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Chapter 1: I changed for me

Jim sat down at his desk. His hands were shaking slightly, and he felt like he’d run the distance from New York instead of driving it. He’d just asked Pam to dinner, and made it clear that it was a date. No misinterpretations.

She’d said yes.

Moments later, Jim watched Pam walk back to her desk from the empty office they used to tape the confessional segments. She was blushing furiously and barely made eye contact as she passed him with a shy smile. She is just…so incredibly beautiful, he thought to himself. He got up and followed her, draping his upper body over her tall desk as she settled back into her chair.

“So,” he began, trying to sound casual. “I was thinking we could go right after work…leave your car here, and then swing back to get it later.” He knew he was being impatient, but he didn’t think he could handle leaving the office at five and waiting until six-thirty or seven to pick her up.

Pam’s forehead creased a bit. “No, that won’t work,” she said.

Panic flooded Jim’s entire being. She was changing her mind. He’d made the wrong decision. “Oh, OK, um, I-”

She interrupted smoothly. “You can follow me back to my place and we’ll leave my car there. I’ll just want to stop in the apartment for a few seconds. You can finally see my one kitchen.” Pam was smiling again. Jim was glad he was leaning against the desk; he felt weak with relief.

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The apartment was tiny, and cheaply furnished, but Jim was amazed at how warm and welcoming the space was. The colors and the patterns, the knickknacks and the artwork, the arrangement of the furniture- the place felt like Pam. He felt immediately at home.

He could hear the muted sounds of Pam bustling around in the next room. He had a brief flash of Pam re-enacting a scene from Bridget Jones’ Diary, with the heroine hastily changing into sexier underclothes. Stop thinking like that, he told himself sternly.

“OK, I’m ready.” Engrossed in his impure thoughts, Jim hadn’t heard Pam re-enter the room.

“Great, let’s…” he started, but didn’t finish the thought. Instead, he said haltingly, “You- you changed.”

She had changed. Instead of her simple work shirt and pink cardigan, she was now wearing a very stylish red blouse that matched the hue of her newly-applied lipstick. She had also taken her hair out of its normal barrette, letting it flow gently over her shoulders.

She smiled self-consciously, pushing her hair behind her ear but not dropping her gaze. “Yeah. Is that OK?”

This was Pam as he’d rarely seen her- vibrantly, consciously, intentionally beautiful. That she’s done this for him was overwhelming. “Yes. I mean, wow, yes. Just…you didn’t have to change for me.”

Pam looked confused, and Jim struggled to find words to express what he meant. “You look…amazing…but you didn’t have to change. I meant it when I said we could go right after work. You already looked perfect.”

Pam smiled, but her eyes were serious. “I didn’t change for you. I changed for me.” She reached up and smoothed the lapel of Jim’s dark suit jacket. “Tonight is special and I felt like dressing up. Besides, you were already all fancy.” She stepped away and picked up her purse, heading confidently toward the door. “We match better now.”

We match perfectly, Jim thought to himself as he followed her.