Jim awoke around noon, after the most amazingly pleasant restless few hours of sleep he’d ever experienced. For the first time in years, he woke up with a grin on his face. He lay in bed for a few minutes, replaying parts of their early morning conversation in his head. It was so nice to have someone to talk to, someone who understands that he had a past, namely Karen, and will freely talk to him about it. In his haste of trying to forget about Pam, he had forgotten the reason that he had fallen in love with her anyway. Last night, he was reminded, and now he loved her more than ever. There were no uncertainties anymore. It was clear to him that he needed to be with Pam, now he had to make it happen. He reluctantly got out of bed, finally surrendering to a new day.

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An extremely nervous Pam arrived at Jim’s apartment at 6:45, hoping that she wasn’t too early. She could smell his cooking before she even stood in front of his door. Before she knocked, she took a deep breath, partially to calm down her nerves, but also as reassurance. She knew what she wanted to happen tonight, and she was pretty sure, from the route that their conversation took last night, that Jim wanted something to happen too. However, she wasn’t sure how ready he was. After all, it had only been a little over 24 hours since he’d broken up with Karen. She thought to herself: ‘Whatever happens or doesn’t happen tonight, you’re still best friends. That’s been good enough for 5 years, right?’ She laughed, and then added ‘No, it’s not good enough anymore, not after last night.’

She raised her fist up, and lightly knocked on his door.

The door swung open seconds later, and a apron-clad Jim stood grinning from ear to ear at his date.

“Hi, Beesly, come on in! You look great, as usual.”

“Thanks! You’re not looking too bad yourself there, Halpert.“ If his grin could have gotten any bigger, it would have. She continued, “I’m starving and it smells so good in here! What are you cooking?”

Before he answered, he walked over to her and took her in his arms, and gave her a hug that she could feel all the way down to her toes. The hug caught her off guard, but then her arms went up and reciprocated, and Jim forgot what she had even asked. They stood there, locked together for a few moments, before Pam’s grumbling stomach interrupted the silence.

He pulled away and said, “Geez, Pam, you weren’t kidding. It’s too bad I don’t have any M &M’s to hold you over. Dinner’s not quite ready yet…” He paused, and then went for it, “But if you join me in the kitchen, I might be motivated to work a little faster…”

Pam smiled at him, and followed him into the kitchen. Jim stood at the counter, and Pam, after being told to make herself at home, hopped up onto the counter, right next to Jim, facing him. She loved sitting up like this, with a whole new perspective of him. He’s tall, but sitting like this, she was able to look down at him, and watch his every movement and facial expression as he talked to her and grated cheese for their tacos. Unlike Jim, she didn’t have anything else to focus on, but him.

They talked for a while, never mentioning last night, and he was amazed that even after all they had talked about before, they still had everything to say. He wished he could just talk to her, and look at her the whole time, but he needed to get dinner finished, or who knows what Pam would do to him…maybe that wasn’t a bad thing, he thought to himself.

Pam was sitting in front of the cupboards, so he asked her to retrieve a bowl he could put the cheese in. She awkwardly twisted her body, and stuck her arm up to open the cupboard door. The doors were older and cheap, and after her first attempt to open the door, she yanked on the handle again, and this time the door flew open, and before she could catch it, the door smacked Jim right on the side of the face. He yelped, and clutched at his face, the cheese grater clattered to the floor, and Jim, taken quite by surprise, and in a little pain, fell backwards onto the kitchen floor. Pam jumped off the counter, and ran over to Jim, kneeling over him.

“Oh my God, Jim. I’m so sorry! Are you okay? Let me see…move your hand!”

He laughed, “God, Pam, you sure clocked me one. What did I ever do to you?”

Jim moved his hand, and where it had been, Pam saw a small bump that had just formed. She looked it over, and then ran over to the freezer to get some ice. She knelt over him again, and pressed the ice to the bump, her palm resting on his cheek. Her other hand raised up, and gently moved a piece of stray hair away that was in front of his eyes. Their eyes locked for a few moments after this simple sign of affection, and everything either of them felt was magically conveyed as Pam threw all caution to the wind, and leaned down and placed her lips gently on Jim‘s. Their eyes closed, and the second their lips touched, Jim let out a sigh through his nose, and moved his hands from where they had been at the side of his body, and up into her hair and around her neck. It was a gentle kiss, but just what both of them needed.

For a moment, even with Jim lying flat on the kitchen floor, and Pam leaning over him, lips still locked, the world seemed to stop. Past pain had all been forgotten, as the love they felt for each other was silently transferred.

When Jim raised his head up off the ground to deepen the kiss, Pam unwillingly pulled away. She wanted to keep doing this, but didn’t want it to go too far. Jim put his head back down on the ground, slid his hands down onto her shoulders, and with their eyes still locked, and Pam still cradling his face in her hands, leaned down again and placed a kiss on his cheek, telling him everything he needed to know.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered.