- Text Size +
.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything.


A/N - I was going to just post this as one chapter, but this first part is already complete, and I wanted to give you all something to read, so I'm posting this now and will work on the second part and post it soon. Hope you enjoy!



That Girl




Through their long first summer together, there were so many moments that he encapsulated in his mind, held it there, calling upon the memories in the rare occasions when they weren't together. There were the heat waves that forced them to stay inside watching movies, playing video games, spending countless hours tangled up in one another with bed sheets kicked to the floor. There were those non-humid picture perfect Saturday afternoons when they would spread out a blanket under a tree in the park and enjoy an early dinner as they took in the sounds of local bands. There were nights spent without words between them as they made love slowly.

Of all of them, of every memory they were in the midst of creating together that summer, he would constantly recall their first real hug on their first real date, after he asked her out for the first real time. He'd imagined it so many times before how it would go, but nothing prepared him for the onslaught of emotions that ran through his body that first night.

He set foot into her apartment for the very first time - something he grew accustomed to fairly quickly over the first few days afterward - and the nerves he hadn't felt all through that day surfaced as his eyes roamed over her smiling face.

Three months later, while he couldn't remember what he'd eaten for lunch most days, he could still remember how they embraced, how the door closing behind him sounded louder than it needed to, shutting it on the past and wrapping himself in the future as he wound his arms around her waist almost tentatively at first.

He closed his eyes and pressed his head next to hers, pulling her closer to him, breathing her in, feeling her shake slightly under his finger tips. New sensations made his senses fly into overdrive that night.

When he pulled back, the glassiness in her eyes told him so many things. The disbelieving laugh, the shake of her head and the tremble of her chin brought to life their second hug. His eyes moved over the room around him while he tightened his hold on her. Down a small hallway stood an opened closet, lined with rows of shoes, some haphazardly tossed to the side.

"You know," he whispered when she sniffled. "That's an awful lot of shoes for a person with the standard two feet."

She laughed, looked up at him and smiled, the tears that lined her eyes dissipating as she grinned wider. She hugged him again, her arms around his waist and her cheek against his chest.

Later that evening, as they stood before her door, their stomachs filled with food and their minds emptied of all of the thoughts and explanations they both held in for well over a year, his nerves surfaced again.

When his hands reached to cup her cheeks and his lips lowered to hers, the anxiety melted away as his temperature rose with each second.

He quickly found in those first few months that there were no eggshells to walk on; no topic banned from discussion any longer. Even with that, with knowing that he could tell her anything, and she could say what she had to say to him, he was still anxious about asking her to join him at his parents' house for dinner.

He'd put the invitation off for a few weeks, feeling that it was too soon for meetings and introductions in those first few months - his mother had been pressing him to bring Pam to dinner since around their third week of dating.

That Sunday morning, the day before the cameras were rejoining them at the office to capture their every move once again, he found that asking her to dinner wasn't as difficult as he had thought, given that she initiated the conversation. It was an opportunity that he couldn't pass, one that he'd been subconsciously seeking.

Her hand slid along his chest as she kissed his cheek. "Would you be totally weirded out if I told you that I drove past your parents' house the other night on my way to class?"

"Wow," he kissed her head and laughed, surprised that he wasn't taken aback. "First signs of stalking," he joked.

She laughed into his chest, placing a kiss there. "I don't know. I just wanted to get a sense of you as a little kid. Or something less creepy sounding. Like there was an accident on my normal route and traffic was diverted." She blushed, biting her bottom lip as she looked at him.

"Uh huh," he let out around a laugh. "You are definitely crazy."

"Crazy about you," she kissed his cheek again.

"Oh, and oh so cheesy."

"I'm pouring out my heart here and you mock me. Nice."

"Pouring out your heart… letting me know I should tell my parents they need to get surveillance cameras. Same thing."

"See? Now you've ruined it. I hope you're happy," she huffed, narrowing her eyes at him as she moved to her side of the bed.

He turned to his side and brushed a piece of hair away from her forehead, kissing her hard on the mouth. She protested for a split second before her arms wound around his neck.

He broke the kiss after a few moments, pulled back and smiled. "Good morning."

"Morning."

"So, did you get a sense of me as a kid?"

"Not really. Couldn't really tell much from the outside. And it was so quick too. Whizzed right by. It'd be easier if I saw the inside."

"Well, I think we can make that happen. Tonight, maybe. If you want, we can you know, go on over there, see what kind of food they have."

"Are you asking me to come over your parents' house for dinner?"

"I think you invited yourself over, actually," he widened his eyes when she pinched his bicep.

"I did not."

"Uh huh," he kissed her jaw slowly, nibbling her earlobe. "I know you set me up for it. You and your womanly wily ways."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she laughed.

"Sure you don't," he mused, grinning at her.

"No, I really don't because that's not an actual expression in the English language."

He tilted his head and pursed his lips, letting out a burst of air through his nose.

Her eyes turned serious and she traced her fingertip along his hairline. He gave her a questioning look, but she shook her head and swallowed. When she let out a shaky breath, he hugged her, moving her to lie on top of him. They stayed quiet for a few minutes, their breaths matched.

"I have a lot to apologize to them for," she whispered.

"What are talking about?"

"I… I'm the one that hurt you. I'm the one that made you move, the one that made you miserable for years."

"Hey, that's not even … that's so not true. You never made me miserable. Yeah, there are some things I'd like not to have gone through. But you're the reason I walked into that office every single day. Believe me. If it weren't for you, I'd still be living in my old bedroom in their house, completely unemployed."

"Yeah, but still. If someone hurt my son the way I hurt you, I'd be pretty mad."

"If they knew, maybe they would be mad. All my mom really knows is that I had friends at work, you were one of them, and that part is recent information. All she knew was that you were the receptionist. I never told them how ridiculously in love with you I was."

"Was?"

"Still, very much am in love with you. More now than ever before."

"Me too," she agreed, her fingers toying with the ends of his hair.

"No one really knows the whole story except for you. And whenever that documentary airs, I'm sure the rest of the world will find out. But that'll be years from now, when we're old and gray and popping meds."

"Do we have matching rocking chairs on our porch?"

"Yep."

"Will our kids visit."

"If they know what's good for them, they will," he grinned at the thought.

"Okay," she agreed. "What do I wear?"

"I'm not telling you what to wear."

"Should I bake something?"

"No. I'm … Pam, are you sure you want to do this? We can wait until the holidays."

She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "Yes. I really do."

"Okay, good," he let out a breath.

She moved over and stood up. "I'll go shower now. What time are we leaving?"

"We have a few hours yet," he said, an idea formulating quickly in his head he stood and extended his hand. "I think you need some help in that shower though."

"Well, it is your shower. You're the boss," she winked, tapping his rear as she walked by, narrowly missing hitting into the wall as she glanced over her shoulder.

He walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and they walked in unison toward the bathroom. As the door closed behind them, her arms slowly moved around his neck. The stark seriousness in her eyes made his breath catch - something only she was capable of doing.

She whispered, "I love you," and whatever she'd prepared to say afterward fell lost as their lips crashed together.


*

"Okay, so I'm going to look through every single photo album your mom has. Then, I have to see home video of you. And then the stories."

"Well, let me just pull this car over and make a fancy U-turn."

"Don't be a baby, Jim."

"There will be no home video watching."

"Oh come on, please," she pouted, poking his side as he drove.

He shook his head. "Absolutely not."

"Jim."

"No."

"I'm doing it anyway. Can't say no to your momma," she chided playfully.

"Oh, Pamela. If that episode in the shower didn't just happen, I'd doubt that you even liked me a little bit."

"Live a little. Do something out of character for once. Blush a little."

"Oh, what have you done that's out of character?"

"Well… my hair's different," she said adamantly. "I haven't put it up in months."

"Not on the same level. I'm talking something that would embarrass you in front of me."

"Okay, fine. I'll do something completely embarrassing tomorrow that only you'll know about if you let me watch a home movie of you."

"Fine. Good luck with the cameras around, by the way."

"Thank you," she grinned proudly.

"The second you laugh, you lose privileges," he widened his eyes as he parked in front of the house.

"What kind of privileges?"

"Sleeping on my side of the bed. Free meals. Randomly kissing me whenever you want. The Xbox."

Her eyes widened. "No, not the Xbox!"

He nodded dramatically, unable to keep from cracking a smile that turned quickly into a laugh. He let out a breath, shook his head and stared through the passenger window.

"All right," he said, his heart racing a bit. "Ready?"

"Yep."

He squeezed her hand in his for a moment, letting out a quick breath before unbuckling his seat belt and stepping out of the car. He kept his eyes on her as he walked around to her side to open the door. He wondered if she knew the true enormity of what they were about to do, of what it truly meant to him for her to meet his mother and father.

Finally, after years, he was about to introduce his future wife to her future in-laws for the very first time. Before he could inwardly question if she thought along those same lines, she cringed and widened her eyes as she stepped out of the car.

"I'm nervous," she whispered, grasping his hand as they walked to the front door.

He inhaled, turned to face her and bit his bottom lip. "This is definitely not the scariest thing you've ever done."

She looked up to him with a warm smile and nodded. "Yeah, I mean, you're right. I shouldn't be nervous. If they don't like me, they don't like me. But you know how I feel about people not liking me."

He closed his eyes and nodded, holding in a laugh. "I do, I do know. Come on. It's like a band-aid."

She took a deep breath and let it out, her bangs fanning across her forehead as she walked next to him grasping his hand.

"Um, ow?"

She ignored his discomfort and gripped tighter.

"You're freakishly strong," he muttered, waving to a neighbor.


**
Chapter End Notes:
Hope you're interested in reading the second part! Happy weekend, friends.

You must login (register) to review or leave jellybeans