He had made many mistakes in his life.

When he was eight years old, he went swimming after inhaling his lunch, resulting in a stomach ache. At twelve he was convinced that white spotted looking leaf was not poison ivy, causing him to itch for a full week and a half. And when he was twenty and in college, he continued to play basketball despite his doctor’s warning not too if he wanted to avoid further injury, consequentially causing him not to play basketball for the rest of that season.

But the biggest mistake that Jim Halpert ever made was losing the love of his life.

It all happened years ago, despite the fact that he can remember it all like it was yesterday. Sometimes this mistake seems so close to him that he feels he can fix it and make his life whole again. Pam’s scent, her soft skin, curly hair, and the way her hand fit so perfectly into his all seems so close. Then reality rushes back on him again and he realizes that she’s gone. She left him because he, in blunt terms, had been an asshole.

Everything in his world crumbled the night that he and Pam went out on their first date. First official date, that is.

Jim had just turned down Corporate’s offer to hire him. He left behind a swanky new office, a much bigger salary, and his current girlfriend Karen in order to pursue happiness. Happiness for Jim, was Pam.

He knew as soon as he saw the fake medal made out of a yogurt lid and her heartfelt note that he wanted to feel the way he felt then forever. And only Pam could make his heart swell and give him goose bumps at the same time.

As soon as he said “no thanks” and before the guy could try to persuade him to change his mind and take the job, Jim was out of there. He walked calmly out of the office building, but soon found himself sprinting to the parking garage. He called Karen and left a voice message telling her that something had come up and that he was sorry but she was going to need to take the bus back to Scranton.

He pushed 85 miles per hour the entire ride back. He didn’t know why he was rushing. He knew she’d be there at Dunder Mifflin, but something kept his foot heavy on the gas pedal, he didn’t even care that his car began shaking slightly from the excessive speed in the small sedan. The distance between himself and Pam was suffocating to him.

In record time, Jim made it back to his familiar office space. Asked Pam out for a date and was so relieved that she not only said yes, but also seemed to be beaming with happiness from his request as well. From this point on, it should have been a happily ever after.

But it wasn’t.

The date had gone extremely well, off the charts by Jim’s record. They went to a small diner that Pam really loved for dinner. Like old times, their conversation topics flowed naturally from work discussion to people watching and mocking the odd people they would see in the diner.

“I told you Cletus, they always cook my squirrel burger wrong!” Pam said in a mock southern accent.

“No, Bertha, you ordered the raccoon burger, that’s why it taste the way it does.” Jim answered in an equally bad southern accent attempt. Both of them erupted into a giggle fit and proceeded to get nasty glares from neighboring customers.

In town like Scranton, there really isn’t a whole lot to do. So by the time Jim and Pam had finished their dessert, Jim decided to make the next move.

“Hey, I know this is a pretty lame suggestion for our first date, but, uh, would you want to rent a movie and come back to my place and watch it? It’s only seven o’clock and I really don’t want to end this just yet….but if you, you know, have other plans or don’t want too, then –“

“A movie sounds great” They smiled at each other, “It’s been a long week, so a nice relaxing movie is actually perfect.”

Jim was relieved he didn’t have to end his date with Pam just yet. He had waited a very long time to be on an actual date with her, he just couldn’t let it end after two hours. He briefly thought of Karen and what she would have said in response to him recommending a movie night. “Ugh, Jim, why are you so boring? Why can’t we ever go out dancing or something fun like that?” Clearly his company wasn’t enough for her. Which is why they never would have worked out. With Pam, all he wanted to do was be near her, just talking and joking around, even their silences are enough for him. He knew Pam didn’t need big extravagant date experiences to be happy with him. Not that once in awhile he wasn’t going to spoil her rotten, he couldn’t wait to do that. But once in awhile, even on first date occasions, a movie night can be pretty darn perfect.

However, his thoughts of Karen quickly reminded him that he hadn’t officially broken it off with her, as far as she knew they were a happy couple. Suddenly he felt like he had a ball and chain tied around his legs and Jim mentally chastised himself as he paid the bill and left the restaurant. However, he was soon in paradise again when he felt Pam intertwine her fingers with his as they walked out. Once again, they smiled, reassuring each other that this is what they wanted.

“Oh wow, I love your place!” Pam squealed as she walked through the threshold of his home. “It smells just like you.”

“It smells like me? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

She laughed “Definitely a good thing. You always smell good.”

He gave her a lopsided grin. “I always smell good, huh. Good to know that Armani cologne was worth my sister’s money when she gave it to me as a Christmas present.”

“Yes, please thank her for me next time you talk to her. She really has made my work that much more enjoyable.”

“Why Miss Beesly, are you flirting with me?”

“Hey, you asked me out. So what if I am flirting a little bit with you?”

Pam was standing with her back against his kitchen wall, while she nervously fiddled with her fingers against her stomach. Jim took two steps closer to her so that they were only a few inches away.

“So would you say that this date has been successful?” He spoke in a tone that was just a bit above a whisper. His face was so close to hers that it didn’t need to be any louder.

She looked at him with hopeful eyes and said in an equally low tone “Well, I don’t know we haven’t watched the movie yet, so I can’t really rate it at the moment.”

Jim smiled as he closed the distance between their lips. The palms of both his hands were flat against the wall on either side of her head, while her hands soon found the nape of his neck and his hair. He remembered she tasted like mint, so he figured she must have popped a mint when he wasn’t looking. Kissing her was just as fantastic as it had been a year ago after Casino Night. But this time it was better, because they finally were both all in.

When they finally broke apart for air, Pam put her lips up to his ear and nibbled at the edges of it before saying “What do you say we forget the movie.”

“Ah, so you’re suggestion we play a board game instead? A very good idea!”

He laughed and feigned injured when she lightly punched him in the stomach.

Jim had a wicked smile on his face when he grabbed both of her hands and led her out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and into his bedroom. Within minutes Jim’s shirt was on the floor. Pam fumbled with his belt while he played a line of kisses along her collarbone. His bedroom was too dark to fully see one another, but there was just enough light that they could make out the curves of each other’s bodies. There were a few moments where Jim mentally prayed that Pam couldn’t smell Karen on his sheets. But judging by her enthusiasm and attentiveness, he shrugged the feeling off.

A few hours later, both of them lay awake sharing pillow talk. Pam traced letters on Jim’s stomach and tried to have him guess what she was spelling out.

“I had fun too.” Jim said in response to her latest statement invisibly traced on his body.

Pam had just settled into her nook against his body when something unexpected happened. Jim would come to recognize this moment as the moment where his world stopped spinning.