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Author's Chapter Notes:

Complete utter fluff inspired by John Krasinski's gorgeous photograph in the September issue of Elle.  Did I mention it was a gorgeous picture?

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.  The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.  No copyright infringement is intended.

Michael implemented Casual Friday because he liked to wear his dry-cleaned Levi’s to work. Jim loved Casual Friday for a different reason. Well, two reasons actually.

The first reason was purely for entertainment purposes.  Occasionally, Dwight would show up in a pair of camouflaged cargo pants and a khaki vest with fishing lures attached. He never wore fisherman’s hat though. Hats were inappropriate for work.

The second reason was simple: Pam in a pair of jeans. Once a week, he physically saw what she might be like outside of the office doors.

That morning, Michael forced the employees to watch a video on warehouse safety in the conference room. Two and a half minutes into the video, everyone else left. Jim and Pam stayed behind to talk uninterrupted by Dwight’s insults or Michael’s inane comments or Kelly’s Ryan complaints or Angela’s Pam-Pong score card or Kevin’s sexual innuendos or Creed’s weird odor problem.

During the section on how to properly use a box cutter, Jim found himself captivated by Pam’s jean clad leg. He imagined her at home, doing whatever it was she did at home. Washing laundry, making dinner, or laughing at a TV show while she sat on the couch. Then he imagined her creating art; her shirt covered in paint, her hands stained by pastels, her nose smeared with charcoal.

She snapped her fingers. “Hey!”

He blinked, “Yeah?”

“You spaced out.”

He ran a hand through his hair and met her eyes. “Sorry, I was just calculating how much it would cost to send Dwight overseas.”

“Well, the cheapest means would probably be parcel post.”

He smirked, “I was actually thinking of bulk rate. Send Dwight and Michael together, a ‘two for one’ special, you know.”

She laughed as she stood up. “I can’t stand watching this stupid video anymore.” They walked toward the door. Pam had her hand on the door when it was suddenly thrown open. Jim pulled her backwards by the belt loops and against him behind the door. Michael and Dwight slipped into the conference room, speaking in low tones.

“Dwight, why can’t we talk in my office?”

“Its bugged, Michael. Wires tapped.”

“Oh, and the conference room is safe? Idiot.”

Jim removed one of his hands from a belt loop and placed on her waist, pulling her back closer to his body. She stood perfectly still, her hands frozen by her side. His hand rested on a sliver of bare skin where her shirt had risen up. The tips of his fingers were just barely under her shirt. He imagined running his hands further under her shirt, skimming her stomach, just like he had on that day at the dojo.

He leaned his head into her neck, becoming intoxicated by the smell of her shampoo and faint perfume. At first, he didn’t notice her hand on top of his until she slightly caressed his hand. Suddenly, the coldness of her engagement ring woke him up and he dropped his hands from her belt loops.

At the same moment, Michael and Dwight were out of the room, slamming the door shut.

“Jim?” He was out of the conference room in a flash.

Maybe, Casual Friday wasn’t such a great idea after all.

---------

Everyone knew Michael’s favorite day of the week was Casual Friday because it gave the office a more “chilled-out” feel.

Pam liked Casual Friday for a reason she barely wanted to acknowledge to herself. After the “incident” in the conference room earlier that morning, she wouldn’t dare admit it out loud. It took all day but she and Jim were finally back to normal, of course, by pretending that nothing had happened.

As Jim leaned against the reception counter in his gray sweater, she was glad she couldn’t see below his waist. She always had a hard time concentrating when he wore jeans. He could definitely wear a pair of jeans, especially ones that hugged his body perfectly.

Roy always wore jeans: either his work jeans or his “good” jeans. Both kinds were baggy and ill-fitting. She tried to buy him nicer ones, but he only wanted to wear the same kind everyday. They did nothing for him. Not like Jim’s.

Jim was waving his hand in front of her face. “Hello, earth to Pam.”

She blinked, “Yeah.”

“You were spacing out. I asked what you were doing this weekend.”

“Oh, sorry.” She hoped he couldn’t see the blush rushing across her cheeks. “Um, wedding stuff.”

“Right,” he replied slowly. “Well, I’ll let you get back to work.” His face betrayed his disappointment as he walked back to his desk. She sighed and finished typing up Michael’s schedule.

Twenty minutes later, she went into the break room to fix one last cup of tea. She couldn’t help noticing that Jim’s desk was empty.

She stepped back, watching the little green teapot spinning in the microwave. The door of the men’s restroom opened behind her. She gasped as she turned around.

Jim stood in front of her, wearing a dark button-down shirt with the gray sweater balled up in his hands. He looked unbelievably handsome. Simply gorgeous. The color of the shirt brought out his eyes and even though it was slightly wrinkled, the shirt fit him so perfectly. She realized she had been holding her breath and quickly exhaled.

“You changed-” she stammered. “You look, um…hold on a second.”

She moved in closely as she placed a hand on his muscular chest. His face turned red as he put his hand on her hip to steady himself. She slowly unbuttoned the first two buttons and then leaned her head back to see her handiwork. She forced herself not to stare as she caught a glimpse of his chest peeking through the top of his shirt. Even though she was finished, she didn’t take a step back.

“Um, your top buttons were wrong,” she whispered, afraid to look him in the face.

He laughed awkwardly, trying to keep his voice under control. “Yeah, Kevin was in there, so I was trying to change as fast as possible.”

She finally looked up. “You look really nice.”

He didn’t break her gaze. “Thanks. I’m heading to New York to meet up with some old college friends. We’re going to see Death Cab for Cutie.” He looked away and focused on the teapot turning in the microwave. “I had to change here because I won’t have time to go home. I’m not looking forward to tonight though. I foolishly agreed to a blind date.”

She dropped her hands and took a huge step back. “Oh, right.”

Kevin walked out of the restroom at that moment. “Nice!” he chuckled as he went out the break room door.

Jim’s face was pained as he followed Kevin out. “I have to go. Have a good weekend, Pam.”

The microwave beeped loudly as she whispered, “You too.”

She wasn’t sure if she liked Casual Friday anymore.

---------

Monday morning, Jim adjusted his tie as he leaned over Pam’s desk. “Hey Beesly, how was your weekend?”

She shrugged. “Roy ended up helping his dad and brother rebuild an engine. I went shopping and bought some new jeans. So, you know, exciting stuff!” He bit his lip as he tried not to think about her new pair of jeans. “How about you? How was your weekend?”

She resisted the urge to smooth the collar of his work shirt as he responded, “The concert was awesome, but the girl was…well, we had absolutely nothing in common.”

They thoughtfully smiled at each other. Both of their days had immediately brightened.

Silently, they both agreed that Professional Dress Monday was easier to deal with than Casual Friday.



bonorocks is the author of 9 other stories.
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