Karen guessed her and Pam had been at Poor Richard's for about three hours. Since then she had seen Pam intake more alcohol than she thought any woman could. Karen had drank quite a few beers herself, but she still felt fairly sober.
It was a Friday after a long week. During the day Michael had made the whole office workout. Push ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, whatever. He had been to the gym the day before and said he felt pumped and productive. Then he made some weird joke with the phrase “that's what she said” in it, and after that Karen had tried to tune him out. It had been a long day. So Karen had asked Pam if she wanted to get a drink and relax.
She laughed at Pam, because Pam had an extreme case of the giggles. Karen remembered a roommate in college who laughed like that, and she always found it extremely annoying. But coming from Pam it just sounded cute.
When she first came to Scranton, she thought Pam didn't like her. Sometimes she caught Pam giving her mean looks, and she never came over to talk to her. It sort of bothered her, she usually didn't care what people thought but Pam seemed like someone she wanted to get to know.
So when they teamed up against Angela at the Christmas party, Karen was happy because she didn't have any other girlfriends to hang out with here. She was totally new in town and besides Jim, she had no one to hang out with. And he hadn't been too much fun since they moved to Scranton, his mind always seemed somewhere else whenever they were together.
Pam slurped the last of her martini. Karen smiled at her, she thought she had never seen anyone drink a martini with a straw.
“So, anyway! What was I saying?” Pam asked way too loudly, her eyes unfocused.
Karen shook her head. “You were saying that we were having fun before, but now you're too drunk to function and we need a cab.” Karen looked through her purse to make sure she had enough for both of them. Karen thought she had a way of ending up taking care of her drunk co-workers a lot.
Pam pointed at Karen, her head down and nodding. “You're right, you're right. Gosh, you're so smart! Smart and pretty! I wish I were pretty like you!”
Karen looked at Pam, surprised. “Oh, come on! You're pretty! You're beautiful! Don't compare yourself to me, I'm just... Blah.” She counted out money for their bill, and laid it on the table. She stood up, pulling on her coat and walking over to Pam. She helped her stand, and put her arm around her to help her to the door.
Pam leaned in close and Karen could feel her breath hot on her ear. “Nooooo!” She said seriously. “You are not blah! You are so un-blah! You're hot, that's what you are!” She smiled.
Karen couldn't help but smile back. “Thanks, Pam.”
Later, in the cab, Pam slumped down in the backseat next to Karen. She eventually fell next to her, her head on Karen's shoulder, and closed her eyes.
Karen looked down and saw her hair clip had fallen out at some point. She reached down and moved a bit of hair out of Pam's face. Just then Pam looked up at Karen, and smiled contently.
Before Karen knew what was happening, Pam had reached up and pulled her head towards hers. She pressed her lips softly against Karen's, and Karen felt her body freeze.
Pam's lips were warm and wet, and Karen felt her stomach flip over. Pam's hand was hot at the back of her neck, and she felt her body temperature rise. Without thinking, she started to kiss Pam back. She reached up to cup Pam's cheek and felt her eyes flutter closed.
They kissed softly, Pam's breath hot and smelling sweetly of apple. Karen heard Pam moan low in her throat and she pressed her tongue into her mouth then. Her tongue was met with Pam's, and they fell deeper into a slow, melting kiss.
Then Pam pulled back, and settled back onto Karen's shoulder. Karen sat still, trying to comprehend what had just happened. And why she couldn't stop her mouth from widening into a smile.
Later, Karen made sure Pam made it inside her apartment, and then thought about the kiss all the way home. She felt her body still buzzing over the sensations.
That Monday at work, Karen was surprised to see that Pam ignored her all day. If they did glance at each other, Pam's face would turn red and she would look away really quickly.
Jim came up behind her at the copier before lunch. “Why aren't you hanging out with your new partner in crime?” He said, giving her a teasing smile.
Karen gave him a half-hearted smile back and shrugged, looking down at the copier. “We went out Friday, got a bit wasted. We're still recovering.”
Jim gave her a suspicious look. Suddenly he blurted out, “She didn't kiss you, did she?”
Karen's head whipped around and looked at Jim. “What?”
His face was red. “I mean, nothing. She can get a bit friendly when she's had a few too many.” He coughed and tried to look busy sorting the papers in his hand.
Karen narrowed her eyes. “How would you know?”
Jim looked up, his eyes wide. “Hmm? Oh, I... I wouldn't. I mean, I just heard...Ya know, I need to get back to work. See you later.” He made his way back to his desk in a hurry.
Just then Pam came up to her. She gave her a small smile, looking embarrassed. “Hey.” She said.
“Hi.” Karen said, her spirits rising.
Pam held her hands in front of her skirt, twiddling her thumbs nervously. “Look, I'm so sorry about Friday. I don't know what I said, I get really out of it when I drink.”
“Oh, no. It's fine. I mean, why haven't you talked to me today?” Karen asked, holding her copies against her chest.
Pam's eyes widened. “I just thought... You were giving me weird looks today. I must have said something rude, I thought I'd give you time to cool down. I feel so bad.” She said sincerely.
Karen realized Pam didn't remember what happened in the cab. “No, you didn't say anything! I mean, I was pretty drunk myself so I can't really remember.” They laughed.
“Okay. Okay, so good.” Pam said. “So we're okay?”
“Totally.” Karen said reassuringly.
Pam nodded her head. “Cool. So I'll talk to you later, then?”
“Of course!” Karen smiled, turning to go back to her desk. She couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
Story Notes:
The Office and it's characters do not belong to me.
katrina87 is the author of 14 other stories.
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