ELECTRIC FEEL ↝ Schmidt

CHAPTER TWO

"WAIT, WHAT DO you mean the comic book shop girl is coming over for dinner?", disbelief was lacing Schmidt's tone as he looked up from the magazine he was reading by the table, almost spilling his coffee as the shock in him spread out, twisting his face into a terrified grimace. Nick and Winston glanced at each other, suffocating laughter, whilst Jess threw out her hands and sighed out loud, displeased with the reaction he got from Schmidt, who seemed to be against all of her ideas lately.

"Yes, at 5 pm, Elise Stevens is coming here to have dinner with us. I thought it'd be nice to get to know her! Besides, she seems really great and I want to be her friend, okay!", Jess ranted, and Schmidt sighed heavily while covering his face with his palms, muttering profanities as Nick and Winston laughed at their friend. Jess rolled her eyes, and took a seat next to Nick to sip on her coffee, whilst it seemed Schmidt was entirely unable to do so ever again, utterly shaken by these not-so shocking news Jess had come home with.

"Dude, don't pretend like you're not excited. I saw you last night, you were honestly blushing. You obviously like this girl!", Nick laughed, and Schmidt gave him a deadly stare, ready to spark a verbal fight as he closed the magazine and smacked his hand against the table in irritation.

"That's absurd! I am— I do not like her", Schmidt argued, but then with a slightly lower tone added, "but hypothetically, regarding suits, do you think she'd prefer fancy gray or classic black?", turning more serious now, and confirming that perhaps he did kind of like her. But he was Schmidt, and he was into girls all the time, and then he'd have sex and then never see them again. He could do that with Elise, right? Slowly but surely seduce her and then have meaningless fun behind closed doors, with no strings or any kind of emotions whatsoever attached? Right?

Winston shook his head, and leaned over the table to face Schmidt with a stern look on his face, his finger pointing at the man opposite him. "Schmidt, I'm gonna say this once. You are not wearing a suit", Winston insisted — after all, it was merely a casual dinner at their loft, not one at some fancy, romantic restaurant. Jess and Nick nodded in agreement, looking at Schmidt with serious looks to make sure the man would control himself and not go over the top, like he easily did.

"Fine, fine. No suits."

»

Elise was a nervous wreck, and completely unsure of what to expect, but she tried to be brave as the elevator she was standing in made a ping when it halted. Once the doors opened, the woman walked out and inhaled deeply. It was nearly 5 pm, and she was early, just like she wanted to in order to make a good impression on Jess and her roommates. With a smile forced onto her face, Elise spotted the door that read 4D on it, and as soon as she had approached it and mentally prepared herself for spending the following several hours with people she barely knew, her knuckles left a light knock on the door.

She could hear loud arguing and yelling in a rather panicky manner from the other side of the door, but eventually, the noise settled and the door was opened, revealing a well-dressed Schmidt, with his hair combed back, hands straightening the tie before tucking it underneath his jacket. Elise's eyes widened at the sight, as it was certainly handsome, but she instantly felt wonderfully under-dressed for the occasion and feared that she would make a complete fool of herself — although she did bring a bottle of wine with her, but instead of a fancy dress she was just wearing a Spider-Man shirt and a pair of jeans, whilst Schmidt had clearly put effort into his appearance.

"Y—You're wearing a suit", Elise just blurted out, not sure what else to say, and since Schmidt was standing in front of her, she couldn't sneak in and avoid the topic either. So, she was forced to be swallowed by the awkwardness of the situation and pray she wasn't looking like a homeless person compared to the rest of them. Schmidt chuckled quietly, and nodded somewhat proudly, the grin on his face revealing how he was feeling and it was downright pleased with himself. And frankly, Elise didn't wonder, because he looked great, but she feared that she did not.