Some time later, Pam found herself sitting up; their clothes were considerably rumpled, but they were smiling. She leaned her head against Jim's shoulder and looked out at the moonlit water. "I never thought Lake Scranton would hold so many memories for me," she said softly.

"Yeah, me neither," said Jim in the same tone, slowly stroking her arm. "I think the beach day with work was the closest I ever came to knowing what you felt like when I told you how I felt at that Casino Night. I know it wasn't the same, but I really saw how you felt, and I couldn't keep ignoring the fact that I felt the same way as I ever did."

"Really?" asked Pam, even though she knew the answer. However close they were, they still steered clear of some painful subjects; aside from a few late night talks, they hadn't discussed what had happened between Jim and Karen and Pam and Roy. Pam thought it was a strange and somewhat lovely thing that though she knew that Roy was absolutely not the one for her, she could still feel a twinge of empathy for him and still remember their shared past. She had to remind herself of this on the rare occasions when Jim mentioned Karen, telling herself that he still loved Pam more than he ever liked Karen.

"Of course. I tried to convince myself that you had moved on, and tried to tell myself that she was a good fit for me, but it just didn't work. You're just...perfect, and I couldn't deny it any more when you said those things here."

Pam squeezed his hand. "I'm not perfect," she said.

"Maybe not, that's up for debate, but you're absolutely perfect for me. You just... get me. You always have, and I think I get you, too, and that's why I love you more than I've ever loved anything," he said, looking down at her, and she thought his eyes looked bright. She reached both arms around and pulled him into a tight hug. "I love you, too," she said into his neck. "I know, and that's the best feeling in the world," he said as they broke apart.

They smiled at each other for what seemed like a long time, until Jim patted her knee. "We'd better keep going," he said, "or else we'll be stuck in high school and we'll never be sure if it would have worked out long-distance in college."

Pam smiled and he handed her the bag with her clothes in it. They managed to change clothes in the car, though Jim's long legs gave him some trouble, and Pam laughed at him. As they pulled back onto the dirt road, Jim changed CDs. "Dave Matthews Band. We must be in college now," said Pam, and they held hands.

Back on the highway, Jim made her put on the blindfold, and she had absolutely no idea where they would end up. Her college years had been pretty uneventful, mostly hanging out with Roy and his friends, and she hadn't even gotten her degree, petering out in her junior year to work full time. She was embarrassed by this, but when she said it aloud it to Jim, he just squeezed her hand. "I sometimes think degrees are overrated. Look where my English degree got me, I'm selling paper," he said, and she laughed. "But if it's something that you want to do, you should do it. Figure out what you want to do and then just go for it."

"You're amazing, you know that?" asked Pam, patting his knee. "You're the best cheerleader I've ever had."

"And definitely the sexiest," replied Jim, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "Hey, we're here," he said, and the car parked. "Where are we?" Pam asked as she pulled off the blindfold. "My buddy Jason's little brother Eric's house. This is our first college party, Beesly."

"Nice," she said, as they walked up the front steps. Jim rang the bell, and let himself in. There was loud music playing, and people milling around with cups of beer.

"Hey Eric," said Jim to a dark- haired guy who looked to be around twenty or twenty-one. "Hey Jim!" said Eric, and he smiled at Pam. "This is my girlfriend Pam," said Jim, and she shook hands with Eric. "Nice to meet you. There's beer and food over there," Eric said, pointing toward the kitchen.

They thanked him and walked over to the keg. "Everyone here looks so little!" whispered Pam. "Are we that old?" Jim grinned. "Probably. I've known Eric since he was about six, so it feels really weird to be drinking with him. He does this a few times a month, I've come with Jason a couple of times."

He handed Pam a beer, and they wandered through the little house. Most people smiled at them, and Pam blushed when a few of the guys grinned and stared at her. "Why do they keep looking at me?" she whispered, "It's weird."

"Maybe you remind them of their mothers," Jim whispered back. She mock-glared at him. "Pam, you're totally hot, that's why they're looking at you."

Pam blushed again and looked down. She was just wearing jeans and a fitted blue t-shirt, but maybe she carried herself differently now. She smiled at Jim and tossed her ponytail.

They went into the living room and watched the Wii boxing tournament happening there, and Jim even joined in, ultimately losing to one of Eric's roommates. Jim was slightly out of breath after, so they edged out of the living room to get some air. "I'm sorry the Wii is here, that's definitely an anachronism. I was afraid it's be like Christopher Reeve and that penny, and we'd be snapped back to reality and I'd go into a coma and die," said Jim, sipping his beer. "Did you actually just describe 'Somewhere in Time'?" giggled Pam, "You're such a dork."

"The fact that you know what I'm talking about makes you equally as dorky," said Jim.

"Hey, it's one of my mom's favorite movies," said Pam, and Jim laughed. "I don't even have that excuse. I just really loved Superman when I was younger, and watched all of Christopher Reeve's movies."

Pam laughed at him and he looked down the hall. "Come here," he said, and pulled her into a dark bedroom. "It smells like boy in here," said Pam. "We can still make out," said Jim, and he began to kiss her. "What if someone finds us?" asked Pam, pulling away. "Then they'll be really jealous of me," said Jim, pulling her against him and kissing her again.

They emerged a half hour later, slightly disheveled and smiling. "Do you want another beer?" asked Jim, and Pam shook her head. "Nah, cheap beer isn't doing it for me either," he said. "Ready for the next place?"

"There's more?" asked Pam, who had expected the party to be the final place, since it was getting late in the evening. "Yeah, well, we've still got a few more years to go. One more stop," said Jim as they moved toward the front door.

They drove in companionable silence, and when Pam got out of the car, she heard downtown sounds. Jim untied the blindfold, and she saw that they were standing in front of a microbrewery that had just opened a few months previously. "Nice, I've wanted to try this!" Pam exclaimed, looking in the window. "Yeah, well, what better way to transition into our twenties than snobby beer and an emo singer?" asked Jim.

The hostess sat them in a booth, and they could see the singer setting his equipment up on stage as they opened the menus. Pam found that she was starving and decided on a burger. The beer choices were numerous and all sounded good. "I have no idea which one to pick," said Pam, looking at the list again. "Let's get the sampler; I'll have two and you can have three," said Jim. 

"Will you be okay to drive?" asked Pam anxiously. "Yeah, lightweight, some of us are fine after a couple of drinks," said Jim, giving her a mischievous smile that made her blush.

They ordered their food and drinks as the singer came out onstage and began his set, playing an acoustic guitar and singing, apparently about his brother's drug addiction. "His name is Emory Allister?" asked Jim, "He has emo right in his name!"

"Maybe he decided that was his only obvious career path," whispered Pam, "Or maybe he changed his name."

"Yeah, his name is probably Rocky or Butch," whispered Jim, and both giggled. "Or, like, Gerald."

"Oh my God, did he just say that this next song is about global warming?" asked Pam. "He did, and if the next song is not about the war, I'll give you five dollars," replied Jim, grinning.

Emory Allister finished the song with a plaintive, "As her children, we've got to take care of Mother Earth..." and Pam snorted into her little glass of apricot wheat beer. Emory continued, "This next song is about the Holocaust, and it's also about you and me."

Jim threw up his hands in mock defeat and Pam laughed and almost choked on her turkey burger, hoping that the singer couldn't see her in the darkness. Jim reached for his wallet and gave her the five dollars, which she pocketed gleefully. "Okay, I'll give you a chance to win it back if the next song is about the war," she said, and he nodded. "If it's not, I'll buy dessert," he said.

"This next song is a song I wrote about slavery," said Emory from the stage, and Pam raised her hands in victory. "Start ordering, Beesly," said Jim, laughing and shaking his head before getting up and excusing himself to the restroom.

Pam's dessert was brought out with a candle on top as Emory's song ended, and all the faces turned towards her. "I'd like to wish my beautiful girlfriend Pam a happy 21st birthday," said Jim, standing up and addressing the other patrons. Emory strummed his guitar and everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' to her, some raising their glasses of beer.

She was bright red as they finished and Jim sat down, smiling happily at her. "I'd like to dedicate my next song to Pam, for it's about the beauty of life as it relates to the horrors of the war," said Emory, and Jim cheered loudly.  Pam felt like her face would split from smiling. She was dizzy from the beer and the singing and her life felt simply perfect.

"Let's go home," he said, "I'll show you what adults do after college."

She raised an eyebrow suggestively. "And that would be..."

"Cuddling in bed and falling asleep to a Christopher Guest movie we've seen a dozen times, of course," said Jim, and she nodded. "That's perfect," she said, getting up a little unsteadily.

They left the restaurant, Jim's arm around her waist.  "This is the best day ever," she said to him, and he patted her hand. "We'll have lots more like this, I promise," he said, and she knew he was right.