Scrolling through the photos on her phone of her most recent Hinge match, Pam grinned to herself. Finally - someone that didn't make her roll her eyes at their weird photos or profile content. This guy was cute, had zero red-flag answers and none of his photos involved him inexplicably holding a fish. 

"Earth to Pam," Penny waved a hand in her sisters direction, "hello-o?"

"Sorry," Pam shook her head, blushing. She hadn't realized her sister had returned from the restroom and one of the florists had joined them once more. She locked her phone screen and sat back down next to Penny. "What were you - oh! Right, the flowers... no, you were right, that red is a bit too much." 

Looking back down at the flower arrangement she had finalized weeks ago, Penny frowned and let out a heavy sigh. "I knew it! It's too much. They don't match the bridesmaid dresses or color scheme anymore."

"Yeah," Pam nodded, then looked guiltily at the florist. "Sorry - it's just... you know. She chose the flowers before the dresses and stuff and... it's easier to change the flowers. Her wedding should be perfect." 

"That's okay," the florist shrugged. It's not like she was the one who had selected the colors anyway, and Penny had already said she would pay for the last minute changes she was making when she came in stressing that the flowers no longer worked with everything else. "It happens."

"Well Pam, you're an artist - what do you think would work color wise?" Penny asked, sitting up slightly. "Like if you were painting them?"

With a sigh, Pam stood up and took a glance at the flowers on the table, trying to copy and paste them into her mind before walking over to the elaborate array of flowers in the store. After almost an hour Pam and the florist had found a gentle red-pink that Penny was happy with and wouldn't cost a huge fortune for changing at the last minute, and it was finally time to get lunch. 

It was not until Pam was sat at a table in a deli down the block from the florist while her sister went to wash her hands that she re-opened her Hinge app. She grinned as she saw 2 messages from her latest match. 

11:14

Wow, you are beautiful and hello :)

How are you finding the New York art scene?

Biting her lip as she grinned at her phone, Pam quickly typed out a reply. 

13:36

Thank you :) I've not managed to see much yet... as mentioned in my profile I'm here for my sisters wedding so its been very go go go! Done some of the museums and stuff on previous trips to see my sister though 

Once she hit send, Pam looked up and saw Penny was headed back to their table so quickly closed down the app and scrolled across to her first screen page. She didn't really want to explain yet to her sister that she had a secret non-wedding related agenda. Not yet, anyway - this was Penny's time to shine, not Pam's time to reflect on her break-up once again and wallow in her loneliness.

* 

Pam was grateful for some time alone by the time she got back to her hotel room. As excited as she was for her sisters wedding (and as fun as spending her parent's money on wedding stuff was, which was their treat to her as the Maid of Honor) it was exhausting and served as a solid reminder that she was back to square one being newly single. 

Well, square two: single and ready to mingle. 

Dropping the bag containing her heels for the wedding onto the armchair by the window, Pam went and flopped down on her front on the bed and opened Hinge back up, ignoring the text messages from her friends for now. She had her Hinge notifications switched off to avoid questions if anyone saw her phone, so was pleased to see messages from her latest match. 

14:27

Oh yeah I can imagine that gets busy especially here

If you're up for it we could go see some art (gallery? street? pop up?) and have dinner tomorrow...  

Pam felt herself blush. Not just at his forwardness, but at the memory of what she had actually written in her profile that played a part in the speed of their conversation. She quickly clicked over to his profile to remind herself of his name and what he looked like - he had to be cute enough to be worth it, and have some sort of personality. The previous guy she had spoken to on the app, Danny, was too serious and she felt he didn't appreciate her sense of humor. She had left him on read, unsure of how to politely reject his invite to meet for a drink. 

This guy's name was Jim and his hair was a bit of a mess but that wonky smile and those arms? It had been an instant like on his first photo and a mumbled "dear God I hope we match" even before she'd seen the rest of his profile (though she would have liked all his photos if she could). Scrolling through his profile once more, Pam smiled to herself. Jim's ideal Sunday was biking to the lake to go canoeing after playing basketball and getting takeout the day before; he had a photo with a dog licking his face under the title "dating me could look like..." and his favorite food was soft shell crab though he also loved Italian food. He looked handsome in a suit and even better in a basketball jersey and shorts. 

Rolling onto her back, Pam went onto her own profile. She still couldn't believe that she was publicly sharing that she was freshly single and implying she was looking for a hook up. She had been slightly more daring with her photos - things she had never worn when dating Roy and others she had purchased with a lot of encouragement from her friends - but her answers were all her usual self that had been ignored and suppressed while she was in a relationship. Pam had shared that her dream house had to include a terrace and somewhere to draw in peace. Her ideal Sunday involved going for a walk and bringing her sketchbook then winding down with some tea on the couch. She was looking for tips for good food and discount shopping in New York. 

Scrolling back up, she stared once again in disbelief at the box which asked what she was looking for on the app and she'd written "just some fun while I'm in the city, nothing serious" on a rush of adrenaline. She absolutely wasn't ready for a new relationship, but she was definitely lonely, both emotionally and physically. It had taken a lot of reassurance from her friends that these feelings were perfectly normal and to accept them. 

And now, she had come across cute tall Jim who lived in New York and wanted to take her to see some art and have dinner. Why was he also only looking for something short term? Pam figured it wasn't really any of her business, although she was definitely curious. 

Taking a deep breath, Pam went back to her chat with Jim. Clearly, they were both lonely and looking for the same thing. She'd come this far, hadn't she? He seemed like the right guy to take this next step with. 

19:44

That sounds great :) the street art would be fun! I'm free tomorrow late afternoon onwards 

Hitting send, Pam held the phone to her chest. She had actually just taken the next step! Who would have thought that quiet, artsy, shy Pam Beesly had it in her? Staring at her phone in disbelief for a moment, she then exited the app before she could chicken out and just un-match with Jim. She had done just that with another guy she had speaking to, Alan, because when he actually asked her to dinner it had suddenly seemed so real and terrifying. With Jim it felt terrifying in a good way - the conversation was so smooth, there was no awkward small talk, and he'd taken her interests into account. At least if dinner was a fail she'd have seen some street art. 

Putting her phone down, Pam went over to the small closet next to her hotel bathroom she'd put her clothes into. She hated having to rifle through her suitcase on longer trips, everything ending up a mess and annoying to fold at the end. Usually she stayed at her sister's apartment in the guest room but for the wedding Pam and her parents were staying at the hotel the wedding was being held in. Penny would spend the night before the wedding there too, and had the honeymoon suite the evening of the wedding. Pam smiled at her bridesmaid dress hanging neatly in its protective cover; a periwinkle gown that made her feel like her childhood princess dreams were coming true. Sure, she had no prince, but she was slowly working on it. 

Pam pushed aside her stack of sweaters that were hiding the packing cube she'd put her date night outfits into. She was a little embarrassed about how much thought she had put into her whole lonely hook up plan, but her friends had insisted that she needed to be getting out there and they were right. If she and Jim were having a more casual meet with the street art and dinner, she'd wear her good black high waist jeans and new silky forest green blouse, which she took out to steam the creases out of. She also pulled out her brand new little black dress to give a quick steam in case Jim proposed a fancier evening out instead. The black dress was out of her comfort zone, but her friends had said it was a flattering fit for her. 

Turning her television on for some background noise, Pam started to give her garments a once over with the steamer provided by the hotel. She'd almost had to go down the corridor to ask her mom how to work the thing, but she had figured out just before unplugging it that this one had a switch on the side. As she worked out the creases in her blouse, Pam realized that if she really did go out with Jim tomorrow for some art and dinner, she needed to be ready for what came after that. She suddenly felt incredibly warm, and not from the steamer. A mix of nerves over the likelihood of something happening, and excitement that finally there'd be someone to help meet those needs while she was here. 

Pam grinned. Nobody in New York really knew her; she had a few friends acquired from her visits to her sister, but that was about it. Jim didn't know her, so she could be the Pam she wished she had the courage to be - or at least try. The Pam she'd had to suppress over the last few years for Roy. If she hated it, it didn't matter - this was just a hook up in the city to help her move on. Suddenly feeling incredibly daring, Pam finished up with the steamer, set it down to cool and grabbed her best underwear from her date night packing cube. 

After making sure her hotel room door was definitely locked, Pam stripped off what she was wearing and changed into the black lacy underwear set and gave herself a quick check in the mirror. Okay, she did look great, and she felt sexy as hell in this underwear. Grabbing her phone, she went to take a full mirror shot before deciding she wasn't quite that confident yet. Instead, she pulled on the high waist jeans and tried to remember what her colleague Kelly had taught her about posing in pictures. After taking a couple of confidence-boosting photos for herself, Pam paused for a moment. 

In the mirror reflection, the phone covered Pam's face and her arm covered part of her chest - nothing outrageous but just suggestive enough. She grinned as she imagined the response she'd get sending a photo in this pose to Jim. Additionally, it would make it clearer what she was looking for. Mind made up, Pam double checked the imagine on her phone and took the photo. Pam stepped back and looked at the photo on her screen, surprised at how confident she felt and how this felt exciting rather than scary. It was a wholly new experience and - was she really doing this? 

Oh God, she was. 

Heart pounding, Pam sat down on the edge of the bed and uploaded the photo in her chat with Jim. She typed out a quick caption, grinning to herself. 

20:12

By the way, this is what I'll be wearing :)