Chapter Five

"Ok, Nick. Let's talk."

Nick blew out a sigh of relief. He honestly expected her to slam the door in his face, screaming about how she never wanted to see him again. As he walked into her apartment, he let his eyes take in the sight. It was so… Jess. He loved everything about it. There was a small navy blue vintage looking sofa in the middle of her living room with two small matching vintage chairs on either side, a distressed looking white coffee table placed in front of the sofa with a small vase filled with colorful flowers resting on top.

A small flat screen t.v was placed on an entertainment center that matched her coffee table perfectly and as his eyes rose to the picture placed on the wall above her television, he couldn't help the small smile that played upon his lips. It was a blown up picture framed in a beautiful silver picture frame of Jess, Schmidt, Winston, CeCe, Coach and Nick all sitting together on the leather brown sofa that was still currently sitting in the loft. Everyone had giant smiles plastered across their faces except for Nick, well he might actually be smiling but he couldn't tell due to the picture of a turtle's head that Jess had placed over his face. If he had to guess, though, he definitely had a big smile on his face because that photo was taken while he and Jess were still together, still happy.

As Jess shut the door and turned back towards Nick, she noticed him looking at the photo she had placed over her television of her, CeCe and all the roommates. It was one of her favorite photos of all of them together, so she had it blown up and framed in a beautiful silver frame that her mother had given her years ago. The photo was taken in the loft while her and Nick were still together and everyone was smiling and happy. Nick had his arms wrapped firmly around her waist. He looked good in that photo, too good. Which is why Jess had cut out a picture of a turtle's face that she found in one of the National Geographic's she had lying around and put it over his face. His stupid handsome face...

"Wow, I look even more like a turtle than I thought!"

Nick said with a light chuckle, an attempt to lighten the mood. Jess didn't flinch, just walked towards the sofa and sat down, motioning for Nick to follow. Nick sat down slowly, feeling the electricity flowing between them, he hadn't been this close to her in months. He could tell by the way she was nervously tucking her hair behind her ears and picking at her nails that she was most likely feeling it too. He took a deep breath before locking eyes with her.

"Jess, I…."

"What are you doing here, Nick?"

Her voice was stern but he also detected a hint of sadness.

"I needed to talk to you, Jess. It was something that couldn't be said over the phone and you probably wouldn't have answered any way…"

"You're right. I wouldn't have."

Nick gulped loudly, looking down at his shaking hands before looking back up into her beautiful, but incredibly angry looking eyes.

"Ok, I'm just going to get right to the point here. I can tell that you obviously don't want me here but this is important. Jess, I never slept with Reagan. She lied to me, for some reason she thought by telling me that we did that it would help me get over you, but…"

Jess stood up suddenly, almost knocking over the coffee table in front of them. She was shaking with anger and frustration. She couldn't believe he would drive all the way over here just to lie to her face again.

"GET OUT NICK!"

Nick stood up, hurt and shock plastered all over his face. He stepped closer to Jess in an attempt to calm her down, but she practically leaped away from him.

"Jess, what…"

He saw her tiny frame shaking with anger and sadness, her eyes filling with tears.

"Why would you do this to me, Nick?! Once upon a time you actually cared about me, or so I thought. I've had enough. You're the ONE person I thought I could always count on, the ONE person I thought would always be honest with me…"

A sob escaped her quivering lips and she fought for air. Nick felt his own eyes fill with tears at the sight of her. He had never seen her so upset and it was all because of him. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and hold her until she calmed down.

Jess hugged her arms around her stomach, shutting her eyes tightly as tears leaked down her cheeks. She took deep breaths in and out, trying to keep her emotions in check. As she finally got her bearings back, she opened her eyes and locked them with his, slightly surprised by the tears she saw forming in his deep brown eyes.

"Why are you lying to me, Nick?"

Her voice sounded so small and weak and it broke Nick's heart just a little more.

"Jess, what are you talking about? I'm not lying to you…"

"I SAW HER NICK! I came by the loft earlier tonight because for some crazy reason I thought that I missed you. All I wanted was to hear your voice, I wanted to hear what you had to say to me because I realized that I never really let you explain yourself, not that you really deserved to, but damn it, Nick! I missed you! You were my best friend and I finally felt like I had you back before I left… Now I have no one. CeCe is always with Schmidt and Winston is so busy with work all the time… I just…"

Jess felt her knees give out underneath her as she sunk to the ground, putting her head between her legs and sobbing uncontrollably. She had never felt so broken and alone in her entire life. Suddenly she felt two strong arms wrap around her body as Nick lifted her into his lap, burying his face in her hair, kissing the top of her head and holding her tightly as she buried her face in his chest, soaking his shirt with her tears. As much as she wanted to fight him, it was exactly what she needed in that moment.

"Jess, Reagan was over earlier tonight because she came to tell me what really happened. We didn't have sex, but she made me think we did and I believed her, because in typical Nick Miller fashion, I got way too drunk and I blacked out. She found me in the hall when I was leaving the bathroom and I was upset because I missed you, I started crying so she told me to go lay in your bed. I woke up next to her but NOTHING happened, Jess. I cried Jess, because I missed you so much."

He felt Jess's muscles tense up, but he didn't loosen his grip, he wanted to hold her and be there for her, he knew she was still mad at him but he needed to show her that she wasn't alone, he was there and he always would be.

"And that kiss…"

He felt her flinch in his arms, but still kept his strong hold on her.

"She kissed me, Jess. I didn't want it to happen, but I did kiss her back. I was feeling really vulnerable after just confessing that even after two years, I'm still in love with my beautiful ex-girlfriend that used to live across the hall from me."

Jess lifted her head from his chest and looked into his eyes and saw nothing but pure honesty and love. She placed her hand on his chest and took a moment to just look at him up close for the first time in two years. She knew he was telling her the truth and that he had suffered just as much as she had in the past two months. Being blackout drunk was a pretty lousy excuse, but she knew Nick and she knew that it was how he dealt with things when he was upset. She also knew that he would never do anything like to her, coherent or not.

Nick took his arms from around her tiny waist and placed his hands on her face, wiping away her tears. He looked deep into her eyes and he could see it, he could see that somewhere deep down, she still loved him too. He felt her tiny hands wrap around his wrists, gently squeezing them.

"Jess, I am so sorry. I've been living in hell for the past few months. If you still don't forgive me, I totally understand. This all just sounds so crazy and I'm an idiot, I know that. But, I just miss you so much, Jess… I…"

Jess squeezed his wrists harder this time before a small smile appeared on that gorgeous face of hers.

"I forgive you, Nick."

She whispered as she slowly leaned in, gently kissing his lips before pulling back to see his reaction. She couldn't help but giggle at the adorable look on his face. His reactions to her always amazed her, she never really thought that she was anything special, but Nick Miller never made her feel anything short of amazing. The smile that erupted on his face made her heart do flips in her chest.

He crushed her body into his, hugging her tightly while burying his head in her coconut scented hair once again. He couldn't believe that she forgave him but she kissed him, she kissed him! He lifted his head from her hair and stared deeply into her eyes before taking her mouth with his once again.

He felt her shift so she was now straddling him, good god, this is something he thought he would never get to experience again. She affected every single nerve in his body and it was exhilarating. He felt her tongue against his lips and happily granted her access, gently massaging her tongue with his own.

Jess could feel Nick's hardness pressing against her center as she ground her body against him, making him moan loudly into her mouth. She could feel her self control waning as his hands traveled down her back and grabbed her ass, gently squeezing making her throw her head back with breathy moan, his lips now traveling down her neck.

"God, Jess…" He whispered hotly against the skin of her neck, making her eyes

roll into the back of her head.

"You have no idea what you do to me."

"Uhh" Jess moaned, head still thrown back in pure ecstasy "Tell me, Nick… Tell me what I do to you!"

Nick was just about to speak, when the sound of his phone broke them out of their heavenly bubble. He dropped his head to Jess's collarbone, huffing in pure annoyance before reaching into his pocket and grabbing his phone. He lifted his head to meet Jess' eyes, she was flushed and breathing heavily. He had never seen her look more beautiful. He wanted nothing more than to pick up where they had left off, but as his phone continued to ring, he decided it was best to stop.

"It's Schmidt…" He looked over at the clock below her t.v and realized that it was now almost 6 am. Time really does fly when you're having fun. He looked back at Jess, her eyes shining and a smile on her beautiful face.

"As much as I would absolutely love to keep this train rolling…" she said with an exaggerated wink, god he missed her. "You should probably answer that, you know how Schmidt gets when he can't get a hold you. Give him another half an hour and he'll have Winston and his Cop buddies out looking for you."

They both chuckled as they continued to stare into each other's eyes, both happier than they had been in over 2 years. Jess slowly started to climb off Nick's lap and stood up, holding her hand out to him.

"C'mon, Miller. We don't want you to end up on the missing person's list"

He grabbed her hand and stood up, once again taking her in his arms, not able to stop touching her now that he was allowed again. He kissed her cheek lightly before letting his arms fall to his sides.

"I think I'll just head home, let you get some sleep. Look, Jess… What almost happened there… I wanted it, believe me, I really wanted it. But… I don't wanna mess this up again, Jess. I've wanted you back since the second we decided to break up and I really want to do things right this time. As much as I hate the fact that you don't live in the loft anymore, I think it's actually good for us, as a couple I mean…"

Jess looked up at him with a mischievous look on her face, raising an eyebrow at him. Wanting nothing more than to call Nick her boyfriend again, she decided to mess with him, just a little.

"Are we a couple again, Nick?"

Nick could feel his face heat up with embarrassment, god he was an idiot. They hadn't even talked about it, what the hell was he thinking?!

"I uh...I just…"

Jess suddenly leaped towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck before kissing his cheek, leaning up to whisper in his ear.

"You've gotta ask a girl for that, Nicholas."

She was messing with him, oh thank god.

Nick got down on one knee, grabbing her left hand, laughing at the sight, as Jess's giant eyes somehow became bigger.

"Jessica Day, You are by far the most amazing, beautiful, smart, funny and adorably nerdy woman I have ever met in my entire life and nothing in this world would make me happier than to call you my girlfriend, so… Can I?"

Jess tackled him to the ground in excitement, causing him fall flat on his back with her on top of him. He couldn't help but chuckle at the goofy grin on her face and the twinkle in her eyes.

"Yes, Nick Miller! I would LOVE for you to call me your girlfriend!" She leaned down to kiss him sweetly.

Nick felt the lump in his throat and the pain in his heart leave him immediately, he finally had his other half back and it felt amazing. They both stood up once again and Nick took Jess's hands in his.

"This is going to work this time, Jess. I love you so much and like I was saying… as much as I miss you living in the loft, I think it'll be good for us, you know? To have our own space, less pressure. And when we finally do decide to take that next step, it'll just be us, no distractions, just me and you living in our own place, together. I mean, we'll obviously spend the night together a lot" He wiggled his eyebrows, making Jess laugh heartily.

"You know it, Mister!" Jess said, leaning up to kiss him. "Oh, and Nick?

"Yeah, Jess?"

"I love you too."

Nick's smile was amazing, it always made Jess's heart melt.

"As much as I don't want to, I should probably head back to the loft, I promised Schmidt I'd help him with stuff for the party tonight. But…" He said once again wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her tightly into his warm delicious body before kissing her deeply, leaving her breathless as always.

"I will see you later."

****The next Chapter will be rated M! Because who doesn't love some good N&J Smut?! I know I do!****