"Guys, this is going to be so much fun," Jess said enthusiastically as she stood at the open refrigerator stacking things neatly into a giant cooler; sandwich meat, cheese, milk, leftover turkey and ham from Thanksgiving the previous day, fruit, fresh veggies, mayo, mustard, beer for the guys, and a bottle of wine for herself. Nearby sat a large, reusable shopping bag containing potatoes, pasta, bread, crackers, homemade cookies, tea, soda, paper plates, plastic utensils.

"Jess, do we really need all that stuff?" Schmidt asked as he leaned back against the kitchen table watching her along with Nick and Winston.

"Of course we do!" she popped up from her crouching position at the cooler and smiled at the guys. "It's a cabin in the woods; we're going to need food for the weekend." She dropped the last item into the cooler, closed the lid, and stepped away from the fridge so that the door would close. "You guys almost ready?"

"Well, Jess, I have to drop something off at work. My boss told me that the only way I could take the day off is if I could finish this report I'm working on."

Jess huffed, "Guys! I wanted to get an early start!"

"How about you go on ahead of us, get the cabin all set up, and we'll meet you there in a few hours," Schmidt asked.

"I'm not driving two hours, up to Big Bear by myself! Come on, this was supposed to be a fun roommate trip!"

"Well, how about you take Nick with you, and I'll stay behind with Schmidt and then we'll meet you there," suggested Winston.

Jess and Nick glanced at each other awkwardly. They still weren't sure how to act around each other after he'd kissed her more tenderly and passionately than anyone's ever kissed her, and then left her in the hallway dumbstruck, confused and wanting more.

"Uh, well, I guess..." Jess looked at Nick for his agreement. He began nodding and finished her sentence. "Yeah, that should be- fine. Okay..."

Schmidt looked between the two, not quite sure what THAT was about. "Okay, great. You two head up there, and we'll be an hour or so behind you."

Jess glanced at Nick one more time. "Alright. I just have to go grab the tire chains from my roo-"

"Tire chains?!" All three guys asked in unison.

"Well, yeah, it's almost winter. It's a law that you have to keep tire chains in your car when you drive up the mountain in the winter. I know it's not winter yet, but just in case."

"Jess, you did check the weather report, right? It's not going to snow, is it?"

"Pssh. Of course I checked. No snow in sight this weekend."

Jess and Nick made their way into the elevator, lugging their weekend bags along with the cooler and large, canvas shopping bag of food. As the elevator made its way down to the ground floor, Nick wordlessly slid the strap of her bag off of her shoulder and transferred it to his own, freeing her up to carry just the cooler and shopping bag.

She looked at him shyly and saw him gazing intently at her. This was going to be a long trip.

"Thanks, Nick," she breathed.

Once they reached her car, they quietly packed everything along with their blankets and pillows which had already been stuffed into the trunk earlier.

Jess grabbed one baggie of homemade cookies from the shopping bag. "Snacks for the road," she said and smiled at him, dangling the bag between them.

"Give me your keys; I'll drive," Nick said, reaching out his hand toward her.

"Are you sure, Nick?"

"Yeah. I know you're not a huge fan of driving long distances, and the road gets pretty narrow on the mountain."

She handed over the keys, their fingers touching softly as the keys were transferred to his hand. She blushed and smiled her thanks.

Once they were on I-10 and Nick was making his turtle face and yelling at traffic, things felt almost normal again between them. It was the first time they were really alone together since the kiss, but it wasn't quite as awkward as she thought it would be.

"Nick, have a cookie," she offered, tapping the cookie on his hand which was gripping the steering wheel.

"I don't need a cookie," he said. "I need this slow jerk in front of me to get out of the passing lane."

"Come on, it will make you feel better."

He glanced at the cookie and back at her, his turtle face neutralizing a bit, and he plucked the offered cookie from her fingers, taking a bite. His eyes went wide, and his mouth turned up at the corners. "Jess, what kind of cookie is this?"

"She smiled, proud of her own personal recipe. "Coconut, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.."

"Jess, they're so good," he smiled at her.

"Welp, there's more where that came from!"

After sharing the cookies, things got less tense. The awkwardness dissipated, and things felt like old times again, talking about nothing and everything at the same time. The mountains could be seen in the distance, already with some snow on them. It was one amazing thing about living in Southern California. Yes, it's sunny almost all the time, flat as a pancake, and the cities look like humongous parking lots, but in less than two hours you can be in the mountains with fresh air, amongst endless trees, the air crisp with the possibility of snow.

Nick glanced in Jess' direction, smiling at the way her feet were propped against the dashboard, her knees curled upward, and her head lolled to the side in sleep. Her cheeks were rosy and the sight of her her pink, supple lips brought back the way it felt to kiss her. His stomach did a flip and then his eyes flew back to the road when he'd accidentally swerved over the center line and an oncoming car alerted him with a drawn-out honk of its horn. His jerking of the car back to his own side of the road woke up Jess with alarmed eyes and a short gasp for breath.

"What's going on?" She asked groggily, running her palm over her face.

"Oh, nothing," he said, clearing his throat. "Just people driving like idiots. The usual."

She stretched languidly next to him and then pulled her feet up onto her seat, wrapping her arms around her shins. "Sorry I fell asleep on you."

"It's okay, we're almost at the foot of the mountain."

He watched, out of the corner of his eye, as Jess gazed out the window at the beautiful sight. The rise of the land before them, the trees gradually getting more dense, the road dappled with sunlight. She placed a hand on Nick's shoulder and turned her beautiful blue eyes on him. His stomach did another one of those flips. Maybe two.

"Oh, I can't wait. A weekend in the mountains," she exclaimed breathlessly. He placed his hand over hers on his shoulder and slid his fingers over her knuckles before dropping his hand back into his lap. He could have sworn he heard her take in a quick breath of air, the way she had while they'd kissed; when their lips had parted between the two soft kisses, when he hadn't been able to stop himself from bringing his mouth back to hers one, then two more times, a confirmation for her that he'd meant it. That it wasn't just a whim. He frowned at his own inability to express in words what that kiss did to him, how it changed the way he sees her, the deeper way he feels about her now.

"What's wrong," she asked.

"Hmm?"

"Your face... you look bothered."

"It's nothing, Jess. just a little tired from driving."

"We're almost there, right?"

He nodded.

They continued their ascent up the mountain. The road narrowed and became steep. Nick carefully rounded the many curves on the road while enjoying the scenery. Gradually, the trees became more dense, palm trees gave way to pine trees and deciduous trees whose leaves had changed from their normal green to bright and vibrant splashes of color.

"Wow, this reminds me of home, back in Oregon," Jess said quietly. He looked over to her side of the car to see her gazing out the window, a small smile on her face. They passed signs indicating the ski slopes, the cabins, the lake, and Nick followed the way that was indicated to their rented cabin by the lake.

Soon, they pulled up to a quaint-looking cabin. It was surrounded by pine trees and a blanket of brown pine needles was underfoot. The lake could be seen through the trees behind the house, and Jess had jumped out of the car as soon as Nick killed the engine. He slipped the cabin keys, which they'd acquired at the visitor's center on the way in, into his pocket and followed Jess behind the house. Of course she'd want to explore before going inside to unpack. He caught up to her at the tree line, and they wordlessly made their way through to the rocky beach on the shore of the lake. Clouds had moved in and the air had become chilly, but they both stood on the beach, taking in the view.

"This is really awesome, Jess," Nick murmured.

She turned her face up to him and smiled. After a lingering moment of eye contact, Jess cleared her throat. "Shall we?" She asked, nodding towards the cabin.