"Hey," Pam said, smiling slightly.
"What... what are you doing here? Come in." He stepped aside so she could come into the apartment.
"You don't look so hot," she said, looking him over.
"Neither do you," he replied. "I mean... um... Pam, what are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry about last night," was all she managed to get out before the tears started falling. Without even thinking twice he reached for her and pulled her close as she buried her head in his shoulder and he stroked her hair.
They stayed like that for a long time, just holding each other, both crying softly. It may have been five minutes or an hour - who knows, really - before Jim pulled back and whispered, "Do you remember?"
"Yes," she answered, so quietly he could barely hear her.
He nodded, then took her hand and led her to the couch. He leaned back into the cushion and she put her head on his chest.
"Why is this happening?" she asked.
"I don't know," he said and sighed as he ran his fingers through her hair. A few more minutes of silence followed, and then Jim spoke again.
"I started having headaches. After that night. Really bad ones. I almost passed out a couple of times, I think."
She sat up and turned to look at him as he continued.
"Then there was this one night where I had just moved into my apartment in Stamford, and I remember just feeling really shitty about... everything. And I thought maybe it would have been better if I had never met you to begin with. I started getting a headache, and I remember going to the bathroom to get some Tylenol... and that was it. I woke up here, and I didn't remember anything. It was like it had never happened. I guess it didn't, in a way."
"How is that possible?" Pam asked, more to herself than to Jim.
He shrugged, as bewildered as she was.
"I want to go back," she whispered. "I just want everything to be what it was..."
"Everything?"
She noticed the look of alarm in his eyes and said, "I just wish this had never happened. I wish I hadn't hurt you. I wish I had told you that I loved you, too, and I wish you hadn't left." She was crying again.
For a long moment he stared at her, his eyes glistening. Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers - a brief, warm kiss. He leaned back as she stared back into his soul, and then she wrapped her hands around his head and pulled him back to her mouth. This time, the kiss was demanding, hot. Their tongues met violently and she pushed him back on the couch so she was on top of him, straddling him. His hands worked under her shirt, tracing up her back and then down her sides, feeling her breasts right there through her bra.
Her hands wandered, too, down to the front of his jeans. He was surprised when she wasted no time unbuttoning his pants, her hands working furiously as though their time may be cut short at any second.
"Pam," he managed between breaths. "Are you... sure?"
She murmured against his throat: "It's the only thing I am sure of right now." For a second she stopped what she was doing, and added, "Jim, I need you."
That was all he needed to hear. He flipped her over so he was on top, quickly pulling off her pants and then her shirt, then clumsily standing up and removing his own pants. He entered her without hesitation, and she made a soft moaning sound into his neck. He paused and asked, "Are you okay?" and she just grunted, "Don't stop." He obeyed, and pushed further into her. Within a few minutes she was trembling as the waves crashed over her, and he followed almost immediately. When it was over, they lay on the couch, entangled in each other's arms as their breathing slowly returned to normal, and then got slower as they both faded into sleep.
---
It was morning, again. The light from outside hit the blinds in the bedroom at just the right angle to get into her eyes, waking her from the deep sleep. She felt his arms loosely around her waist, and his breath on the back of her neck. She turned around to look at him, still sleeping peacefully, snoring ever so slightly. She smiled, and thought that she had never felt so content as she did in this very moment. She almost wished it could last forever.
She reached up and softly touched his cheek, and he stirred. He opened his eyes, blinking a few times, and then grinned.
"Hey," he said sleepily.
"Hey yourself," she answered, returning his smile.
He pulled her toward him and kissed her softly. "Please don't tell me we have to get up and go to work."
"No, of course - " Suddenly, she sat up in the bed and looked over her surroundings. This was...
"Wait! Where are we?" She jumped out of bed, then realized she was naked and grabbed a blanket to cover herself. She walked over to the small bookshelf near the window, on which rested, among other things, a 1998 Dunmore High School yearbook.
"Um, we're at my house... where did you think you were?" Jim was obviously confused at her sudden change in mood.
"Your house," she repeated. "In Scranton?"
"Uh, yeah." Jim also got out of bed, pulling on his boxer shorts. He suddenly looked angry. "I knew this was going to happen. Just please don't say you were drunk, because - "
"What are you talking about?"
"Last night?" he said, nodding over to something on his desk chair.
Her periwinkle blue dress, the one she had worn on the casino night.
Author's Chapter Notes:
I hope this isn't terribly confusing and/or cheesy.
Chapter End Notes:
One more chapter to go!
