her constant desperation for conversation.
She walked through the door at about quarter to five, hands full of shopping bags.
"Nick?" She laughed as she put the bags down and walked to the end of the couch where his feet were. "You are literally in the exact same spot as when I left."
"It's my day off, Jess!" He sat up a little. "Oh and I recorded like five of the scariest movies ever, so I was gonna pull the mattress out and –"
"Tonight?" she drew out the word in a kind of high pitched and awkward way, causing Nick to squint his eyes and sit up even further.
"I mean, unless you have, other plans, tonight, Jess?" He got up and slowly walked around to sit on the arm of the chair in front of her suspiciously.
"Umm, actually, Nick, I have a date." She couldn't say it to his eyes, so instead, she focused on his feet. Pointed straight at her.
As soon as she said it his heart started to beat harder in his chest, his mouth started to go dry and he felt like his lungs might just explode. But she wasn't his. He knew this could happen. In fact, he knew this would happen. But he had hoped with every ounce of love he had for that woman that he would get his chance before some other loser did. They had grown so incredibly close but that still didn't mean he had a right to hold a grudge. He just had to be grateful that he got a chance to spend time with her before she found someone better.
He took a moment, eyes fixed on her, swallowing hard and regaining focus. At the end of the day, she was still his best friend and he still had to be there for her.
"Jessica Day is going on a date?" He tried to sound enthusiastic and that made her shoulders move up and down in the slightest chuckle. Eyes still focused on their feet.
"Who's the lucky guy?" He said a little more quietly now, still embracing whatever was left of confident Nick Miller.
Looking back up at him, she bit her top lip for a moment, searching his eyes.
"It's so stupid." She blushed a little. "A guy bumped into me at the grocery store the other day and I dropped all of my stuff. As we were picking it up we got chatting a bit and he asked me out." Now was her turn to swallow hard, while he forced his lips together in half smile, an attempt to convince her it was fine.
Guilt was plastered all over her face and then he felt bad that she felt bad.
"Good for you, Jess." He smiled.
She didn't even know what to say at this point. She didn't know how she had expected Nick to act, but it definitely wasn't like that. Maybe she thought he would get angry, yell that she had been leading him on her something. But this Nick made her almost forget why she hadn't got rid of that magical line keeping them from getting back together. She had made a deal with herself that she would make herself move on and she was sticking to that promise.
"Show me what you bought!" He shook her from her thoughts and she was kind of relieved, his tone had gone from sensitive Nick back to normal Nick in a matter of seconds.
Laughing a little more confidently, she grabbed the bags and gestured for him to sit down.
"Oh you're gonna die." She said excitedly as she peaked inside.
Around ten minutes later she came out in a short, fitted black dress. It was simple and minimalistic, but it showed off every centimetre of every curve and oh boy was she right. He could have sworn he had died.
She gave him a smile and turned around.
"Okay Jess, this is called teasing." He shook his head eyes wide as he stood up to walk over to her.
"What the hell. Who knew you had that under those pyjama sets?" He laughed, gesturing her to spin around again.
"Shut up." She looked at him with a sassy expression on her face. "You've seen me naked like a thousand times."
"Yeh, but I had to earn it! This guy ran into you at the supermarket and gets to sit in front of this all night?" He gestured up and down her body as she was trying to hide her smile, rolling her eyes as she walked into the kitchen and began boiling the kettle.
"I don't even know what I'm doing, Nick." She got out two mugs, putting a tea bag in both because apparently Nick likes her tea now.
"Is Jessica Day nervous to go out with grocery store guy?" Nick laughed leaning on the bench across from her.
"I haven't been on a date in like, a thousand years! I don't even know how to act in front of a male anymore." She said, slamming the spoon she was holding onto the table.
"Should I be offended?" He laughed and she rolled her eyes, yet again.
"It's different with you. I'm comfortable, you know? Your version of flirting is like, trying to piss me off. Not like, sexual but entertaining." She had a smirk on her face as she said it, knowing that little comment would get under his skin. She was aware that she was stretching the truth a little, his flirting definitely turned her on. "I don't even know this guy. I don't know how to flirt with other people?"
"Wait, wait, wait." He faced his palms to her as he walked around the bench towards her. "Did you just trash my flirting abilities?" He was getting closer and closer to her as she bit her bottom lip as to challenge him a little, not letting her eyes leave his.
"Oh babe." She pouted her lips. "We all have things we're not particularly good at." She couldn't help but laugh. He was standing so close to her now but she didn't give in, keeping that confident look in her eye.
"Jessica, Jessica, Jessica." His voice had gone kind of low and raspy as he placed each hand on the bench, one on each side of her hips.
"From the start with us, it's been like, this funny banter you know? We never really had to do the whole process of getting to know each other." She tried to talk her way out of whatever this situation was leading to, but when he let off one of those sexy chuckles he sometimes did the smirk on her face had quickly began to fade to a little more serious.
"Do you remember?" He paused for a minute, licking his lips ever so slightly and letting off a chuckled. "Do you remember, when you first moved into the loft, Jess?" The way he said her name sent a shiver through her body.
"Yeh." Her voice was suddenly unrecognisable as she focussed on that look he had in his eye.
"When you first walked through those doors, I remember turning to Schmidt and saying 'no fucking way, will I be able to live with this woman.'" He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You know why I said that, Jessica?" He raised his eyebrows a little as he watched her breathing began to get a little shakey. She shook her head, in fear of talking again.
"Because Jessica Day, you are the hottest woman I have ever seen, I mean, first of all, your body," He let a hand leave the table to find her hip, ever so gently. Her body flinching at his touch, but her eyes still locked to his. "Well, I mean, you know what I think of your body." He began to slide his hand up slowly, riding every curve with the softest touch, until he got to her chin, where he tilted her head up a little, moving his thumb to run across her bottom lip. He watched her swallow and blink slowly. Keep it together, Miller. He reminded himself.
"And those eyes. God, Jess, you know I think you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen." He let his hand open up a little to ever so gently touch her face. His eyes squinting a little to take in her eyes even more.
"But you wanna know the real reason, Jess?" His voice was so scratchy and quiet now, almost a whisper. She didn't know how much longer she could hold it together.
His head was getting closer and closer to hers and he was letting his eyes go back and forth from her lips, but she was too dead set stuck in that trance to do anything about it.
Their lips were almost touching when he spoke again.
"The real reason, Jess, is that you're a…" He paused again, a slight smile coming over his lips, but their faces were so close she could barely see it. "You're a sucker." He burst out laughing as she closed her eyes and snapped her hand to her face, finally realising how hot and flushed she must have looked.
"I hate you!" She laughed all whiney as she let her hands find his chest in attempts to push him away. "You are the worst, Nick Miller." She was shaking her head and they were both laughing and then his face turned serious again, her body still trapped against his.
He swallowed hard. Now he was nervous.
"Don't go on the date, Jess." Her laughter settled and a curious smile fell on her lips. She turned her head a little to the side.
"Give me one good reason not to." She said, not really sure where this was going.
He clenched his teeth together and pursed his lips for a moment.
"Because I'm in love with you."