Disclaimer:  The usual disclaimers apply:  I don't own these characters and I don't intend to profit from this posting.  I'm just hoping for some reviews.

Chapter 4

Jim heaved a heavy sigh as he pressed the up button on the elevator.  He was already ten minutes late and he knew Dwight would say something, but he didn't want to come to work today.  The day after Christmas was always so slow and depressing and Pam wouldn't be in, which would make the day seem even more never ending. 

He felt like a child having to make the long walk from the car to the front door of school as he trudged into the building, got on the elevator and hit three.  His breath caught as a hand stuck itself into the door preventing them from closing.  Jim hoped against hope that it was a Vance Refrigeration hand, knowing all the while that he was doomed.

"Jimboree.  Happy sucky day after Christmas."

"Hi Michael."  Jim moved to the far corner of the elevator.  "Did you have a good one?"

"Well, the big guy was good to me so to speak."  Michael looked slyly out of the corner of his eye with a large almost greasy smile, "I am a very good boy after all.  Top of the nice list."

Jim willed his mind to stay focused on anything but Michael, a blank stare on his face.  "Cool."  The elevator seemed to take its own sweet time getting to their floor.  If Pam were here it would rocket up taking 3.2 seconds. 

"My mom did give me new underwear as usual, but at least this year she got the size right and the kind that don't chaffe...you know there's nothing worse than when your underwear rides up, just distracting.  And there is no good way to pick a wedgie in a meeting, really it's a challenge."

"Um, okay."  The soft ding of the elevator signaled they had finally reached their floor and Jim bolted out of the elevator without another word, desperate to escape any more underwear discussions with Michael.

He hung his coat on the rack and stared at the empty reception desk.  Ryan sat glumly in the chair, a vision in black and white, the very picture of boredom.  The office without Pam seemed so gray and masculine.  Jim took it for granted that her feminine presence by the front door every day made a significant difference in the atmosphere of the whole room.  Her auburn hair and pink sweaters made the room seem less drab. Not to mention the way her smile could make you feel happier about being at work.

Turning to stare at Dwight's menacing face and a stack of invoices that he hadn't finished, Jim mentally tallied up the hours before he could leave.  Surely he could survive seven hours and forty five minutes.  He slid into his chair and placed his messenger bag under him, pulling out his ipod to drown out Dwight's incessant needling.  He spent the first part of his morning checking email, reading internet news and checking the latest speculation on the new years bowl games.   

***ho*ho*ho***

Pam woke up early, snuggled beneath a blanket and her favorite quilt.  She'd spent many a restless night in this old four poster bed dreaming of boys and wondering why they did or didn't like her or ask her to the dance. But she had never had a night as fitful as last night.  She knew Jim would be at work today.  In fact, she realized as she glanced at her alarm clock that he was there already.  She snuggled farther down in her bed, pulling her knees to her chest trying to quiet the raging nerves twisting her insides.  He was sitting at his desk right now trying to ignore Dwight and at some point he'd need something from his drawer, and then...

She'd felt on top of the world leaving work Christmas Eve having finally gotten it all out, but that excitement had faded over time to total panic.  She'd not only told him, she had written it, in ink.  She hadn't entirely intended to tell him that she loved him, but it just came out; before she really could think it through, it was written on the card in front of her.   Once she saw the words in front of her she knew it was true and that he should know it.

She tossed back to face the clock, only her head uncovered.  The red numbers beamed back at her "9:30".  Had he seen it yet?  Would he call?  Worse, would he not say anything?  Or would it be better to talk about it in person?  Letting out a low frustrated sigh, she pulled the covers over her head, deciding to hide a little longer from the world.

***ho*ho*ho***

"Yes, sir, we are open today.  So you are running out of Dunder Mifflin superior copier paper?"  Jim tried to be cheerful; Mr. Wilkenson was one of his more consistent customers.  He listened to the monotone voice on the other end of the line name off the quantity needed and ask about the pricing on stationary.

"Generally, we have three pricing levels on stationary: economy, standard, and elegant."  Jim paused as he looked for his ruler to follow the lines on the small pricing sheet grid, "Yes, sir, it does make it sound like a party dress, but the elegant sheets are a heavier paper and hold the ink well...elegantly...I guess thus the name."  Jim shifted the phone to his other ear and opened his drawer to look for his ruler, his eye suddenly catching on something that didn't fit.  "Um, what sir?"  Jim tried to focus his attention on his call, but he was drawn to a card that Pam had apparently slipped into his drawer.  When did she do that?

"Oh, yes, sir, I'm still here..." he took the ruler out and forced himself to put his energy into this call.  He did need this sale. "The standard is $25 per 500 sheets; the elegant is $33.  How about I go ahead and get that copier paper sent over to you with a sample of both?  ...Not a problem, sir, Dunder Mifflin appreciates your business.  ...Ok, great, thank you.  Always a pleasure, sir." 

Jim sat for just a moment at his desk, wanting to savor the moment before he read the mysterious card in his drawer.  He was almost afraid to look again, afraid maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him.  But as he slowly opened the drawer again, there it was, "To: Jim; From: Pam."  He quickly looked up to be sure that Dwight was engrossed in his work and then he pulled it out of the drawer.  Taking it out of its envelope, he realized it was a hand-drawn card, with the teapot on the cover, and the dundie he convinced Michael to give her, and the yogurt lid.  He scanned the picture, taking in all the memories she had sketched there, all the happy memories that they shared together.

"What are you smiling at?"  Dwight asked with disdain.

"Um, nothing, I'm going to lunch."  Jim locked his computer and picked up the card and his keys and headed out.  He wasn't sure what was on the inside, but this was not a moment he wanted to share with Dwight.

"But it's not even 11..."  Dwight called after him.

Jim pressed the button for the elevator so many times he was afraid he would break it before finally deciding to head down the stairs.  He took each flight at a steady pace and burst through the doors, hitting the unlock button for his car as he headed straight to the driver's side.  Although his car wasn't the most private place in the world, it was the best option he had. 

He slid in quickly and locked the doors, laughing at the way that the door locks seemed to make him feel like no one could see him sitting alone in his car.  He couldn't help but hope that Pam's note would say anything that hinted at her feelings for him.  Opening the card, he instinctively slid lower in his seat, trying to pretend he was comfortable in his car and in this situation. 

All the slouching in the world couldn't make his heart beat slower; it was positively pounding in his chest.  He took a deep breath and started to read, his heads shaking ever so slightly from the adrenaline.  He read slowly, enjoying her first few sentences, smiling at her reference to Michael's lame gift and loving her excuse for her drawing on the front.  Of course, he didn't mind that she drew it, that made it even more special, but it was so Pam to worry that he might mind.  He froze on the phrase "best friend", worried that this would be yet another recitation about how trusty ole Jim was the best and most harmless guy around.  But in the next breath, he felt lightheaded and an overwhelming burst of nervous energy, so much so he started to tap his fingers lightly on the gear shift.   She wasn't saying that they were just friends, she was saying so much more.

His eyes moved quickly over the rest of her handwritten message for him, his mind seeming to see only some of the words, like a jumbled puzzle that doesn't quite make sense until you read it twice.  Words like "more than that" and "not ready" and "feeling this for longer" and "in love with you".  He blinked hard.  Did he really just read that?  He looked around him, waiting for the reveal that this was some kind of sick joke made for purposes of spicing up the documentary.  No cameras, no people.  Just snow swirling dreamily in the air.

He reached for his phone, ready to dial her number even though he wasn't even sure what to say.  He realized in an instant that he left his cell phone upstairs and cursed his stupidity in not grabbing it.  There was no way he could face Dwight right now, no way to contain the smile that was permanently plastered to his face.  He needed a few minutes to think - primarily of the best way to get out of the office immediately and find Pam.  He started the car and hastily maneuvered the car out of the parking lot.  Perhaps a drive around the block would clear his mind.

***ho*ho*ho***

Pam sat at her mother's kitchen table, stirring her soup over and over but never really eating any of it. 

"Pam?  Are you gonna eat that or just stir it?"  Her mother looked down at her sweetly, a knowing look on her face that Pam found comforting.

"Stir it."  Pam dropped the spoon, staring again at the clock hanging on the wall.  She pushed the bowl away and buried her head in her hands.  "I don't suppose that I can go back to the office and manage to steal it back?"

"Would you really want to?"  Her mom settled across from her with a cup of coffee. 

"No. I just...hate this waiting."  She stared blankly out the window, wishing Jim's car might turn the corner and pull up in front of the house.

"I have an idea."  Ever the optimist, her mom clapped her hands together and reached for the paper, "You eat the soup so I don't have to worry about you and we'll look for your new apartment."

"Oh yeah, ...moving.  I almost forgot about that."  She sighed, "Mom, am I a horrible person?"

Janet Beesly lowered the paper and peered at her, her brow furrowed, "Pam you are as far from a horrible person as I can imagine."

"It's just, I mean, I just broke up with Roy.  And now this."  Pam started to knit her fingers together in an old and familiar nervous way. 

Janet put the paper flat on the table, folding it neatly back in place, "I think you've waited long enough to get what you really want."  She reached across the table and squeezed Pam's hands.

"I don't know, what if he thinks this is just a rebound or something."

"He won't."

"Then why hasn't he called..." she trailed off.

"Sweetie, he'll call."

"Right."

"Pam..."  She paused, waiting for her daughter to turn to her and then repeated more firmly, "He'll call." 

Pam peered at her cell phone on the counter, willing it to ring.  "I hope so, Mom."

***ho*ho*ho***

"Jim, it's about time.  You know when they say lunch hour, they mean that you go and come back in less than sixty minutes."  Dwight leered at Jim as he settled back in his chair. 

Ignoring his neighbor, Jim turned to Ryan, "Any messages?"

Ryan simply shook his head no in a completely disinterested way.

Jim fished his cell phone and his Christmas card to Pam from the drawer.  During his drive around town he realized that there was simply no way he would make it through the rest of the day without talking to Pam about her card, about that fact that she loved him.  He smiled down at his desk, a warm feeling spreading throughout his chest as he rolled the words around in his head.  "I'm in love with you."  He clicked on the internet and brought up Mapquest.com and whitepages.com.  He carefully searched for Beesly in Hershey, Pennsylvania and silently prayed that Pam's parents were listed and that there wouldn't be fifteen Beesly's. 

"What are you smiling at?" 

Jim had been trying to hide his smile with his left hand, but he had to admit when it came to picking up on his lack of focus, Dwight rarely missed a beat.  "Um, just going over this new sales lead I have."  Jim mumbled.

"Sales lead?"

"Yep.  In fact..." Jim's eyes zeroed in on a listing for David and Janet Beesly and he fumbled for a pen, trying to steady his now shaking fingers.  Jim started to scribble the address and a rough map on a sheet of paper, "I have an appointment there this afternoon."

"Appointment."  Dwight's face betrayed no emotion but he started to tap his ruler angrily on the desk.  "Where?"  He drug out the word slowly and Jim wondered if he had read that drawing out questions intimidated subjects during interrogation.

"In Hershey."

"We do not have customers in Hershey."

"Well Dwight, gotta make your own destiny."

"How dare you speak of destiny.  You are no zen master, you've had no formal training."  Dwight took a deep frustrated breath and began to mechanically speak, fixing his eyes on Jim's forehead.  "People speak of destiny like it is something to be controlled.  Man cannot control the will of the universe."

"Tell me about it."

Dwight narrowed his eyes at Jim in a condescending way, "What I could teach you about life young padawan...such a waste..."

Jim picked up his bag and slid the directions and the card in the front pocket.  "Well not anymore....Thanks Dwight, really great...pep talk." 

He walked slowly towards Michael's office, praying that his boss would be in a good mood and not ask too many questions about his fake sales call.  He casually leaned against the door jamb of Michael's office, "Michael, I have an appointment in Hershey."

Seemingly in a daze at his desk, Michael perked up at the idea of an appointment out of the office.  "Hershey is two hours away...you'll be gone all day..."  Michael smiled in a way that seemed to swallow up his own face, his eyes gleaming, "Need a wing man Big Jim?  Happy to help you on such an important mission.  Always there for my peeps."

Without waiting for an answer, Michael got up and started to put on his coat.  Jim practically bounded at him, "No, no...it's okay, I think you've taught me well.  I can do this myself."

"Ah Jim, it's okay to say you need help."

Jim had underestimated how bored Michael was and how desperate he was for a distraction.  He had to think quickly - suddenly it came to him.  "Well, okay, we're going to an OB/GYN office, a friend of my mom's works there and gave me the lead."

Just as Jim suspected, Michael froze in his tracks. "Wait, you're going to a..." he stopped to clear his throat and started again in a whisper, "woman's doctor's office?" 

"Yes."

"Where women have..."  Michael gestured wildly about him with his hands, "women's issues?"

"Yep, that's pretty much it."

Michael slumped for a moment in either defeat or disappointment and slowly turned to put his coat back on the rack.  After composing himself, he smoothed out his suit coat and turned to smile at Jim.  "You know Jim, there comes a point in every salesman's life when he must strike out on his own. Make his own way.  Today..."  he paused dramatically to pat Jim on the shoulder, "is that day.  I'm so proud."

"So, you aren't coming."  Jim clarified.

"No, Slim Jim, it's your moment.  You go out there and sell some paper."

"Oh-kay."  Jim tried to feign disappointment as he turned to the door and practically dashed out of the office.

***ho*ho*ho***

"Mom, I cannot sit in this house anymore, I'm going insane."  Pam rested her head on her folded hands, her eyes roving over the classifieds, now covered in red circles and stars from her mom's search for Pam's new apartment.  Her cell phone sat idly by, nearly dead from being turned on and off to be sure it had signal and power.  "He's not going to call.  He doesn't feel the same." Pam said the words numbly as if she were trying to prepare herself to accept this at the truth.

Pam's mother turned to her, reminding Pam of June Cleaver in her Christmas apron with flour smeared on the front.  "Pamela, give the man a minute, you may have taken him by surprise."

"I've given him a minute Mom.  In fact I've given him nearly 24 hours.  That's like....1440 minutes."  Pam blew a piece of hair out of her face. 

As she leaned against the counter, Janet smiled at her daughter, seeing her again as a teenager instead of the beautiful woman she had become.  "You know it's not really fair counting the minutes he didn't know that the card was in his drawer."

Pam rolled her eyes and pushed back from the table. "Sure take his side."  Taking a deep breath, she looked out the kitchen window, "Maybe I'll go for a walk.  It looks pretty outside."  She slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, "It would be good to get of my head a little."

Janet went back putting her Christmas cookies on a cooling rack, "Why don't you take the dog for a walk?"

"Sure."  Pam reached for the leash and the rolling sound of paws came down the stairs as her father's chocolate lab came for his afternoon walk.  As she leaned down to fasten the leash on his collar, the dog happily licked her chin, "Well, Max, as least someone loves me."  She stood up and cleaned off her face with a towel, "But not quite the kisses I was hoping for."

She pulled on her coat, grabbed her keys, and headed towards the front door.  "Be back in about an hour Mom," she called over her shoulder as she opened the door and nearly ran right into Jim, his hand poised to ring the bell. 

"Whoa, um, ...hi."  The words came out in a jumble as she tried to catch herself on the door jamb, suddenly keenly aware that she was standing practically on top of Jim.  Her mind registered his presence like a jolt to her system.  They both awkwardly tried to steady themselves while not actually touching the other person.  A strange mix of fear, hope, and nervousness mingled in her stomach and she took a small step back.  Max, oblivious to the human tension, jumped to greet Jim with his own sloppy kisses.

"Hey, um ...hi ...puppy."  Jim awkward petted the dog's head as Max rested his paws on Jim's chest. He wondered if the dog could feel how hard his heart was pounding.  He had not expected Pam to barrel into him like that.  In fact he had been on the porch for five minutes working up the nerve to actually ring the bell and then there she was so close to him, so breathless, so beautiful.  Her perfume still seemed to hang all around him causing his skin to hum slightly and his breath to come in small sporadic bursts.  He froze in her doorway, staring down at her, all the words leaving his head in a rush.

"Max, down, oh ..." Pam pulled Max down and led him back inside, "Sorry.  Um hang on, just one second."  Jim watched motionlessly as Pam guided the dog back into the house.  He wondered if he was supposed to follow step back onto the porch.  Instead he settled in the doorway hoping she would come back before he lost his nerve.  Even though he knew that she loved him, the fear of rejection was a habit that was hard to break.

Pam turned the corner to the kitchen in a panic, "Mom, take Max please."  Pam turned to smooth her hair in the dim reflection from the microwave door. 

"I thought you were going to take him...did I hear a man's voice?"

"Um...Jim's at the door."  Pam turned to look at her mom, searching for some reassurance in this most uncertain moment.  She twisted her fingers and bit her lower lip nervously.  She knew it had to be a good sign that he came to see her in person, but she could hardly believe he was really here. 

Janet smiled widely, "He drove from Scranton...to Hershey?"  She arched an eyebrow at Pam mischievously.

"Apparently."  Pam couldn't hide the beginnings of a nervous but hopeful smile.

"That's 120 miles."  Biting back her smile so as to appear serious, Janet turned to Pam and patted her gently on the shoulder.  "Well, better see what he wants."  Untying her apron, she took Max to the back yard.

Pam peaked back out to the living room where Jim was awkwardly standing half in the door and half out.  She took a deep breath and went back out to meet him.

"Sorry...that was Max."  She gestured awkwardly behind her, her heart racing wildly as she tried in vain to look Jim in the face.  She hadn't anticipated how hard it would be to see him, knowing that he knew now how she felt.    

"Yeah, so I gathered."  Jim shuffled on his feet a little, unsure of how to start this conversation, his hand toying with the edges of the card he had tucked safely away in his coat pocket.  "Um...so this is your parent's house?"

"Yeah."  Pam watched as Jim took in the details of the living room, his eyes darting to every corner resting only briefly on her before the awkwardness would return.  Pam, desperate for something to break the spell they were under, seized on the first idea that came to her. "Want to sit on the porch?  It's pretty nice outside, for December.  We can, um, talk ...there." 

"Sure, that sounds good."  Jim exhaled a heavy breath and took a moment as they walked out to try to collect his thoughts.  He had to think of a way to just start this conversation.  He watched as Pam led him out to the front porch of the house, a nice wide porch for Pennsylvania, with rockers and wide steps down to the front walk.  Pam sat down on the front steps and leaned against the railing.   Following her lead, he sat next to her, first facing the street, before he purposefully turned to face her.  He started to ask her about her card, but he went for a safer topic, hoping to ease them into more familiar territory.  "It really does smell like chocolate here."

Pam smiled at him, realizing the earth was shifting beneath them and he was trying to find solid ground, "Yep, all year round."

Leaning back against the post on his side of the stairs, "Is this why you always put out jelly beans."

Pam playfully met his gaze, "You caught me.  Once you've lived here, you are chocolated out."

Jim gasped out loud, "Beesly, perish the thought.  Even M and Ms?"

"Well, depends on the occasion, but generally I like the jelly beans better."  Pursing her lips, Pam looking back out over the yard, trying to decide whether they should stay in this normal moment or whether she should nudge them.  Deciding she didn't have much to lose at this point she pressed on, "That and I sort of liked the people that came to eat the jelly beans."

She felt her stomach tighten as she noticed a faint redness color Jim's cheeks as he looked out in the yard.  A slow smile spread across his face as he turned back to meet her gaze.  He pulled the envelope out of his pocket and started to turn it end over end in his hands.  "I got your card."

"I figured."  She let out a slow breath and looked at the card, taking a moment to calm her nervous.  "Did you bring it back to me?" 

His gaze fixed on her as he stopped playing with the white envelope and gripped it solidly in one hand, "Nope...this is my Christmas card to you."

Her heart did something that she felt certain wasn't healthy, something like registering an extra beat, as she realized she was looking at the card that she has refused to take from him just yesterday.  She had laid awake at night wondering what could be in that card, and now that she was literally inches away from it, she felt suddenly afraid of all that it might contain, good or bad.

Jim had never felt so alive or so frightened in his life.  He purposefully extended his hand to her, offering her the card, just as she had hoped he would, "It was supposed to go with your teapot, but..." he paused, trying to figure out how to explain, but in the end he decided it was too complicated, "anyway, I think you should have it now."

Pam reached tentatively out to pull the envelope from his hand, pausing to slide her fingers along his, soothed by the feeling of his fingers caressing her hand.  "Okay."

She pulled the card back to her possessively, "Should I read it now?"

"Yeah, I think you should."  He felt certain that he would jump out of his skin knowing that Pam was actually going to read the thoughts that he had written out so carefully a week ago, the same thoughts he had decided he wasn't ready to share with her.  His mind drifted back to her card, remembering that now he knew that she cared, that she loved him.  He focused his attention on the front yard, covered in a light dusting of snow.

Pam slid her fingers under the flap, decisively tearing into the envelope to find a card with funny looking elves on the front.  It was one of those shoebox cards where the elves were laughing about their unstable and irrational boss.  He had scribbled on the front, "Sound familiar?"  She smiled and opened the card to reveal his sentiments hastily scrawled on the inside:

Dear Pam,

Merry Christmas!  Can you believe that I finally got you in the drawing?  I wracked my brain for what you might like: a copy of Legally Blonde, a lifetime supply of Schrute Beets, gift certificate for Chili's.  Nothing seemed right till I found this teapot, which strangely enough seems so like you...just perfect.  Besides, I think Madonna had one and so it's gotta be cool right?  At least, that's what Kelly told me.

You are amazing and you deserve so much more than this place. Of course if you ever leave you have to find a way to take me with you.  You could not leave me here alone - I'd hate to have to blow my brains out.

Pam, you are so talented, not to mention an amazing prankster - that's a special quality in a girl, believe me I've looked.  I've been thinking lately how I wish I could meet a girl like you: smart, funny, beautiful, creative - if you know anyone like that tell her that I'm available.   Actually, I wish I had met you when you were still single.  Have you ever wondered what that would have been like, if we had met in college or something?  I'll admit I've thought about it, and I know that I would have had the biggest crush on you.

I wish so much for you this year, so much that I wish I could give you.  You are so important to me, Pam, and I am thankful to have you in my life.   I just wanted you know how much you mean to me, how much I care. 

Merry Christmas,   

Jim

Pam read the words over and over feeling as if she were spinning in a dizzying circle.  She reached for the edge of the step, reminding herself that the porch was solidly beneath her.  She hadn't known what to expect from his card, but his words, so cautious and tentative, made her love him all the more.  She knew Jim well enough to know what he was trying to say, but she could see that he held back, probably worried that she might want to ignore it like so many other subtle signs over the years. 

Jim noticed Pam had finished reading and seemed to be silently working out the puzzle pieces he had left her.  He cleared his throat, "I...wasn't quite as brave as you were..."

She shook her head and tried to hold back the emotions that were beginning to choke her, "No, I wouldn't say that."  She had so many questions and feelings to sort out.  Only one thing actually came out when she tried to speak, "Why did you take it back?"

He turned and squinted at her, tilting his head toward her in such a vulnerable way, like the truth caused him to wince, "I wasn't sure that it was the right time.  I mean, after the stupid yankee swap and everything.  I panicked."

Pam slid closer to him, moving towards the center of the step so that her leg pressed ever so slightly against his, "Well, I'm glad you drove here to give it to me.  It means a lot to me to have it."

Taking her cue, Jim slid closer to her.  They continued to stare straight ahead, watching children play in the yard across the street.  Pam slowly leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder. She carefully wrapped her arms around his right arm in an almost possessive gesture.    

Jim smiled at how easy she had made this for him.  After years of wishing that he could get up the nerve, years of trying to hint at what he was feeling, she had just said it.  She had taken the chance.  He peered down at her sitting next to him, amazed again at how brave she could be.  He cleared his throat, hoping to be able to actually say the words that he'd been holding back.  "Um Pam?  ...About what you wrote..."

Pam tilted her head up to him, nervously holding his gaze.  She wanted to say something but instead she simply nodded for him to continue.

"I just wanted to say that...to tell you...," he looked at her, his eyes explaining everything that he was struggling with.  He paused to take a deep breath and then he started again, "I wanted to tell you that I love you.  I mean my card didn't really say that.  But that's...that's what I wanted to say."

She smiled widely as a calmness settled over her features for the first time in a week.  It was hard to say who leaned first or who reached out.  All Pam knew was that they were moving closer together in every sense and it felt like falling in the most beautiful and weightless way.  She struggled to remember to breathe.

He felt like his heart had stopped beating in the split second before his lips touched hers.  He leaned towards her and kissed her tentatively, his lips barely grazing hers at first, as he tried to memorize this feeling.  Jim pulled back for a moment wanting to be sure that this was what she wanted. She looked up at him with such certainty that all fear vanished into thin air.  She leaned closer and whispered throatily, "I'm in love with you too."

She was the one to close the distance this time as they practically collided back into each other.  Jim pressed his lips solidly to hers, leaving no mistake about the way he loved her or the passion he felt.  They sank into each other, learning the feel of each other's lips, hands desperately running along each muscle and curve.   Pam deepened the kiss instinctively trying to get impossibly closer and she felt the hum of a groan on her lips. 

The moments blended together into a dizzying haze until Pam slowly pulled back, shyly looking more at his neck than his eyes for a few moments to compose herself.  When she finally dared look at his face, she felt a sudden heat throughout her entire body.  His hair mussed and his lips swollen, he managed a goofy grin at her that was just undeniably Jim. 

He bit his lip and averted his eyes, trying to come back to earth.  "Guess I've been wanting to do that for a little while."  He ran his fingers through his hair to smooth it out. 

Pam settled back into his side, "Me too."

Jim gently kissed her head and looked back across the yard shaking his head in disbelief about the day he was having.  He scanned the street when he noticed that the kids were not playing in the neighbor's yard any longer.  "Hey, uh Beesly, what happened to the kids?"

He felt her body shake as she giggled; he loved being this close to her, "I think we grossed them out."

"Great. ...Maybe we can try that with Dwight later on."

She grinned at him mischievously, "The kissing or the grossing out?"

Jim did his best to feign disgust but he was distracted by the flush on Pam's cheeks and way she kept unconsciously licking her lips.  "The grossing out.  Unless you want to kiss Dwight, in which case I'm grossed out."

Pam shuddered for effect, "Me too.  But I wouldn't mind the grossing out Dwight plan if it means we get to kiss more."

He smiled back at her loving that he could flirt with her now.  "Definitely.  We should definitely do that."

As if to prove his point he dipped his head kiss her again.  The last kisses had only left him wanting so much more.  He made himself stop before it all got out of hand again on Pam's parent's front porch.    He simply leaned against the porch post and held her closely to him.

They sat this way for a while, letting all the events sink in.  Jim finally broke the comfortable silence. 

"Hey Pam?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad I got your name in the drawing."

Pam smiled as she buried her face in his shoulder, "Me too.  This is the best Christmas gift I've ever gotten."

"Well you were good this year."  He wagged his eyebrow at her teasingly.

Pam bit her lip to try to keep from saying it, but truthfully she was too giddy to hold back.  "That's what she said."

Jim pulled her closer, shaking his head at her but smiling so genuinely that she could never mistake that he was loving this, "Shut up."

She sighed contentedly, enjoying the familiarity of their friendship with the newness of being in love, "Okay."