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Story Notes:

So sorry it's been ages since I wrote something, but this has finally come together in my brain and out my fingers. Big hugs to xoxoxo for betaing. I'm thinking this will be around five chapters so hang in there with me. Post The Job.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, there would be no Karen.

She walked out of the conference room with a smile on her face that she couldn't remove. It wasn't just dinner. Jim actually said "It's a date." He made that perfectly clear.

As she passed his desk, he glanced up and gave her a quick smile before looking down at the paperwork on his desk, his smile still firmly in place. She walked to her chair and opened a game of solitaire knowing that she wouldn't be able to pay much attention to it. Jim was sitting with his back to her and she could tell by the pink of the skin on his neck that he was either warm or happy. She watched him take his suit jacket off and drape it over the back of his chair, then roll up the sleeves of his shirt to expose his forearms underneath.

A phone rang and they both jumped a bit, startled out of their thoughts. Jim looked down at the caller ID on his cell phone, the smile quickly disappearing from his face.

He picked up the phone, saying a quiet "Hi," as Pam watched his neck get dark red. "Listen... I know, Karen, and I'm sorry. I just... Yeah... Yeah, I can pick you up... OK, just tell me where."

Pam's stomach was sinking fast and she willed herself to get up, grab some random change, and head to the break room. She didn't know what was being said on the other end of the line and she wasn't sure she wanted to. All her hopes for the past year -- well, it'd really been many years -- were encapsulated in that one "It's a date," and that was fading fast.

Pam dropped her money in the candy machine and stared at it, not able to focus on the bright wrappers inside. She heard movement behind her and knew it was Jim. There was just something about him that always made her recognize his presence without seeing his face.

"Pam?" he asked.

She decided on the M&Ms and pressed the buttons. "Hi," she said, trying to act casual as she watched the machine spit out her candy. Jim still wasn't saying anything so she leaned down and grabbed it before turning to face him. "What's up?" she asked, opening the bag.

"Um...about tonight...I'm going to have to postpone dinner."

She could feel her throat tighten and tried to swallow it down. "That's OK." She looked up into his eyes and gave him a sad smile. "Really, Jim, it's alright. I just want you to be happy."

"What?" he asked, a bit confused.

"I heard you talking to Karen on the phone about picking her up somewhere."

"Oh," he said. "Yeah, I just...her friend is driving her to Stoudsburg and I'm going to pick her up there since, you know...I was her ride to New York."

Her throat continued to tighten and she felt like she was about to pass out. "Oh, right. Well, maybe it just wasn't meant to be, you know?"

"Wasn't what?" he asked, once again confused.

"You and me," she said, willing herself to try and be strong through this. "Maybe we just weren't meant to work out."

His eyes softened a bit as he looked back at her. "Pam, you don't think I'm getting back together with Karen, do you?"

"Well, aren't you?"

He smiled. "No, it's not like that at all. I just... It's always been something between us, you know? A fiancé or a girlfriend or whatever and I... I want to make sure we start with a clean slate. Nothing between us. I just need to finish this before you and I..." He trailed off and looked at her pleadingly.

"Oh. Well, we can just do dinner another time then," she said, smiling up and him, the lump in her throat disappearing a little.

"Another time," he replied.

 

She nodded her head and started walking for the door, hoping she could finish the conversation some other time.

 

"Pam?"

"Yeah?"

She turned around to see him standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking just as vulnerable as he had when he barged into her interview with the camera crew. "What about tomorrow?"

"What about it?" she asked.

"Dinner tomorrow? Can you do it then?"

"Um..." She was trying to stall as best as she could, not wanting to explain that she had plans, that she had specific plans that she hadn't told anyone in the office about. Then she remembered she was a different Pam who didn't try to hide from things. "I actually have an art show tomorrow."

His eyes lit up as his smile widened. "Really? That's great! Did you just find out about it?"

"No."

His smile disappeared, realizing that there was probably a reason she hadn't said anything and that reason was probably him. "Oh. Well, OK. I guess we'll..."

"I didn't want you to know," she quickly explained. "I guess I didn't want to be disappointed again when no one showed up so..."

"Oh, yeah, sure, I underst..."

"And I'm going to be showing some more introspective stuff and I thought maybe it would be better to not..."

"What time is your show?"

"What?" Pam felt like she was falling through the floor. She was trying to come up with reasons for not inviting him. She never expected him to ask when it was. "Um...six o'clock? It starts at six...at the community center. But we can do dinner after that, like maybe eight or something if you don't mind waiting that late."

He walked over to her and gently brushed his shoulder up next to hers. "I'll see you at six," he whispered in her ear before sliding past her and out the door.


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