For the most part, Nick settling back into the loft felt completely natural. It felt like nothing had changed. Jess relaxed into the routine of making him eggs in the morning and playing True American with her roommates and giggling at his snoring face as he fell asleep after watching the game. Still, every night his words played on repeat in her head, riling her up and making it impossible to sleep.

Jess was grading papers at the kitchen table when Nick stumbled in one night, clearly intoxicated by lack of sleep. He didn't seem to notice her as he opened the cupboard and grabbed a bag of chips. Once he found the dark blue Doritos bag, his attention snapped to Jess, whose hair was piled messily on the top of her head. She was wearing a simple white tank top and flannel blue bottoms, her thick brown glasses tucked on her ears.

She raised her eyebrows. "Doritos?"

He grinned, suddenly awake, and crunched down on a chip. "Don't judge a guy by the type of chips he eats," he warned, leaning up against the counter.

"Cliché," she answered back, taking a sip of tea. He made a face as she drank tea for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. How could someone drink so much tea? His eyes roamed to the label.

"Really, Jess. How do you drink so much tea?"

Under the dim lights, he could make out her rolling her eyes. "Tea is good for the soul, Nicholas," she argued, scribbling furiously with her red pen. "Plus, it comes in a variety of flavors."

"Tea comes in more than one flavor?" he asked, clearly surprised by this new information. "No Jess, that's bullshit. There's only one flavor of tea."

She dropped her pen and shifted so she was facing him. "No there isn't. There's green tea, mint tea, strawberry tea, tea with cream, tea with sugar…" she rambled on, and stopped short when she realized he wasn't listening. "You okay, Nick?"

Nick's head snapped to attention at her words. "Hold on," he said, and he moved to the other side of the room. He flicked on the lights and was briefly taken back by the brightness. He rubbed his hands furiously on his eyeballs to block it out. "Jess, you shouldn't read without the lights on. You could become cross-eyed."

"Wasn't Susan B. Anthony cross-eyed?" Jess inquired, yawning, her arms stretching over her head.

"Yes. She became cross-eyed because she read without the lights on."

"Good to know," Jess said, sounding sincere, her lips meeting the edge of her glass again. She struggled to make out Nick's expression. Even with the lights on, he was extremely difficult to read. "What are you thinking?"

"Um…" Nick stopped, short, rummaging in his head for an answer to Jess's question. What was he thinking? He found himself thinking about the pretty way her cheeks flushed pink, but seeing that as not a quality answer, he shrugged. "Nothing," he replied, sitting in the chair next to her. "That I'm thirty and I'm going to die alone," he joked.

"Join the club," she laughed, pushing her papers to the edge of the table. They laughed over their cheap humor and Nick reached underneath and grabbed a bottle of wine.

"Any for you, Ms. Day?"

She giggled and brought her knees to her chest. "Yolo," she said.

"You did not just quote Drake's 'The Motto'," Nick groaned.

Jess flipped her brown curls so they fell out of their up do. "Only, I did," she said, laughing.

Nick made his turtle face. "I'll get us cups," he said. "And try to forget you just said that," she sighed as he got up, his warmth no longer radiated towards her. She brought her arms to her chest. He peered at her. "What's up, Jess?"

"Nothing. Just cold," she replied.

Silently, he took off his robe and slipped it over her shoulders. Her breath hitched at the small sign of affection. Why was Nick being so nice to her, all of a sudden? That wasn't Nick's thing.

"Nick, this is weirdly out of character," she commented as she watched him juggle two glasses. He grinned and sat next to her, his lips pulling into a helpless smile.

"Do you want me to start screaming at you?" he asked, pouring the clear liquid into the cups. She thought about it for a second, knitted her eyebrows together, and shook her head.

"No," she said, inching her fingers on the cool surface of the table. "Not this late at night. Maybe tomorrow," she smiled at his soft laughter, suddenly vividly aware of every movement: the brush of his arm as he poured her cup, the sweet, dry smell of the wine as it poured smoothly in, and their loud gulps as they swallowed it down. Everything with Nick was simple: it came like a second nature, but at the same time, it was complicated and wore her out. That had been one of the simple days.

Jess couldn't help but stare at Nick's lips as he licked away the remainder of the wine and put his glass in the sink. He gestured Jess's and she nodded in approval, suddenly packing up her papers.

"You going to bed?" he said, sleepily, moving slightly towards the doorway.

She nodded. "Tired."

He grinned at her and she started to take off the robe. "Keep it," he said. "Tonight's going to be a cold one." She was about to argue, but she quickly nodded in consent, liking the way he was taking care of her. She also knew she was treading in dangerous territory. He was getting her all riled up again and feeding her false hope. She also was just started to become aware of her feelings for him, which had been bubbling to the surface. There was no point in trying to push them down anymore. They were starting to take over her, and it was a slow process that could not be controlled.

"Good night," Nick smirked and hugged her, briefly, and then shuffled into his room. Jess stayed frozen until she heard his door shut. Her attention turned to the light switch, which she flipped off and stared into the empty space.

"Good night," she whispered softly, and went reluctantly to bed.