Jim walked Pam to her car, and they decided to meet at Chili’s.  When they arrived, the restaurant was crawling with people, so they decided to wait at the bar until their table was ready.  Jim ordered a beer and Pam ordered a Tropical Storm, which was composed of four different kinds of rum, orange, and pineapple juice.  She was shocked to see how big it was, but tried not to show it.

            “Well Miss Beesley, why don’t we order an appetizer, because I believe that all you’ve had today was a little yogurt.”  She looked down into her drink and smiled hotly.

            “Sounds good.”  They ordered some buffalo wings, and sipped their drinks.

            “So…” he started, “why did you really come to work dressed that way today?”

            “What do you mean?” She asked, surprised by his question.

            “I just mean, you don’t normally wear business suits to work.”

            “I told you, I just wanted to do something different today.”  He decided to drop it.

            He was about to change the subject when they were called to their table.  They sat down at a booth, and shortly after, their buffalo wings arrived.

            “So Jim, is this really what you want to be doing?  I mean, working at Dunder-Mifflin,” she asked, nibbling on the chicken.

            “Well, I actually do enjoy working there because I get to see you every day.”  Pam was completely caught off guard by his answer, and he could see it in her eyes.  “I mean, there are other things I like there, too.”

            “Hey, Jim…” Pam started, becoming tipsier as the minutes passed, “have you wanted to ask me out before tonight?”  She was anxious to hear his response.

            Jim smiled and looked down before answering.  “You could say that.”

            “Well for how long?”  She demanded.

            “Since the first day I met you.”  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  All this time she thought she had to reel him in, when in fact, he had been the one circling her.  She didn’t know what else to say.

            “Wow,” was all she managed to utter.

            “Pam…” Jim started, but she cut him off.

            “I can’t believe this, Jim.  I mean I had no idea you felt this way.  All this time, I thought you were just flirting with me because I was the only girl in the office.  I mean young girl…” She stared intently in his eyes.

            He smiled, “Well, I do enjoy flirting with you, and I always hoped it would lead somewhere.”

            “Well why did you wait so long to ask me out?” NO! She thought, cursing herself for asking that question.

            “Umm…you were engaged.  And then after you ended it, I didn’t know when you would actually be ready to start dating again.  But today you gave me a pretty obvious message,” he softened his tone, “And I’m really glad you did.”

            She smiled appreciatively at him, “Me too.”

* * *

            After they finished with dinner, Jim walked Pam to her car.  “I had a really great time with you…” she started.

            “Well, it’s only eight o’clock…do you want to go see a movie?”  She was surprised at his suggestion, but quickly agreed.

            “A movie sounds great,” she gushed.

            “Great.  There’s a movie theater in the mall across the street.”  As they walked towards the mall, Pam felt Jim reach for her hand.  She smiled to herself, and her heart began to race thinking about how wonderful the past few hours had been.  She couldn’t believe that she was actually on a date with Jim.  And now, he was holding her hand and they were going to see a movie.  This was one of the best days she had had in years.