First Date (Episode 2) by Jillyree
I loved the restaurant on sight. It was homey and unassuming, candle-lit and romantic, but not overly so—I could still see across the room without squinting. I leaned into him as we waited to be seated and whispered “I love it here,” knowing he’d smile and wink at me. The host greeted us, then led us to a tiny table at the back corner of the room, pulling out my chair and making sure we had menus before leaving to get us a bottle of wine. We talked more easily once we settled at the table, first about what to order, then about the restaurant, and finally about just about everything else except “us.” Except for our feet and knees bumping under the table, we didn’t touch again. I was careful to limit the amount of wine I had and noticed that he seemed to be, too, as we shared dinner together, talking throughout.
We agreed to share a dessert, and then argued good-naturedly over the cart until the waiter rolled his eyes and offered to serve us half portions on one plate. We sat with the plate between us, eating our own selections quietly until he said, “God, this is so good. You have to taste this. You have no idea what you’re missing,” and held out a bite on his fork to me.
The image and his voice struck me as so sexy I had to close my eyes as I leaned forward and let him feed me, but even without seeing him I could hear him shift in his chair when my mouth closed around the fork. I let myself smile slightly before I opened my eyes. We sat for a moment, just looking at each other with our knees touching under the table before the waiter brought the check. He smiled at me as he dealt with the bill, and then walked me back out the front door, taking my hand in his as we stepped out into the brisk evening air. "How about a walk? I don’t know about you, but I ate entirely too much. And I forgot to wear my ‘fat’ pants.”
I laughed at the idea of Jim Halpert needing ‘fat pants.’ “That sounds great", I said, leaning my head onto his shoulder momentarily, "I’m too lazy to spend the weekend at the gym. There’s no extra room in my pants, either.”
Without looking my way, he quickly answered under his breath, “yeah, I noticed that,” and I could feel my face flush. I had carefully selected my clothes, though, and purposely wore what Kelly had called my ‘make-your-ass-look-amazing’ black pants with a cropped sweater. It was nice to know he had been looking.
We didn’t talk as much as we had during dinner, just commenting on things in the shop windows we passed, squeezing and rearranging our fingers from time to time. A few times he’d squeezed my hand as it rested in his as we walked, and when he lifted it to his mouth, kissing the delicate skin on the top of my hand, I shivered. He removed his hand from mine, snaking his arm around my waist. “Are you cold?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m not cold at all.” I glanced at his face, looking so concerned about me. “But you don’t have to let go.”
“Good, I don‘t want to.” His hand tightened on my waist as we crossed the street, and we stopped on the corner to look into an antique shop window. I turned my head to point out something inside the store to him, but as I started to speak, he covered my mouth with his in an amazing, soft kiss while still touching me only at the side of the waist.
He laughed at the look of surprise on my face as he pulled away. "Well, I think this is going well, don’t you?” Still speechless and more than a little breathless, I nodded. Again, I felt like a dope, but he could so easily strike me dumbfounded.
“Oh, Jim…I think it's going very well," he said to himself in a mock feminine voice, "Even if you do smell like garlic.”
I elbowed him in the ribs, and finally found my voice again. “Yeah, well so do you. That’s why both people on a date have to eat it, or neither one can.” We stood still for a minute, and I added, “Oh my God, Jim…we’re on a date.” He laughed out loud at that, so I went on. “And to answer your question, yes, it went very well.”
“’Went’ well? It’s over?”
“I mean that only in the sense that tonight is about over. I’d love to do this again.” I could see relief in his eyes. “What, didn’t you have a good time? And don’t you think I did?”
“I had a fantastic time. Best first date ever. I just thought maybe you wouldn’t want to do this again. I don’t know why.”
“Oh, you thought I was going to hold you to that whole ‘we don’t have to do this again if you don’t like me’ thing? I never wanted to actually follow through with that, Jim.”
“Well, I meant every word, but I’m so glad.” He ran his hand through his hair before asking, “So, when do you want to do it again? Is Sunday too soon? Am I being a pain in the ass?”
“No, you’re always a pain in the ass, but tonight, you’re a shy, unassuming, kinda cute, and I like it. I like it a lot. And I happen to be available on Sunday.” He blew out a breath like he’d been holding it, waiting for me to answer. “Jim…relax. This is me.”
“Yeah, I know. That’s just it… it’s you. That’s why I’m nervous—I feel like I’m fifteen years old again.”
“Please don’t be nervous, you’re making me nervous all over again.” I took his hand and tugged him back in the direction of his car. “Take me home, and we’ll talk about Sunday on the way.”
We settled into the car, and it only took about fifteen minutes to get to my apartment in the late night traffic. We had just enough time to decide on brunch for Sunday and a long drive before we pulled up to the building and I suggested that he park in the garage so his car would be safer. I would feel terrible if anything happened to it…he’d purchased it when he was in Stamford, and I knew he was overprotective of it. I directed him to my second garage space, and he devoted most of the time it took to walk up to my place to describing the restaurant he had in mind. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise, and I knew he was nervous about what would happen when we got to my door. He finally gave me a chance to talk when he took my keys and fiddled with the locks on the door before finding the correct one and unlatching the deadbolt.
I walked through the door and kicked off my shoes, then looked over my shoulder at him still standing at the threshold. “Aren’t you coming in?”
“No, I’d better not,” he said, his eyes shining. “But, Pam…I did have a great time tonight. Better than great, wonderful.”
“Me, too,” I added, watching as he began to fidget, his hands not knowing what to do. It was kind of nice seeing Jim Halpert, eternal prankster, on the hot seat for once. After letting him stew for a few moments, I finally decided to put him out of his misery, taking his fidgety hands in mine and pulling him to me in a hug. His arms felt good wrapped around me, and as I looked up at him, his lips met mine in another soft, yet powerful kiss.
“Sunday,” he said, pulling away from me, almost reluctant to let go.
“Sunday,” I said, watching as he started down the hallway.
Continue reading - First Date (Episode 3) JAM Fan Fiction!
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- First Date (Episode 1)
- First Date (Episode 2)
- First Date (Episode 3)
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