They walked in together,Pam working on her nerves to hold his hand before he stuffed them in his pocket. Pam smiled slightly at his typical ‘Jim-like” action.

They were seated by the window, across from each other in a cozy two person table. Despite the absence of any touching or a visible sign of affection, it felt like the usher just knew that they had something going which is …special.

*******************************************************************************

“So yeah Jan left with much of a show.” he was concluding what he witnessed in New York. 

“Oh My God. Jan really ?!? . Pam looked genuinely sympathetic towards Jan. The feeling which was surprisingly missing in Karen at that time. The thought reassured Jim a bit about the choice he made today.

“.......... and I feel sad for her. I know she is dating Michael and that kinda gives away a sense of her mental state but this still feels a little cruel. And not to mention what she did to win him big, pretty huge” she gave a cheeky smile at that. 

“That’s what she said,'' he laughed. 

“Well that was predictable Halpert. Looks like you are losing your touch there “

“Go Big or Go Home ?”

“Really Jim, looks like you are spending way too much time with Michael and Kevin. Is that  your secret project with him?”

“Well I am a man of many secrets”

“Really?, so what’s your secret to impress a girl on the first date, because so far….it’s not working “ and she grinned at him, teasing. 

“Well one time I met Blue Angels, how is that for a good impression?”

“Ehh…” she mocked casually, while smirking with her eyes in an almost “Wow”

“Well speaking of flying people, I saw the infamous Ghost when I worked at a diner for a summer job.”

“For real ?? Oh Boy !!Pam and her dangerous adventures.”

“Well you know me, I like to live on the edge. “ she smirked and they guffawed together.

Jim felt a strange nostalgia about the moment. Pam and him, cracking jokes with those subtle hints of flirting. Except this time she won’t be returning to her “fiance” and him to his empty apartment and emptier heart. This was different from how he was with Karen.With her he knew what to expect but with Pam, there is so much of…unpredictability. She shocked him when she went with Roy that night but then he made peace with himself that this is what Pam meant to be…with Roy forever. But then she went ahead and confronted him at the Beach in the waters - asking him right in the eye why he is not her friend anymore .And now they are flirting and he doesn’t know anymore what to expect. He wants to be all hopeful like how he was just a year ago but then he remembers the painful moment of “I can’t’ and ‘best friend” and he wants to shield his heart once again. He can’t let her have the same power on his heart like that. He is going to take this slow. He’ll be more cautious, like Ross from friends - Unaagi. Thought made him chuckle to himself.

“What now Halpert? You find me amusing now”

Their server appeared at that moment to take orders for their drinks refill, saving Jim to explain himself. Pam ordered another coke, while Jim said “On the rocks please”, earning another laugh from Pam and excused himself for the restroom.He just needs a moment to gather himself and not get too carried away. 

Pam thought of how she is having so much fun. In fact this is the most she enjoyed in a very long time in someone’s company in the past one year. She could count on her fingers when she laughed this much and felt all happy. It was that Diwali eve when she just danced and got to see a new festival - well that night ended in her texting Jim and him ignoring her. Then the Christmas Party she planned with Karen - ending with Jim and Karen going home together while she went home alone. It was definitely fun playing that prank on Jim but that only ended him avoiding her for following weeks. It’s an interesting irony that each of these times Jim has been the reason for ruining those moments, and today he is the reason to make it right for her.  

****************************************************************************************

They were onto their last course when Pam mentioned  “Today, Dwight asked me to be his “Secret Assistant to the regional Manager. And I said - ``Absolutely I do” they voiced together. 

Jim said Jinx and smirked at her.

She raised her eyebrows at him asking what he was playing at. He eyed her bottle of coke and then her with a challenge in his eyes. She pushed it to him and he took a sip, taking a big swing. His lips are exactly where hers were just a moment ago and this felt intensely intimate and they are nowhere near kissing yet. She felt her breathing hitching with thought and asked “So now Jinx allows you to steal someone’s half empty coke bottle ?”

“Well I look at it as half full. What can I say Beesly, I am an optimist.”

“And I find that very Hot” she blurted and quickly looked down, eyes popping out in embarrassment.  She stole a quick glance at Jim who looked pleasantly surprised.  

“Well, Thank you,'' he winked at her. 

Pam looked at him intensely with a smile he couldn’t really decipher but made him feel all hot inside- resonating her previous wods . And that was Jim’s cue to fish for another topic before he jumped across the table and kissed her. 

“So, tell me more about the Adventures of the Secret Assistant to the interim Regional Manager at Dunder Mifflin, Scranton. “ 

That was somehow the perfect thing to say because Pam had this gleam in her eyes, recalling her day when Dwight shared the history of paper with others in the conference room. 

“He is really an idiot”

‘He is not that bad…”

Beesly, are you going soft on Dwight now. Something going on that I should know.

She wanted to tell him about how it was Dwight who offered her the shoulder to cry on when she broke down seeing him with Karen or how he was the only one who did not comment on her broken wedding when she returned to work and how he was the only one who somehow knew how much she was missing Jim because she knows he did too. But she just added that he is one great entertainment at the office. 

“.................. and so yeah, he was talking about different soils and manure and it was like a scene out of a badly made documentary”. That brought peals of laughter to both of them. 

“So how about a movie tomorrow? A real one this time. What do you think?”

“I can't.”