She smiles at him, and he smiles in return as she moves her chair a little closer to him, and they share a quick kiss.
Jake quickly joins in the conversation to remind them of his presence as he adds, "I agree Rob. Fitz is just a straight laced type dude. He's not one for random sexting or dirty pics. So it's more likely whatever he received from whomever, just caught him off guard. Anyway whoever he's seeing, it's odd that we haven't seen her by now.."
Rob curiously asks, "I'm not saying this isn't somewhat interesting; but why is who he's seeing so important? He's single. Dating is what single people do." Nyemah responds, "It's not that it's important who he's dating. It's more like a question of why who he's dating appears to be a secret? He's clearly been seeing her for a while, and he hasn't mentioned her name once. So it makes it interesting, that's all."
Rob has to admit she has a point, but replies, "Well, at any rate. I wish him well. When he's ready to disclose to the world who he's with. We will know. In the meantime; it is what it is. Now, can you pass the ketchup man?"
Jake nods as he passes it to him; but in his head he's still consumed with finding out who Fitz is currently dating; and he knows going to Mellie's party is going to be the best way to figure it out. But for now he enjoys his meal with his friends, and breaks away from work for a moment.
Meanwhile
Mellie is in a much better mood as she drives, listening to her tunes. Although she would've loved to have found her car sooner, than stumbling around the hallways of Fitz's high rise condo building for an hour. She is glad she ended up having a conversation with Jake.
Talking with him calmed her down and it cleared her head. It actually made her next move more apparent. She's been holding off on doing this for a while, because she was being mindful of Fitz's feelings. But now, all bets are off. Since he wants to willfully hurt her feelings and disregard her. She is not going to worry about his feelings either. It's time to let the chips fall where they may.
As she drives she sees another call from Olivia pop up on her monitor, and she again lets it go to voicemail. She sighs as she rolls her eyes, while continuing her drive, thinking she will see her in person soon enough.
As her thought processing ends, she clears her head as she arrives at her destination. She then takes a breath, checks her hair and make up and makes sure she's looking good. She knows she's gotta sell this party idea to Nick. He's been backing out of spending time with her at her house, or with her friends long enough. It's time to pay the piper, she thinks.
After freshening up her perfume and lip gloss. She hops out of her car and heads inside the restaurant. When she walks in, she is greeted by the hostess, who knows her name. "Hey Mel, what's up? Are you here to see Nick?"
She smiles at her as she replies, "Hey Kaylee. Yeah. I am. But I am also hungry. So why not kill two birds with one stone." She nods as she says, "I hear ya girl. Let me show you to your seat."
They walk together and make small talk along the way, and once she is seated. Kaylee says, "Here's your menu; I will grab you some water and silverware. And let Nick know you're here." She smiles at her as she responds, "Okay, Thanks."
Mellie peruses the menu and within a few minutes, her water arrives along with her place setting and silverware. She also places her order, but Nick hasn't come by the table yet. She wonders what's keeping him, and just as she is about to text him, he pops up at the table.
He greets her with a kiss on the cheek, and then sits beside her as he says, "Hey babe. What brings you here? I didn't expect to see you again today, after this morning."
For a moment she forgot all about how they left things, the embarrassment of her card being declined and having to use a different card, escaped her until now."
But, she powers through, instead of allowing herself to get upset all over again. And she smiles as she replies, "I know. But I wanted to see you. I missed you, and after stopping by the bank, to get things settled with the fraud alert issue on my card; I wanted to come by for a bite as well.:"
He smiles as he replies, "Oh okay. Well it's cool seeing you. And I'm glad you got the bank situation straight. But, I can't sit here with you very long, my break is almost over. I'm on the clock till 9 tonight."
She is bummed as she responds, "Oh, I thought you were off early today." He nods as he says, "I was. But, I picked up another shift. So, I won't be off till later. Gotta pay the bills, you know."
She fakes a smile, but he sees her disappointment and says, "If you'd called or texted me I would've let you know before you drove all the way over here." She nods as she replies, "I know. But, I was in the area. So it was no big deal. Regardless of you working late. We can still make it to the party tonight at my house." He looks at her curiously as he asks, "What party?"
She grins as she replies, "I'm throwing a cookout type get together at my house for a group of friends." She sees the look on his face shifting to one of negativity, and she continues to speak as she says, "There will be at least 100 people there, so no pressure from my close group of friends for you, and we get to have a good time. What do you say?"
He sees the joy on her face, but he's skeptical as he replies, "I say I don't like last minute invitations. Why didn't you mention it last night or even before that?" She's confused by his reaction as she says, "It's a party invitation Nick. It's not a marriage proposal. Why are you acting like it's such a big deal? Why don't you tell me what your objection really is, because I've been around your friends and we've done plenty of things last minute, yet you've never once balked. But now, when I am throwing a party at my house, where you can meet my friends. And you're giving me resistance for no reason. How fair is that?"
He hears her, and he has to admit she's right. But, still. He has an ill feeling about it; but he figures it was bound to happen at some point; and it's been a while since he saw her friend at the deli. So it's possible he may not remember seeing him and Alex there together. Therefore, if not now, when is the best time to get this over with? He thinks.
In addition to that, it's not worth her potentially having a meltdown at his job. So, he replies, "Okay. You're right. I will go. I can be there around 10:30, is that cool? I want to chill a bit after I get off and get back on the road."
She smiles as she says, "Thank you for agreeing to come. I know you'll be tired when you get off. So, how about I go to your house and wait for you there, and when you get off and come home. I'll be ready, and I can drive us. That way you can really just relax before the party. And we can come back to your place afterwards."
She's holding his hand now and thinking this is an excellent plan, how could he say no? But, her bubble bursts as he says, "No. It's cool. I'll drive myself. You can go home and I'll hit you when I get off."
She doesn't understand his response, and asks. "Why would you want to do that? It would be easier if we do as i suggested." He sighs as he replies, "I know you feel that way. But I don't. So, like I said. I will go to the party with you. But we will do it my way. That way if I want to leave early I can, and you're not obligated to leave with me."
She hears his logic but something about it feels off; so she asks, "Did you just hear me? I want to leave with you. So that wouldn't be an issue." He sees her insistence but pushes back as he replies, "Mel, please let's just let this go. This isn't the time or place to have this discussion."
She's getting upset and at this point isn't willing to let it go. She plainly asks," What's wrong with me staying at your house while you're at work Nick? What's the deal? Are you hiding something from me?"
He takes a breath as he says, "There's nothing wrong with it Mel, I just don't think it's a good idea. My roommates don't like having people in the house they don't know. So I should be there with you, you're my guest."
She squawks, "That's funny, they don't have a problem eating food someone they don't know paid for, but they have an issue with me being in their house when they're not home; Nick, how does that make sense?"
Her point is valid, he can't fight her on it. But at the same time he doesn't want to fight with her, yet he isn't willing to back down on this either. So, he sternly replies, "Look, you asked me a question and I answered you. You may not like the answer, but it is what it is. And it's not changing. So are we going to quash this or not?"
She hates his response, but sees she doesn't have a card to play here. And as much as it pains her, she relents as she says, "We can quash it." He sees she is still upset, despite backing down. So he asks, "What's going on with you right now Mel? I feel like you're picking a fight with me for no reason."
She gives in as she replies, "I had a huge fight with Abby when I got home this morning. And, I don't want to be there with her right now. So, I figured being at your house would be a good alternative."
He asks, "Why did you get into it with her?" She doesn't want to tell him the truth, so she makes up something he will believe, as she replies, "Because she had a terrible attitude and I am tired of her smart ass mouth. She finally took it too far, and I snapped."
He sits back as he responds, "And yet tonight you're throwing a party at your house only a few hours removed from said argument with her. Is she going to be there?" She nods, yes. And he shakes his head as he asks, "Mel, how in the hell does that make sense?"
She shrugs her shoulders as she says, "I don't know. But it's happening. People have already reserved their spots and it's all the buzz on social media. I've been reading the comments from the post I created for it since this morning."
He shakes his head as he says, "Well, I want to go on record saying this sounds like a terrible idea. And I hope you don't end up regretting this party. Because it seems more like an opportunity to have an audience for a dumpster fire to erupt, if you're going to be in the same vicinity as the roommate you're feuding with. If nothing else, go home and at least try to smooth things over with her first."
She hears him, but says, "No. I'm not talking to her right now. She knows the deal. We will talk when we talk, but it won't be tonight." Just then, her phone buzzes and she realizes she never checked Olivia's message.
She grabs her phone and sees the message, and types a reply. He then replies, "Well, I have to get back to work; so like I said. I will call you when I get off."
Just as she prepares to respond, her food arrives and when the waiter leaves. Nick walks over to her and they share a kiss. When the kiss breaks he says, "Stay out of trouble." She nods as she playfully replies, "But you like it when I'm trouble."
He chuckles as he responds, "That's a different kind of trouble and you know it." She giggles as she responds, "True." He then hears his name from the kitchen, and says, "Okay. I have to go. See you later." She pecks his lips once more, and then says, "Okay. Bye."
As he walks away Kaylee comes by the table, and asks, "Hey Mel how's your meal?" She swallows her bite of chicken salad and replies, "It's good thanks." Kaylee nods as she replies, "Good. If you need anything let me know okay? You're my last table before I leave for the day." Hearing her she gets an idea, as she says, "Oh okay. What are you doing after work?" She smiles as she replies, "Nothing much; probably going to the mall to do a little shopping and home to relax. It's a beautiful day."
Mellie replies, "Cool, I am actually heading to the mall myself. If you like we can go together and maybe hang out a bit. I'd love to see your photography book you were talking about last time."
She nods as she responds, "Yeah sure. Sounds like a plan, I'm game." Mellie responds, "Great, I will be done soon and we can head out." Kaylee replies, "Okay. I will be ready when you are." She walks away and Mellie finishes her meal, thinking of the next step in her plan.