Wednesday night

Nick opened the loft door as quietly as possible. Helping Remy hadn't been nearly as bad as he had thought it would be in his head. Surprisingly, they had a very nice conversation while Nick helped him install a new hot water heater. It was clear to him now, that Remy was really just a simple, lonely guy who had been left to fend for himself when the love of his life walked out on him. Several times during their conversation, Nick's thoughts had wandered to how miserably he had treated Jess when he stormed out. He thought about the ring still stuck in his pocket and how quickly his life had seemed to come together since being with Jess. How complete he felt. He needed a plan and he needed it fast, before they were on their way to Vegas and their friends' whirlwind elopement would inevitably screw something up.

He closed the door behind him softly and glanced around the loft. As he walked toward the hallway, he noticed Jess' door open a crack and heard the water running in the shower down the hall. After taking a quick peek in Jess' room and finding it empty, he sighed in relief and quickly disappeared into his room. Clicking the lock closed behind him, he ran to his desk and threw open the bottom drawer. Jess would never have a reason to come over here in the next few days, so it was the perfect place to hide the ring until he could figure out the perfect proposal.

Taking a deep breath, he squatted down to reach his hand in the drawer, pushing aside a collection of receipts and office supplies to clear a space for it near the back. Before he nestled it safely in the drawer, he wrapped his fingers around the soft black velvet box and opened the lid. He shook his head slowly, running his finger across the glistening stones. This was the most expensive item he had ever purchased and he smiled at the thought of placing it on Jess' finger. She had turned his world upside down since the day she had burst into his life almost three years ago.

He was going to ask Jessica to spend the rest of her life with him.

All he needed to do was figure out the perfect way to do it.

Winston sat a table in the back corner of the bar, drinking a beer while waiting for Nick and Schmidt. Nick had been talking with Clyde in the back corner by the entrance to the kitchen for several minutes and the conversation had become increasingly animated. Winston narrowed his eyes at the scene, absentmindedly drinking his beer in the process. Finally, Nick shook his head and ran his hand nervously along the back of his neck, before turning around and making his way across the room to the booth.

Nick collapsed onto the seat across from him, his thumbs nervously twitching as he clasped his hands on the table. "Hey, man."

Winston took a sip of beer, before placing the bottle on the table. He nodded toward the bar. "Hey, what was all that about?"

"Eh, it's nothing." Nick reached toward the center of the table and grabbed one of the two beers waiting to be consumed. He closed his eyes and took several long sips, before slamming it back down on the table and slumping backwards in the booth.

"Didn't look like nothing to me." Winston studied his friend carefully, waiting for a response.

Nick started to nervously pick at the label on his bottle when he glanced up. Winston raised his eyebrows, coaxing him to continue. Nick took a deep breath and leaned forward. "Okay, look...I haven't told Jess yet and...I'm not sure I'm gonna."

Winston raised his eyebrows. "Nick, you better tell me what's going on."

"Fine." He frowned and shook his head. "Clyde's selling the bar and he asked if I was interested in buying it." He glanced from Winston's shocked face, back down to the loosened beer label. "He told me about it about a month ago, but I thought he was just kidding around. I told him I'd think about it, but that was before..."

A slow smile came across Winston's face. "Are you for real?" He shrugged his shoulders, confused. "Why wouldn't you tell Jess?"

"It's not a done deal." He waved his hand before taking another sip of beer. "Besides, it was all just a crazy dream anyway."

"What are you gonna do?"

Nick shook his head, more confused than ever. He just shrugged his shoulders helplessly and nodded his head toward his friend. "What do you think about it?"

Winston let out a laugh. "I think you better tell Jess. Don't you want to know what she thinks?"

"I think she'll tell me it's crazy." He let out a long, disappointed sigh. "Besides, there's no way I could swing it."

He shrugged. "I don't know man, you might be able to get a loan. You've been a manager for awhile now, you clearly know what you're doing."

"But not if we..." Nick stopped, realizing he had almost blurted out something he wasn't ready to reveal yet.

The slip-up wasn't lost on Winston as he narrowed his eyes and sat up, leaning in toward the table curiously. "Not if you, what?"

Nick's voice became louder. "I just can't, okay!" Winston slowly settled back into his spot and Nick shook his head, flustered. He once again lowered is voice. "I just can't afford it."

There was a long pause and Winston nodded slowly, watching Nick purse his lips in anger. He decided to try a different angle, changing the subject. "So, Schmidt and Cece, huh?"

Nick's face started to relax and he shook his head. "Crazy idiots. You'd think they would have learned by now..."

"Yeah, man." Winston laughed. "They've been back together a month and they're already getting married. You and Jess are going on a year and nothin'."

Nick's eyes shot up as he felt the hair on the back of his neck begin to stand on end. He looked straight at Winston, noticing his eyebrows raise slightly. "You got something to say, Winston?" He hadn't meant it to come out so harsh, but he felt like he was treading in dangerous water if anyone else knew of his plans. This was too risky, even with Winston.

Winston held up his hands in defeat. "Hey man, relax. I just can't figure out who's crazier here. Them, or you."

"Me?!" Nick clenched his jaw and nodded. "Really funny, Winston."

"Well, what about you and Jess? Cece getting married so fast has to be getting in her head a little, huh?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't know, she hasn't said anything."

"Right." Winston let out a laugh. "Just be careful, Nick. You have a good thing going with that woman, don't screw it up."

Nick took a deep breath, lifting the bottle to his lips and closing his eyes. Tilting his head back, he took long sips to finish off the bottle's contents before meeting Winston's gaze. "No kidding, man."

There was an awkward silence for a few moments, just as Schmidt made his way through the crowd and slammed a red velvet box down in the center of the table.

"Boo yah!" Both men jumped as Schmidt sat down next to Winston. He gestured proudly towards the box. "That, my friends, is the finest diamond money can buy." Glancing back and forth between his friends, he smiled. "In three days time, my magnificent caramel goddess shall have this mark of Schmidt on her delicate finger."

Winston grimaced as Nick just shook his head. "Really Schmidt?"

"You are SO obnoxious."

Schmidt shook his head in disgust and reached out to grab the box. He pulled back the lid, showing it to Winston and Nick as both of them nodded and shrugged their shoulders.

Nick narrowed his eyes at him. "So you're sure about this, then?"

"Of course I am, you fool. I'm not about to lose her again."

Nick ran his hand over his face. "But you don't have to do this to keep her either."

"What's your problem, man? Just because you're not ready to take this step with Jess, doesn't mean I'm not."

There was a long pause as Nick scratched his head, frowning. "Hey, you're right. If you're happy, I'm happy for you. Lemme see what ya got." He reached for the box to get a closer look and nodded. "Pretty nice ring ya got here Schmitty." Nick glanced down and couldn't help but smile. Although the large square stone was gorgeous, set high above a platinum band, he couldn't help but think of the ring nestled deep in the back of his desk drawer waiting to be given to his own girlfriend.

Schmidt gestured toward the ring and leaned back proudly, crossing his legs over the side of the seat. "Well of course it's magnificent, Nicholas. I had no intention of purchasing anything below a VVS2..."

Nick just shook his head and handed the box back to Schmidt. "Whatever that means..."

Schmidt let out a gasp and rolled his eyes. "Someday, when you finally wise up and do all this with Jess, you're going to wish you had my knowledge of the four C's of diamonds. Otherwise, you'd probably just find yourself back at that hole-in-the-wall 'jewelry store'," Schmidt made air quotes at his head and grimaced in disgust. "Speaking of which, did you ever go back and pick up Jess' anniversary gift?"

Nick looked nervously back and forth between the two of them. "I actually stopped over there today..."

"Well, good." Schmidt nodded. "I can't have the Maid of Honor in my wedding upset because her boyfriend forgot their anniversary. Now," Schmidt leaned in and rapped his knuckles on the table. "I'm going to need one of you to keep this safely hidden until the ceremony. And since we all know how dangerous it would be to trust something this valuable with Nick," Schmidt gestured toward Nick before turning to Winston and smiling, "Winston, that means I'm entrusting this stunning piece of jewelry to you, my friend."

Winston sighed and shook his head. "Whatever you say, Schmidt."