ᴀ sᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ's ᴅᴀʏ - Nick Miller

ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴡᴏᴍᴀɴ

Cassy smiled at the little picnic basket she had assembled. Filled with crackers, cheese, a bit of fruit, chocolate-covered strawberries. She and Mark had been seeing one another for a few weeks, and she decided to surprise him like Cece suggested.

She headed over to his apartment, gently knocking on the door. There was no response, but she could hear his music so she popped her head through the door. He was probably in his bedroom. She took care to set up the picnic in his living room, laying down a blanket, pouring wine and lighting candles. Cassy always prided herself on how romantic she could be sometimes. Simon always appreciated it much more than Mark seemed to.

After she was set up, she walked over to his bedroom, knocking on the door. He opened the door, wide eyed and breathless, only in his boxers.

"Cassy? What are you doing here?" He asked, frowning. He turned to his living room, seeing all that she'd set up.

"Who's that, babe?" A woman asked, coming up behind him and snaking her arms around his muscled waist. She was also only in her underwear.

"Who is this?" Cassy asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I'm Kayla, I'm Mark's wife." She said, frowning at her. Cassy paled, feeling all of her blood drop to her toes. This... this was not how it was supposed to go.

"I see." She whispered. She turned to Mark, who was looking anxiously between the two women, before turning to Kayla. "I really hope you can find someone who can treat you better." She told her. Kayla frowned. Cassy went back to the living room, grabbing the bottle of wine and taking a swig straight from it before raising it at Mark, leaving the apartment.

She got into her car, immediately driving back to the loft. As soon as she pulled into the parking lot, she began to cry. She wasn't as attached to Mark as she could have been, but they were still in some sort of relationship. And he just... She took another swig of wine.

"Cassy?" Nick asked, seeing her drinking in her car as he put a large lump of something into the dumpster. He walked to her window, knocking on it. She rolled it down, turning and revealing her mascara-covered face and wine-stained lips. "Oh, no." He mumbled. He opened her door, pulling her out of the car and grabbing her keys. "Come on, let's get you upstairs." He said. Cassy said nothing, just following him and trying not to trip or drop the bottle of wine as they got into the elevator.

He brought her into her apartment, pouring her a glass of water as she collapsed on the couch. She hugged the now empty wine bottle to her chest, curling her knees up. Nick brought over the water, frowning.

"I'm not so good at this stuff." He admitted. Cassy gave no reaction. "But he was a dick anyways. Anyone who cheats on you has clearly lost their mind." Cassy sniffed, and Nick pulled a tissue box over from the side table. She took one, wiping her face from the mascara stains. "Do you want me to call Jess and Cece?" He asked. Cassy nodded. He stood up, moving to go out the door. "Hey, Cassy, I know it's not gonna fix anything, but I can set you up with someone... way better than him." He offered. She just nodded, staring into the brick wall.

Nick cursed himself as he closed the door behind him. He didn't want to set her up with anyone better. Naturally, it wasn't hard to do since the bar of standards Mark had set was literally a limbo game in hell, but he didn't want her to be with anyone else. He didn't want her to be with him, obviously... that would be crazy. He didn't want that, but he didn't want anyone else to have her either.

Cassy smiled softly at the door after Nick left. She didn't say anything, but she appreciated him more than he knew. He was sweet, kind, helped her out with a lot of things, and hell, she almost had a threesome with him and a landlord. They were close, and she was glad for it. He made her smile, and laugh, and she was really grateful to have him. As a friend, of course.