Notes: Thank you so much for all your warm responses to the first chapter! I was overwhelmed in a completely fantastic way! This story has been knocking its way around my head since the breakup, and I'm happy to finally be writing it. Please continue to let me know your thoughts as the story progresses. 3


Chapter Two.

Jess held onto her coffee mug as though it were a lifeline, breathing it in for a moment and trying to find her normal spark. She was usually a morning person, and today was another beautiful LA day, but she'd been having trouble sleeping. Her brain shied away from the obvious explanation: Nick no longer shared the bed with her.

But it was nice to have a few quiet moments in the loft before the others woke up. Coach was in his room grabbing the last few things he needed before they headed to their school, but otherwise the place was silent and she tried to enjoy the early morning sun streaming through the windows.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to ask Coach if he was ready, but to her surprise it was Nick, looking a little sleepy but fully dressed. His laptop was tucked under one arm, and he covered a massive yawn with his other. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him out of bed this early, and she tried to ignore the fact that he looked perfectly huggable.

"Mornin Jess," he said, his words a little blurry around the edges.

"Good morning, Nick." She smiled at him, and he smiled back at her. She resisted the urge to smooth down his hair, or to press herself against his warm chest and feel his arms come up around her the way they used to. "Are you going to write some more?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd put a couple hours in. Then nap for a bit before work. I got the late shift tonight."

"I'm really proud of you, Nick. And I'm really hoping that you'll let me read it."

He nodded, chuckling a little. "You just can't wait to get your red pen all over it."

"Well…hey, beside the point, Miller! You better let me read it before Schmidt or there will be hell to pay!"

"He said the same thing about you, you know," Nick said. He smashed his hair down a little bit and gave her a quick salute. "Have a good day at school, Jess."

He slipped out just as Coach walked into the kitchen, looking far more awake and alert than Jess felt. She gave one last lingering look at the door that Nick had disappeared through, then she turned her attention to Coach and let him lecture her on the importance of having a fresh breakfast rather than a caffeinated one. She dutifully listened as they gathered their supplies and headed for Jess's car to go to work.


He was on her mind all day, but then, that wasn't unusual. Jess had plenty of work to do, but little memories of Nick floated through her mind at random intervals. She usually chalked it up to still living with him. And…well, still being in love with him.

Some days it was harder to remember why they split than others. She was terrified that they would grow apart the longer they were together. His goals were so wildly different than her own…

She shook the painful memories away, forced herself to hum a happier tune, and started in on the paperwork for organizing and funding a school performance for the theater classes. It helped to lift her heart and keep her mind off of Nick and the fact that he was writing – a little, at least.

"Heyyyyy, Jess." Coach strode into her office, smiling at her in that way that told her he was up to something. "Do you think you could, I dunno…clear out of the loft tonight?"

"Wait, what? Why?" she asked. And then it dawned on her. "Seriously, what's wrong with just keeping your latest lady-fair in your room? Please tell me that you're not going to have sex on the couch."

"I'll tell you why, Jess." He leaned down, propping his arms on her desk and ignoring her last request. "There are actually three reasons. Nick, Schmidt and Winston."

She laughed, nodding a bit. "Yeah, okay, I guess I can kind of get where you're coming from. But Nick will be at work…what are Winston and Schimdt going to do all night?"

Coach shrugged. "Hang out with Nick at the bar? He'll feed them enough alcohol to keep them happy. But I thought, you know, it might not be such a great idea for you to – he just gets a little distracted when you're around at his work, you know?"

The smile had left his lips and there was that look she'd been getting off and on for a few weeks. She forced herself to keep smiling at him as though there weren't ice slipping down her spine.

"It's fine. It's totally fine. I'll give Cece a call and we'll hang out. We'll drink pink wine and talk about boys."

Coach shuddered a bit. "Yeah, uh, that sounds great, Jess."

She knew that meant he thought it sounded horrible, but she didn't care. It actually sounded perfect to her. She'd been pretty focused on herself and Nick since the breakup, almost more than she'd been focused on them during their relationship (almost, not quite), so spending some drama-free time with Cece was probably exactly what she needed. She would bring her friend muffins to make up for her inattention over the past few weeks.

"Deal, you've got the loft to yourself for a while. I'm gonna have a PJ party!"

Coach laughed and tugged at a strand of her hair. "You do that, Jess," he said, and she smiled at the real fondness she heard in his voice. She waved as he walked out of her office, no doubt already planning his perfect romantic evening. Then she dug her phone out and sent Cece a quick text.

-Margaritas and romantic comedies and pjs. Are you in?-


Nick rubbed his hands over his face. He needed to head home and catch a little sleep before his shift at the bar, but he'd made more good progress on the book. It was still rough, but he was building something – a real novel. The characters were starting to come alive, to tell him the story instead of the other way around. It felt great. And so did the espresso rush that came with the frilly coffee drinks he was coming to like to an embarrassing degree.

He stood and stretched, ignoring the weird look the other patrons gave him. "Yeah, yeah, my knees crack, so what?"

"So arthritis," came an amused voice from behind him. "But probably not for a few more years."

He spun to see the barista from the day before. She grinned at him, and he felt a small pang of embarrassment: he'd tossed her number away the day before without so much as a second glance.

"Sorry, I should mind my own business." In spite of her words, she didn't move and her smile stayed in place. "Couldn't help but be curious about you, though. This doesn't seem like it's your usual style."

Nick spread his arms and glanced down at his flannel-and-jeans ensemble. "Guilty – it's totally not. I mean, it really isn't. But it's working for me right now." He returned her smile, feeling a little surreal about this whole situation.

"I can see that." Her eyes touched on the empty cups beside his laptop, and he gave an embarrassed laugh and a little shrug.

"I uh…like that vanilla crap. Stuff. Coffee. Sorry," he said. "See? I'm terrible at this whole boho thing. Is it boho?"

"Boho, hipster…it's something." She laughed. Normally a woman's laugh turned him on to no end, and she had a great laugh, she really did. But though he was enjoying their interaction, he found parts of himself felt numb to it. As pretty as she was, he didn't want her. And he should, he really should, but…no. It didn't feel right. Not yet, and probably not for a very long time.

"I'm Samantha, and if you call me Sammy, I'll kill you," she said in a very cheerful tone, and Nick laughed as he reached out to shake her hand.

"Jeez, I'm intimidated now. I'm Nick, and the same rule applies for Nicky. I seriously hate that."

"Right, Nick-not-Nicky…you're a writer?"

"Actually, I'm a bartender over at Clyde's. I'm just undercover as a writer," he told her. The banter felt comfortable, which was nice, although he reminded himself not to go overboard with it. He really wasn't interested in dating.

"Oh right, an undercover writer. Should you be telling me this?"

"Definitely not," he replied. "I'll totally have to kill you now, but keeping the secret was just too hard."

"Right then, make it quick. And send someone to feed my dog," she said, closing her eyes as though she were waiting for the fatal strike. Then she peeked at him with one eye and he cracked up.

"So, can I read your stuff sometime?" she asked. He hesitated…that seemed a bit personal. On the other hand, he really did need help polishing it before he handed it over to anyone he cared about. He especially wanted it to be a decent piece of writing before Jess saw it. And a stranger's opinion would be a lot more honest.

"I dunno. It's one of those unfinished novels. You got any experience with this sort of thing?" he asked her.

"Well, I manage this place for one, so you know I'm the nerdy, bookish type," she said with a laugh. "And I also got a completely, one hundred percent useful degree in literature which I haven't ever used in a practical way."

"That sounds…perfect. You've got the job," he said. "Would you mind…you know…correcting things and giving critical feedback? Because, I'm not going to lie, I need a lot of help."

"Sure. Once upon a time I wanted to be an editor. Hence the Lit degree. But it sounds like a lot of work…I may have to stop by Clyde's to accept my payment in booze," she said.

"Deal," Nick said with a grin, "because paying you in beer is probably all I can afford anyway. But hey, listen…could I get your number again? I…uh…definitely threw it away."

And just like that – with a roll of the eyes and a promise of beer – Nick had found an editor for Z is for Zombie.


**NOTES: I know it might seem like Nick is flirting, but I promise promise promise this is a Ness story, and Samantha is NOT Nick's love interest. I had a lot of trouble deciding how I was going to intro her, but I felt like Nick is just the kind of guy that banters with everyone (unless he's being grumpy to them), and some people are smart enough to banter back and others just sit there while he pokes fun at them. Don't worry, Ness is the goal!

Up for chapter three: the guys avoid the loft while Coach romances a girl by hanging out with Nick at Clyde's, Jess and Cece have a completely ridiculously girly slumber party, and Nick realizes he may not be able to afford his growing coffee dependency.

THANK YOU FOR READING! You are all amazing and I am so grateful for you!