Chapter three! Okay, I'll try to update as much as I can, but I have a lot going on this week, so don't kill me if I don't post a new chapter every day. That would be much appreciated. :)
Enjoy!
As soon as Nick opened the door to the loft, both he and Jess could see three men – Winston, Coach, and Schmidt – dancing to the song 'Dancing Queen'. It was easy for Jess to say that they were drunk. One of them had a bagel in his mouth as he danced. (Schmidt.)
"Guys," Nick called out, trying to catch their attention, but they didn't stop dancing. They looked like idiots. "Guys," he said once again, but a bit louder this time. Still nothing.
"GUYS!"
Third time's a charm, Nick thought. Even Jess was a bit startled. They all turned their heads to Nick to look at him, but immediately spotted Jess, who was right next to him. "Jess is gonna stay here for a few nights, okay? She'll stay in the guest bedroom, so, Schmidt, don't...work in there until she's out."
None of them responded. They were still shocked by the fact that Jessica Day was in their house. Coach paused the music, and the three of them stood in a horizontal line, still staring at Jess with their jaws dropped.
"Alright, Jess," Nick said, walking into the loft with Jess right behind him. He started pointing at them from right to left. "You already kind of know Winston – he played the guitar for you tonight; this is Schmidt, and this is Coach."
Schmidt's bagel fell out of his mouth before Jess could say hi. "I'm Jewish," he said, trying to act casual when really, he was internally screaming.
"Nice talk," Nick mumbled, as he motioned for Jess to follow him. She politely waved goodbye to the three when she followed Nick to the guest bedroom. As they walked away, Coach, Winston, and Schmidt stared at each other with wide eyes.
"Guys," Schmidt whispered. "Jessica Day is staying in our loft."
And with that, the three started to quietly squeal.
"Sorry, they're not used to having a conversation with celebrities."
"No, it's fine – I'd be the same way."
The walk to the guest room was brief, thankfully – Jess was exhausted. When Nick opened the door to the guest room and turned on the light, she was shocked at how much space there was. Even with a queen-sized bed and a huge desk, the room still had a lot of open space. There were huge windows, there was a bright, blue carpet on the floor that looked really fuzzy, and there was a closet that could fit Jess's entire wardrobe. "Wow," she whispered in shock. "This is one big-ass room."
Nick laughed at her strange comment/reaction. "Yeah, I was gonna take this room when I first moved in here, but I didn't like the huge windows. If the windows weren't there, I would've taken this room."
"Well, your loss is my gain, man."
All Nick could do was nod with a huge smile on his face. "Alright. Well, if you need anything, my room is just across the hall. Literally, it's right across the hall." He slowly began to back away from her room. "Goodnight, Jess."
"Wait."
The tone of her voice made Nick look up at the back of her head, where she had layers and layers of thick, black hair. She finally turned around and began to walk into the hallway until there were only three feet in between them, meeting her eyes with his. Her big, blue eyes nearly made Nick's jaw drop. "Nick, I don't know if I've said this already, but...thank you. This really means a lot to me, and I... Can I pay you or something?"
"What? No, Jess, you don't have to do that."
"Well, then, what can I do? This... This is way too nice of a stranger to do."
Nick shook his head with a smile on his face, as he looked down at his feet. "Alright," he said, looking back into her eyes. "I'll think of something by the end of the week. How does that sound?"
Jess nodded slowly and subtly. "Sounds like a deal."
There was an awkward moment of silence between the two, where they made intense eye contact with one another, but Jess eventually ended it by saying, "G'night, Nick."
"G'night, Jess."
They both entered their rooms and closed their doors at the exact same time, thinking the same thing: What the hell is happening?
All the guys were gathered around the kitchen island, while Jess was still sleeping. It was almost 11 AM – Schmidt was making eggs as the others were talking.
"Look, guys, she'll only be staying here for a week," Nick said after taking a sip of his coffee. "After that, I'm gonna help her figure things out, okay?"
"Nick." Winston leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Are you assuming we want her to leave? Dude, Jessica freaking Day is living with us. Well, temporarily staying with us, but that's not the point – the point is, I don't care if she stays here for more than ten years! She's a celebrity! She can come over anytime!"
"I think ten years is kind of a stretch," Coach said with his eyebrows furrowed.
"I'm delighted to have her over," Schmidt stated with a creepy smile, as he handed out bowls of scrambled eggs to the guys and an empty spot next to Nick for Jess. "I can tell my coworkers that Jessica Day is sleeping under the same roof as me – then...I'll get that promotion for sure."
"Please don't make a big deal out of this, Schmidt," Nick announced. "She's just getting out of a relationship and she's a bit emotional right now. I heard her cry-singing 'Somebody That I Used to Know' about ten times...in the middle of the night. Like, three in the morning."
Of course, Winston had to ask: "Did she sound good?"
Everyone stopped chewing their scrambled eggs and stared at Winston. "Guys, it's a legit question. Actually, I've been wondering: do singers sound better when they're crying or when they have a cold?"
"Winston, nobody cares," Coach stated on behalf of everyone in the room, and then turned to talk to Nick. "Do you know how long she's gonna stay here for?"
"She said for about a week – she was planning to stay in LA for a week with her boyfriend, but that jerk who calls himself a 'guitarist' broke up with her."
"Wait. Her guitarist was her boyfriend?" Winston asked.
Everyone just sighed at his comment. Even though Nick didn't know this until yesterday, he would've thought that Winston – out of all people – would know, since he's a cop and everything.
There was suddenly a random knock on the door. The guys looked at the door, then at each other, then at the door again. Finally, after a few seconds of staring, Schmidt walked up to the door and opened it, only to reveal a woman – a very beautiful woman with light brown skin, long, dark brown hair, chocolate-colored eyes, a flawless complexion, and a black dress that presented her curves perfectly. Schmidt just couldn't stop staring into her perfect eyes.
"Hey," she finally said. "I'm Cece, Jess's friend. She texted me and told me she was crashing here?"
That was a shorter chapter, but hey - a chapter's a chapter.
~MJ
