She isn’t sure when he started making her entire body feel like a waking limb, just pins and needles whenever he’s around, but she feels it now when he’s all the way across the room, singing karaoke with Michael. She feels something drop inside of her when he stands up and walks over there. Maybe her heart, maybe her stomach. She can’t stop smiling because he’s such a good person.

Afterwards, the crowd starts to thin and soon it’s just the two of them left sitting on the couch. She’s still sitting close to him even though there’s no one else on the couch anymore. She just likes the way his thigh feels warm against hers. His arm is resting along the back of the couch and when she leans her head back, she feels it.

She’s had three beers. She isn’t drunk, but she’s lightheaded enough to not feel self conscious about sitting so close still. She’s dizzy enough to not feel nervous or guilty when she turns hear head and it’s suddenly resting on his shoulder.

“Hey,” she whispers like she just woke up.

“Hi.” He smiles warmly at her and the pins and needles are back.

“Phyllis thinks we’re together,” she says into his sweater. She feels tired suddenly.

“What?”

“I was investigating the Dwight and Angela thing and when I asked her if she knew about any office romances, she thought I meant you and me.”

He moves his arm, causing her to sit up. He folds his hands in his lap. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said. I mean, a guy and a girl can just be friends, right?” She looks up at him and doesn’t quite make it to his eyes because she gets caught up in his jaw line and his mouth. But, no, he’s her friend and it doesn’t mean anything that they talk and laugh and smile.

“Of course.” He puts his arm back, only this time it’s not really on the back of the couch. It’s more just around her shoulders. She doesn’t mind and scoots closer to him, because it’s late and her head is so heavy now. She feels it rumble through his chest when he repeats softly under his breath, “Yeah, just friends.”

He runs a hand up and down her arm and she sighs. She closes her eyes a little and feels contentment well up inside of her, spreading its warmth throughout the rest of her body. She curls her body, bring her knees up to her chest as she leans into him. She lets out a breath and says, “God, I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this close to anybody.”

She feels him tense beneath her. “Pam-”

She sits up quickly. “I’m sorry.” She isn’t sure what she’s sorry for, but she’s repeating to herself over and over that all of this doesn’t mean anything. She’s repeating to herself what she said to the camera earlier. Just because she’s sitting here with her head on his chest and his arm around her, feeling like she’s finally home, that doesn’t mean that they’re together. They’re just friends.

She stands and says, “I should get going. Thanks for inviting me. I had a lot of fun.”

He helps her put her coat on at the door and says, “Yeah, thanks for coming. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Yeah. Monday. Bye.”

She drives home with the windows down even though it’s freezing outside. It keeps her awake and it keeps her eyes dry and it keeps her mind on something besides how perfectly she seemed to fit against him.

But she’s cold and he felt so, so warm.