Pining for Paris/Jim Halpert

Chapter 9: Finally

There are no words for how excited I was for Jim and I's date. I mean, he was finally over Pam! I had no idea what was gonna happen. We'd almost kissed 3 times, I mean, tonight could be the night. And it was so silly, because we were both adults, but I felt like a teenager who'd never been kissed. I wanted it so much, I wanted him so much. I wanted to feel his full lips on mine, to get sloppy and sticky and hot, so feel his body under his clothes, to rip off his shirt. Just thinking about it got me so hot. It'd been so long since I'd had sex.

I got home around 5:30 and rifled through my closet to find something to wear. I settled on a nude-colored dress with a thigh slit and a jean jacket with silver heels. I didn't want to be too casual, but I also didn't want to be too fancy. But I knew he didn't care about my clothes... I just wanted to see him, so kiss him, so feel his body pressed up against mine. God, I couldn't wait.

I kept myself busy by taking a shower (my hot water turned back on, thank god) and listening to my records. I got dressed around 7:15, did my makeup and curled my hair. I stood in front of my mirror at 7:30, fixing a couple things, and smiled to myself. I couldn't believe it was finally happening. After four months, I was finally going on a date with Jim.

On my way to his house, I stopped by a liquor store and bought him a bottle of wine, a nice Beaulieu. Before I had the sales job, I never bought wine, though I loved drinking it. Whenever I wanted alcohol I would simply buy cheap vodka.

But not anymore! I am a working woman now, and I buy expensive wine. Wooh!

When I got to Jim's, I pulled into his driveway and talked to my mom for a minute. I told her what was going on, how much I liked Jim, and I prayed for this to go well. I hated the fight I had with him; it was so painful to see him upset at me like that, to hear him raise his voice. I knew that wouldn't happen at this date, but it hurts to see someone you love go through pain, and I think he went through a lot of pain to get where he is now.

I took a deep breath and jogged in my heels up to his door to get away from the cold. I knocked exactly at 8pm, and he opened, looking so, so handsome. He'd changed into a different dress shirt, a dark blue one, and put some product in his hair. He smiled so big at me and bit his lip as he looked at me, which caused my cheeks to get hot.

"You look so beautiful," he beamed, continuing to bite his lip.

I giggled, "Well, are you gonna invite me in? I'm freezing."

"Come on in, Vance." He opened the door all the way for me, and as soon as I walked in, both warmth and an array of smells hit me in the face.

"Oh my god — Jim, it smells amazing. I didn't know you cook!"

"Oh I'm full of surprises tonight." He took my coat off, and I told him I brought wine. "Oh, thanks! Beaulieu is great, I've had it once. You know your wine."

"Well of course I do, I'm French. It looks different in here without all the people," I noted, straightening my dress. He laughed and invited me into the kitchen for an appetizer. "Ooh! So what are we eating tonight?"

"Well, you're in luck, because I made Italian!"

"Ooh! Awesome, I love Italian."

"For our appetizers, here is a slice of Focaccia Barese, it's an old recipe of someone on the internet's grandma," he joked, cutting a slice for me, which was in a cast iron skillet. Instead of fixing me a plate, he held up the focaccia to my mouth and I bite my lip before taking a bite. The oil dripped down my mouth, but goddamn that shit was delicious.

"Halpert! Oh my god, this is amazing!" I celebrated, wiping my chin. "What's in it?"

"Oh, all Italian favorites — tomato, oregano, olives, salt, the works."