ᴀ sᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ's ᴅᴀʏ - Nick Miller

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ʜᴇ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅɴ'ᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ sᴀɪᴅ

"I'm sorry. It was a mistake, and, honestly it meant nothing. It was like, totally non-sexual."

"You're sorry? Was it really that awful?" Cassy asked, scoffing. "Jesus. I can't believe I did this." She said, pinching her nose. "It meant nothing."

"No, no, I just don't want to-"

"Don't want to what? Confuse me? Make me suddenly think that you like me, kiss me and then throw me to the side because it wasn't what you expected? I'm nothing, and you're sorry?" Cassy asked. "Well, now, so am I." She replied, scowling and going into the hotel's ballroom.

"Please look at the numbers on your name tags and go to the table with the corresponding numbers. These are your groupings. People with similar resumes and education backgrounds have been grouped together." The woman from the front announced.

"1." Cassy read, looking around. She walked around, finding the table, and finding it completely full of men, all of whom were practically wearing their doctorates around their neck like a medal. "Great." She mumbled, sitting down in an empty chair. It wasn't long before a familiar face popped in, and Jess' current boyfriend Sam sat down beside her.

"Nice to see a familiar face." He said, smiling.

"Yeah." Cassy replied, smiling back.

"I didn't actually know you were a doctor." Sam said, tilting his head. "Jess did say you had a lot of black scrubs?" Cassy laughed.

"I do. I'm a medical examiner. I do the surgery on the dead people." She said, smiling. Sam laughed, lifting his drink.

"Cheers to that." He said. Cassy smiled, clinking her glass against his. She liked Sam. He and Jess were good together.

Soon, they were all stuck in icebreakers, in the middle of the room, together, trying to move a hula-hoop around the circle without letting go of their arms. Cassy remembered doing something like this when she was younger, so she already had the motions figured out.

The next one was to build a table stable enough to hold a phone book, and lucky her, Cassy was partnered with Nick. She knew what she was doing, but since they were not talking to one another, or more like Cassy was blatantly ignoring Nick, their table looked like something out of a horror movie... about bad... tables. It was weird-looking, okay?

However, they managed to be the first ones done, and it held the phone book perfectly. Cassy just walked away, leaving Nick being applauded by the other people in the room. The next ice breaker was like speed dating, but sitting in seats and switching conversations every few minutes.

"So, what do you do, Table 1?" A guy asked, smiling. Cassy smiled back, trying to be polite despite her discomfort.

"I'm a medical examiner."

"Oh. Gross." The guy replied, scrunching his nose. He sat there, trying not to look at her for the next minute, and then when they switched, he nearly fell off the chair getting to the next one.

"Wow. That was cool of him." Another guy said as he sat down.

"It's not the first time that's happened." Cassy said, shrugging.

"I'm Ravi." He said, extending his hand. "I'm a paediatrician."

"Cassy." She replied, shaking it. "I think I've seen you around at USC, right?"

"Yeah. I think... well, pardon the gruesome nature, but I think I've brought you a kid or two." He said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Cassy nodded.

"What kind of hobbies do you have?" She asked.

"I like to paint, but I work in the ER, so I don't have a lot of time." He said sadly.

"What kind of things do you paint?" Cassy asked.

"Well, mostly portraits of murdered prostitutes. I feel like it helps me express my anger, you know?" He asked. Cassy's eyes widened, and she shook her head. They switched.

After a few minutes, it started to get really tiring. Honestly, Cassy really just wanted to leave. She sat at the table, face down, when she felt someone sit next to her.

"Cassy-"

"No, Nick." She grumbled.

"I want to talk to you about this." He said, frowning. "Look, I... I didn't mean what I said. Winston was the one who told me to say it. I don't-"

"You're getting your advice from Winston?" Cassy asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I am now hearing it out loud." Nick said quietly. "It meant a lot to me, Cassy. I really, really, like you, and I really want to do it again." Cassy sighed. She held her head in her hands.

"We can't, Nick. I don't want to make our friends uncomfortable and despite the fact that I like you too, I have to prioritize them." She explained slowly.

"No, no, you're right." Nick said sadly. She reached over, taking and squeezing his hand. He almost sighed at the feeling of her hand on his. "We can't. Unless..." He said, his eyes widening as he turned to her, giving a suspiciously hopeful look.

"Unless what?" Cassy asked.

"We keep it a secret. Sneak around, add a little mystery." He suggested, wiggling his eyebrows. Cassy laughed, shaking her head.

"They would find out eventually. That almost never works." Cassy protested.

"Right, you're right. We'll just suppress our feelings until we fall into depression and then one day explode in a fiery mess of sad." Nick agreed sarcastically. He paused, analyzing her face. "Why not make it worth it while it lasts?" He asked.

Cassy paused, biting her lip. He loved how she bit her lip. He wanted to bite it. Was that weird? Cassy pondered his proposal. She knew she didn't want to suppress her feelings, and he was right. They could just make it worth it while it lasts. She looked up at his face. His adorable, handsome face that sometimes looked like a turtle when he made that one face... Yeah. She nodded, and Nick perked up.

"Yes? You say yes?" He asked, smiling.

"Well, what am I saying "yes" to?" Cassy asked, laughing.

"Secret spy dating." He said, like it was obvious. Cassy laughed again. God, he loved her laugh.

"Okay." She agreed, nodding. He smiled, taking her hand in his, and moving it underneath the table so no one could see. He squeezed her hand, and Cassy smiled, squeezing his back.

-

After the fiasco that was the marriage convention, Cassy was more than happy to sink into her bed and pretend she never existed for the next nine hours. She'd already taken her heels off, and was trying to forget who she was a little bit. The very very quiet knock on her door stopped her from doing that.

"It's open!" Cassy yelled. The door opened and closed, and Nick tiptoed into her bedroom, closing the door behind him and leaning against it as if he was being chased. "What are you doing?" She asked, laughing.

"Shh! It's a secret!" He whispered.

"Okay, what are you doing?" Cassy repeated, exaggerating her whisper. He smiled.

"I missed you." He said simply. Cassy grinned. "Also, Schmidt's cooking his stupid grandma's weird slop casserole again and I want mac and cheese." Cassy laughed.

"Fine, let's go make mac and cheese." She said, shaking her head as she grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room. He pulled back on her hand, turning her around and pecking a sweet kiss to her lips. She squeaked in surprise before smiling.

"I like your face." He blurted. Cassy's smile widened.

"I like your face, too." She replied. Nick smiled back and she pulled on his hand again, bringing him to the kitchen.