When Pam exited her interview with the camera crew, she was happy to see Jim standing awkwardly in front of her desk. The smile he flashed her was a combination of nervous and hopeful, and the happiness was reaching his eyes. She imagined that she was wearing a similar expression.

“Hi,” she said, her smile getting bigger.

“Hey,” he said a bit huskily. They grinned at each other in silence for a second, savoring the moment.

“So….” Pam said, unsure where to even start.

Jim licked his lips, and just stared at her, not really knowing where to begin either. He was hoping to get rid of the awkwardness, but wasn’t sure how. He tried to remember back to when it was easy between them, when even the highest of tensions seemed to dissipate with some new reason the office provided them to team up for in their intimate little world.

There hadn’t been so much of it since he got back from Stamford, other than that one brief moment where he felt like himself again, huddled with Pam under sombreros and staring at the hole in the wall. That of course had led to new tensions in the rest of his life, which had led to tensions with Pam again.

So now, here they were. He could tell she was excited and hopeful just as he was, but they had really lost something this past year. It made it a lot more difficult to move forward in their relationship, knowing that the friendship and connection they had before was so badly damaged.

Jim tried to draw from their old banter to ease the tension. “I take it back, Beesly. If it’s going to be like this, it’s totally not a date. Just dinner.” He smiled at her to show he was kidding.

She looked hurt for a moment, and his smile fell a bit. She then mustered up a smile of her own, and punched him in the arm.

“You don’t get out this so easily! There are no take backs for these things! Once it’s out there, it’s out there,” she told him in an easy tone.

Once those words were out there, they set in for both of them. Jim’s words in the parking lot from a year ago came screaming back to them both, with Pam’s words on the beach added in for good measure. Pam instantly regretted her choice of words, but was again left dumbstruck.

Jim decided the best thing right now was to work out logistics. He figured a bottle of wine and time away from the office would allow them to finally open up and discuss some of their issues. He had no doubt it would get them where they needed to be. They just needed to truly be alone, in a neutral environment where they could just talk it out. He knew he had a lot to share with her, but this was neither the time nor the place.

“So, how about you write down your address for me, and I pick you up at 7? We can try to  remember how this whole speaking thing works then.”

Pam smiled at him, feeling slightly more at ease. “Sure, let me write it down for you now. And it is still a date. I meant what I said earlier,” she told him seriously, trying to convey that she also meant what she had said on the beach.

She knew her message was clear when he told her, “I meant what I said too.”

Their eyes held for a moment, until Pam finally blushed and looked away. Jim gently brushed his hand across her cheek, causing her to look at him.

“I think things will be easier once we are out of the office and alone together. I know we have a lot to talk about, and it’s a bit overwhelming. But I’m really back now, once and for all,” he told her.

“I’m glad,” she said simply.

“So, I’ll see you at 7?”

“I’ll be ready and waiting.”



When Pam got home from work, she went into overdrive. When she had found out Jim was coming back from Stamford, she had mentally planned out what she would wear on their first date. When she got home, she found herself rooting out a slim black skirt and the red top that Kelly had coerced her into buying. Having planned this out so long ago, she found that she was very well organized in her prep time.

She found herself ready at 6:45. She felt like maybe there was something she could do to primp up more, but she decided to attribute her efficiency in preparation to adrenaline and the mental planning she had done months ago.

She paced around her apartment anxiously for five minutes, willing the clock to strike 7. Then she gasped when she heard a knock on her door.

She realized then that she might have been outwardly ready, but that maybe inwardly she needed the extra ten minutes. Then she relaxed a little bit, knowing that his early arrival likely signaled his own anxiousness.

She opened the door, both excited and terrified at the same time.

And there he stood, with his new clean cut haircut, wearing the same suit he had worn to his interview. He was tightly clutching a bouquet of daisies, and nervously shifting from side to side.

He stared at her, seeming to like what he saw. Even though she had seen him in this suit, she was still in awe that he was there wearing his best clothes for her.

“Well, these are obviously for you,” he said, handing her the flowers. She took them, and beamed at him to show her gratitude.

“Thanks, I’ll run put these in water. Have a quick look around if you like,” she told him.

Jim did just that, taking in the tidy apartment. The living room was simple, with a comfy looking beige sofa with a quilt thrown over the back. Jim imagined her curled up under that quilt, watching some movie late at night. He hoped to someday soon be right beside her on the sofa in that image, but with them wrapped around each other for warmth instead. He smiled wistfully, thinking of how the simplest thoughts of being with her could make him feel so at peace.

“Schrute buck for your thoughts,” Pam said.

“Huh?” Jim said.

“I’ll explain later. Let’s just say it’s worth far less than a penny.”

Jim drove them to the restaurant, and the awkwardness returned in full force during the car ride. When they pulled into the parking lot, Pam laughed out loud.

“What’s that for?”

“Nothing. I just can’t believe you’re taking me to the new tapas restaurant. You really have evolved from the ham and cheese sandwiches,” she told him, shaking her head.

“Hey, you know from Andy that I did some shifting to tuna. I figured the next step is Spanish cuisine,” he said.

“I was also laughing because I had the image of Michael mixing up tapas and topless, which you know would be inevitable,” Pam giggled nervously.

“And likely incredibly disappointing,” Jim said, and laughed back. “There’s quite the running commentary going through your head. You really needn’t keep holding back.”

They walked into the restaurant side by side, the tension having eased a bit.

Jim went up to the hostess, and learned it would be a twenty-minute wait. “You want to grab a drink while we wait?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

They headed to the bar, and sat down at a small table. “What do you want?” Jim asked her.

“Hmm. Something girly. I guess an amaretto sour sounds good,” she told him.

“You’re right that is girly,” he said teasingly, and went to the bar and got their drinks.

On his way back, he looked toward their table and stopped dead in his tracks, his face turning ashen. Pam was engaged in conversation with one of the last people Jim wanted to see right then, and she was nodding patiently. He couldn’t decide whether to approach or hide, and he instantly regretted his indecision as Michael turned around and spotted him.

“Jimbo! What a coincidence! You, me, Jan and Pam all in the same restaurant! Wait…” Michael paused a moment, clearly putting the pieces together. “Are you guys on a date?”

Jim looked helplessly at Pam, who shrugged her shoulders, equally helpless.

“Something like that. Don’t you need to get back to Jan?”

“No, I actually went to the restroom just to get away. We just sat down, and I don’t want to talk to her about her moving in and losing her job and me turning down her job and all that,” Michael said.

“I could see how that would be awkward,” Pam said.

“But the sooner you get started talking, the sooner you get it worked out, right?” Jim asked.

“Definitely,” Pam said, nodding vehemently.

Michael shook his head defiantly. “No, no, no. That’s not what I want. The sooner we get it worked out, the sooner she wants to have sex and to do the weird things I don’t want to do,” Michael said. Then his eyes got big, and Jim could almost see the light bulb go off over his head.

“I know! You guys should join us! It could be a double date. I’ve always wanted to go on one of those,” Michael said excitedly.

“Oh, I’m sure there’s not room at your table,” Jim said.

“And we don’t want to intrude,” Pam said.

“No, we’re in a booth. We’ll fit you in just fine. And I want you there. I always thought a double date was so perfect. You get to talk with your friend the whole night about guy things, while the girls can talk about bras and makeup. Then she’s done all the talking she wants that night, and so you can go right to the good stuff, right Jim?” Michael elbowed Jim, shooting him a lecherous look.

“Weren’t you just saying you didn’t want to have sex with Jan?” Pam asked, exasperated.

“But I do want to see the new…” Michael stopped, unsure how to phrase it in front of Pam, “things about her since we broke up.”

Jim openly rolled his eyes.

“It sounds like you guys have a lot to talk about, and so do Pam and I,” Jim said, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice.

“C’mon, Jim! I’ll even treat,” Michael said pleadingly.

“You know you can’t put this on the corporate credit card, right?” Jim asked.

“I know. Stupid Toby would never let me put a dinner at a topless bar on the corporate credit card, even if I was motivating two of my favorite employees to hook up,” Michael said sadly.

Jim looked over at Pam and caught her eye, and she let out a loud giggle.

Michael turned to Jim. “What’s with her?”

“I think she’s laughing at the thought of hooking up with me,” Jim said easily, causing Pam to laugh even harder.

“Pam, I can tell you from first hand experience that it hurts a lot when you laugh at the thought of being with a man,” Michael told her seriously.

Pam sobered up a bit. “I’m really sorry, Michael. I’ll try not to laugh at Jim again,” she told him sincerely.

“I think you guys owe me for helping to bring you two together. You may not know this, Pam, but on the Booze Cruise I told our young friend here not to give up. And he didn’t! And of course, that’s how we became best friends. The kind that double date,” Michael told her happily, with a hopeful look.

Jim and Pam looked to each other for help, which proved to be fruitless.

“Michael, how about some other night? Like next week?”

“Jim, please. I really don’t want to go back there alone. And who knows if you and Pam will be back out together by next week? And I don’t think I want to go out with you and Karen,” Michael said.


“Karen and I broke up, so don’t worry about that,” Jim said curtly.

“See, we have so much to catch up on! And I know Jan needs to talk to a woman, one who can tell her what is normal in bed….” Michael continued on, oblivious to Jim’s clenched jaw and fists.

“Michael, we’d be happy to join you two,” Pam finally said. Jim turned to her, aghast.

“Let’s get back to the table. I imagine Jan’s had at least a couple of drinks while waiting for me. She’s really unpredictable when she’s drunk,” Michael said, walking a few paces in front of Jim and Pam.

Jim leaned into Pam, and muttered into her ear, “And here I was afraid our first date would be awkward.”