"So, what exactly does one wear on a yacht date, with a ridiculously rich, grown-up, type guy?" Jess wondered out loud, her towel draped over her mid-section, as she frowned at her open closet.

Cece was sprawled on Jess' bed, absent-mindedly flipping through the pages of an old issue of Cosmopolitan. "Something that shows off your boobs," she said decisively.

Jess rolled her eyes. "Cece! You've said that about every date I've been on, ever since that time I went to McDonald's with Michael Testeroni in the fifth grade. And I didn't even have boobs back then!"

Cece smirked. "But you do now! And the same rules still apply."

"Ooh, I know! I'll wear this!" Jess exclaimed excitedly, extracting the chosen item from the back of her closet.

Cece squinted, certain she must be seeing things wrong. "Is that an actual sailor suit?"

Jess nodded proudly. "I bought it to wear, back when our school did a production of South Pacific for its spring musical. It's perfect for this occasion, don't you think?"

"That depends . . . are you planning to spend your date making out with your new, extremely successful boyfriend, while the wind whips through your hair? Or are you planning to spend it scrubbing barnacles off the side of the boat, while singing sea shanties?"

Jess pouted. "I don't know! I told you, I've never been on a yacht before. That's why you have to help me!"

Cece laughed. Sometimes her friend could be so adorably clueless. "Here," she said, pulling a cute red sundress from Jess' closet. "Wear this."

Suddenly, the door to Jess' room flew open. "Hey Jess, have you seen my . . ." Nick's words escaped him, as he caught sight of Jess, clad in nothing, but her way-too-short white towel . . . her thin muscular legs still dappled with droplets of water. ". . . razors?"

"So, do you guys have like a 'No-Knock' Policy, or something?" Cece inquired dryly.

Jess ignored her. "Try under the sink in the back left corner, right next to my pink ones," she offered helpfully.

"Thanks, Jess," replied Nick, as he hesitated by the door. "So," he began, in a voice he hoped sounded casual. "Are you ready to suckle on the teet of consumerism?"

Jess grinned. "Oh yeah! I'm going to suck some serious teet, today," she exclaimed, as she mimed the action of sucking, while goofily dancing around her bedroom, thereby, causing her towel to come dangerously close to unraveling itself from her body entirely.

It took Jess a few minutes to notice that both Nick and Cece were gawking at her, but for entirely different reasons. "I took that joke too far, didn't I?" She asked.

"Yeah, you did," replied Cece bluntly.

"A little too far," said Nick simultaneously.

"Definitely, too far," Cece corrected.

Cece looked at the time on her iPhone and rose from the bed. "I should go. I got a photo shoot for a panty hose commercial in an hour, and I haven't even shaved my legs. There's only so much photo shop can do, you know?"

"Cece, wait! You have to help me zip up my dress. Remember the last time I tried to zip up a dress, myself? My thumb got caught in the zipper, and I ended up having to go to the Emergency Room! To this day, the thumbnail on my right hand is always shorter than the one on my left."

Cece glanced mischievously over it Nick, who was standing stock still, seemingly still entranced by the sight of Jess in a towel. "Nick, will help. Won't you, Nick?"

"What?" Nick said, blinking hard to force himself out of his daze. "Oh yeah, sure . . . I'm an expert at zipping and unzipping dresses . . . not because I actually wear dresses, or anything, but because I . . . nevermind . . . I'll help."

Cece had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. "OK, I gotta go, Jess. Call me, after your date. And don't worry. It's going to be great," she said supportively, offering her friend a hug, before leaving the room, and decisively closing the door behind her.

"OK, Nick. Why don't you sit down on the bed, and make yourself comfortable, while I get changed? And no peeking!"

"Don't worry, Jess. I'll be the perfect gentleman," promised Nick, as he settled down on Jess' bed, carefully placing one of her throw pillows in his lap, just in case he accidentally 'peeked.'"

Nick heard the taunting rustling of fabric, as he forced his eyes to study the pattern on Jess' comforter. Minutes later, Jess emerged in front of him, her opened dress hanging loosely over toned frame. "OK, I'm ready. Zip me up, Scotty."

"Did you just make a Star Trek joke?" Nick asked with a grin.

"That depends . . . was it lame?"

"What would you say, if I said yes?" Nick asked.

"Well, then I'd say it wasn't a joke. And I just temporarily forgot that your name was Nick, and not Scotty."

"That makes sense," replied Nick, with a chuckle.

"No more talking. It's zippy time!" Jess admonished, pulling her long hair away from her neck, as Nick rose to position himself behind her.

His hands lingered for a moment on Jess' skin, as he marveled over its downy softness. The surprising warmth and gentleness of his touch made Jess inhale sharply. This caused Nick to realize that he had been holding his breath too.

He took his time, moving the zipper, slowly, and tantalizingly, up Jess' spine, as he pressed his free hand firmly against her waist to steady himself. Instinctively, she relaxed into his touch, even allowing her eyes to flutter closed for a brief moment. When he reached the top, she felt his breath on the back of her neck, warm and inviting. "All done," he said softly, his voice sounding strangely husky in her ear, as he reluctantly relinquished his grasp.

Jess turned toward him abruptly, causing Nick to take a quick, and awkward, step back, so as not to be tempted to push her against the wall and ravish her right there. "So . . . how do I look?" She asked self-consciously.

Nick's face felt unusually warm, as Jess twirled before him, the skirt of her red sundress lifting ever-so-slightly as she moved, offering an alluring peak at what lied beneath. His mouth went dry, as he ran his fingers through his hair nervously. "You look . . . amazing," he said solemnly.

"Thank you," replied Jess, almost shyly. "I really needed to hear that, today."

"Um . . . yeah . . . of course . . . no problem," Nick stuttered. "Well, I should probably let you finish getting ready. Russell will be here to pick us up in less than ten minutes."

Jess narrowed her eyes at her roommate. "Us . . . as in you and me?"

Nick grinned. "Oh, yeah . . . Russell didn't tell you? Last night, he and I were talking about how I'd never been on a yacht before, and . . ."

"You talk to my prospective new boyfriend on the phone?" Jess interrupted.

She was clearly feeling jealous, though she wasn't quite sure who exactly she was more jealous of . . . Russell or Nick?

"Yeah . . . all the time! He gave me his number, after I offered to have his Chair Sweater dry cleaned for him . . . Dry cleaning Chair Sweaters is very important, you know. Anyway, after I told him about having never been on a yacht, he invited me to come out with you guys. That's . . . not a problem, is it?" Nick asked, eyeing Jess with a bit of concern.

"Well . . ."

Jess bit her lower lip, as she pondered this question. Perhaps, she was overreacting. Having a roommate who was friends with her boyfriend certainly wasn't the worst thing in the world. After all, none of her friends liked her ex, Spencer, at all. And look how well that turned out.

Besides, it was Nick who convinced Jess to go out with Russell, in the first place. Having him there as a buffer might keep her from making a fool of herself on her first date. In a sense, Nick could be like Date Training Wheels for Russell.

"No," Jess said finally with a smile. "It's no problem at all. I'm happy we are going to get to experience our first time on a yacht together. I think that's great."

"Good . . . I'm glad you're cool with it," answered Nick, looking relieved.

"Besides, roommates are supposed to share things together. It's just like the time Cece and I shared a bunk bed at Camp Hiawatha in the seventh grade. And we both got our first periods on the same night."

Nick made his trademark turtle face, in disgust.

"I made things uncomfortable again, didn't I?" Jess asked guiltily.

Nick nodded, laughing, as he moved toward the door. "Oh, and Jess," Nick said, turning back toward the room hesitantly.

"Yeah?" Jess inquired, smiling brightly at her roommate, as she fastened a pair of simple gold hoop earrings into each ear.

"I'm glad you decided to give it a try with Russell. I really think you guys will be great together. And I know he can make you happy," Nick insisted, with what Jess thought might have been just a hint of wistfulness.

"Thanks. And thank you for making me do this. You know . . . helping me to finally become a grown-up. It's probably time I got around to doing that," Jess offered brightly.

"Anytime," replied Nick, as he closed the door behind him. "By the way, I think I'm falling in love with you," he added under his breath.