“Morning Pam.” Jim gave her a nod and a tight-lipped smile as he passed her desk, pausing only to hang his coat on the coat rack in the corner. 

“Hey, Jim.” Her smile was noncommittal, her eyes lingering on him for only a moment before turning back to her computer monitor as she settled in for the solitaire game she’d just begun. 

Close to an hour passed, Pam only glancing at him occasionally as he smoothly sent Dwight into a tirade about the virtues of bb guns as opposed to pellet guns. It shouldn’t be this easy, he thought. It’s like putting a piece of cheese in the middle of the floor, stepping back, and just watching the rats crawl all over it.           

But it was keeping Dwight’s attention elsewhere, other than on him, which was the last thing he needed today.  Already he felt distracted, antsy….almost bouncing in his chair, one leg shaking as if against his will.  

It was a little after nine when he went into the break room for a cup of coffee.  About fifteen seconds later, the door opened and Pam appeared.  Their eyes held for a long moment, then she immediately looked away from him, a flush on her cheeks.

They were careful not to look at each other too closely, trying to keep their voices low so the cameras wouldn’t catch them.

“This is insane.” He whispered under his breath.

“I know.” She whispered back, daring a glance at him and feeling that same old flutter creep into her belly.

“At least your face cleared up nicely.” He murmured, prompting her to laugh.  The night before, her skin had been so chafed by his stubble that they’d both worried for a second that she might have to come up with a plausible explanation for it the next day.

“Thank god for the little things.” She whispered back, then, “I’ve got to get out of here now – it’s either that or kiss the hell out of you right here.”

“Ah.” His eyes closed for a second, then he opened them to gaze softly at her. “I really like the sound of that.”

The door opened then, and Phyllis strolled in, giving them both a sweet smile as Pam suddenly exclaimed rather loudly, “Yeah, so….if I can remember, I’ll bring that book tomorrow.”

“Good, sounds great; I’d love to read it.” He nodded enthusiastically, watching Pam walk away, then glancing self-consciously at Phyllis, who gave him a slow smile and a wink.

He knew his blush gave him away, but he also knew that Phyllis was probably the only soul in the office who’d keep this to herself.  So he tilted his head and smiled at her warmly before he went back to his desk.

It had been six months since he’d confessed his feelings to Pam on Casino Night, and just a little over a month since the Stamford branch had closed and he’d been transferred back.

They’d made their way back to each other slowly at first, exchanging shy glances, then moving to cracking jokes, before they’d finally ended up on the roof after work one Friday afternoon.

When he thought back on that day, it was the strangest thing, because the impression that stuck with him the most was how in sync he’d felt with her as he sat next to her, their faces turned toward the sky.  He couldn’t have articulated why he was so sure all of a sudden that she was ready to give it a try – she hadn’t said anything about it, or even done anything out of the ordinary.

He just knew.

  She was aware that he knew, too; it was almost as though words became superfluous at that point.  She sat next to him silently, thinking, It’s almost like we’re finally at the end of a long road – at the beginning of a new one – and there are no words; there isn’t a need for words.  We’ve been moving toward this for such a long time, and in the last month, we crossed the final obstacle: distance.  

She’d felt his eyes on her face and had turned to look at him, their eyes holding for a long moment.  His eyes were a light, golden color that day, and it occurred to her rather inanely that now she could stare into his eyes for as long as she wanted; there was nothing to hide anymore, nothing to be ashamed of.

“Hi.” He said softly, giving her a warm smile.

“Hey.” She smiled back at him, then reached out to catch his hand, holding it tight in her own.

Silence fell for a few seconds, then she said softly, “Jim….?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m ready.” Her voice was soft, but steady, her gaze unwavering.

He wasn’t surprised; he’d sensed it, but it still seemed surreal to him anyway, after so many years of hoping and waiting.

“Okay.” He said, his voice low and a little hoarse.  He repeated, “Okay.”

She stood then, holding a hand out to him.  He took it, standing to his full height as she watched him, tilting her head back so that she could see his face, find his eyes again.

Very slowly, deliberately, she stood on her toes, putting a hand on his face as she pulled him down, pressing her lips to his.  Their lips held in that chaste kiss for a long moment, and then she shifted, her lips parting beneath his as she felt his arms circle all the way around her, pulling her closer to him.

They’d stood up on the roof for half an hour or more, lips meeting, parting, meeting again; hands roaming each other’s backs, hair, faces.  Occasionally, one of them would pull back so that they could just stand there gazing at each other in awe, disbelief….something akin to rapture.  

That had been only a week before, and both of them were still absolutely giddy, overwhelmed at how amazing it felt to finally have found their way back to one another, but on a completely new level this time.

She hadn’t slept with him yet, though she couldn’t have articulated why she was holding back – maybe it was just a little residual fear, because this was positively overwhelming.  She already felt lost in him, but in the best way possible – lost in the sense that he seemed to live in her thoughts, that she found herself drifting off and distracted literally every half hour, remembering his touch, his lips…..

Much as she wanted him, she had to admit that it was beyond delicious to indulge in the kind of marathon make-out sessions she hadn’t participated in since high school.  And he was incredibly patient with her, not questioning her when she’d whispered that first night on the roof, “I need to go slow….”

“Anything.” He’d whispered back. “Anything you want.”

And so he’d followed her lead, spending hours on her couch after work every night, their lips red and swollen, hair disheveled when they finally came up for air.  He’d been staying at her place anyway, which had meant the world to her.

“You mean you’ll spend the night even though we’re not….?” She’d asked in disbelief.

“What?” He pretended to be shocked. “Should I institute a policy or something?  Start withholding things from you until you have sex with me?”

They’d both laughed at that, then he’d pulled her to him, whispering in her hair, “To wake up next to you in the morning….wow.” 

It had been heavenly anguish sleeping next to him; the night before, she had awakened in the middle of the night to the feel of his lips on her neck, his hands roaming her body.  She had immediately moved into it, pressing herself close, feeling him hard against her, loving those hazy moments of semi-consciousness when everything was like a blurry, sexy dream.

 I can’t hold out anymore.  She found herself thinking as she sat staring blindly at her computer screen, feeling a heat on her cheeks, rising up from her belly.  Yes, tonight….it’s got to be tonight. 

She dared to raise her eyes, looking across to find him sitting there staring at her, looking as if he, too, were caught in a daze.  In fact, she was almost certain that his thoughts were following along the same theme as hers.

The realization, the certainty made her feel dizzy for a second, something inside her starting to quake a little.

Without thinking, she stood, holding eye contact with him, one eyebrow raised, then turned and deliberately walked very slowly out the double doors.  He glanced around, checking to see if anyone seemed to have noticed; something in the pit of his stomach hardened when he realized that no, everyone seemed delightfully oblivious.  

So he stood, striding purposefully toward the double doors, walking out in the hall to find her standing beside the elevator, eyes burning as she watched him make his way toward her.

They didn’t speak as she pressed the button, the doors sliding open.  Something about the sight of those doors sliding open made him feel like he might lose control just from the thought of being alone with her during the day, in the middle of work….

The doors had barely closed behind them when he’d suddenly seized her around the waist, pulling her to him and pressing his lips to hers, hearing her moan faintly as her arms stole up around his neck, fingers in his hair.

“The doors – “ He murmured against her lips.

“They’ll stay closed as long as nobody presses the outside button.” She murmured back, tilting her head as he kissed down her neck, adding, “And if somebody does, all that will happen is that we’ll end up moving and go to a different floor….”

It was enough for him.

 He backed her up against the wall, pressing as close to her as he could manage, feeling her tremble all over, thinking that maybe it was a good thing that they hadn’t had sex yet, because he’d have had to have her right there in that elevator if they had.  

He groaned when she reached to pull the knot on his tie, tilting his head back in agony as she loosened it.  

“You’re killing me.” He whispered, moving to press his lips back on hers.

“Good.” She whispered throatily.

“Oh, you….you are so going to pay for that, Beesley.” He warned, barely able to see straight.

“Bring it on.” She smiled back at him, her chest rising and falling as she watched him reach a hand out for the top button on her blouse.  His eyes didn’t move from hers as he slowly unbuttoned her shirt; when all the buttons were undone, he’d stepped closer, pulling her to him again as his lips lowered to hers.

They didn’t even hear the elevator doors slide silently open; the first thing they heard was Kevin’s voice: “Niiiiiicccceeeee.”