I.

They are finally hashing it out for the first time since their offices merged.  Everyone has gone home for the night, save them, and she's been giving him the evil eye all day.  He's sick of feeling like a total dick, so he finally just confronts her, and now she's just told him that he totally fucked with her when he declared his love and then left her.

"You should be grateful." He's not shouting, but he's almost shouting.

"Grateful?" She scoffs, dangerously close to a laugh.

"Yeah because, even if you don't love me back, at least you didn't marry him."  He refuses to drop her gaze.

"Oh, and you're taking credit for that?" Her pupils are dilated; her eyebrows look like they're about to take flight.

He grabs his coat and opens the door, then turns to her and shrugs, "Someone has to."

II.

She spies him at the bar, and figures it can't hurt to be friendly.  So she brushes his side as she slides into the stool next to him and orders a beer.

He hands her a peanut and she cracks it.  She is only able to get out, "I never said I didn't lo..." before she spies Karen coming out of the ladies room. 

He's asking her, "What? Pam, you didn't what?" and here he is pleading, and he's not even sure what for this time.

All she can do is say, "Not like this."  Karen is here with him now, and this is his choice, she figures.  So she says, "Hi," and, "Bye," and goes back to her table.

As she watches them walk out, hand in hand, she realizes she misses his sad green tie.

III.

The Booze Cruise was, apparently, a bigger hit last year than he realized, because Michael has signed them up for an encore.  He had decided not to go, but then Michael pulled the "Mandatory" card, along with the "Assistant Regional Manager Has To Be There For Morale" card and the "You Already Abandoned Us, Once" card, so he has to go.  He sits on the opposite side of the boat this time, and avoids the deck entirely. 

Something is wrong with the engine and they're stuck at the dock, but Captain Jack has assured them that it's ok, and that they will care less if they drink more, so that's what everyone seems to be doing.  There are no snorkel shots, but there are regular shots, and Jim watches Pam down as many as he thinks she can handle.  He's not trying to be condescending, he's not, but he cares, so when he tries to quietly dissuade her from drinking any more, they get into an awkward yelling match, and he thinks it's then that Karen realizes that she's, "Seen more passion in this strange dance that you've been doing with Pam than in the entire time that we've been seeing each other."

Karen insists on a ride home; on their way out she brushes by Pam and calmly says, "I guess you win." His gut reaction is that he is just glad he hasn't been drinking.

IV.

It seems that Roy is finally moving on because he hasn't been up to see her in almost a month, which is a relief to all three of them. 

Jim and Pam have procrastinated themselves into being the only two in the office, and even though they haven't talked much in the three weeks since the Booze Cruise (Pam doesn't remember much) something feels different.

She parks the phones and turns off her monitor and he's suddenly there, handing her her coat and slipping into his.  They walk to the door and she reaches for the handle, but he lurches forward and reaches around her and puts his hand over hers.  His breath is hot in her hair and she is just so tired of pushing it away, so she leans into him and he presses his face into her hair, into her neck, and just breathes.  He takes both of their hands off the handle and wraps them around her front and she lets out a year-old sigh.  She leans in a little too hard, forcing him to stumble back two steps.  Somehow he turns a stumble into a twist and now she's facing him and his hands are on her hips and he's not smiling like she thought he'd be.  She reaches one hand inside his coat, inside his suit jacket, under his tie and (damned buttons) inside the front of his shirt.  She slides her hand up and it rests on his chest; she's almost sure he's speaking morse code through heartbeats.

He isn't crying, he's not, but he's got some moisture there and she does, too.  He's just about a half-inch away from her lips when the door flies open and Roy is realizing that he probably should have come yesterday. 

He wants to know for how long, and Jim knows Roy is just hurt when he says, "What the fuck, Pam?  Seriously?  That guy?"  So he makes his way around the scene and leaves knowing this is one battle he's not able to help her with.  She doesn't call after him.

V.

They are standing close, breath on breath, and he refuses to be the first to break the silence or the gaze.  So he stares into her eyes and breathes in her air.  She breaks as she slowly smiles, lifts up on her toes, and kisses him just beneath his ear.  She doesn't linger, she just takes a step back and waits for him to walk away.  He turns and ducks into his car; she watches him go.

Twenty minutes later, she hears the key in the lock on front door and she rushes to help because she knows his hands are full.  They eat cake and celebrate their third month of "No Longer Being Stupid."