The loft TV blared with the sound of a football game as Schmidt, Winston and Nick stared intently at the screen, bottles of beer clutched in their hands. As Jess walked towards the living area she fluffed her hair with her hands and tried to place a nonchalant look on her face.

"Hey, Nick, are you still able to help me with that thing?" she asked, attempting a cool and collected voice.

"Huh?" he said as he looked away from the TV.

"Remember," she started again, "That thing, you know, we talked about. Earlier." She gave him a wide eyed look as she awaited his response. Slowly, the penny dropped and Nick quickly stood.

"Yeah, Jess, of course! Of course I can help you. With that thing," he put down his bottle and began to walk to where she stood near the hallway.

"Hey, Nick! What happened to guy's night? Beers, football and then late night Dial-A-Babe on cable!" Winston scowled as he spoke.

"Ah, guys I promised Jess… She needs my help with some, uh, documents…"

"Documents?" Schmidt asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, documents," Jess interjected nodding her head vigorously, "And they are in my car. So we have to go. Bye." Grabbing Nick's hand she quickly bundled him out of the apartment, slamming the door as she did. Bewildered, the two other housemates gave each other a puzzled look before they each took a sip of beer and returned their attention to the TV screen.

The windows of the station wagon were slick with moisture as the radio crackled, quietly playing a stream of soft rock. With the back seats laid down, they were stretched out together under the cover of a plaid picnic blanket that Jess kept in the trunk. She laid back, her head lying on her folded up sweater as he leaned over her, resting on his forearms. He placed small kisses across her face and down her collarbone as she giggled at the tickling sensation his lips elicited from her skin. "Stop, you're tickling me!" she laughed as he began to smile broadly.

"What?" he said between kisses, "You can't handle this?"

"Noo!" she half laughed, half cried. When the chuckling finally subsided, she stared up into his dark eyes, "Nick, I don't think I've said this in a while, but this has been really fun."

"Has been fun?" he asked questioningly.

"Is fun," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist so he was a little bit closer to her and shuffling her hips and little lower so they were directly under his own. "I'm not letting you go anywhere, at least for now," she said, smiling wickedly.

"I still can't believe we've been getting away with this for so long," he replied, brushing a stray hair out of her eyes.

"Two months Nick, if this were a relationship I'd say we were going steady. How those guys haven't worked it out yet…"

"I think Coach had an idea," Nick began, "He said he didn't understand why I was so interested in doing laundry all of a sudden."

"Well hot damn, thank God he got that job in Malibu then!" Jess reached up and pulled Nick into a deep, sensual kiss.

"Mmmm," he groaned, "You taste so good."

"You're not bad yourself mister!" she sighed, running her hands up his bare back. "Seriously though, how many trips to IKEA and the drug store do they think we need to make?"

"And come back with nothing."

"Exactly. And documents Nick, what the hell was that about?"

"I panicked," he gave her a crooked smile that made her heart melt a little.

"I forgive ya. Only cos you're cute," she wriggled her nose a little as she spoke.

"You think I'm cute, Day?"

"I think my roommate with benefits is very cute," she kissed his head, "And hot," she kissed his cheek, "And pretty damn good in bed," she finally placed another hard kiss on his mouth that made his heart begin to beat a little faster.

"Careful Jess, talk like that and I might end up falling for ya," he said, raising his eyebrows as he spoke.

"Yeah right, as it that could ever happen," she decided to end the conversation there and then by pressing her naked body tightly against his, covering his mouth in her own and digging her nails into his back – she'd worked out that that drove him wild.

"Jessica," he said through their kisses. The way he said her name drove her crazy. It was deep, throaty and coated in a Chicago accent that cut deep into her and made her vibrate from within. She'd had to stop him joking about falling for her – it cut too close to the bone. In the weeks their arrangement had been in place, they had barely been able to keep their hands off each other – shower sex, laundry room sex, bedroom sex, car sex… But more than that, he had made her laugh; they had talked about dreams, ideas, and their pasts. If she was truly honest with herself, she thought she was in danger with this man. In danger of falling for him and getting hurt – he'd made it clear this wasn't anything serious, and she had said to him pretty much the same. So she pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind and tried to enjoy the present for what it was.

Pausing, he looked into her mesmerising blue eyes and his breath caught in his throat. He was amazed at how beautiful she was – each day her allure seemed to increase and he felt himself drawing closer and closer to her. Not that he would ever say anything to her. Nope, he knew what this was and as hard as he knew it would be when she decided to move on, find something real, he would enjoy and cherish these intimate moments.

"Again?" he asked, a wondering smile rising on his lips.

She nodded in response, digging her hands into his firm butt, pulling her towards him, for round two.

It was late that night when they got back to the loft; they had lain in the car talking for hours, happy in each other's company and each other's arms. Sneaking back into the apartment proved easier than they had anticipated, the lights were off and so was the TV; the guys had already given up for the night. Slipping through the door, he pressed her against the wall, giving her one last, lip biting kiss.

"Nick? Is that you?" Schmidt's voice echoed over across the room as her opened his door, a shaft of light spilling out into the living area. Panicked, Nick gestured to Jess to hide. She crouched and hid behind the table next to the door, trying to keep quiet.

"Yeah Schmidt, what up?" Nick replied, trying to sound cool and calm.

"Where the hell have you and Jess been? It's like 1am already!"

"Jess?" he said, shrugging his shoulders, "She came back ages ago. I've been at the bar." Schmidt gave him a cool, steely eyed stare and raised his eyebrows.

"Then where is she now?" Schmidt asked, raising his hands in the air.

"In her room? Why would I know anyway?" he said, fidgeting a little, uncomfortable as he felt the sweat begin to drip down his back.

"Hmm," Schmidt replied, "I've got my eye on you Miller. Something is not right."

"Ah, you've been doing too many crunches at the gym my man, you're thinking crazy," Nick smiled, a little too brightly. Schmidt went to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water as Nick watched. He faced Nick and took a drink, keeping his eyes locked on his. He pointed his finger towards his eyes and then towards Nick, before silently turning and going back to his room, closing his door with a soft thud.

Jess jumped up as she heard the door close and ran up to Nick, "That was close," she whispered in his ear.

"Yeah, I wonder how long we can keep getting away with this?" he said, turning to face her.

"I don't know… But I don't think they would understand. Remember the –what did you call it?"

"The roommate agreement. Yeah, I think they'd be pretty pissed if they found out I'd broken it before I even signed it!"

They walked together quietly to the space that separated their rooms. Pausing, a quiet calm permeated the atmosphere.

"Thanks for a great night Jess, like I said before this is really fun."

"Likewise Nicholas," a shiver went down his spine as she said his full name, "Really fun." He turned to grab the handle of his door when she stopped him by placing a hand on his arm.

"Hey Nick, if you're not busy, how do you feel about maybe staying in my room tonight?" he looked at her, uncertain what she meant, "I mean, it's a little cold." Staring into her eyes, he tried to gauge her meaning, "I mean, it's totally fine if you don't want to, I mean, I know that this isn't what this is… I just thought it might be – nice?" she looked up at him expectantly, large eyes blinking.

"Like, sleep as in sleep? As in go to sleep in the same bed?" She nodded, keeping her gaze on him. Swallowing, he nodded himself, "Okay, just let me get something to sleep in."

When he returned to her room, she was already in bed. She was wearing pink striped pyjamas and her hair was fanned out over her pillow, the blankets pulled up to her armpits as she lay on her side facing the door. "Hey," he said as he walked in side.

"Hey," she replied, lifting the covers a little so he could ease into the bed beside her.

"So, how we going to do this?" he asked, feeling strangely nervous.

"Would you be the big spoon? I just fall asleep so much better that way and I'm so tired," she stifled a yawn.

"Sure," he replied as she turned onto her other side and pushed her body closer to his. He placed one arm on the pillow above her head, his hands brushing against the silky softness of her hair. The other he wrapped around her small waist and rested it against the small row of plastic buttons that closed her shirt.

Reaching over, she flicked off the small lamp that was lighting the room. "Goodnight Nick," she whispered.

"Goodnight Jess," he replied. As darkness descended upon them, a strange feeling began to descend. For all their previous intimacy, for all they were both fully clothed, he felt closer to her at that moment than he had ever before. Oh man, he thought swallowing before trying to switch his mind off and sleep.

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