It was early November, and Jess and Winston were sitting on the couch one evening watching TV. Nick had already gone to work, and Schmidt was out with Elizabeth.
Or so they thought.
The door to the loft slammed shut, startling both Jess and Winston. They both looked up to see Schmidt standing in the foyer, his hair a mess and his mouth pressed into a firm frown.
Jess leaned forward and placed her mug of tea on the coffee table. "Hey Schmidt. You okay?"
Schmidt threw up his hands and walked to the opposite leg of the couch, flopping down dramatically and slumping backwards. Jess turned to her right and looked at Winston with wide eyes. Winston stood up and walked around to sit down next to Schmidt, as Jess slid her way across the cushions to sit on his other side.
She placed her hand gently on his knee and spoke softly. "What happened?"
Without moving at all, his eyes staring into the distance, he just said. "I broke up with Elizabeth."
Both Winston and Jess winced at the same time and Jess nodded toward Winston, encouraging him to say something.
"Man, that sucks. You want to talk about it?" He shrugged and just looked at Jess, then back at Schmidt.
"Not really. I don't know. She...And then we...NO. I don't want to talk about it."
"You know what Schmidt?" Jess started to stand up and held out her hand. "We're gonna take you out."
Winston grimaced. "We are?"
Jess looked straight at Winston while she spoke. "Yes, we are. Come on, Schmidt. We'll go get a few drinks and then you can tell us all about it."
"Or JUST drink and NOT tell us every detail..." Winston added.
Jess just glared at him. "Winston". She hissed under her breath. He just shrugged and mouthed. "what?"
By the time Jess had changed into her red flared dress with the black belt, and made it to the bar with Winston and Schmidt, the place was already crowded. They found a table about midway between the far wall and the bar and sat down. Jess and Winston took the seats on the end of the round booth, figuring it was better to keep Schmidt safely between them with no chance of escaping to steal the bottle of Melon liqueur he always managed to find.
After giving the bar a quick glance for Nick, she turned to Schmidt. "So, want to tell us what happened?"
He leaned back in the seat. "There's not much to tell. It just wasn't working." He turned to Jess. "It's like you said. She was comfortable. It was as if I had my good friend back, but." He sighed and shook his head. "She just wasn't Cece. Cece will always be my gorgeous and vibrant crowning sexual achievement."
Jess grimaced, but reached out to rub his shoulder. "Sorry you had to go through all this to find that out, though."
He put his hands up on the table. "Eh, I'll be alright. Who wants to be comfortable anyway?"
Winston just shrugged his shoulders, looking at Jess and then back at Schmidt.
Jess scanned the room for Nick again, but still couldn't find him.
"Hey Winston, do you see Nick?"
Winston looked around for a minute and then nodded to a table in the corner before turning back to Schmidt. "Over there."
Jess turned around and her smile quickly faded. Nick was standing in front of the table holding an empty tray, engaged in a conversation with a tall, leggy blond seated on the end. There was something about the way her legs were casually thrown over the end of the booth, and how she was leaning towards her boyfriend that just didn't sit right with her. Jess narrowed her eyes and nervously bit her lip. A waitress came over to the table at that moment to take their order.
"JESS." Winston reached across the table and poked her arm. She slowly turned and shook her head.
"Sorry." She looked up at the waitress. "Tequila shot". The waitress smiled and nodded, turning on her heels as Winston raised his eyebrows.
"Shots, Jess?"
She shrugged her shoulders and turned her legs toward the outside of the seat, leaning on the table. "Yeah, so?"
Winston glanced at Jess, and then toward the bar where Nick had now returned. "You sure about this?"
Jess rolled her eyes and turned toward the far table, the blond now laughing with the two brunettes sitting with her as she glanced back and forth toward the bar. Jess stood up and slapped her hand on the table. "I'm going to say hi to Nick."
Winston just shook his head.
Nick was busy with a customer on the other side of the bar, so she walked up and rested her arm on the end of the counter. She was standing there for only a moment when their waitress passed by with their drinks.
"Hey, you're Nick's girlfriend, right?"
Jess smiled and nodded. "Busy night?"
She rolled her eyes. "So crazy." She turned the tray toward Jess. "You sitting here now?" Jess nodded and the waitress grabbed her shot glass and placed it in front of her. "Let me know if you need anything else."
"Thanks."
Jess grabbed the glass, glancing over at the blond. Her eyes narrowed as she studied her once again, before downing the shot and slamming the glass a little too hard on the wood surface of the bar.
"Easy there, sweetheart."
Jess turned her head to see Nick with a towel over his shoulder and his hands together in front of him, leaning on the bar. She was momentarily relieved and smiled brightly.
"Hey, you look busy." She reached out to grab his hand.
He quickly grabbed her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "I am. Look, I'll try to get over to the table in a little bit, okay?" He leaned to the right and glanced over at their table. He saw Schmidt slumped against the seat with his arms crossed in front of him. He nodded toward them. "What's up with Schmidt?"
Jess turned to glance over and then back at Nick, rolling her eyes. "Long story. Nick, can..." Just then Big Bob was calling for him and motioning him to the other side again. He winked and mouthed an "I'm sorry" as he backed up to turn and walk to the other side.
Jess shook her head and sighed, turning away from the bar and walked back to their table.
After two more Tequila shots, Jess had settled on sipping a glass of pink wine to slow down the haze beginning to cloud her head. About a half hour later, she was feeling a little bit better and was sitting alone at the table waiting for Cece, as Winston and Schmidt made their way to the bar. She was feeling more than a little satisfied when she glanced over at the blond's table and noticed that only her two friends were left. Her satisfaction was short-lived however, when she saw that the blond had taken up residence on a stool at the bar, not far from where the guys were sitting. Just then, Jess saw her lean across and grab a cherry from behind the bar, just as Nick walked by. Clearly trying to get his attention for some reason, he stopped and they started chatting. Nick was mixing a drink for her as she started throwing her head back in an annoying and obviously flirtatious way.
Jess took a long sip from her wine. Placing the glass down, she started swirling the glass on the table as she stared straight ahead. Why do I get the feeling he's flirting right back? She shook her head. She was acting crazy. Nick was rushing to finish, when he bumped her glass and some of the liquid spilled on her arm. She playfully grabbed the towel over his shoulder and used it to wipe her arm dry. She swore she saw Nick reach out for her hand, but quickly shook her head, disgusted with herself. What am I doing? Nick had turned to walk away just then, and she found herself sighing with relief. The blond continued to watch Nick though. Why was this making her increasingly angry?
Or...Jealous?
No. That was ridiculous.
She shook her head and pondered the thought, when she felt the seat cushion dip next to her. "Hey, babe." Cece bumped her shoulder with hers and she smiled.
"Cece! When did you get here?"
"Just now." She nodded toward the bar. "Long enough to see you plotting the death of that blond over there for talking to your boyfriend."
Jess frowned and took another sip of wine. "That obvious, huh?"
"What's going on?"
Jess shook her head. "Nothing. It's nothing. She just..." Her eyes narrowed as she looked back at the blond. "There's just something about her that's really bugging me. She's totally coming on to him and he doesn't even do anything."
Cece shrugged. "What do you want him to do? He's just doing his job, Jess."
"But does he have to be so...sexy doing it?"
Cece just laughed, putting her hand on Jess's arm and giving it a squeeze. "I'm headed to the bar. Need anything?"
Jess just shook her head and Cece disappeared toward the bar. She walked up next to the blond and motioned for Nick.
As Nick walked over to Cece, she kept an eye on the blond out of the corner of her eye.
"Hey Cece, what can I get ya?"
Cece smiled. "Nothing for me right now, but your girlfriend over there could use you when you have a minute." She spoke a little louder than she needed to and motioned her head toward Jess.
Nick frowned and moved his head to look over at Jess. "She okay? She looks upset."
Cece just smiled. "Just get over there."
With a confused look on his face, he walked around to the back of the bar counter and made his way to Jess' table.
Nick slid into the seat across from Jess and reached out to lay his hands over hers as she played with her glass. "Everything okay?"
Jess looked up and managed a weak smiled, letting go of her glass and grasping his hands. "Yeah...I'm...everything's fine." She shook her head as he cocked his to the side and pursed his lips.
"You're not fine. What's wrong?"
"Nick, it's fine."
Nick rolled his eyes, knowing that there was clearly something bothering her, but not wanting to get in a argument about it, decided to drop it. "Sorry it's been so crazy here tonight."
Jess glanced over at the bar and back at Nick. "You seem to have plenty of time for that blond over there." As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. She knew she was being ridiculous and she hated herself for it to come out sounding so bitter.
It was evident that Nick had picked up on the anger in her voice, because his eyes narrowed. "Really? She's a customer Jess. It's my job."
Feeling a little emboldened from the alcohol, Jess raised her voice a little in annoyance. "She wants more than drinks and you know it." OUCH. She pressed her eyelids closed for a second. What had gotten into her? She wanted to take it back immediately, but it was too late.
He let go of her hands and started to stand up. "I'm not doing this with you, Jess. You can't act all jealous the second I serve a pretty woman a drink."
His words cut into her. "Wait, so she IS pretty."
Nick shook his head in exasperation. "That's not what I meant, just... You know that's..." His voice was noticeably louder now.
"You said it, not me."
"Jessica, STOP. You know I didn't mean it that way...and." He stood at the end of the table and slapped his hands on the table. "You're acting insane right now."
She felt tears well up in her eyes. She couldn't believe what he had just said, and even more importantly, that she had started the whole damn argument in the first place. Frustrated with herself and annoyed that he couldn't see how hurt she was, she grabbed her glass and gulped down the last half of wine. She stood up as he tried to block her from leaving the booth. "Move Nick." His eyes widened and he crossed his arms in front of him. She pushed against his shoulders and he took a step backward. "I said move, Nick. I'm not kidding"
His arms fell to his side, as he tried to grab her hand. "What are you doing?"
She twisted her body away from him and gave him an icy stare. "Stop. Just go back to your job." The mocking tone in her voice wasn't her best moment. She flinched as she heard it come out of her mouth.
Nick just glared at her, his eyes narrowing. A smug smile came across his face. He knew she was upset, but something inside him wanted to see just how worked up she really was over this. He knew she wasn't actually this angry at him over one stupid customer, but he was somewhat fascinated with how passionate she was. In all honesty, he was kind of flattered. He never pictured Jess to be the jealous type, and it was kind of boosting his ego just a little bit. He tried to keep from smiling, "Are you telling me you are JEALOUS of that woman, Day?!"
"JEALOUS!??" She scoffed. "of HER. Now you sound like the crazy one, Miller. I'm just so pissed off right now that you can't even see that she's practically throwing herself at you, and you don't even care! You're right in front of me and it's doesn't even bother you!"
Nick pursed his lips and took a deep breath. Now he was getting angry. "OH, so you think I'm too stupid to know when a girl is hitting on me or not?! I'm sorry that I don't speak your language of imagining things!"
Her eyes narrowed, her face now flushed. "Are you SERIOUS?" She threw her hands in the air. "You don't care that she's flirting with you?"
"Why would I?!"
All of a sudden, Jess' face fell. She pushed past him. He hadn't meant for it to sound the way it did. Of course he didn't care if women flirted with him. Why would he notice? He was already with the only woman he wanted. He reached out to grab her hand. "Jess...Jess that's not what I meant."
Tears started to fall down her face as she broke free from his grasp, running toward the back of the bar.
"Wait, Jess..." Nick felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Cece's not-so-thrilled expression looking back at him. He let out a huge sigh and motioned toward Jess, who had at that moment disappeared into the restroom hallway.
"I'll talk to her."
Nick reached up to rub his eyes with his hands. "God, she drives me insane sometimes." He looked at Cece. "She doesn't even know what she's talking about..."
Cece patted his arm, giving him a sympathetic look. "I know that. She just...the insecurities come back sometimes, you know?"
Nick just shrugged. "I just don't know what she thinks she saw."
Cece frowned. "The possibility that she could lose you." Her voice softened. "That's what she saw."
Nick took a deep breath as he watched Cece run after Jess.
Nick nervously watched the doorway waiting for Jess and Cece to come out of the bathroom. It infuriated him that she would assume the worst from him, but his heart had also sank seeing her so upset. He knew she was being ridiculous, assuming the worst. The woman had asked for a drink and being in a rush because the bar was so busy, he had spilled some on her arm. What was she thinking getting upset over it? She was just another obnoxious customer who came in and tried to engage him in a boring conversation that he wasn't paying attention to anyway.
Throwing herself at him? Really, Jessica? He shook his head, trying to stifle a laugh.
Why were women so weird sometimes?
Just then a waitress came over to him and gave him an order for "her" table. He rolled his eyes and assembled the drinks together on a tray, making his way across the bar.
Jess emerged from the bathroom hallway and glanced across the room. She watched as Nick leaned over the table with a tray, to place their drinks in front of them. As he did, the blond reached out and started rubbing his arm. Not noticing, he stood up and simply smiled. As he turned to walk back to the bar, she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her. Slightly losing his balance, he stumbled and grabbed the edge of the table, trying to pull his hand away. She reached out with the other and touched his shirt.
"So, when do you get off work tonight? It's Nick, right?"
"Yeah, um. I need to get back to the bar. You ladies have a nice night." Crap. Maybe Jess HAD been right. It was clear to him now that this woman was interested in more than cocktails. Now he felt pretty stupid for accusing Jess of acting crazy.
Jess clenched her teeth, her eyes narrowing as she made her way across the room. If that woman even though for one second that she could touch him like that, she...
Oh boy. He was right.
She WAS jealous.
Damn him.
She shook her head and clenched her fists, reaching the table as Nick finally pulled his hand away and stood up. His eyes widened in horror as he saw Jess standing directly in front of him, her arms crossed in front of her.
Oh God, what did she think she saw? This was bad. This was really bad. He cringed and started to open his mouth. Just as he was about to say something to Jess, she lurched forward and grabbed the front of his shirt. He momentarily lost his footing as Jess aggressively kissed him, her tongue finding his and her body melting against his chest. For a moment he forgot where he was and pulled her waist toward him. He moaned quietly against her lips as she pulled away, his heart racing. Wide eyed and breathless he stared into Jess deep blue eyes and saw how worked up she was. Before he could open his mouth, Jess turned toward the three women at the table, eyeing the blond at the end up and down.
"You better find someone else to go after, because Nick only comes home with me. You got that?" She glared at the woman as she stared ahead, dumbfounded. Jess reached to grab Nick's hand, turning on her heels to walk back toward the bar. With each step her resolve melted away. By the time they reached the bar she had lost every bit of confidence she had over the situation and bit her lip. Nick grabbed her shoulders, trying to turn her around, but she fought against him as her hands shot up to her eyes.
"Jessica."
She shook her head violently as she covered her face with her hands, afraid to look at him. He finally turned her to face him and she felt the bar against her back. She bent her head to the floor still covering her eyes. "Oh God Nick. I'm sorry."
He laughed softly. "Jess..." He pried her hands from her face and held them in his. She squeezed her eyes shut as she slowly raised her head. "Jess, what was that?" His voice was quiet.
Her eyes were still shut as she bit her lip. "I don't knoooooow. That was awful." She slowly opened her right eye. "I'm such an idiot."
He had a strange expression on his face as he smiled. "You're not an idiot."
Her eyes shot open. "I AM. God, I'm so ridiculous."
"And maybe a little jealous?" He teased gently.
She sighed heavily. "SO jealous. Raging jealousy, Nick." She clenched her fists. "I want to claw that woman's eyes out, jealous."
He laughed and pulled her into his chest to hug her tightly. She giggled as she let herself relax into his arms, wrapping her arms around him and clinging to him. He buried his face in her hair. "I love you."
She pulled away and frowned. "Even though I'm certifiably insane?"
"Even though you're...a really sweet girlfriend who means a lot to me."
She shook her head. "You're not mad? I probably embarrassed you and..."
He pulled back and laughed. "Are you kidding me?!" He swept her hair back off her shoulders, twisting it gently behind her shoulders. "I just had THE sexiest woman in the bar throw herself at me in front of everyone and practically threaten anyone that comes near me."
Her eyes relaxed and she let out a giggle. "I did do that, didn't I."
"jess, that was pretty impressive." He winked at her. "Completely insane, ...but really, really hot."
"I AM sorry Nick. You were right, I was jealous." She sighed. "I don't want to be the crazy, lunatic girlfriend."
"You're not. Not at all." He took her face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs along her cheeks as she continued to frown. "Listen, I do a lot of really stupid things, and I don't always think about the words that come out of my mouth. And I will probably make a lot of mistakes with you." He looked at her with an intensity she had never seen before. "But, I don't cheat. Ever, Jess. I will NEVER do that to you." His voice softened and she started to smile. "That is one thing I can promise you."
She nodded slowly, her hands grasping his wrists as she looked into his eyes. She whispered, "I know that, Nick."
"Good." He leaned down to kiss her. "Because you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I'm doing everything I can not to screw this up."
She collapsed into his chest and sighed. "I hate feeling like this. Feeling self-conscious. When I saw that woman, I just felt myself snap, you know? I mean...I'm just a teacher Nick. Julia was this big, successful lawyer...Angie was wild and crazy and... I'm not any of those things."
He stepped down to her eye level, a shocked look on his face. "Wait...What? Jess are you serious? Do you think I compare you to them?!" He stared at her sad expression in shock. How could she even think for one second that all those other women he had dated were even close to being in the same league as her? Had he made her feel that way all this time? Where in the world was all this coming from?
She bit her lip and felt the tears burning in her eyes. She tried to dismissively wave her hand, but he caught it and held it tight. He motioned to get Bob's attention, pointing down to Jess and then over toward the tables. Bob just nodded and Nick put his arm around Jess' shoulders, walking to an empty round table. He scooted in first and pulled her next to him. She turned toward him and leaned her head on the back of the seat.
Jess tried not to look at Nick, knowing what would happen if she did, but it was a futile effort on her part and tears started rolling down her cheeks. Nick leaned his right elbow on the edge of the table and stroked her arm, holding her other hand in his.
He leaned his head against the seat, mirroring her. "Jess, do you really think I care if you are anything like those other women?" His voice was soft and surprised.
Jess sniffled, blinking her eyes and avoiding his gaze. "I don't know...I just. I think I'm just having a really bad night."
"Why? Did something else happen?" He reached over with his right hand and wiped the tears and smudged mascara from her cheeks.
"Schmidt broke up with Elizabeth today."
Nick looked confused. "I know, he just told me. I thought you'd be happy because of Cece and everything you and Schmidt talked about..."
She took a deep breath. "Well, maybe I feel like I'm Elizabeth. You know, that old comfortable friend that's always been there. And...Cece's always been the more exciting, and glamorous one."
Nick shook his head, still looking completely baffled. He squeezed her hand. "What?"
Jess looked up at him with sad eyes. "What if one day you figure out that you're with a boring, average, weirdo..."
"Jessica!" He shook his head in disbelief. How could this gorgeous, intelligent, and amazing woman even think something so insane? "I have never met a woman as far from AVERAGE as you."
A small grunt escaped her throat and she frowned. "I hate feeling so insecure like this, but damnit Nick, I'm just not like all those other girls and...when I saw that blond trying to hit on you..."
"Stop it Jess." He could almost feel his frustration rising. "It's YOU that I want." He realized he was almost screaming, and Jess' eyes were wide. He took a deep breath. She scooted closer to him, as he took her face in his hands. "You are." He kissed her softly. "Perfect..." He kissed her again. "...just the way you are."
"Even when I go crazy?"
He laughed. "Even then."
She relaxed a little and sighed. "I WAS jealous."
"And I'm sorry if I made you feel that way." He dropped his hands into her lap, intertwining his fingers with hers. "I only want to be with one woman, and that's you."
She nodded weakly and smiled, whispering. "I love you."
"I love you, too." He sat up and tugged on her hands. "Will you come over to the bar now?"
She laughed and let go of his hands, scooting over and pulling herself out of the booth. After he stood up, he reached over and grabbed her waist, pulling her toward his chest. She smiled and snaked her hands up around his neck. A pouty look came across his face.
"Will you come sit at the bar and flirt with me so I can make everyone ELSE jealous?'
She swatted his chest. "Oh, well now you're just using me to boost your male ego, Mister."
He grinned and raised his eyebrows. "Absolutely."