Hello roomfriends! I told you updates would be fast and furious! Reviews welcome :)
Nick was trying to be as helpful as Nick Miller could be, which wasn't saying much. But really, he was just glad to be out of the loft. After the blowout between Jess and her sister, things were tense. Jess was mad that Nick didn't make Schmidt stay, so he had tried to text him and got some choice shots of Schmidt in various naked poses. Trying to shake the images from his head he turned his attention back to an exhausted Winston. "Come on man, one more." he said. Winston pulled himself up on the pulleys one last time and dropped to the ground.
"Thirty!" he panted. "I think I'm going to die Nick. Right here on this beach. Tell my momma I love her. Tell her I was the one that stole her mint julep face mask in the 10th grade." Winston collapsed back into the sand, draping his arms over his face.
"What?" Nick said with a frown. "Look man, you did good. You want some water buddy? Maybe an Italian ice or somethin'?"
"Muummffhher" was the only answer he got, and so he made his way up to the pier towards the ice cart. Standing in line, his eyes wandered over the scene, people on bikes, couples on benches, Schmidt and Abby throwing a large bag into Schmidt s car – wait, what?
"What the hell?" he muttered to himself. He watched as Abby pushed Schmidt back against the car and they made out, much to Nicks disgust. Abby took the keys and hopped in the drivers side, and Schmidt ran around and got in the passenger seat. Wait, was Schmidt letting Abby drive his car? The same Schmidt who said women cant be trusted to drive because they could "start bleeding all over the seat at any moment" blah blah gross?
Nicks first instinct was to call Jess and let her know he'd found her sister, but he thought better of it. Maybe I should find out where they're been hiding? Nick sprinted towards his car, and after a few cranks, backed out quickly and looked around, spotting Schmidt s monstrosity of a car turning a corner down the street. The chase was on.
After what seemed like forever, but turned out to be 5 hours, Nick was finally starting to see signs of life popping up out of the desert landscape. As he came up closer to a city limits sign, he sighed.
Welcome to Las Vegas!
About thirty minutes later, they pulled into a casino parking lot, and the bright lights glittering over the tops of the cars were a hectic complement to absurdity of the day. Nick thanked his stars that they had finally stopped. After the last gas fill up, he was broke and didn't even want to think about how he was going to get home. He parked, and, getting out, followed as close as he could without being spotted. At first he had just been hoping to give Jess a little peace in knowing where her sister was, but now he was genuinely curious. Schmidt never just up and left – he was a planner, always had been. To just cavort off to Vegas without telling anyone, especially Nick, worried him a bit. He remembered the last time Schmidt had gone off the leash, so to speak. The results were not pretty.
Entering the huge lobby of the casino, Nick was instantly filled with dread. He hated the crowds, the lights, the whole scene. He cringed at the constant dinging noises of the machines, but he spied Schmidt and Abby heading into the bar. Then his phone rang.
"Nick?" Jess said, barley audible. "Nick, where are you?"
"Jess?"
"What is all that noise?"
"Oh, it's the slot machines, hold on, I can barely hear -" Nick began to make his way towards the front door to get a little more quiet.
"Slot machines? Whatever, look, Nick, can you get back here, I need to talk to you about this whole Abby thing." Jess had been waiting for Nick to return. She felt bad about the way she'd left it with him. She had been upset that he didn't stop Schmidt, but she knew it wasn't his fault. By the time she'd come around, he and Winston had already left for the beach. Now she just needed to see his face and feel his arms around her.
Nick gulped. "Uh, I can't really leave right now, but -"
"Why not? Nick, where are you?"
"Vegas?" he said with an unsure tone. Then there was silence. "Jess?"
"You're in Vegas?" she asked coolly.
"Yeah, but Jess, it's not like that, I came -"
"You're in Vegas." she stated a little louder.
"Look, Schmidt's here, and I just -"
"You're in Vegas." she repeated a third time. "With Schmidt. I can't believe – after what happened this morning? Where's Abby?"
"She's here too, look -"
"Abby's there too! So you, Schmidt and Abby just decided it'd be a hoot to take off for a few hours, not tell anyone, certainly not your girlfriend, and go to Vegas? This is what she does Nick!"
"Jess, let me explain!"
"No explanation needed, have fun." and she hung up the phone.
"Dammit!" he said to himself, shoving the phone in his pocket. He needed to find Schmidt and at least borrow the money to get the hell back to LA. Heading into the bar, his eyes searched the dark room, but he didn't see any sign of the couple. Taking his jaw in his hands, a heavy sigh escaped his body.
What now?
Winston was hot. And tired. And very angry.
Not only had Nick been of little more help than Coach, he seemed to have completely abandoned him on that beach. After about an hour (yes, he waited an hour) sitting in the sand, he finally went looking for Nick, only to find his car gone and no way to get home. Luckily, Bertie lived just up the street, so he went by her place and she took him home.
By the time he entered the loft, he had prepared himself to unleash his tirade against his so called friend, but was immediately cooled by the sight of a crying Jessica Day on the couch.
"Jess? You okay? Have you seen Nick?"
Jess sniffed, not looking at Winston, rather staring at the black tv in front of her. "He's in Vegas."
"Vegas? Wha -why? How?" Winston stammered out.
"With Schmidt. And Abby." she sniffed again. "Winston? Do you think – do you think Abby is more fun than me?"
"What?" he asked, genuinely perplexed.
"Nick is in Vegas with my sister! He didn't even tell me he was going, didn't ask me to come! Now he's there with my - lets face it – trampy sister. But to be fair, Schmidt is trampy too, so it's not all on her. And I'm just so mad!"
Winston took a seat on the couch, and put his arm around Jess. "You got nothing to worry about, you hear me? I don't know what Nick is doing out there, but I'm sure he's coming back for you. At least he left you here and not all alone on a beach in spandex shorts. Did you know when sand mixes with sweat, it turns into tiny glass shards?"
Jess sighed. "I'm just tired. I'm gonna go to bed. Thanks Winston." She stood and shuffled towards the hall. Stopping in front of Nicks room, she looked back towards her own. It was barely recognizable, her sisters clothes covering every surface. Looking into Nicks room, she felt a pull towards his bed. As mad as she was, she had to admit to herself that nothing felt more like home than that mattress and stupid plaid pillow.
