The carburetor was broken. Or loose. Or needed a liquid put in/taken out. Pam didn’t know. All she knew was that it was going to cost her an arm and a leg to fix the damned thing. Her brand new (used) car! And, to boot, they had to keep it in the shop for three whole days. Three fucking days of no car!

 Karen had overheard Pam on the phone with the garage as she arranged to bring the car by after work. The conversation seemed rather one-sided, though. Pam, at first, politely declined the tune-up, paused to listen to the mechanic’s insistence that it was necessary, then more firmly refused, until finally she was being forceful enough that Karen didn’t have to pretend to be paying attention to something else because everyone in the office was looking her way.

 Pam hung up the phone more forcefully that she’d meant to and let out a sigh in a rush. She wasn’t entirely convinced that she wouldn’t be receiving the tune-up “accidentally on her.” Karen waited a few seconds before slinking out of her seat and strolling over to Pam’s desk.

 Pam looked up at the rustling of fingers in jellybeans and jellybeans against plastic. Karen smiled sweetly and Pam couldn’t help but return it, especially not when Karen’s eyes shone in that way. She had that devious look as though she were about to suggest a wicked prank on Dwight. Or even Jim. Now that she and Jim had amicably split and the tensions all around had dissipated, it wasn’t uncommon for the Committee to Plan Parties to reunite occasionally and plan things outside of their expertise.

 But, to Pam’s surprise, Karen didn’t seem to have pranks on the brain.

 “Car trouble?” Karen chewed a jellybean thoughtfully and Pam watched as her fingers delicately arraigned the beans she planned to eat in a colorful squiggle.

 “I guess. I have to take the thing in for three days while they install the part. God knows why it takes that long, but, they’re very insistent.”

 “What are you doing for transport?” Karen popped in three beans at a time and they melted into a rainbow on her tongue. Pam could see glimpses of it when she opened her mouth to slip more candy in.

 “Teleporting?” Pam shrugged futilely. She hadn’t thought that far. 

 “Well, you’re on the way to my apartment. I could come with you when you drop it off and take you home, if you want.” Karen paused and considered for a moment, “I guess I could pick you up in the morning, too. It’s not like it’s out of the way.”

 Pam wasn’t in a position to refuse, but she was surprised that Karen had offered. Not like they hadn’t had outings together before. They’d been shopping for clothes and groceries together, even gone out drinking a night or two, but it wasn’t like they were girlfriends. They didn’t share (many) secrets, (though Pam did know about Karen’s stuffed panda bear that still sat on her dresser, and how she’d kissed Sara Burke in the eleventh grade because Sara confessed that she liked her and Karen kinda liked her back, and Karen knew that Pam sometimes used to roll up her heated blanket and pretend it was a dog sleeping next to her, and that when Roy had first whispered that he loved her, she’d told him she loved him back before she meant it.)

 “Are you sure? It’s three days.”

 “Yeah. Three days isn’t going to make me sick of you. Just make sure that you always sit in the back and don’t speak to me,” Karen’s lips curled into a devilish smile when she heard Pam giggle.

 “Okay, sure. Thanks.” Pam bit the inside of her lip to try to suppress the huge smile from showing. A few beats passed before either finally spoke.

 “Okay, cool,” Karen tapped her hands lightly on the counter and turned to head back to her desk. She was a few steps before she changed her mind.

“Oh! I forgot,” Karen slunk back over to Pam’s desk. “I can’t take you home after we drop your car off because you and I are going out for drinks tonight!”

 “What?” Pam looked confused. She tried to remember if they had pre-made plans before it hit her as to what Karen meant. “It’s Tuesday!” Pam frowned.

 “So? You planning to get drunk, Beesley?” Pam felt the tiny hairs on her neck stand up when she heard Karen call her by her last name. Only Jim had ever called that, and she couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t mad about Karen using it too.

 “I don’t know. You know how I am. Sometimes it just happens!”

 “Well, truly, what does it matter? If I’m picking you up, you won’t be over sleeping, now will you? Live alarm clock!” Karen gestured at herself and began to smile when she saw Pam’s resolve weakening. Karen never got hangovers, no matter how much she drank. It wasn’t that she didn’t get sick (Lord knew the two of them had had some pretty miserable nights after some of their bar trips), but she was just fantastic at sleeping at off.

“Please! I’ve just looked over a thousand order forms and catalogued the popularity of every off-white shade of copy paper you could imagine! I need a drink!”

Pam looked hesitant. “Seashell?” She finally asked.

“Five orders for a ream of Seashell, down from eight last year. It was eclipsed by Old Lace. Don’t underestimate the power of nostalgia.” Pam rolled her eyes and Karen smiled wide.

“Okay. We can go out tonight—,”

“YES!” Karen pumped her fists in the air, interrupting Pam’s thought.

“—BUT! You have to promise me that we won’t be out too late and that you’ll wake me up on time.” Pam tried to look stern, but Karen’s enthusiasm was contagious and she was grinning despite herself.

“Deal,” Karen reached out her hand to shake Pam’s, and they made their plans official.

+++

Pam finished the last of her margarita. It was her second, and she wasn’t going to go for a third. She was a little past buzzed and a little before drunk. Karen threw back a shot of vodka and shivered. She grinned at Pam. She’d only had one margarita since she was driving, but Pam was tired of hearing Karen complain that she was still sober, so she’d allowed the shot.

“We crash and I’ll be mad at you,” Pam mock-warned. She scooted back to the middle of the barstool, unaware that she’d been drifting off to her left, where Karen sat.

“I’ll be mad at me, too. Who will drive you to work?”

“Who will drive you?” Pam could feel herself inching a little closer to the line of drunk as her body started absorbing the last few sips. The alcohol must’ve been at the bottom, Pam reasoned.

Karen shrugged and started to laugh, which set off Pam. For one thing, they were both giggly people, but they also happened to both be very friendly, giggly drunks. It made for an amusing time.

“Hey there,” Pam stopped laughing at looked over her shoulder where the voice had come from. “Can I buy you a drink?” The man leaned his weight on his right arm, which was resting on the bar behind Pam. He dipped in closer to her and she could smell the whiskey on him. He was easily in his late 40s, maybe even older if he’d dyed his hair that awful color to cover the grey.

“Oh, uh. I--,” Pam looked desperately over at Karen.

“She’s not interested,” Karen squinted her eyes at the man and put her hand on Pam’s knee, leaning in towards him in as threatening of a way as she could.

“What are you? Her mother? She can have a drink with me if she wants,” he turned back to Pam, “One drink, babe. I know you didn’t come with anybody, I saw you.”

Pam felt her face flush and she opened her mouth to protest.

“Good, then you saw her come in with me.” Karen squeezed Pam’s knee and Pam finally took the hint. She placed her hand on top of Karen’s and smiled weakly at the man.

“Oh, c’mon. Yeah right, ladies. Sorry, don’t buy it.” He lurched slightly as his elbow bent under his weight. Pam flinched when she felt him get closer to her. Karen was furious.

“Don’t buy what? That we’re more interested in each other than in you? Doubtful it’s the first time you’ve ever been told that. ‘Sides, I probably know a hell of a lot more about how to get her off than you do, what’ve you even got to offer?”

Pam’s eyes went wide at Karen’s words. She dared not look up at the man. She didn’t want to see him leer at Karen any more than she wanted him to leer at her. Or the both of them, for that matter. He was too stupid to be allowed to think of them that way. Pam shut her eyes to stop the thoughts. What was she even thinking about? Her and Karen?

Karen was probably drunker than she’d previously thought. She didn’t know where that had come from. It just seemed like the thing to say. Who was he to believe that she was lying about being with Pam? It’s not like they hadn’t come in together, and if he’d been watching them long enough then he’d seen Karen take Pam’s barrette out and stick in her purse. What did he know about women?

Unfortunately for the two of them, she’d just posed the question that would allow him to answer that. Before he could, the bartender stepped over to them.

“Sammy, shut up!” The bartender shot him a look. The man scowled at Karen, winked at Pam, and stumbled back to his own darkened corner.

“Can we go?” Pam realized she was still clutching at Karen’s hand. Karen smiled warmly at her, all anger forgotten. She paid for all their drinks (though Pam protested) and stood to leave. She caught Sammy’s eye as she smoothed out her work pants.

“C’mon Pam,” Karen held her hand and helped her hop down off the stool. When she landed, before Pam could let go, Karen pulled her towards her and kissed her square on the lips.

Karen pulled away quickly and smiled at Pam, who, after a few seconds of shock, returned it, and they left the bar hand in hand.

+++

They were still laughing about it when Karen pulled into Pam’s complex.

“I just wish I could’ve seen his face,” Karen put the car in park and came around to help Pam to the door. Time had done nothing to sober her.

Pam plopped down on her couch and smiled up at Karen. “It’s only 8 o’clock!”

“I know,” Karen sat down next to Pam. They sat in silence for a few moments before Pam piped up.

“More drinks?” She glanced sideways at Karen, revealing a sly grin.

“Duh!” Pam laughed and tried to get up to go mix them.

“I’ve got cranberry juice and vodka,” she told Karen, still trying to separate herself from the couch.

“That’s perfect.” Karen watched as Pam threw her hands out to the side, her left landing on the cushion, her right in Karen’s lap. Pam looked up at her and blushed.

“Oops,” she didn’t try to correct it though.

“Subtle, Beesley,” Karen laughed and helped her to her feet as best she could without getting up herself. Pam felt that weird chill again when she heard Karen say her name.

Pam came back with a drink in each hand. She handed Karen’s to her and sat her own down on the coffee table. She was careful to sit a little bit further away from her this time.

“Okay, truth or truth,” Karen took a big sip of her drink and turned to face Pam, who was giggling again.

“What’s the difference?”

“Well, one is where I ask you a question and you answer truthfully… and the other is--,”

“The same thing?”

“Uh, yeah, basically,” Karen smiled.

“Okay, then, truth!” Pam yelled it a bit loud and Karen laughed at her.

“Wow, enthusiasm!” Karen had always really liked Drunk Pam. It was one of her favorite versions. She also liked Flirty Pam more than she cared to admit. The two of them usually went hand in hand, but sometimes Flirty Pam traveled alone. Tonight, though, they were together. “Okay, what is your middle name?”

Pam covered her mouth with her drinkless hand. “You won’t believe me,” she finally said through her peals of laughter.

“Why? It is Sunbeam or something?” Pam snorted.

“No! God, no!”

“Then?”

“It’s Karen,” Pam smiled.

“What?! No way!”

“No, that’s true. Pamela Karen Beesley.” Pam leaned in a little closer without realizing it. “What’s yours?”

“Don’t have one.” Karen took another sip of her drink. “Okay, Pamela Karen, how old were you when you lost it?” Pam had mixed her drink strong and Karen’s head was already buzzing pleasantly.

“No! My turn!”

“You asked me my middle name! That counted!”

“I didn’t know that counted,” Pam frowned, but Karen stood her ground.

“So? How old?” She watched as Pam took another sip, some of it dripping down her chin. Karen reached over and wiped it away before she could stop herself. She thought heard Pam’s breath catch slightly, but it was almost too faint to acknowledge, so she didn’t.

“I was seventeen.”

“With Roy?” Pam nodded, and Karen returned it. She’d figured as much. “Okay, your turn now.”

Pam made a face like she was deep in concentration. Karen’s cheeks already hurt from smiling and laughing, but Pam looked so adorable she couldn’t help it.

“Shut up!” Pam reached over and smacked Karen on the arm.

“Ow! Hey!” Karen rubbed the spot.

“Sorry! It wasn’t too hard was it?” Pam scooted closer and swatted at Karen’s hand, her own picking up with rubbing Karen’s upper arm. Karen didn’t answer. Finally Pam stopped the rubbing instead, re-sat herself down next to Karen, her right side touching all of Karen’s left. “Okay, my question. Did you mean what you said at the bar?” Pam tried to look at Karen’s face, but it was too close to hers to focus properly, so took another sip and looked at the wall ahead.

“Did I mean what? What did I say?” Karen could feel her head getting heavier and swore that this would be her last drink if she didn’t plan to spend the night. And no matter how much her subconscious was rejecting that thought, Karen was not planning to spend the night.

 “When you told that guy--,”

 “Sammy,” Karen smirked.

 “Sammy, when you told him that you knew how to get me off better than he did. What I mean is, have you?” Pam tried again to focus on Karen’s face but her head was still fuzzy and swimming. She finally merged the pieces into one Karen and waited for an answer to the question she had no business asking.

 “Have I?”

 “Gotten a girl off?”

 “Other than myself?” Karen smirked and Pam blushed.

 “Yeah.”

 “No. Never had the opportunity.”

 “Would you?”

 “No so fast, Pamela Karen, my turn.” Karen took Pam’s now empty drink from her hand and set it on the coffee table. She swallowed the rest of hers in two big gulps.

 “No! It’s a follow-up question, it doesn’t count!” Karen rolled her eyes.

 “Fine, but I get two after this one.”

 “Fine. So, would you?”

 “Would I--?” Karen waited for Pam to finish, she wanted to hear her say it, but the poor girl was already blushing every shade of red under the sun, Karen knew it wasn’t all from the alcohol. “—get a girl off?”

 Pam nodded slowly and started intently at Karen’s face, waiting for her speak. She was still nodding when Karen finally answered.

 “If I had the opportunity, I would sure as hell try.” Karen nodded her head in finality and wished like hell that she hadn’t already downed the last of her drink. Not with the way that Pam staring at her mouth like that. “Okay, I get two now,” her brain forced her to new topics. “One, have you?” So much for changing the subject.

 “Have I what?”

 Karen didn’t have as near a hard time saying it as Pam did, “Gotten a girl off?”

 Pam thought about it for a minute. “Other than me?”

 “Not necessarily.”

 “Then, yes.” Karen smirked.

 “So! The innocent Miss Beesley has been having her cake and eating it, too!” Karen whooped.

 “Well, I wouldn’t say there’s been much having of cake lately,” Pam looked down to her lap where her fingers were twisting together. Karen noticed how embarrassed Pam was.

 “Don’t worry about it, we’ve all been there. There’s not been much baking in the Filipelli house either.” Pam giggled and bumped purposefully into Karen, who swayed awkwardly off balance. “Okay, question the second. What was your last sex dream about?”

 “I don’t remember my dreams that often,” Pam lied.

 “You remember sex dreams, that’s their nature.”

 “Okay, okay, fine,” Pam shrugged away her uneasiness. Karen was able to be blunt, why wasn’t she? “It was kind of complicated.”

 “Oooh, I like it already!” Karen clapped her hands and bounced to face Pam. There wasn’t much room to bounce into, though and she ended up facing her, but with her left knee bent up onto Pam’s lap and her right leg splayed out in front of her. It was giving rather obscene view, but Karen pretended not to notice.

 “Okay, so, I was in the office but no one else was there and I was really freaked out, so I started looking around for people. It was completely empty. I thought maybe everyone was down in the warehouse or something and I went down to check but it was empty, too. Finally, I saw Dwight setting up a tent between these huge shelves of paper. I asked him what he was doing and he told me that I was going camping. He kinda, I don’t know, disappeared after that, I don’t know where he went, but, I go to get in the tent and you and Jim were in there.”

 Pam heard Karen chuckle.

 “Yeah, right? So, I was like, ‘you guys are coming too?’ but then I realized that Jim wasn’t wearing pants!” Karen burst out laughing.

 “What?!” Pam smirked and continued.

 “So, I freaked out because I thought I was walking in on you guys or something, but you were totally okay with it. Apparently he just… didn’t want to wear them. We were trying to convince him that it wasn’t appropriate but every time one of us said something, he took off another piece of clothing and then he was just in his underwear! So, then Jim is like, ‘this isn’t fair. You guys are still dressed.’”

 “Wow,” at some point during the telling of the story, Pam had put a hand on Karen’s knee. Needless to say, the dream had become less interesting.

 “So, you told him that you’d take something off if I did. And Jim was okay with that. So, you took your shirt off and then you took mine off. And then, suddenly for like, no reason you turn to me and were like, ‘if you want to sleep with him, you can,’ so… well, I guess I did, because… I did—,”

 “I was there the whole time!?” Karen stared in disbelief.

 “I guess so; you didn’t really say a whole lot. Jim kept talking to me about you though, you know, during. He kept talking about your boobs,” Pam looked over at Karen whose body was now wracked with laughter.

 “Seriously?!?”

 “Yeah,” Pam joined in the laughter with her. At the time, it wasn’t too funny. She was kind of weirded out by it.

 “So?” Karen asked after Pam had been quiet for a bit.

 “So what? That was basically it.”

 “So! Did you come?” Karen felt Pam’s fingers press gently into her knee.

 “In my dream?” Pam scrunched up her nose in confusion.

 “Yeah!”

 “That doesn’t happen!”

 “What? No! It so does!”

 “Not to me.”

 “Happens to me,” Karen leaned back into the couch with a look of pride on her face. She could feel Pam’s stare on her.

 “Really?”

 “Yeah, wakes me up, too. Not a bad way to start the day if you ask me.” Pam was still staring at her.

 Karen looked back to Pam; her head was spinning with laughter and alcohol. Before she knew what was happening, Pam’s lips were on hers. Karen got over the shock in about three milliseconds and brought her hands up to Pam’s shoulders, pulling her closer.

 Pam didn’t know what she was doing, or why, but it was wasn’t a time to be thinking, not when Karen’s tongue was pushing into her mouth and lapping at the roof of her mouth. It tickled in the most amazing way and she heard a whimper that only after did she realize she’d made.

 Karen pulled away slowly when she heard Pam make a small noise. She’d probably pushed that too far. She opened her eyes and saw Pam looking at her, already breathing as heavy as she was, her eyes wide and dark.

 “My turn to ask a question,” Pam sighed heavily into the empty space between them. Her voice was thick with sleep and desire and vodka and Karen shivered slightly.

 “Okay,” her voice broke gently but she didn’t acknowledge it.

 “Did you kiss me in the bar because of the guy, or because you wanted to?”

 “I wanted to.” Karen didn’t hesitate at all. Her eyes searched Pam’s for a reaction but she wasn’t able to tell what the other woman was thinking.

 Pam nodded slowly and looked at the clock. It was 11. How’d that happen, she wondered to herself. Pam turned back to Karen. “I should go to bed now,” she whispered. Karen’s face fell.

 “Uh, yeah, sure. No, me too. I, uh--,” Karen pulled her leg off Pam’s lap and stood up. “I’m probably okay to drive,” Karen picked up their cups and carried them to the kitchen sink.

 “I’m sorry, it’s just, it’s late and… there’s work tomorrow.” Pam followed her dizzily into the kitchen and leaned against the entryway wall.

 “No, I understand it’s,” Karen turned to face Pam, “Pam, its okay. Totally.”

 “If you’re still, I mean, you can sit here for a little bit if you want. If you don’t think you can, you know, drive.” Pam wrapped her arms around herself protectively.

 “I’ll be fine. I’ve had less than you,” Karen brushed past Pam and picked up her purse. “I’ll see you tomorrow at, like, 8:30, okay?”

 “Yeah, okay.” Pam watched as Karen shut the door softly behind her.

+++

 The alcohol had made her warm. It was too cold out to turn the air on, so Pam opened the window, changed her pajamas three times until she finally found something light weight, but when that still clung to her skin, she stripped all the way down to her undergarments.

 Her bed had the flannel sheets on and they trapped heat. Pam pretended not to think of anything as her bra and panties ended up on the floor with the comforter. And when her hand snaked down over her belly to her thighs and between her legs, and the innocent Miss Beesley closed her eyes to the touch, she absolutely did not, for even one second imagine that it was Karen’s tongue, or tthat she was the one that gave Karen the opportunity to get a girl off.