Pam stands in her closet, the grey plush carpet under her feet gives her comfort as she stares at the periwinkle dress hanging in front of her. Not two hours ago Jim’s hands were touching that dress. She leans forward and presses her face to the front, hoping that Jim’s scent might be lingering. She is disappointed to find that all she smells is fabric softener and her own perfume. The fabric softener gives her a small smile, though, because since they took that trip to get Michael’s party supplies she had been using it. She hadn’t used fabric softener before that trip, but she now religiously every weekend does all of her and Roy’s wash in it.  

A side effect she didn’t think about was that their sheets now also smell like Jim’s and that leads to a dangerous game of trying not to imagine herself with him in every possible way while lying in bed with another man. The guilt would often get the best of her and she’d try to snuggle up with Roy only to have him push her away saying, “Babe, you know how hot I get when I sleep.” So, she’d slide back to her side of the bed to fall asleep with broad shoulders and messy brown hair floating through her mind.  

She leaves the dress hanging in the closet, and goes to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. On the counter she finds a note from Roy “Went to Kenny’s be back later XO”. Only lately has she been signing things XO to him as a way to avoid saying outright that she loved this man. The last few months have been especially difficult as she planned their wedding with a groom who was at a cabin every weekend with his buddies.  

Her Mom had even noticed one day while they were cake tasting that Pam didn’t seem happy. “Cold feet?” she had said, gently elbowing Pam and Pam replied “Something like that. It’s like he doesn’t even care, Mom, why isn’t he here?” Pam’s Mom had been holding her tongue through all of this but Roy’s lack of interest in their wedding was really hitting a nerve with her. “Pam, nothing is set in stone if your heart is elsewhere.” Pam averted her eyes down to her hands folded in her lap because she knew what her Mom was saying. Pam had told her about Jim several times. She had a fleeting thought of doing all of this wedding planning with Jim. He would make it fun and they’d have the best time picking things out together. He would be here with her. You know… if it was him she was marrying.  

Now, Pam stands in the kitchen waiting for her water to boil. She turns her engagement ring once, twice, then three times before taking it off and placing it on top of the note Roy had left. Her mind is flooded with images of palms being read and grape sodas from the vending machine. There have been so many good times with Jim. He’s always been supportive of her dreams and goals. Her best friend. She reminds herself it could be different if she were in a relationship with him. Would he be different then? Maybe it was just because they were friends that he could support her. He didn’t have to live with her.  

She takes a deep breath and leans against the kitchen counter and really thinks about what happened that evening. Jim had told her he loved her. He had kissed her. She had kissed him. It felt – so good. She wishes she could do it again now. She had pushed away these thoughts of Jim so many times that now she feels like this whole time she knew she had feelings for him, too. Realization then hits her hard – she doesn’t just have feelings for him but she is in love with Jim. She probably has been for a while. Tears sting her eyes as the kettle whistles and she pours her tea. Why would she hurt him by saying those things? She had also hurt her chances of being with him by pushing him away. Maybe she should call him? She looks at the clock and realizes it is after 11. She decides to wait to talk to him until tomorrow when she has a chance to get some sleep. One thing she knows for certain is that she needs to end it with Roy. There was no way that she could have these feelings for Jim and continue in this relationship – especially not after they had kissed. It was the point of no return now, and Pam felt ready. 

She walks with her mug of tea into the spare room and finds two empty cardboard boxes tossed aside from Christmas. She isn’t sure what Roy will do when she tells him it is over, they had been together so long and she had put up with so much for so long… she really didn’t know how he’d handle it. In the event that he didn’t handle it well she wanted to be sure her things were safe for her to collect when the dust cleared.  

Roy had never hurt her but there were a few times when he threw things in their apartment either out of frustration with her or a sports game. Once a glass landed so close to her that she got a cut and had to wear long sleeved shirts for a week. He had been very apologetic. Still, she wants to be sure her things don’t get broken when she tells him this relationship is over.  

Her art supplies are already packed away in the back of the closet. She had used them to make a few Christmas presents this past year but had put them away after Roy had complained about them being all over the place. They never even ate at the small dining room table. Roy would usually scarf down his meal in front of the television watching Sports Center before heading out to Darryl’s or Kenny’s. Pam would stand in the kitchen at the counter eating and cleaning up, trying to avoid the noise of the television. Pam made her way around the apartment realizing there were few things she wanted to take with her. A few photo albums, books, and her collection of tea was about all she needed to pack. The green tea pot is the last to go in, nestled in the middle she closes the lid. She ends up using just one box to pack her things.

She remembers with a smile their first apartment together after high school. It was so cute. She had spent weekends going thrift shopping for decorations and really loved that apartment. It wasn’t long before the neighbors didn’t love them, though, and Roy had enough of the noise complaints and asked Pam to find them a new place. They had moved twice more and each time there was more of Roy and less of Pam. It had been so gradual she had hardly noticed.  

                After Pam places the box in the closet, fatigue finally sets in and she takes a long hot shower to try to relax. She allows her mind to drift to those few moments with Jim in the office as she stands beneath the hot spray of water. She places her hands on her hips where he had his hands, trying to recreate his touch. She resolves that she wouldn’t see Roy at any time tonight and her discussion would need to wait until tomorrow. She feels really anxious about this talk she’s about to have with Roy so she packs an overnight bag and slides it under the bed as well. Satisfied, she gets into bed and pulls the sheets around her that smell like that beloved fabric softener and dreams of green eyes and long fingers.  

She awakes to the sound of snoring coming from the living room. Roy’s home. The clock reads nearly 8 AM. Pam lies there for a moment thinking of what she should do with her day. After her thoughts are continually interrupted by Roy’s snoring, she swings her legs over the side of the bed and slides her feet into her slippers. She goes to the couch and stands over Roy. When he’s asleep he looks a lot like the younger version of himself that she fell in love with. Long eye lashes on tanned cheeks and an athletic body. The weekends full of kegs and case races has left him with the beginnings of a belly in his mid-twenties. He is deep asleep and Pam knows waking him would only make the conversation that much worse. She goes into the kitchen and pours herself a bowl of cereal. She checks her phone and sees messages from her friends and sister but none from Jim. She thinks, “What were you thinking he’d say to you after you rejected him, Pam?” She kicks herself again thinking of the events of last evening. She finishes her cereal and washes the bowl gently placing it in the dish rack. She goes back to the bedroom and gets dressed in a cute sundress and decides she’s going to the mall. Even though Roy doesn’t know it yet, she’s going to be a single woman by the end of the day and retail therapy is just what she needs. 

                She arrives at the Steamtown Mall and takes a walk around to get her bearings. It had been a long time since she had been there and almost forgets what it offers. She decides to get a manicure and chooses a cheerful pink color. She imagines long fingers intertwining with hers as the manicurist handles her nails. She stops in a few stores and purchases a few shirts for work, a pair of shoes, a book, and a lot of underwear. She tells herself that she’s not buying them for anyone and that she can’t remember the last time she had bought herself underwear – or anything really. She treats herself to lunch in the food court and people watches for a while before she feels she can’t delay the next step any longer. She has a strange feeling come over her as she leaves the mall and hopes that the next time she is there maybe she’ll be on a date with someone else. She makes a quick stop at the grocery store to get a few items to leave at the apartment for Roy. She knows he’s a helpless man-child but she feels guilty about what she’s about to do so leaving him with milk and cereal make her feel a tiny bit better. She picks up a card while she’s there and decides she’s going to write Jim a note. She’s going to put her feelings in the card and leave it at his desk on Monday. She’ll be able to watch his expression from her desk and maybe they’ll sneak into the stairwell or make plans to meet up after work to talk. She can’t wait to tell him she’s not with Roy anymore and see where things go. 

She arrives back at their apartment and has to stifle the smile from her face as she pushes the door open to find Roy watching television in almost the same position she left him in hours ago. As she’s putting the few groceries away he calls to her “Hey babe did you bring lunch?” She tucks the card she bought for Jim in her purse. She looks at the clock and it’s almost 2 PM and responds “I got milk and cereal, you can help yourself.” She hears a small sigh come from him as she knows that he wishes she had brought some sort of takeout. She walks into the living room and sits on the coffee table to face Roy. At first he doesn’t look at her which causes her cheeks to burn with frustration.  

“Roy.” 

“Hmm?” he’s still not looking at her, staring at the television. 

“Roy, I want to talk to you.” 

He finally looks at her and sees the frustrated look on her face. A strange look crosses his face.  

“Are you pregnant?” 

“Why would you think that? Just because I want to talk to you?” 

“I don’t know you seem serious…” 

“I’m not pregnant, Roy.” Pam’s maintained eye contact up to this point but the thought of being pregnant with Roy’s child at this moment makes her avert her eyes to her hands folded in her lap. She takes a breath and says “I’m not happy Roy.” 

He doesn’t respond so she continues “I’m not happy in this relationship. I think we should break up.” Her voice gets small when she says “break up” and if she hadn’t been sitting so close to Roy he wouldn’t have heard her.  

“Who told you?” Roy responds, surprising Pam. 

                “What do you mean?” 

“I mean - who told you Katie was at Kenny’s?” Now Roy looks angry because he thinks he’s been found out about whatever shenanigans happened with Katie. 

“No one told me about Katie… wait… where were you last night?”  

Roy takes a deep breath and rolls his eyes “Does it even matter? Seems like you’re already one foot out the door.” He flops backwards onto the couch and stares at the ceiling.  

She can tell Roy doesn’t want to admit to whatever he did last night but now she’s putting her foot down and finding out. 

“Tell me what happened with Katie. Don’t make me have to find out from Kenny again.” Pam’s eyes start to fill with tears as she remembers the last time Katie fell onto Roy’s lap and Kenny had accidentally told Pam one night when he was wasted. Actually, how Pam specifically found out was Kenny telling Pam “You look so much like her, no wonder he was confused.” And then Kenny laughed so hard he fell over and put a whole in their drywall trying to support himself.  

“Katie was at Kenny’s,” the look Pam gives him makes him continue “Kenny called me when I left that stupid event with Michael and told me his car wouldn’t start. He was on his way to go out somewhere. I had just walked in the door and left a note for you,” he lingers on this part as if writing her a note would make up for whatever else occurred that evening, “and went to his place. He decided since I was there he wasn’t going to go out anymore and made some calls. I didn’t know who he was outreaching to but Katie showed up. We were playing poker that’s all…” he drifts off at this detail. Pam knows. Her blood starts to boil. 

“Strip. Poker, right, Roy? Just like last time.” She adds the last part quietly.  

Roy averts his eyes, “I’m sorry Pammy. It wasn’t my idea.” 

“Don’t. Call. Me. Pammy.” Pam stands up. “I’m going to go to Isobel’s for the rest of the weekend.” 

She goes into the bedroom and retrieves the duffel bag from under the bed. She enters the bathroom to grab her toothbrush and a few other toiletries. When she returns, Roy is standing in front of the door.  Pam starts to feel nervous.

“Pam, please, it was a mistake.” Roy’s eyes are pleading. Just like the time he forgot to check her battery and left her stranded. Just like the time she went to pick out the DJ alone. Just like all the other times he told her it was a mistake. 

“Roy it’s over, I’m out of forgiveness for your behavior. You’re supposed to be my fiancé. I don’t even have the details of what happened last night and I don’t need them. My ring is on the counter." she sighs, "Maybe you should date Katie?” she says the last part lightly, almost meaning it. Maybe they’d be good together? “Please, move out of my way.” 

Roy stands for a second and then moves out of the way. Pam’s heart is beating fast. She wasn’t sure how he’d take things and she’s grateful it’s gone like this. She’s also grateful that since her and Roy had helped Isobel move a few years ago, she’s moved again so he won’t know where she is over the next few days.  

Pam sits behind the wheel of her car for a moment making sure the door is closed before she breaks into a big smile. She can’t believe she did it and she doesn’t feel sad in the least. At least not yet. She calls Isobel who shrieks so loudly on the phone Pam nearly drops it. Isobel wasn’t the biggest fan of Roy and now hearing that Pam has broken up with him she is elated.  

“So how about that Jim guy?” Isobel asks. 

“Yeah… about that Jim guy. Do you have any wine at your place?” 

“Absolutely I do.” 

“I’ll be there soon.” 

Pam drives to Isobel’s apartment which is actually close to where she remembers Jim’s place had been. At least, back when he had the barbeque. He could have moved since then. Now that Pam thinks about it, outside of her wedding and her issues with Roy she’s not sure she’s heard much about how Jim is doing at all. He could have moved and she probably wouldn’t have known it. She drives through the apartment complex anyways but doesn’t see Jim’s car. Resolving that she’s selfish and he’s probably moved by now and she doesn’t even know it because she’s too absorbed in her own things she drives on to Isobel’s. 

Isobel meets her at the door with a bottle of white and a bottle of red.  

“Which one does my single best friend prefer?” 

Pam smiles “Single… that sounds so weird? Um, white for now.” 

Isobel goes to the kitchen to open the bottle of wine. She yells over her shoulder to Pam “So how long do you think you’ll be crashing here?” 

Pam’s brow furrows as she didn’t think it was a big deal she crashed at Isobel’s. She places her shopping bags on the floor near the door.  

“Um, maybe for the week?” Pam gives Isobel a hopeful look. Isobel looks relieved “Okay great, it’s not a big deal but Peter is in town next week and I was kind of hoping to… reconnect with him.”  

Pam’s not sure what to think, she just broke up with her fiancé and she felt Isobel was kicking her out already. “Sure we’ll see what happens. I can stay with my Mom, too. It’s a little further of a drive to work, that’s all.”  

“Oh my gosh, yes, of course. No, you can stay here Pam. Sorry, I just got a text from Peter right after you called me. Let’s talk about what is going on with Pamela Morgan Beesley? Heartbreaker of Scranton…” 

By the time Pam is done recounting the events of the last 24 hours she’s hungry and exhausted. Isobel listened to every word as they drained the first bottle of wine and started in on the second.  

“I think I’m gonna need some food soon.” Pam says to her friend. 

“Chinese?” Isobel offers because Isobel does not cook. 

“Sure!” 

Isobel goes to the kitchen to place their order and Pam takes a moment to check her phone. She’s not sure what she expects to find but she’s just hopeful there’ll be a message from Jim. There isn’t, instead there’s 17 pleading texts from Roy and she can tell he’s drinking because each one is getting sloppier by the minute. She ignores the texts and opens the last message she exchanged with Jim. It was about a prank they played on Dwight a few weeks ago. They didn’t typically text outside of work but sometimes they’d discuss something that had happened that day. Isobel enters the room when Pam is holding the phone.  

“What are these?” Isobel is holding the shopping bags up. Pam doesn’t respond and Isobel looks at her sullen face “What’s up?” 

“Nothing… just… hoping Jim would text me.” Isobel drops the bags next to Pam. 

 “Pam you ripped the man’s heart out and stepped on it, what do you think he’s going to do? Text you and ask for more?” 

“You’re right, I guess I just feel bad and want to tell him how I feel.” 

                “Listen, it’s the millennium but people still don’t do that stuff over text, Pam. Maybe you should call him?” 

“I don’t know how to do this, Isobel! I haven’t had to date in years! I couldn’t even vote when I had my last first date!” 

Isobel laughs at Pam’s admission “You’re right, let me give you some tips.” 

Isobel lays down the groundwork for Pam and leaves it up to her on if she wants to call Jim or not. Pam decides instead of calling him, she’s going to work on writing in the card she bought for him. The Chinese food arrives and Isobel places it all on the coffee table and turns on Legally Blonde. Pam uses the time to eat and write on a notepad and then after getting approval from Isobel on the final draft, she enters her words on the card. She signs it “Love, Pam”. She’s giddy with excitement as she thinks of him reading it. She can’t wait to talk to him, to spend more time with him, and she is definitely hopeful to kiss him again. By now, she and Isobel have shared two bottles of wine. Isobel tries to be sneaky and slides Pam’s phone across the coffee table.  

“What are you doing?” 

“I don’t know Pam, I feel like you should call Jim!” 

“Isobel this isn’t 6th grade, he’s going to know it’s me. I can’t just call and hang up on him.” 

“Where is he… hm… John… Jimmy… oh there he is! Jim Halpert!” 

Pam lunges for the phone and Isobel spills her glass of wine in the process of trying to protect the phone from Pam. They’re both laying on their backs on the floor panting when they hear the ringing.  

Looking down between them they realize Isobel did in fact call Jim and the phone is now ringing. They both stare until the voicemail picks up and Pam picks up the phone and hangs up.  

“What are you doing?!” Isobel yells at her 

“Isobel I can’t talk to him right now. I just can’t. I feel like I’m going to throw up.” 

Pam goes into the bathroom and splashes water on her face. “Love will do that to you my friend!” Isobel calls after her. Pam doesn’t get sick, and comes back from the bathroom recovered from the near phone call with Jim. 

Legally Blonde comes to an end on the TV and Isobel changes the disc and turns on another movie. “Sorry” she says to Pam. Pam shrugs. They settle onto the couch on opposite ends. This time Pam is full of food and wine and her eyes are feeling heavy. She doesn’t realize it but she falls asleep on Isobel’s couch. She wakes up a few hours later with the DVD player running on the title screen and her and Isobel’s legs intertwined under a few throw blankets. Pam gingerly removes her legs from the equation and gets up from the couch. She tucks her friend in and then takes her things to the spare room. She spreads out on the bed and drifts off to sleep.   

In the morning Isobel knocks on the door of the spare room lightly. Pam opens her eyes and feels her head throbbing. “How much wine did we have last night?” 

“Enough. Diner?” 

Pam smiles at her friend. She figures all Isobel has here is wine or ramen. She flops back on the pillow, “Sure, give me 10 minutes.” 

They arrive at the diner a short time later. Isobel drives and Pam keeps checking her phone the whole time. There’s no return call from Jim or a message.  

“We called really late, maybe he’s still asleep?” 

“Yeah maybe.” 

They enter the diner and order. Both women are sitting in the booth nursing their hangovers until their food arrives. Pam’s stomach grumbles. Then she sees someone pass by their booth and she realizes she knows those shoes and belt… and phone holder on the belt. 

“Dwight!?” she says it so loud the people in the booth next to them jump. 

“Uh, hi Pam. Breakfast?” Dwight looks nervous as his eyes dart to the back of the diner to a booth where a petite blond is seated. 

“Yeah, best breakfast in Scranton, right? Who are you here-“ Pam’s about to ask who he’s dining with when he interrupts her and says “Enjoy your pam-cakes, I mean pancakes.” He looks like he is absolutely in a tizz. Pam’s never seen him this unarmed. He leaves and joins the petite blond. Pam turns back to Isobel and says “That was Dwight Schrute!” Isobel smiles, she’s heard of stories of Dwight before. “Well, he’s certainly tall.”  

“Wait are you into him?” Pam asks her friend. 

“He has an air of authority, me likey.” Isobel responds. 

Pam starts giggling uncontrollably as the waitress places their plates in front of them.  

“What? Like you never thought of it.” Isobel says indignantly. 

“No. Never. Ever.” Pam responds seriously.  

Isobel rolls her eyes “This is how you spend 9 years with the same guy. You don’t even look Pam.” 

“Okay, you might be right but Dwight is…” she makes a small yuck sound in the back of her throat “Dwight is Dwight.” 

They start to eat and Pam secretly wishes Jim would call her just so she can tell him about her chance encounter with Dwight in a diner no less. He doesn’t just eat beets? Maybe he has his own chickens. Then it dawns on her who he is with. She turns around in her seat to get a better look. Yes, that’s Angela Martin from accounting. She turns back around to find Isobel looking at her like she just sprouted a unicorn horn. “He’s with a woman from accounting, Angela. She’s obsessed with her cats.” As Pam is telling Isobel she realizes this is more of a “You had to be there” situation and she stops talking. They continue to nurse their hangovers with the delicious diner food. At one point she thinks she sees Jim enter to pick up a takeout order but it definitely is not him. She’s starting to hallucinate. Monday can’t come soon enough.  

Sunday passes in a blur. Pam calls her Mom and her Mom offers to make all of the calls to cancel what she can. Pam is so grateful for that because she doesn’t want to have to answer questions about what happened or hear condolences. Isobel is holed up in her room talking and texting with Peter, her “the one that got away” guy. He just graduated from graduate school in Virginia. Good for Isobel, Pam thinks. After lunch her headache is gone and she goes into the room to see what she needs for work. She realizes she hasn’t packed any of her work clothes so she calls Roy and Darryl answers.  

“Hey… Darryl?” 

“Hey Pam. Roy’s over at my place. He’s been sleeping. He got pretty wasted last night.” 

Pam almost rolls her eyes, when is Roy not pretty wasted on the weekend. 

“I was calling to see if I could drop by the apartment to grab my work clothes.” 

Darryl asks “Any chance you guys getting back together Pam?” 

“No…” 

                Darryl makes that sounds in the back of his throat that she knows is his “I understand” noise.  

“Do you think Roy will be up anytime soon?” 

“Nah, I’ll tell him you called and went to the apartment.” 

“Thanks. Take care Darryl.” 

“You, too, Pam.” 

The trip over to the apartment doesn’t take long. Pam thinks she should feel sadder but she really doesn’t. She feels a little sad that she’s not sad. It’s a bright and sunny day in May. She’s driving with the windows down and the sun is warming her skin. On the way back from the apartment she stops and picks up the items she needs to make Isobel’s favorite – enchiladas. The whole time she thinks she spots Jim out of the corner of her eye. She wishes he’d call her back.  

A little while later she’s dancing and cooking in Isobel’s kitchen. Isobel walks in with a huge smile on her face “Peter’s coming home this weekend. To see me!” 

Pam hugs her friend “Isobel that is fantastic I am so happy for you.” 

“Yeah I’m not sure what we’ll do, but I thought we could check out that farmer’s market and grab lunch?” 

“That sounds like fun” Pam smiles to herself thinking how she’d like to do that with Jim.  

“What smells so good?” 

“Enchiladas, I wanted to thank you for letting me crash here.” 

“Yesss! They smell amazing – margaritas tonight?”  

Pam laughs “Maybe one… or two.” 

She feels so free at this moment. She doesn’t have to answer Roy's requests for dinner. She doesn’t have to be careful drinking because she has to take care of him. She has this whole new future ahead of her. She thought of texting Jim off and on all day but what she’s written to him in the card is exactly what she wants to say. She doesn’t want to ruin it by calling him today. She can’t wait to watch him read it. The card is sealed in the pocket of her purse ready to be delivered to his desk. She makes herself a mental note to set her alarm early so she can get to work before everyone arrives. Plus, she feels like today was a good buffer day, if there is such a thing. There was Casino Night, break up day, and now today is just a day to get back on track. She and Jim had waited this long; she could wait one more night to be able to see him in person tomorrow. 

Pam pulls into the parking lot an hour before she would typically arrive. She sits in her car a moment and runs her finger down the side of the card she wrote to Jim. There are no other cars in the parking lot which is a relief to Pam. After the weekend she had she doesn’t feel like running into anyone before she has the shelter of her desk to hide her bare finger. She enters the office it’s eerily quiet. She has hardly ever been here before without the others around. She walks to Jim’s desk and her mouth drops open. His desk is bare. It’s as bare as it had been his first day. No longer were there pictures of his nieces and nephews on it or pens and pencils scattered around. The only thing left was dust. Tears sting her eyes as she collapses on to his desk chair. She puts her head in her hands and sobs. She sobs for however long the silence will allow her until she thinks she hears the door opening and gets up and runs to the bathroom. When she’s ready she leaves the bathroom to find that Oscar had been the one to arrive. He was usually an early bird, preferring to be there before the chaos began to actually get his work done. Pam walks to her desk and starts to take down the voicemails that had come in over the weekend. A mindless task that helps her further calm down and allow her the time to slowly slide her computer screen to the middle of her desk to block the view of Jim’s empty one. After taking down the messages she takes her lunch out of her bag and since only Oscar is there to see her blotchy red face, she takes it to the refrigerator in the break room. When she comes back, Oscar is turned around in his seat and gives her a small smile. She returns his small smile and goes back to her desk. She has always appreciated Oscar’s discretion and the fact that he kept to himself most of the time.  

Since none of the voicemails had given any indication where Jim might be, she starts in on her emails. She’s CC’d on an email from Michael to David Wallace sent a few minutes after close of business on Friday: 

Hello David, 

If you think you’re going to continue to poach my employees, especially the GOOD ones, you will see me in your office faster than you can say Holy Batman.  

Pam – Can you give him the file? 

Sincerely, 

Sad 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Hello Michael, 

We’re excited to welcome Jim Halpert at the Stamford branch. Can you please forward his employee file? 

Sincerely, 

David Wallace 

By this time other employees are arriving and hanging their coat on the coat hook really close to her desk. She holds back the tears until she can make it to the cold empty hallway between Vance Refrigeration and Dunder Mifflin. She leans against the wall and wraps her arms around herself. She can’t believe he transferred. Just like that. What was this? A game to him? To tell her all of that and then just vanish? Her tears turn to anger and she thinks maybe he was just playing with her. Was this a prank? For the second time that morning she beelines for the bathroom, splashes water on her face and then goes into Michael’s office. He’s just arrived, unwrapping his Egg McMuffin no Muffin “Because, Pam, if I’m supposed to lock down a woman I can’t have a muffin top and the muffin causes the muffin top.”  

“Michael I need to take the day off.”
                Michael looks at her between bites of his breakfast. 

“You’re already here, Pam.” He gestures toward her with his hands like he’s saying “See, you’re right here.” 

“I know… I am… I just, um, Meemaw needs help to get to an appointment this morning and my Mom just called and apparently I’m the only one who could do it, but I do have to leave…” 

“Oh no not Meemaw!” Michael exclaims. He looks physically ill “What kind of doctor’s appointment? Are there... tests?” 

“Um I am not sure, but I can tell you tomorrow. It’s a long one so, I’ll be there most of the day.”
                “Do you think you could come back after and answer the voicemails?” now his face is pleading, thinking of his Monday without Pam. 

“No, but I’ll be back tomorrow, Michael.” By now Pam is barely holding in her tears and she hates lying to Michael but she physically cannot be in this office today. Not when she thinks Jim might be pranking her or he might have not meant what he said and she spent all weekend pining over him and changing her whole life all because of what he told her.  

She goes back to her desk and gathers her things. She hears Michael clear his throat and get everyone’s attention as she exits the door. She leaves it open an inch and hears him tell everyone that Jim is now working for the Stamford branch and makes a joke about the dark side having cookies. He doesn’t give any explanation and then starts to talk loudly about his weekend that involved a hot tub. 

Pam sits in her car and stares at her hands not knowing what to do next. She feels better now that she’s away from the office. She texts Isobel: 

“Jim’s gone. He transferred to another branch.” 

“Why would he do that?” 

“Because of me. Maybe it was a prank? I don’t know. I don’t know what to think. What should I do?” 

“Call. Him. Nothing is ever solved through assumptions, Pam. Call. Him. CALL. HIM.” 

Pam starts the car and puts down the windows. The sun is warm again today and she likes the way it feels against her arm resting on the door. She thinks of Jim’s warmth that night. How his body felt against hers. How he kissed her like he… like he was in love with her. She decides that she doesn’t want to call Jim in the parking lot and drives to Isobel’s. She is sitting on the couch with her phone on the coffee table when it buzzes. She gasps out of surprise and sees it was just Isobel “Did you do it yet? What did he say?” 

She ignores Isobel and picks up her phone and presses Jim’s name on her phone. It rings three times before he answers. 

“Hey Pam” she can hear the confusion in his voice. 

“Hey, um…” Pam can barely contain the sadness and frustration in her own voice. She clears her throat, “Hey Jim... I just, I need to know, why did you leave?” 

She hears commotion in the background and Jim say “I’ll be right there.” 

“Sorry, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to… I’ll let you go you’re at work and-“ 

Jim interrupts her sentence “Are you at work?” 

“No. I left when I… I left when I realized you had moved and taken a new job and it felt like the air was taken out of my lungs.” She’s so nervous and there are tears stinging her eyes as she almost whispers into the phone. 

There’s silence on Jim’s end of the phone. She can picture him in her mind running his hand through his hair.  

“I left because I didn’t think there was anything left for me in Scranton.” He says it evenly without any emotion. She knows their time on the phone is running out, she feels badly for interrupting his day at his new job.  

“Jim?” 

“Pam if you called me to ask to be in your wedding or at your wedding or that I’m your best friend-“ he sounds angry now. Pam’s taken aback as she has not heard Jim be angry before. 

“No… I…” Pam takes a deep breath and decides to be brave, “I want more, Jim. I spent the weekend breaking up with Roy. There were a lot of reasons why I should have done it a long time ago but none of them mattered until I met you. I don’t want today to end before we can talk, okay?” 

There’s a long pause on Jim’s end of the phone.  

“Hey, I need to get going but can I call you back on my lunch break? I am… so happy you called. Sorry, just-“ 

“No, it’s okay I totally interrupted your first day of your new job.”
“It is totally fine I just have to go into a meeting and they’re going to introduce me and I hope I can pass of the smile on my face as a “I’m so glad to be here smile” “ He chuckles then and Pam’s body just melts hearing him laugh. 

“Okay, yes. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Talk soon.” 

Pam’s face hurts from smiling so much. She loved hearing Jim’s voice in her ear and she’s so relieved to hear that he wasn’t pranking her and they were finally on the same page at the same time.  

While she waits for Jim to call her back she starts to clean up the apartment. Her and Isobel had a royally lazy day on Sunday and it was very enjoyable. Pam rarely got to watch the television at her apartment let alone lay on the couch. Isobel's apartment had paid, though, and she uses her anxious energy to clean up. She enters the guest room and sees the pile of folded clothes on the dresser. The one productive thing she had done yesterday was wash the things she had purchased at the mall. She was wearing a new bra and panty set under her work clothes today. She had decided to wear something she already owned to work but underneath she was wearing a lacy green bra and underwear set. She felt so sexy knowing what was underneath her plain striped shirt and grey skirt. She starts to sort out the clothes and makes a smaller pile. She decides she's going to pack an overnight bag and maybe get a hotel room at the same hotel Jim is staying at, then she could say goodbye to him before he goes to work tomorrow morning. She feels herself blush thinking about staying in the same hotel as Jim. Or... what if she stays in the same hotel room? She has no idea how she's gone from breaking up with her fiancé to thinking of being in a hotel room alone with Jim. If he can kiss he like that imagine what else he might be capable of? Maybe the Pam last Monday would have been surprised at her thoughts, but today she's not apologizing for wanting to be with Jim. All of these years she feels they've been so close and he's been her best friend and now she just want to kiss him all night... maybe more. She blushes again and pushes the thoughts out of her mind. If she's going to make good use of the rest of the day then she needs to get focused.

She's just set down with her tea and toast at the breakfast bar when her phone rings. It's Isobel.

"Isobel I can't talk right now I'm waiting for Jim to call me back."

The screeching on the other line causes Pam to pull the phone away from her ear.

"What did he say? What's going on? Are you going to see him?"

"Yeah I think I might, actually, if he agrees. I want to talk to him face to face."

"You want to do what to his face?"

"Isobel!"

"I'm joking! I am so happy for you! Keep me updated I gotta run!"

"Bye!"

Pam sets her phone down on the counter and it rings again.

"Hey Jim"

"Hey Beesly"

"Hey"

"Hey"

They both laugh.

"How was your meeting?"
"Good. It was good."

Pam doesn't know what to say next. Even though she's trying to be brave and confident, it definitely comes in waves and she's currently ebbing not flowing.

"Are you there?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'm sorry Jim you are at work. At your new job. I shouldn't be bothering you."

"Actually everyone is out to lunch, they invited me but I told them I had to stay back to fill out my new employee papers."

"Mmhmm"

Jim pauses a beat and then says "So can I ask how Roy took it?"

"Not well, but not terrible. I guess he spent the rest of the weekend at Darryl's."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I'll have to tell you about it. Can I..." she hesitates before blurting out "Can I come see you today? Where are you?"

Jim chuckles "I'm in Stamford..."
"Oh, right, it feels far."

"Yeah. It does."

"Where are you staying?" a small part of Pam hopes Jim knows someone in Stamford and he's staying at their house, not at a hotel. If he's at a hotel... well, the thought of the hotel makes Pam's body flush. 

"At a nice hotel for now close to the office. Eventually I'll find a place. It all kind of happened fast."

"I guess we have a lot to talk about. Can you send me the address of the place? Eh, the hotel?"

"Are you sure? It's two hours from Scranton. I can come back this weekend?"

"No. I've spent far too long being an idiot and I don't want today to end before I get to see you. I want to see you."

"That sounds great. I'll text you the address?" Pam can hear the smile in his voice.

"Great."

"Great."

"I will... see you later..." Pam is staring at the pile of clothes she set aside and running her fingers down the lacy cami and short set she placed in the pile.

"See ya Beesly" 

A few minutes later her phone dings with the address. Setting her phone on the counter, she goes into the bathroom to get ready. She already washed her hair this morning and curled it but now it is a frizzy mess with all of her panic. In the shower she takes her time shaving and then applies lotion all over when she's done. Her body is humming since speaking with Jim. Hearing his voice so close to her ear was definitely turn on. 

A short time later she's exiting Scranton and getting on the highway to make her way to Stamford. She printed directions from Isobel's computer before leaving. She wanted to get there as quick as she could. She turns on her iPod and listens to every song Jim had ever suggested to her. Sometimes she'd even jot them down if he was talking to someone else. She enters Stamford a little before 4 PM and stops at a gas station to use the bathroom, buy mints, and a bottle of water. Her hands are starting to sweat thinking of what she's going to say to Jim when she sees him. 

Pam: Hey I'm in the parking lot at the hotel. No rush.

Jim: I'll be over in 15. :)

Pam bites her bottom lip when she sees the smiley face pop up. She's less than 15 minutes away from seeing Jim and it feels like she's seeing him for the first time. She is so nervous, she wipes her hands on her dress and takes one last look at herself in the rear view mirror. She puts on a quick coat of strawberry chapstick she keeps in the console. She feels like she looks so much happier and brighter in the last few days. Roy wasn't the worst fiance but he also wasn't the best. Pam finally feels she may be spending time with someone who deserves her. Jim definitely does.

She gets out of the car and smooths out her sundress. She takes out her purse and makes sure she locks the door. The day is sunny and warm. It was a really nice drive to Stamford. She can't remember the last time she had been out of Scranton. Her bag she packed is in the trunk. She doesn't want Jim to think she came here with no plan but she also doesn't want him to think her plan is to crash in his hotel room. What kind of woman would she be if that was her plan? She smiles to herself because the entire way to Stamford that is all she could think about - being in bed with Jim. We'll see, she says to herself.

She's admiring the flowers growing along the sidewalk of the hotel when a shadow approaches her. She looks up to see Jim beaming down at her as he approaches. 

"Hey"

"Hey!" Pam responds too enthusiastically due to her excitement. 

Jim wraps her in a hug and she melts into him. Her ear is on his chest, she can hear his heart beating quickly. He smells so good like fabric softener, cologne, and sunshine. They stand together embracing for a while. She squeezes her arms around his narrow waist as her eyes brim with tears. She lets out a sob.

Jim lets go of her and looks at her concerned, "What...?"

Pam shakes her head, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for what I said at Casino Night. I was a total idiot and I pushed you away and I was so..." she takes a breath to stifle another sob, "wrong. I was so wrong. I didn't see you right in front of me. You've always encouraged me and been there for me. I just can't believe I didn't see it."

"Hey, it's okay..." Jim uses his thumbs to wipe away her tears and brings her into another hug. This time his hands gently rub up and down her back and she's able to calm down. "I'm sorry I ran away." Jim says softly.

Now it's Pam's turn to let go of him and look at him. He's still smiling but it's a sad kind of smile. "You're forgiven." She says and gives him her best smile. The one that says let's move on and stop talking about how we screwed up. She stands on her tip toes and presses a gentle kiss to his lips and then pauses with her lips hovering near his. He takes the hint and starts to kiss her. Slowly at first and then his hand is wound in her hair and the other is on the small of her back keeping her close to him. She smiles against his mouth and gently runs her fingers through the hair on the nape of his neck. She can feel all of his emotions pouring into this kiss they're sharing on the sidewalk at The Stamford Hotel. She can sense there's cars driving past them but she knows no one would know them so she doesn't care. Jim's tongue is dancing against hers and she can barely stand, she's starting to feel lightheaded from the kissing. She stands back on her heels, breaking the kiss, but holds onto his arms for balance. 

"Wow" she puts her forehead on his chest to get her bearings.

Jim chuckles and runs his hand over her hair, "So... what do you want to do?"

"Do you want to take a walk? Catch up?"

"Yeah, that sounds great. Let me just drop this off upstairs." he gestures towards his work bag slung over his shoulder. 

"Sure. I'll be down here."

Before he walks away he gives Pam another kiss, one between a peck and full on french kiss. He walks quickly back into the hotel and returns just a few minutes later. He walks to where she's standing and holds out his hand. 

"Shall we?" and he smiles that Jim Halpert smile that makes her knees weak.

Pam takes his hand and intertwines her fingers with his. They walk around the block and Pam catches him up on the weekend. Jim lets her know that he called Jan after Casino Night and left her a message that he accepted the job in Stamford. Saturday he packed. Sunday he drove to Stamford. He really hadn't even heard back from Jan by then, and he checked himself into the hotel. That morning he had reported to Josh's office and Josh hadn't even been informed. "Typical Jan" he had said and rolled his eyes as he directed Jim to an empty desk. Jim doesn't mention the phone call that he missed from Pam and Pam doesn't bring it up. 

"The view of the city from my desk is really great. The guy that sits in front of me sings all day. The woman behind me doesn't seem to like me at all. They all played Call of Duty before the end of the day, but I'm terrible at it." 

"Sounds like an eventful first day." Pam replies. She's still almost in disbelief that she's holding hands with Jim walking around in public. It feels so forbidden. She hears a sound and doesn't understand what it is untili she realizes she can hear Jim's stomach growling and asks, "Did you want to get something for dinner?" 

"Yeah, there's a nice restaurant in the hotel, if you'd be game for that. The city is a lot of businesses so not a lot of restaurants or anything..."

"Sure." at this point Pam doesn't care where she is as long as she gets to hold Jim's hand. They walk back to the hotel and go into the lobby. The air conditioning is blasting and Pam feels her arms break out in goosebumps. She's about to ask Jim to go to her car when she realizes she didn't bring a sweater. Only lacy underwear and cute sleepwear. She rolls her eyes at herself for not being prepared. Jim's asking for a table for two at the podium at the entrance to the lobby. She's smoothing her hands up and down her arms to keep from shivering. 

They're seated at a table and Jim takes the seat next to hers instead of across from her causing her to duck her head to smile. She was hoping he'd sit there. They've shared a lot of meals together at the breakroom table and she had always wished he could sit closer. They usually sat across from each other because that's what people did who weren't dating and who were at work do.

"Would you like wine?" Jim asks.

"Yeah, that'd be great." she smiles at him. Between her nerves and the chilly temperature in the restaurant she's practically dancing around in her seat. 

"Are you cold?" 

"Yeah... I didn't bring a sweater..." she bites her lower lip. She doesn't mean to be outright flirting with him, but she's not mad about what she did.

"Uh, here." he shrugs out of his blazer and places it around her shoulders. It's warm and smells even more like Jim. 

"Thanks." she says to him and reaches out to take his hand again. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah, yeah... it's good." he says and looks at the menu smiling

"Yeah, it's good." she looks at him and they lock eyes. The tension now between them is getting thicker. Pam feels so free and happy when she's with him. No one knows where they are which is just adding to the whole situation. It feels like they're on a secret mission to get to know each other.

They look over the menus and decide on what to order. They talk and drink the wine until the food arrives. The food arrives and then they are eating and talking together. Just like at the break room table. Only this time Pam's knee is resting on Jim's thigh under the table. She feels her nipples get hard when his leg moves and her leg ends up resting against his. They finish their meal and a bottle of wine and Pam is smiling from ear to ear. She can't remember the last time she had felt this happy.

"I feel..." she looks away from him not being able to take the eye contact as she tells him "I feel really happy when I am with you." and then they kiss and kiss until the waiter returns to bring Jim back his card and slip to sign. The waiter clears his throat, and they break apart. "Get a room" he rolls his eyes at them. Pam's sure he's seen many people in this same situation and how jaded he must be from it.

"Um, yeah what is the plan for the evening? I mean... not like that. I mean, did you want me to get you a room so you can stay here? I feel like you had too much wine to leave now. But I'll wait with you until you're able to drive or maybe I could drive you back later and then I could come back in the morning-" he's rambling, being Jim making sure she's safe and comfortable. 

Pam interrupts him by kissing him on the cheek and thanking him for dinner. 

"I didn't make any plan. The only thing on my schedule was seeing you" she plants another kiss on his cheek "and talking to you" she plants another while she whispers in his ear "and I don't know what happens next." She pulls away from him now and she's thoroughly embrassed herself now and she's blushing. Who is she after a couple glasses of wine? 

Jim is utterly shocked at Pam coming onto him. She can see it on his face. 

"Sorry... maybe we should get out of here. I mean, not like "Hey let's get out of here." but let's open up the table for someone else? It looks like they're getting busy." the last part she squeaks out before she stands up and reluctantly shrugs out of Jim's blazer. He follows her out of the restaurant and they find a spot in the lobby on a couch where they can regroup.

As they sit down, Jim takes Pam's hands in his and says, "Pam tonight has been amazing. I can't believe you drove all the way to Stamford to see me today. I don't even know what to say..."

"Tonight was amazing. You are amazing. I can't believe you waited all this time..."

"Worth it." he smiles at her. That's when she knows. She knows what she wants to have happen tonight. It had been so long since Roy had touched her, he had always been slinking away from her. Now she feels she knows why. He was probably sneaking around with Katie. She pushes that thought aside and focuses on the man in front of her. 

"Um, so I did pack a bag because I just wasn't sure what would happen and like just incase my car broke down or something I'd have my toothbrush." she says the last part while a smile.

"We're adults, Pam, and we've known each other for a long time. My room has two queen beds in it, and you're more than welcome to crash with me." 

Pam doesn't know what to say in response so Jim continues, "Why don't you come up and try out the amazing hotel robe while you sober up? But we can get your bag if you want. If you change your mind." he rubs the back of his neck the way he does when he's nervous.  

"Okay, yeah, that sounds great."

After a quick stop at her car, and a text to Isabel to confirm where she is, they take the elevator up to Jim's floor. The whole ride is thick with sexual tension. All Pam wants to do is kiss Jim until his lips fall off. Who knew he was such an amazing kisser? Actually, Pam knew that would be the case. 

They enter his hotel room and Pam walks to the window to see the view. "Only one bathroom, Jim? You got gipped!" She feels him come up behind her and wrap his long arms around her waist. She can feel him chuckle as his chest comes in contact with her back. They stand like that for a while and point out different things they can see from the window. Pam takes a deep breath and decides to be brave. She turns in Jim's arms and looks up at him. His green eyes are smiling, he's smiling at her. It's the soft and kind Jim smile that she loves so much. 

"I wrote you a card. I was going to leave it on your desk."

Jim listens but doesn't say anything. 

"Do you want to read it?'

He nods. She takes it out of her purse and hands it to him. 

"Can I use the bathroom?" she says

He nods again and she grabs her bag and heads into the bathroom.

She decides she's going to be brave. After being on the most amazing date - even if it was in a hotel restaurant - it proved to her that the company she was with was all that mattered. All these years she felt that if Roy just took her to a nice restaurant he would level up but that was never the case. Now, all she can think about is taking advantage of this hotel room and again the fact that no one can interrupt them. They can talk or kiss or do other things as long as they want. 

She quickly brushes her teeth and uses the bathroom. Her hair looks pretty good even though she drove most of the way with her windows down. 

When she exits the bathroom she notices Jim has removed his shoes and unbuttoned his dress shirt halfway. He's rolled up his sleeves the way she loves. His hair looks more mussed than when she had left, maybe he was upset about something she had written? She approaches him sitting on the couch. She sits next to him and he looks at her. 

"Thank you for this" his voice is shaky. He taps the card on his palm and says to her "This means a lot."

"You're welcome" Pam smiles at him. "I want you to know that I am so sorry-"

"You don't have to apologize Pam we've both made mistakes."

"No, I want you to know, Jim. I am sorry I led you on and let you down and I didn't see you." She places her hand on his cheek and rubs her thumb across his stubble. "I see you now. I was stupid. I have been in love with you this whole time, I just didn't know what real love is... I thought I was in love with Roy all these years but it's nothing compared to what I feel for you."

Then she moves his head towards her so she can kiss him. They kiss and kiss and Jim's tentative at first and his hands rest on her hips but a moan escapes from her lips and he moves them to the middle of her back. Then they're on her waist. Pam's nipples are hard, straining in her bra. She is excited for Jim to see what she's picked out for him. They're still kissing and Jim's tongue is slippery against hers and her hands are in his silky hair. She breaks apart to get a breath and sees his eyes are full of lust. Pam slowly takes his hands and places them on her breasts and he exhales, staring at his hands cupping her. 

He looks at her and removes his hands and says, "Pam we don't have to-"

"I want to, Jim. Unless you don't want to..." she's looking at him concerned. Maybe she's taken it too far too fast.

"No, I do... I... I want you to be comfortable."

She hooks her leg over his lap so she's stradling him. "How is this?" she smiles a devlish smile at him, biting her lower lip. She's seated further back, away from his hips, her butt resting on his mid-thigh.

Jim makes a sound somewhere between a growl and a grunt and she feels his big hands sliding her closer to him, pressing her hips down to his. Pam gasps when she feels Jim hard underneath her. She is so glad she wore a dress as Jim's hands go underneath it and skim along her upper thighs. Pam kisses down his neck and Jim pushes his hips harder up to meet hers. One of his hands are on her lower back now pressing them together and the other gently pulls her hair so her neck is exposed and he skims her delicate skin with his teeth. Pam can feel she's soaking wet. She's never been touched like this. Jim's touch is unlike anything she's experienced before and she wants all of him. They continue like this, kissing and grinding on the hotel couch for a few more minutes and then Pam feels that she's moving. Jim's picked her up and she tightens her legs around his waist and lets out a surprised laugh "Jim!"

"What? I just want you to be comfortable." he smiles into her hair. He's moving her without any issues, he's so tall and strong. 

He lays her down on the bed. Her hair splayed out on the pillow. Her dress is bunched up around her thighs but it doesn't reveal her underwear just yet. Before joining her on the bed, he takes the opportunity to remove his socks and he's unbuckling his belt when Pam sits up on the bed. She's kneeling on the bed next to where he's standing and she deftly unbuttons his dress shirt. He's wearing a crisp white undershirt and she runs her hands up and down his chest. He pauses his work on his belt to enjoy her fingernails gently scratching up and down. His torso is more defined than she had originally thought as she feels him through his shirt. She pushes his dress shirt over his shoulders and it falls to the floor with his belt. Jim Halpert is standing in front of her, panting in a white t-shirt and grey slacks. It is really an amazing sight to see. After all these years of watching each other from across the room she has full access to him and she's not going to waste it tonight. 

She reaches for the button on his pants and his hands cover hers, stoppping her. He's breathless as he looks at her and says "I love you, Pam. If we do this I can't go back." He's cupping her cheek with one hand and the other is resting on her hand that's still on his pants button. 

"I don't want to go back, Jim." her mouth crashes onto his and he removes his hand from hers. She unbuttons his pants and they drop to the floor. His cock is sticking out of the top of his boxer briefs. She's tempted to lean over and lick it but she realizes that it's an uneven playing field. She walks herself back on her knees and while looking at him pulls the hem of her dress up over her head. She tosses it to the floor leaving her kneeling on the bed in lacy dark green panties and bra. The bra is pushing her breasts up until they meet in the middle creating a lot of cleavage. She feels so sexy and Jim is looking at her like she's never been looked at before. 

"You are so beautiful."

She blushes and her arms start to cover her body. He joins her kneeling on the bed, removes his undershirt, and takes her hands and wraps them around his body. Both of his hands cup her face and he kisses her and Pam can barely keep kneeling she can't believe this is happening. She's alone in a hotel room with Jim and they're both practicaly naked. The way he kisses her is how she always wanted to be kissed. Slow and lovingly and fast and passionately. He nips her bottom lip and she can't stay up anymore. She lays down and pulls him on top of her. He settles between her legs and places his head in the crook of her neck to catch his breath. Pam's okay with it, she wants to enjoy this time together and take it slow. She's only ever been with Roy in her life so she's a little timid about how all of this works with someone else. But, she's also excited and she feels so safe with Jim.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asks as he lazily skims her finger nails up and down his back. She really enjoys the weight of him on her. She can feel his calves with her feet and his heat between their legs. His chest is rising and falling as he breathes ticking her chest with his chest hair. It's such an intimate moment she almost forgets what they were on track to do.

"Yeah, I am okay. I feel like I'm in a dream. Are you okay?" 

"Yeah I feel the same way." she smiles into his shoulder. She gently kisses his shoulder and his neck and behind his ear. He groans when she bites his ear lobe and grinds down into her. She moans at the pressure, she can feel her panties are soaked and she's aching for him. She reaches down between them and uses the heel of her hand to gently stroke him through his boxers. He responds by moving with her and she can feel his breath in her hair. He kisses her then. This time a deep kiss, one they hadn't shared yet. She pulls down the waist on his boxer briefs and his cock springs free. It's between them so she can't see it but she feels his pre-cum mark her inner thigh. Jim is kissing Pam's neck now, and moving down her body. He kisses her collar bone and nips at her breast spilling out of her bra. 

"I like this" he says about her bra. Pam responds with a moan as he pulls down the cup and takes her nipple in his mouth. He swirls his tongue around the tight bud and gently bites with his teeth. He releases it with a popping noise and then moves on to the next. Pam feels like she could finish like this, the ache between her legs growing as Jim worships her body. He pulls her bra down around her waist and plants kisses all over her breasts. "You are so beautiful" he murmurs again. This time Pam acccepts his compliment and runs her hands through his hair as he continues to kiss down her body. He reaches behind her back and undoes her bra and places it on the bed. He's kissing and sucking her hip bone when her knee involuntarily jerks and nearly misses kneeing him in the shoulder. This is her most ticklish area and it's driving her wild. Her hands are spastic in his hair now and she's writhing on the bed. He catches her under her knee and moves it to the side, spreading her wider in front of him. He places a kiss at her inner thigh and Pam's body erupts with lust she can barely take it anymore. Jim's mouth is now on her center, over her wet panties and he's sucking her through her panties. Pam feels she might combust from the sensation. She can feel his lips and teeth and tongue on her and then she feels his breath as he pushes her panties to the side and licks her up and down, up and down. His hand is still on her leg that he pushed out to the side, the other is gripping her panties to give him full access to her pussy. "You are so sweet... you taste so good." Pam responds with a moan and presses herself to Jim's mouth. His tounge is doing circles around her clit and she feels her orgasm build. She's panting now and can't get enough of him. How did she ignore this man that was not only her best friend but also could do this? He shoves his tongue inside of her and that's all she needs and she's bucking on the bed holding onto his hair soaking his face with her orgasm. "Oh Jim, Jim... oh my god Jim..." she's gripping the comforter with one hand and his hair with the other, riding out her orgasm. She can't remember the last time she had orgasmed in bed with Roy and now Jim's brought her there within minutes. 

She lays back on the bed with a "Wow". Jim kisses his way back up her body moving clothing around them out of the way. He lays his head on her chest and she gently combs her fingers through his hair. She lays there for a few breaths to bring her breathing back to normal. "Jim that was amazing." She can feel him smile against her chest. He's tracing small circles on her wrist. Pam moves so she can lay facing Jim. "You're amazing." She pushes the hair that falls onto his forehead away and kisses him. She pushes his shoulder so he lays on his back and she takes the oppurtunity to trace his collar bone with her tongue. His breathing is picking up and his hands are moving up and down her back and into her hair. She kisses across his chest and then to his stomach. She can see his cock laying against his thigh and momentarily panics. He's bigger and longer than Roy had been but soon the panic turns to need, she wants to feel him inside of her. But first she runs her tongue down his length and licks his pre-cum. She swirls her tongue around his head and then takes him as far down as she can. She can see him laying against the pillow, his eyes half lidded. One hand behind his head and the other gently resting on top of her head. She bobs up and down a few times before he hooks his hand under her shoulder and says "Come here". She lays down next to him again and he moves to get out of the bed. 

"Where are you going?" she is now looking at Jim standing naked beside the bed with his huge erection in front of him. 

"Um, I was going to get a condom?" 

"I am on the pill, if you're okay with that?"

He gets back on the bed with her, "I haven't ever done that before..." he says smiling. 

"Good, then it can just be our thing." 

"Okay"

Jim positions himself on top of Pam. He's up on his elbows so his body is close to hers. He pushes her hair away from her face and kisses her. She moves her legs so they wrap around him, her heels pressing into his glutes urging him to enter her. They continue to kiss and she can feel Jim right at her entrance. Their kisses become more passionate and Pam raises her hips so he enters her. She sighs, she feels her body is on fire and she wants to feel all of him. "Oh Jim, oh god." He slowly flexes his hips until he is all the way inside of her. 

"Oh my god you feel so damn good" he says through gritted teeth. She feels one of his hands go under her, gripping her ass, pulling her closer to him and he bottoms out. She can feel his pelvic bone against her clit and she starts to grind against him. He's big and stretching her but it feels so good. She didn't think sex could feel this good so she tells him, "I didn't think sex could feel this good" and then she takes his mouth and kisses him deep as he pulls in and out of her, testing how much she can take. As it turns out, Pam is a wanton woman and she is soon bucking her hips up against him feeling her orgasm building again. "Oh Jim, right there, don't stop..." he hooks her one leg over his shoulder and the new position takes Pam over the edge. Jim feels her milking him and he doesn't have to move much before his cock is jerking, spilling into her her. He lets out a low moan slowly pulling in and out, enjoying the feel of her. He lays on top of her, not removing himself from inside of her just yet. He's pressing slow kisses along her jaw line and Pam's eyes are welling with tears. She has just had the most intense sexual experience of her life, she feels completely satisfied for once, and she's overwhelmed with the amount of emotion she feels for Jim. She turns to Jim and a tear escapes and falls onto the pillow. "I love you." She wraps her arms around him and keeps her legs wrapped around him, too. She doesn't want him to move just yet. She lets go of him eventually and he falls to the side, lying on his back. She puts her head on his chest and they lay there like that for a while in the silence. He's making slow circles on her lower back and her hand is laid flat on his chest, feeling his heartbeat return to normal. Pam could nearly fall asleep she's so content. 

"I'll be right back," Jim says to her and places a kiss on top of her head. He walks to the bathroom and Pam lies on the bed taking in the vision of his naked back side. She smiles and she gets under the covers as her body starts to cool down. When Jim returns he has two bottles of water from the mini fridge and he's put his boxers back on. She takes a long drink from the bottle he hands her and places it on the bedside table. Pam scoots over and opens the covers for him to join her. He kisses her gently on the mouth and brings her close to his body so he's spooning her from behind. 

They fall asleep like that, tangled up in each other's arms. Pam awakes to a sound she's not familiar with and it takes her a moment to get her bearings. When she remembers that she's with Jim she smiles and pulls the covers around her. He's turning off the alarm on the bedside table and turns to her.

"So, what's your plan today, Beesly?"

"I guess I'll go back to Scranton when you go to work." she says tentatively. "I text Michael I would be out today. He thinks I have a Meemaw emergency." she giggles remembering Michael's response to her asking to leave the office. Jim points to himself "Meemaw? Are you saying last night was... geriatric?" Pam's laughing hard now at Jim's playfulness. The fact they can go back to the way they were in Scranton makes her so happy. "No, no no... that was the excuse I gave for leaving yesterday. I was so upset that you had vanished that I told Michael I had to take Meemaw to an appointment. Are you going to work today?"

He sighs, "Yeah, I guess I have to, though I want to stay here and show you how not geriatric I am."

She runs her fingers through his hair, "We have plenty of time for that."

They get ready in tandem, smiling the entire time. Pam can't believe she drove to Stamford yesterday and is still reeling from the most amazing night of her life. She can't wait to see what the future holds. 

Later, they're standing beside her car in the hotel parking lot. Jim's dressed for work with his work bag slung over his shoulders like she's seen him a hundred times. Pam opted for a casual look for the drive back to Scranton, a look Jim would grow used to over the next several months. 

"So do you think you're going to stay in Stamford?" Pam asks.

"Um, yeah, actually Josh told me that there's a lot of room for advancement at this branch. So, I had thought about sticking around to see what happens. But..." he takes her hand and kisses her knuckles "I'd really like to keep what we have going. What are you thinking?"

Pam can't hide her smile when she tells Jim, "Well, I know this is probably crazy but I know of an art school not far from here and I had thought of applying before..." she trails off leaving out the reason why she never applied was because Roy had told her that her art wasn't good enough "So, maybe if we keep this thing going... I could move up here?"

Jim beams at her, "Yeah, yeah, that sounds awesome." He wraps her in a big hug. He says into her hair "I'll come back Friday night and we can spend the weekend making plans, how does that sound?" 

"It sounds amazing." she says into his chest as he strokes her hair. "You better get to work." she kisses him softly on the lips and when she's pulling away he grabs her arm and brings her close again. They kiss for a few more minutes before Pam puts her hand on Jim's chest and breaks them apart, "If we're going to stick around in Stamford, you might want a job... so you better get going."

"I love you, tell me when you get back to Scranton." 

"I love you, too, have a good day." Pam sits down in the driver's seat and rolls down the window, "See ya Halpert" and she smiles the smile Jim loves where her tongue is behind her teeth. He waves as she drives out onto the road. 

Pam can't stop smiling the entire way back to Scranton. Her body is still so satisfied from the night before and she is full of excitement for her future with Jim. When she gets back to Isobel's apartment she uses the computer to apply to the art school. Tomorrow when she's back at Dunder Mifflin she'll send an email to the receptionist at Stamford asking if there's any job openings at the branch. She's researching apartments when Isobel returns from work in the late afternoon. Pam's sitting cross legged on the couch, Isobel's laptop in her lap. 

"Oh. My. God. Pam! Tell me all about it." 

Pam spends the evening eating leftovers with Isobel and telling her about her trip to Stamford. She leaves out the part about moving away for now. 

"Wow, can you believe you were Roy and this whole time you could have been with Orgasm Giving Jim?" 

Pam almost spits out her drink, "Isobel if you ever call him that to his face I will kill you!"

"Okay, okay but seriously, damn Halpert I didn't know he had it in him."

The rest of the week passes in a blur of cancelling wedding plans, avoiding Roy, and explaining to everyone that the wedding is off. Over a phone call one night she and Jim decide to wait to tell anyone they were in a relationship. 

"Can you imagine Michael's head exploding when he finds out?" Pam giggles into the phone.

"Yeah he's going to be so excited he's going to want to know if he can be the best man." Jim replies. "Oh um, sorry, that's a little premature... you know what I meant."

"No, I know what you meant..." Pam feels like it should feel weird that he's talking about marriage already, but haven't they been technically dating for years? That has to count for something.

"So I'll be back in Scranton Friday night around 6, do you wanna go out to dinner?" Jim asks.

"I was thinking maybe I could cook and we could stay in on Friday, but we have to figure out something after that because Isobel's having company for the weekend."

"Oh really?" Jim chuckles, "Um, okay how about if I pick you up, you can stay at my place this weekend? My roommate will be away to visit his brother in New Jersey."

"Okay."

"Okay, I'll pick you up around 6, then?"

"It's a date." Pam says. 

"Hey!" Jim calls from the driver's side window. "What do you think?" He's in a SUV she hasn't seen before.

"It's nice! Did something happen with your car?" 

"I had been thinking about getting a different car for a while now. I actually got a little bonus and raise when I took the job in Stamford so I used it to get a car," he says sheepishly, "It has all wheel drive for commuting back and forth to Scranton and a heated passenger seat for my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend... I like it." Pam picks up her bag and puts it in the back seat along with a bag of groceries she picked up earlier. 

"Hey Halpert!" 

It's Isobel, calling from her own driver's side window as she pulls up from running errands. She smiles and wiggles her eye brows at them.

"Bye Isobel!" Pam says as Jim says "Hi Isobel!"
Pam shuts the door of the passenger side and waves as Jim drives on to his apartment. 

"She's um, just a little excited about us."

"Me too." he takes her hand over the console and holds it as he maneuvers through Scranton to his apartment. He is explaining that he kept the lease with Mark, until Mark could find another roommate as they pull into a parking space. 

"That's really great of you to do that. It sounds like Stamford really wanted you up there if they enticed you with such a big bonus."

Jim blushes, "Um, maybe. But I put the rest aside for now, until we decide what we're going to do." 

They enter Jim's apartment and set their bags down. Pam gets to work on their meal. 

"I hope chicken parmesan is okay with you." she calls to him. He comes out of the bedroom wearing jogging pants and a white t-shirt. He runs a hand through his hair and comes up behind her at the stove where she's stirring the tomato sauce. 

"I love Italian food," he says as he gently kisses down her neck.

"Mmmm... as much as I want to forget cooking right now I don't want it to burn."

"I am the one burning up, I haven't seen you for a week." he kisses her on her cheek and squeezes her hips and then lets go. He finds an apron hanging on the wall and puts it on. "What can I help with?"

They cook dinner together and then eat at the counter on stools. 

"Pam this is amazing, thank you for cooking me dinner."

"You're welcome" Pam says, removing the apron from around Jim's neck and sliding off of her stool. She's standing between his legs now and says, "About that fire, Mr. Halpert, where did you say you were having trouble?" she's kissing down his jaw and feels him shudder. She removes her apron, too, and places it on the counter. "Did you want to show me where the fire was, Jim?" 

Jim jumps from his stool and takes her hand, almost dragging her to his bedroom. She hasn't been here since the barbeque and she had thoughts that night she hopes will come true tonight. Their clothes are off quickly and unceremoniously. In just their underwear they're laying in bed, hands are roaming all over now and their kissing is becoming deeper. Pam pushes his shoulder so he lies back on the back and she straddles him. She can feel him hard underneath her and she knows her panties are wet. "Oh Jiiim" she moans when he pushes down her bra and takes her nipple in his mouth. She's gently circling her hips over his length, her hair tickling his face as they kiss. She takes a second to take off her underwear and Jim loses his, too. She's kissing down his neck now and sliding herself up and down his cock, making him wet all over before she sits up and positions him at her entrance. 

"Oh fuck, Pam" his head falls back against the pillows as she slowly lowers herself down on top of him. In this position Pam feels powerful watching Jim come undone underneath her. She rocks her hips and makes his cock go in and out of her at a slow pace. Jim's hands are cupping her breasts, pinching her nipples, and sliding up and down her stomach. She can see his hooded expression looking at her with such lust and it's making her want to watch him come like this. She picks up the pace and feels her own orgasm building. He feels so damn good inside of her. She leans forward and kisses him while he grabs her hips and quickens the pace. "Oh Jim... oh God... wait..." she sits back up and matches his thrusts, "I want to watch you come, I want to make you come, Jim" Jim's muttering things under his breath and when he places his hand flat on her stomach and presses on her clit with his thumb she's done. The orgasm hits her hard and she thrusts down onto Jim. It's so intense she tilts her head back and just feels herself gripping him. Jim holds her hips steady and she feels him spilling into her making her orgasm keep going as she feels him finishing. He's still inside of her when she lays down on top of his chest. He wraps his arms around her and they lay there for a few minutes catching their breath.

Pam slowly pulls Jim's cock out of her and lays beside him. 

"Wow... that was amazing," Jim says. They're both laying on their backs staring at the ceiling.

"It was. Do you want to know something?"

"Yeah."

"I had thought about doing that when I was here for the barbeque. We were looking at your yearbook and I had this thought of pushing you back on the bed and kissing you and not stopping until... well... until we did what we just did."

"Wait, the barbeque? Really? That was like... two years ago." Jim props himself up on his elbow so he can look at Pam.

"Yeah..." now that Jim's looking at her she feels shy about her confession. 

"I thought about you, Pam" he kisses her nose "Every day and every night since I met you. I don't want you to feel shy telling me these things."

"Okay."

"Okay. Now, are we going to start to look for an apartment for you or what?" he gets up from the bed and finds his clothes. He comes back to the bed with his laptop and sits next to Pam. She pulls the covers up over her but doesn't make a move to find her clothes.

"Alright... Stamford here we come..." 

“I’m so happy” Pam sighs, learning away from the table. They’re out for breakfast at their favorite diner. Since moving to Stamford her life had taken a drastic turn for the better. They had their favorite diner, they both had great jobs. Jim felt he was on the fast track to advancing at Dunder Mifflin now and he actually had to work. Pam had taken a job as an assistant at a local art studio that commissioned with New York museums for their local artist exhibits. She had started school and took night classes. All in all moving to Stamford had been good for Pam. She finally felt like a real adult. She had found an apartment across town from Jim, staying firm on her desire to live on her own for a while. 

However, Jim had stumbled upon the perfect home for them. It was a foreclosure but his realtor was confident there was little to be concerned about. He knew Pam didn’t want to move in together and he wasn’t going to pressure her to, but he felt buying the house would be good for him and was pursuing it. 

“A house? Like a real house?” Pam beamed after Jim told her about it. 

“Yeah, it has a yard and a detached garage. I thought that’d be a good space for an art studio. We could run some electric out there…” he felt he was getting ahead of himself and stopped talking. He had made so many plans for this house he wanted to share with Pam. 

“That sounds great I think you should go for it.” Pam smiled at him and took his hand. She felt so incredibly lucky to be with Jim. 
She hears her phone ding and she checks the message. “Oh my gosh you won’t believe this!” 

She shows Jim the message “This is a joke right?”
It, in fact, wasn’t a joke. Isobel and Dwight were in a relationship. 
“Ew Jim I’m going to have to listen to the details of Dwight’s sex life!”
Jim didn’t know what to say. He was happy for Dwight and also questioning Isobel's judgement. 
“If Isobel makes Dwight half as happy as I am, then he’s a lucky man.” 
“Only you can make something so disgusting so romantic.”
They finish their meal at the diner and take the long way back to Jim's apartment. Once there, Pam makes herself comfortable on the couch and Jim joins her with his laptop to show her the house. 
“Jim this house is huge!” Pam exclaims when the image finally loads. 
Jim replies sheepishly, “I guess it is. But it was the garage and yard that really sold it to me.”
“Yeah they’re nice. Wow did you see there’s a swing set in the backyard?”
“No I didn’t see that. Nice bonus?”
“What did I do to deserve you Jim Halpert?”
Pam leans in to kiss him, moving the computer to the coffee table. Maybe it was the garage studio or the yard for the dog or the swing set for the future kids but Pam suddenly feels incredibly turned on. 
She straddles his lap and he pulls her hips in tight to him. She can feel him hard beneath her. He’s kissing and nipping at her neck and she’s running her hands through his hair. His one hand is gripping her hip almost too hard and the other is in her hair pulling her to the side for better access to her neck. Pam reaches between them and undoes Jim’s pants allowing his cock to spring free. Jim let’s out a moan as she takes him in her hand and pumps him a few times. She moves to the side and pulls down her jeans and underwear. She comes back onto Jim’s lap and sinks down onto him. She groans and rocks her hips slowly and let’s herself get used to him. Even all these months her body still needed a minute to get acclimated to his size. She wasn’t complaining, she’d had the best sex of her life with Jim. Soon they’re in a rhythm, panting, the feel of Jim inside of her is so good. He’s whispering into her ear how she feels so good and how he wants her to come for him. “Pam come for me baby, let go, let me feel you.” He's encouraging her with his hands on her hips to keep up the movements, and with that she’s coming hard slamming herself down on top of him and soon feels him arching his hips into her riding out his own release. 
Spent, she lays her head on his shoulder and catches her breath. “Wow” she pants. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that.”
Later that night they’re laying in bed and Jim rolls over and takes something out of the bedside table. She’s reading a magazine wearing her glasses. Something that took her a long time to get comfortable doing in front of Jim. He’s facing her holding something in his hands. 
“Pam”
She turns and looks at him. 
“I was waiting to do this another time but… I felt so happy today I can’t wait to start the rest of our lives together. Will you marry me?” He moves beside the bed so he can properly kneel next to her. He opens the box and inside is a beautiful ring that’s catching the light from the bedside table. 
“Of course I will. I’ve been waiting for you to ask me.” she smiles at him, tears building in her eyes.

“We’ve been officially dating for six months, Beesly.” He chuckles placing the ring in her finger. 
She shrugs and pulls him in for a kiss. 

The End