He rolled them onto their sides and pulled his head back to look at her. Her eyes were half open and she still had that little smile on her lips. She looked so relaxed as her fingers were gently pushing strands of hair away from his face. She was tracing his jaw line with her index finger as she said, “Jim, I love you,” like she had said it a thousand times before.
He drew in a breath and exhaled, the back of his throat shaking. “I still love you.”
Still lying close to him, Pam shifted her weight onto her elbow beneath her and leaned over for a kiss. She leaned back and propped her head up on her fist. With her other hand, she ran her fingers lovingly through his hair as their stockinged feet rubbed together.
He could barely think while she was doing that, but he managed to speak. “What do we do now?”
“I know you’re with Karen. I want to be with you …and I’m more than willing to wait.”
He nodded. “I want to be with you too, I just don’t want to hurt Karen.”
“Me neither. So do what you need to do, when you’re ready, just let me know.”
Jim nodded and pulled her in for a hug. He rolled onto his back and Pam fit perfectly into his nook. She laid with her hand on his chest while he played with her hair. “There’s a lot we need to work out,” he said.
“I know, but it’ll be worth it.”
They stayed there for a little while longer, alternating between kissing and talking, until they figured they should head back to the office before people started to talk.
“I really hope Kevin hasn’t started taking bets on when we’ll be back,” she joked.
“Or what we were doing, for that matter.”
Luckily no bets were taken, and their presence had gone largely unnoticed due to a tearful Michael making a scene while apologizing to Ryan for banishing him to the annex. Soon the booze ran out, and everyone was heading out of the office for the night. Pam motioned for Jim to come over to her desk. “I wanted to make sure you have my cell phone number.”
“I’m a little embarrassed to say, but it’s still in my phone. I even have your old home number from your old place. You want to give me your new one?”
She blushed while she scribbled her new number on a piece of paper. “Is your cell the same? Because it’s still in my phone, too.”
“Yup,” he lowered his voice a little, just in case anyone was listening. “I’ll call you later tonight.”
She gave a causal “Sure,” and they grabbed their coats and left. She drove home without any music playing. She didn’t need it- she kept replaying what had happened in her head. She knew it could be a while before they were really together, but it didn’t matter. What had been said that night had been enough to make them both realize that they could overcome all the hurt from the past. They could both finally move on, together.