Paper Thin (Jim Halpert/The Office Fanfiction)

Chapter Three

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Jim and I walk into The Well, the only coffee shop that I know of around town. I've only been here for a short time and Jim asked me to pick the place. So here we are.

I bite my lip nervously as he orders his coffee. He orders an Americano in a mug and sits down at one of the wooden tables in the back of the large room, fiddling with the plastic plant in the center.

I order one of The Well's famous pour overs and linger by the counter for a second. I'm nervous as fuck and I don't know how I'm going to keep my crush a secret from Jim. He's so handsome. I look over at him. His jacket is thrown over the back of the chair. His tousled hair looks even more tousled than usual. His eyes look down in slight worry, and it is one of the few times I have seen him without his goofy grin. I watch as he loosens his necktie and unbuttons the first button of his blue shirt, revealing the skin at the base of his neck. Oh fuck.

"Miss?" Someone taps my shoulder and I jump.

"Oh! Sorry. Thank you sir," I say to the young man handing me my pour over. I walk unsteadily to the table, the yellow mug rattling on the small saucer.

I know exactly why I am so nervous. I cannot pursue a relationship with Jim. I can't even tell him that I like him. I can't let him get too close. He's already very close to me, but he can't get any closer. This is as far as this relationship can go: coffee.

"So tell me everything," I say to Jim. He smirks, looking down at his mug of Americano. I instantly relax at the sight of his grin. He looks at me from under his eyelashes and whispers, "this is top secret information, O'Neal."

I lean in and match his tone. "Yes sir." He looks up at me and blushes a little. Hmm.

"Uh...no. On a serious note, Dwight called the client and gave him a huge discount. But honestly Rach, it's not a big deal," he says, looking right into my eyes.

"Are you kidding? That's 25% of your commission, Jim."

"Yeah. But I try not to take my job too seriously, if you haven't noticed," he says. He's chuckling and looking at me. What is that look in his eye? Affection? Lust? I don't know. I've never seen it in the office. It's a new look. Although, this is the first time we've hung out together outside the office.

I sigh. He's right. He's told me countless times about how he doesn't want to move up in this company, even though we both know he's good enough. I think it depresses him to think of doing something so boring for the rest of his life. I see Jim as someone who has bigger dreams than Dunder Mifflin. I'm not all that surprised by his reaction.

"Besides, I've had a really good day," he says, looking at me.

"It seemed pretty bleak to me Halpert, but okay," I say, taking a sip of my coffee.

"Well sometimes one little thing will happen that will turn my entire day around. It happens a lot lately," he says. I look up. There's that look again. It's sexy, yet cute. I choose to ignore whatever suggestion he was making.

I take another long sigh. "Are you sure? We could get back at him. Bonnie and Clyde? Tit for tit?"

He chuckles at me, running his tongue across his top front teeth. He shakes his head, looking at me. The look he gives me now is transparent: admiration.

We spend the next two hours at The Well just talking. We talk about everything from work gossip to football teams I've never heard of to my favorite movie.

"Titanic," I say when he asks.

"Oh my God, you're kidding. That is so cliché, Rach," he says, leaning back in his chair. He puts both hands behind his head and crosses his legs. I look at his visible muscles poking through his button down. Yum.

"Let me give you the benefit of the doubt here. Make your case. Why is it your favorite movie?" he asks.

"Well not to be cliché - and not to be cliché by saying 'not to be cliché'..... I know it's cliché but I don't care. It's all about romance and I happen to be a hopeless romantic." This is very true. It always was true, up until the incident in LA.

He looks me up and down. "Is that so?" he asks, blushing.

I nod slowly, not breaking his gaze.

We finally leave The Well at around 7:30. I'm exhausted and I can't wait to get out of these work clothes.

Jim drives me to my car at the office. We linger by my car, finishing a conversation about Stephen King, my favorite author. It's dark outside and chilly now that fall is officially starting to creep in. I shiver in my thin jacket, and Jim removes his blazer and wraps it around me. I don't protest.

"Thanks," I say quietly. He smiles. I sigh deeply, completely exhausted. Instead of getting in my car, I decide to prolong my time with Jim by laying on the hood of my Beetle and staring up at the stars. Jim joins me, although since he is about an entire foot taller than me, it's a lot less comfortable for him to lay on the hood of a Beetle. He doesn't complain though.

"Hey, you see that?" Jim whispers, suddenly close to my ear. I feel his hot breath on my face.

"Y-Yes?" I'm hoping that my shivering will disguise my nervous stutter.

"That star right there is the North Star," Jim says. He gazes up at it. I pause, looking at the star. It's brighter than the others, sure. But I don't think he's pointing to the north.

I laugh. "Are you sure that's the North Star?" I whisper, leaning in close to his ear as he did to mine.

He shivers slightly at my breath on his neck. He turns his head to the side and he looks at me. He's not grinning. He's not frowning. He's extremely...serious.

"I have no idea," he whispers, inches from my face.

He slowly closes the gap. His lips part and they're on mine before I can even think about the consequences. I'm tired of thinking about the consequences. I need to kiss Jim.

The entire world stops while I'm kissing him. I forget that I'm cold, I forget about LA, about what will happen. His lips are so soft and so warm and I want him so badly.

Jim's lips continue to move on mine, slowly, carefully. They're so very wet, and he tastes like cinnamon and Americano. He takes his hand and combs his fingers in my hair, touching the soft spot behind my ear. He pulls slightly on the back of my neck, kissing me deeper. I sigh into his lips. They part slightly, and I take the opportunity to slip my tongue gently in between them. He meets it greedily, still kissing me so gently I could melt. I reach up and wrap my fingers in the wavy hair at the back of his head. His breathing is heavy, but he kisses me slowly.

We come up for air and Jim gazes at me. There's the look again. I now understand what it means.

I smile gently and turn my face to look back at the stars.

"If you say it's the North Star, I believe you Halpert," I say, smirking flirtatiously. He chuckles.

After a while, he starts to get up. I follow him, stiff from the cold but warm from his kiss.

Jim leans against my car door casually, fiddling with his tie. "So, I um, I'm having a barbeque at my place tomorrow night. I sent everyone else an email invitation, but I wanted to ask you in person. You are very welcome to attend."

"I would love to. Text me your address, okay?" Jim already has my number. I gave it to him on my second day. We primarily text about Dwight.

"Okay, great," Jim says, raising his eyebrows. I smile at him, very flirtatiously. He returns my expression. I bite my lip and I see his eyes flicker down to my lips for a second. He looks back up at me, biting his thumb.

"Alright well I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Jim says, drumming momentarily on the top of my car as he starts to walk away.

"Can't wait," I say back to him.

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Thank you so much for reading! Vote and leave a comment if you enjoyed, and as always I reply to all comments and suggestions! ❤️

Reneé