The sun was just starting to peek through the window when he opened his eyes. At first he thought he was still dreaming, when he realized Pam was snuggled up against him. Naked. He shut his eyes again just to enjoy the moment for a few seconds longer. He remembered the night before, how they had started kissing on the couch and quickly ended up down the hall in his bedroom. How their clothes came off, and their hands were everywhere. How she smiled her radiant smile as she laid down on his bed, gesturing him to follow. How it felt to kiss her lips and her breasts and touch her and then be inside her for that glorious minute. (He chuckled silently to himself, making a mental note to try to make it to two minutes next time.) And then how it felt to hold her in his arms as she drifted off to sleep. He couldn't think of any place in the world he'd rather be.
Except, right now, for the bathroom. He really had to go. So he slowly attempted to untangle himself without waking her, and got up, pulling on his boxers on the way to the bathroom. When he came back he sat on the edge of the bed and just watched her sleep. But after a few minutes she stirred and opened her eyes. "Hey you," she muttered sleepily.
"Good morning. I was going to make breakfast. Do you want eggs or pancakes?"
"I want eggs," she replied, yawning. "With a side of Jim."
He laughed and jumped back in the bed with her. Breakfast would have to wait.
They spent the rest of the weekend together, not leaving his apartment except for the hour or so Pam went home to get a change of clothes. They ordered pizza and Chinese and made ice cream sundaes and played video games. They also talked, about anything and everything, even if sometimes it was painful. Things that needed to be said were said, and there was no anger or resentment, just a resolve to move forward.
And of course, in between the meals and the conversations, there was sex. A lot of sex. They were making up for lost time, and couldn't get enough of each other. And neither of them wanted the weekend to ever end.
Unfortunately, however, it did have to end eventually, and Pam left at the crack of dawn on Monday morning to go home and get ready for work. They both knew that Karen would be back today, and they didn't want to be too obvious about their relationship, out of respect for her feelings. Things were going to be awkward enough as it was.
But Jim temporarily forgot about that agreement when he first walked in and saw Pam sitting at reception. He had to remind himself that the past weekend hadn't been a dream, as he approached her desk and started to lean over to talk to her. But he stopped himself when he saw the look in her eyes and the slight shake of her head, gesturing over to Karen's desk.
Karen was there already. She was busy typing something on her computer and didn't even look up. As Jim sat down at his desk he tried to make eye contact, but she wouldn't give him a glance. He felt the pit in his stomach starting to churn again. This was going to be a long day.
He tried to immerse himself in his work for a distraction. He IM'd back and forth with Pam but didn't get up to talk to her at all. He wanted to go out to lunch with her but she thought it wouldn't be such a good idea because of the Karen situation. So he resigned himself to a lonely ham and cheese at his desk, but keeping in mind it was just this one day and Karen would be gone tomorrow. He knew he would have to talk to Karen sometime today but she successfully avoided him every time he tried to get her attention.
At 12:30 he looked up to realize both Karen and Pam were not at their seats, and a sick feeling of dread welled up in his chest. Instinctively he got up and headed to the breakroom. When he got to the door his stomach dropped.
Karen and Pam were in the middle of a rather heated argument. Toby was standing between them trying to calm them down, to no avail. Kelly stood in the doorway with her mouth agape.
"You're sorry? You're SORRY? No, you're not sorry. This ended up just the way you wanted it to!" Karen was yelling.
Pam was almost in tears and obviously upset, but also a little angry. She was shaking and unable to form a coherent sentence.
Jim stepped in between them and turned to Karen. "Please, this is between you and me. Let's not do this here. Come outside and we can talk."
At this point Meredith, Oscar, and, regrettably, Angela, had gathered around to witness the drama unfold.
Karen turned on Jim. "We have nothing to talk about, Jim. I think you said all you needed to say when we were in New York." She laughed bitterly, then gestured to the other people standing around them. "You know what's funny is that all these people think that you're this wonderful, nice guy, when in fact you're just a big asshole."
And with that, she turned and stormed out of the breakroom, on the way out bumping into Michael, who watched her go and then said, "Ooh, did I miss something good?"
Jim turned to Pam and asked her, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I guess. I didn't mean for this to happen; I didn't even want to say anything. I just..."
"Pam, Pam... stop. It's okay. It's not your fault, it's mine."
Pam gave him a quick hug and mumbled, "I should get back to my desk," and hurried off. Everyone else had left the breakroom unnoticed, and Jim just sat down at a table and put his head in his hands. He thought to himself that Karen wasn't wrong; he was an asshole. He wondered if he should go after her or just let it go. He honestly didn't know what the right thing to do was, and that uncertainty paralyzed him.
He had no idea how long he sat there like that before he heard Karen's voice.
"Jim," she said from the doorway.
He lifted his head but didn't say anything. She was holding a box.
"I had some of your stuff in my car. I just wanted to give it to you before I left." Her voice was cold.
"Karen, please believe me that I'm sorry..."
She shook her head and said, "I really don't want to hear it again. I'm done. I am leaving now. I meant what I said before. I don't want you to try to contact me or anything. Ever. Do you understand?"
He nodded mutely as she placed the box down on the table in front of him and walked out of the room.
A few minutes later Pam came back and sat down next to him.
"Karen left," she said.
"Yeah," he replied.
"You okay?"
"Yeah... I guess. I... she wasn't wrong, you know. I haven't been a very nice person."
Pam didn't say anything for a moment but then softly whispered, "It's okay." Then there was a long pause as she seemed to be holding her breath. "If you don't want to... I mean, if this is too soon for you and you need some time... I guess..."
He looked up at her and smiled. "It's a little late for that, isn't it?" He meant it as a joke but she didn't laugh. "Pam, no, I meant what I told you this weekend. I want this with you more than anything. I can still feel bad about what I did to Karen without it changing how I feel about us." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She smiled this time, and sighed with relief.
"Okay. Good. I just didn't want you to have any regrets."
"I have regrets about a lot of things, Pam, but being with you is not one of them, and it never will be." He leaned over and kissed her softly. The kiss was short-lived, however, because they were interrupted by Angela, who entered the room and headed toward the vending machine, shaking her head and muttering something that sounded like, "Man-stealing whore." They looked at each other and laughed. It was going to be okay.
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.
ExtremelyGruntled is the author of 20 other stories.
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