Jim had been dating Sandy for almost all of senior year. She was pretty and smart, and they got along well enough, for the most part.
They lost their virginity to each other about two months into the relationship. They were at her house watching TV in her basement, and her parents were upstairs in bed, asleep. Things got a little out of hand, and when Jim revealed that he had a condom tucked away in his wallet, they wasted no time. It was over in a matter of seconds, but since he had nothing to compare it to, at that moment he thought it was the best thing that could ever possibly happen to him in his lifetime.
Until their second time, when it lasted a lot longer. That was in the backseat of his car. He got a lot of use out of that space for the next several months.
When they weren't having sex, however, Jim was aware that they didn't really have that much in common. She had a totally different sense of humor than he did, or so he thought when he was being generous. Secretly he felt that her "different" sense of humor was actually "no" sense of humor. She took everything literally, and his sarcastic remarks were often greeted with irritation.
So he knew, as the school year was drawing to a close and they were preparing to go their separate ways to different colleges, that his relationship with Sandy had to come to an end. He couldn't see himself trying a long distance thing when the only time he was having fun with her was when they were fucking.
He tried to drop hints here and there, but she was either completely ignoring him or was totally oblivious. Even after the prom, when they had just done it in their most romantic setting yet - a motel room - he casually mentioned that next year would be so different and it was too bad they wouldn't be together anymore. She corrected him by saying that sure, they wouldn't physically be in the same location, but Boston is only a five hour drive from Scranton.
Over the next two weeks he tried to let her down easy, but every attempt ended up being an opportunity for her to reinforce the idea of a long distance relationship. He was starting to get nervous, but he figured that over the course of the summer, when they weren't seeing each other in school every day, he would be able to slowly distance himself from her before they were both due to start college.
So graduation day arrived, and Jim was both relieved at the prospect of ending high school and terrified of what the future may hold. He found himself feeling all sorts of emotions that day, and he was looking forward to Sandy's big graduation party the following night so that he could just relax and not have to think about anything for a few hours.
Sandy's parents apparently looked the other way over there being alcohol at the party, and Jim found himself totally and completely drunk for the first time in his life, after he lost track of how many beers he had. At one point he and Sandy sneaked into the laundry room and shut the door. It took all his remaining energy and then he pretty much passed out in a clothes hamper when they were done. When he came to, he opened the door to the main part of the basement, where Sandy was chatting with her friends in a corner. It took him a minute to actually hear what she was saying.
"I hope Jim will think about moving up there with me. I mean, why bother staying here when there is so much more to do in Boston..."
"What are you talking about?" he said, stepping closer to their little circle.
"Oh, I was just saying how I hoped you would change your mind about going to school there," she replied, happily.
"But you and I aren't even going to be together in three months." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Sandy and her friends just stared. So he continued, "I mean, we have nothing in common, all we do is have sex, and you never even laugh at my jokes. Why would I move to a totally different state for you?" More stares. He suddenly realized that he actually had said his thoughts out loud.
Sandy burst into tears and promptly threw her beer in his face. "You know what, Jim? Go to hell."
Somehow he got a ride home from someone, and then had to endure a stern lecture from his dad on the perils of underage drinking. When he woke up the next morning and realized what he had said to Sandy, he wanted to just crawl under a rock and die. But he had to go pick his car up at her house, and he readied himself to make a sincere apology. But she wouldn't even come to the door to see him, and he left, feeling miserable and guilty.
Five years later he ran into Sandy at Wal-Mart. She just smiled politely and kept walking.
Story Notes:
Be warned that this Jim is kind of a douche. I'm kind of playing on the idea that he's an awesome guy with Pam, but with others... maybe not so much. ;)
Author's Chapter Notes:
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.
