January 1, 2008 8:27 p.m.

Jim snored.

It was really only in the morning and it was more of a loud sighing whistle but sometimes if it was early enough and Pam hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before that loud sighing whistle was enough to make her want to give him a swift kick over the edge of the bed.

That morning was no exception.

Pam lifted her head off the pillow and stared at the clock through blurry eyes.

8:27

She groaned. It was much too early to be awake. Especially on New Year’s Day.

Not that they had really done anything or gone anywhere the night before. They had turned down all other invitations for New Year’s Eve parties and get-togethers in favor of hanging out at Pam’s apartment alone, watching movies and eating junk food all night.

By nine o’clock they had both been sound asleep on the couch, curled up in each other, The Princess Bride playing quietly unwatched on the television.

Hours after the New Year began Jim had scooped Pam off the couch, carried her into the bedroom and kissed her forehead as she snuggled her face into her pillow.

Okay, so she had gotten almost twelve hours of sleep. Maybe it wasn’t too early to be awake.

Pam turned herself over, settled her head back onto the pillow and watched him for a moment.

Jim was lying on his back, his mouth hanging open slightly, one arm thrown over the edge of the bed and he was still snoring.

It really was annoying.

Roy hadn’t snored.

Roy also hadn’t liked it when she slept close to him, pillowing her head on his chest or arm. He always said that he needed space when he slept.

As annoying as it was, Pam was willing to put up with the snoring.

Besides, when she had finally gotten up the nerve to tell Jim that he was driving her crazy in the mornings, he had blushed, apologized and told her that he didn’t snore when he slept on his side.

She reached up then and pulling his arm, managed to turn him over, amazed again that he didn’t wake up. He never woke up. The man slept like the dead.

Snuggling back down against him she draped his arm around her waist and in his sleep he pulled her closer. Pam’s eyes fluttered closed when he curled into her, murmuring softly and nuzzling his nose against the back of her neck. She laced her fingers with his and let herself drift back to sleep.

They hadn’t really even had their first date yet either.

It was only three days after Jenny’s wedding shower, three days after the “incident in the kitchen” as Pam liked to refer to it and they really hadn’t even gotten a chance to talk.

When Jim had shown up after work with a box of pizza in one hand and a six-pack in the other they really had planned on eating and watching some television and possibly, maybe, having that conversation.

Somehow though, and they would argue for years about whose fault it was, the pizza box ended up unopened on the living room floor as they stumbled and laughed their way into the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes behind them.

He pushed her back against the wall, his lips tracing her jaw line, his fingers slipping beneath the material of her skirt,

…touching… pushing… tasting…

Her skin hummed under his touch and she lifted herself up against him, hooking one leg around him, her nails scraping down his shoulders…

…more…

She kissed the spot on his bare chest where she could feel his heart pulsing against her lips and she had to close her eyes to calm the dizziness.

..more...more…

“Pam.”

He braced his hands against the wall and titled her head to look into her eyes, read her like he had always done and it scared her, scared her that someone could look that deeply and find something… something worth it all and Roy had always just skimmed and skipped ahead to the good parts so she didn’t really know if it was possible…

Until Jim. Jim, who read her and always found something… parts of herself that she didn’t know existed, that made her feel beautiful.

Loved.

And she wanted to know what he found then because he closed his eyes and held his breath and she didn’t want him to pull away from her ever, ever again.

“Jim.”

Her breath caught in her throat to see the tears in his eyes, the little half smile he gave her.

“I never thought… I never…”

She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him with an intensity that surprised them both.

“I know Jim. I know… I know… I know…

9:47

There was no way she would ever be able to go back to sleep and as she turned in his arms she wondered if he had had another sleepless night.

It was another one of those things that she was learning about him. That sometimes at night he didn’t sleep, sometimes he would stare at the ceiling for hours and when she asked him about it he just shrugged and said it was out of “habit.”

The heater in her apartment was spotty and the room was cold that morning so Pam pulled the comforter tighter over both of them, tucking her feet against his legs to warm them up a bit.

She ran her hand up his chest and into his hair and remembered the way she used to sit behind her desk and think about his hair and how tall he was when he would stretch out his legs and clasp his hands behind his head and how small her body felt when he stood next to her.

These thoughts had always made her feel guilty, wrong somehow, but now as she squirmed her way down the bed so that their feet touched and she was eye level with his chest she felt a sense of possession about him. Like his tallness was hers because of the way she felt in his arms and maybe he was tall because of her. It didn’t really make a lot of sense but it felt right and for Pam that was enough.

She moved lower still until she pressed a kiss to his hip and he shifted, made a noise in the back of his throat like he was trying not to laugh and rolled himself onto his back, taking her with him.

His eyes remained closed but she smiled, kissed his stomach, his chest, moving higher and higher, inching slowly up his body, resting her mouth on the ridge of his collarbone, his shoulder, his neck, jaw line, his ear, his nose, his eyelids, his forehead…

She braced herself above him, her curls falling against his face, ticking the skin on his cheeks so that his jaw twitched slightly.

“Hey.”

One eye opened tentatively and his face fell into a scowl, “Way too early.”

Pam giggled and pressed a kiss to his lips, “Baby.”

“You’re depriving me of my much needed beauty sleep.”

“Well, I’m not going to argue with that.” She made like she was going to move off of him but his arms moved up to hold her firmly to his chest, one hand pressed against the small of her back. He finally relaxed his face into a grin, “Hey.”

“Mmm, I’m afraid it’s too late for that. You’ve insulted me already and-”

“You were the one trying to take advantage of me.”

She snorted, “Like it’s hard. You are sooo easy.”

In one swift move Jim rolled them both over, pinning Pam to the bed, her hands securely pressed to her sides so she couldn’t move. She cocked her head at him and wiggled her eyebrows, “See?”

“You got me… Wow, am I that easily seduced?”

“Afraid so. Especially when I know all your weaknesses.”

“Hmm, well then…” He laughed and bent to kiss her forehead, her eyelids, her nose, “It’s a good thing for me that I know your weaknesses too.”

He continued his path down to her jaw line, her neck, her shoulders, her collarbone…

Pam sighed, “Yes, a very good thing.”

He looked up just as she walked into the office with a smile on her face. His feet dropped to the ground and he swiveled in his chair, “I’ll be sure to get right on that. Yup. Will do… Have a good day.” He hung up the phone and rested his forearms against the desk, “And to what do I owe this unexpected visit?”

Pam shrugged and leaned back in the visitor’s chair, “I was just in the area and I though I’d stop by and see if my boyfriend wanted to have lunch with me.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. But- ” She pointed toward the office across the hall, “Bill was busy so I thought I’d come in here and ask you. You know, as a last resort.”

“Cute.”

She smiled widely, “You should be honored that I’d ask you. I happen to be a wonderful lunch companion.”

“Really? Well I don’t know about that. If I ate lunch with you then I’d have to give up some scintillating conversation with Dave “you want to hear about the chick I banged last night?” Johnson and I’m not sure it’s something I’m willing to sacrifice.”

“Huh. Too bad. But you know, there’s something I can offer you that Dave Johnson just can’t.”

Jim grinned, “Oh really? What’s that?”

“The chance to buy me a bag of chips.”

“Wow. French onion?”

“Is there any other flavor?”

“Yeah… that’s enticing but Dave actually lets me buy him a bag of chips every day. So… what else can you offer me?”

Pam rolled her eyes and held up the brown paper bag in her lap, “On the off chance that you would actually want to eat with me I did bring a Tuna sandwich, which I know you like better than the ham and cheese you insist on making every day aaannnd homemade cookies.”

Jim cocked an eyebrow, “Cookies huh? Is that really appropriate for the workplace Pam?”

Her mouth dropped open and she scrunched up her nose, “Eww, Jim. I hadn’t even thought of it like that. Please never ever say that again…”

“Hey, you brought it up.” He stood up and adjusted his tie, his hand at the small of her back as he led her out of the office. “You’re the one with the inappropriate lunch suggestions. But I’ve got an image to uphold around here and lunchtime hijinks with my girl friend wouldn’t be good for that.”

She turned around and tugged on his tie, “Hijinks huh? Well, I’ve got to admit, the idea of ravishing you on your desk had occurred to me.”

Jim looked down at her, “Screw my image. I’ll risk the being fired.”

Pam looked slightly interested for a moment and then shook her head, “Naah, I’m not in the mood.” She turned and sauntered down the hallway.

“Beesely.” His voice was low. When she looked back he had braced his hand against the top of the doorframe and he was giving her that look and it really did take all her will power to remind herself of where they were exactly.

“Are you gonna eat lunch with me or not Halpert?”

Jim bit his tongue as he shut the door to his office and followed her toward the lunch room, “You’re killing me.”

She giggled, “You love me, admit it.”

“Let’s just see how good those cookies are and then we’ll see.”

Pam slapped his arm, “Such a guy.”

He was an expressive person, his face saying so much that words sometimes couldn’t and she often found herself looking into his eyes as if there were answers there that she hadn’t even thought to ask the questions to yet.

But his hands… he talked with his hands, moving them around in wide gestures to make his point, to tell a story… and it wasn’t annoying the way it could be with some people. He was graceful and in their first years of friendship she had almost blushed when she asked him if he ever played piano.

Maybe it had been a bad idea to do little things like palm readings and maybe it crossed that dangerous line of flirting that they continually danced over but sometimes she needed to touch him, needed him to touch her. And once while they were all headed into the conference room he had put his hand on her back, the way Roy did sometimes and it had seemed so natural that she didn’t even notice at first. But then his hand was large and strong and she had wanted to lean into him and even when he moved away and sat on the opposite side of the room she could still feel the heat from where he had touched her, little pin picks of feeling that spread quickly through her body.

Sometimes while she was at her desk, and wasn’t until years later that she realized exactly how Jim-centric her thoughts were at that desk, she would watch him, watch the way he twirled his pencil through his fingers, they way he typed… and she would imagine what else his fingers could do, what else they could touch… but that was about as far as the thought could go… as far as she would ever let it and she wasn’t sure she could handle it going further than that.

So when Jim did touch her, when he ran his hands down her stomach and lower… lower… she really did feel like it was too much… too much… much… much… too much…

But his hands fit her so so perfectly and she loved his hands and sometimes when they were out she would kiss his palm and tell him so and he’d get that goofy embarrassed grin and it was suddenly impossibly hard to keep from touching him with her own hands.

Something warm and soft touched her neck and she wiggled closer to it, making an agreeable noise in the back of her throat.

No. She didn’t ever. Ever want to move.

The warmth spread from her neck to her back as his arm wrapped around her, pulled her close, tucked her head under his chin.

With a sigh of contentment she squirmed against him a little, her hand sliding up to pull at his shirt, to pull him closer… when she felt his lips on the top of her head she allowed herself to drift off again, feeling it all drop away…

… he was sliding out of bed, out from under her and a light illuminated the room for a moment and then dimmed again…

… the sound of the shower finally roused her and she stretched her arms and legs out, lying diagonally across the bed, clutching the pillow to her chest. Forcing one eye open she glanced at the bedside clock.

7:15

“rrrhhhmmmmm.”

Her head fell back to the pillow until she heard the water turn off and the shower door sliding open. A few minutes later the bathroom door opened, filling the bedroom with light. Pam groaned and flipped over onto her back, blinking rapidly at the ceiling.

“Hey, you’re awake.”

“Hmmmm.”

He laughed, “I’ve got to swing by my apartment before work. Sorry if I woke you up.”

“Mmmm mmm.” She cleared her throat and struggled to sit up, tucking her legs up to her chin and watching as he buttoned down his shirt in the doorway. “Busy day?”

“Umm, yeah, some of the corporate managers are coming in today for a seminar on some of our new prices.”

“That sounds… thrilling.”

“Oh yeah, it will be. I can’t wait.” He disappeared into the bathroom again, tucking his shirt into his pants, “How about you?”

Pam tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and yawned, “Same old.”

“When do you hear about this new book?”

“Some time next week I think.”

Jim flipped the light off in the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed to put on his shoes and socks, “You think it’ll work out?”

“Yeah. Becca heard back from the editor last week. It sounded good so we’ll see.”

“Good…Oh hey, just to warn you, I think Stephanie might call sometime today and ask you to baby-sit.”

“Okay. I don’t mind. Caleb’s a good kid. We’re good buddies.”

“I don’t want my sister taking advantage of you.”

“She’s not.” Pam moved to wrap her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder, “I like your family.”

He couldn’t help but smile, “They like you too.”

“Well… obviously.”

Jim laughed and turned around to kiss her, reluctantly standing up and grabbing his bag off the floor, “I’ll call you later.”

“You better. Have a good day.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

“Hmm.” Jim kissed her knee, resting his lips there long enough to think about it. He looked up at her, “I need to lose twenty-pounds.”

Pam rolled her eyes, “Yeah. Okkaayyy.”

“I’m serious Pam. This year I’m really going to do it.”

“Oh shut it. You do not need to lose twenty pounds.”

“What are you implying?”

“I’m just sayin’. You’re looking a little thin--”

“So first I need to lose weight and now I need to gain weight. There’s just no pleasing you is there?”

“I’m a fickle, fickle woman. I just can’t help it.” She rested her hand against her forehead and batted her eyelashes.

Jim cocked an eyebrow and ran a finger along the underside of her foot so that she shrieked and tried to yank it away. He held her ankle firm and tickled her again.

“Jim.”

“Pam.”

She sighed dramatically, “Oh Jim. You know I love you just the way you are. Never, ever change.” She finished with a high falsetto and a little laugh as he pulled her down the bed toward him.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself.”

Jim moved to sit next to her, resting his elbows on his knees, running his hands through his hair, avoiding her eyes.

“Why do we do this?”

“What?”

“Make everything so complicated. Why does everything have to be so fucking complicated?”

He thought about it for a moment, “I don’t think it has to be. Sometimes I think we like doing it to ourselves. We like the pain. But maybe it doesn’t have to be that way. Maybe everything’s just… simple.”

She smiled, “Very profound.”

“Thank you.”

They were quiet for a moment.

“Roy and I never really used to fight a lot.”

He looked at her then because in almost two years it was a subject that they rarely ever touched – skirted around – avoided – never touched.

“He… I… I don’t know.” She hung her head, “I mean, not in the beginning. He would do something to piss me off and I would just ignore it and I would do something and he would… Maybe that’s why it all fell apart in the end.”

Jim swallowed. He hated that. Hated that Roy and Pam just fell apart. That he couldn’t be a bigger part of that. But he knew… knew that they didn’t really matter anymore. The reasons, the why, the how… she was next to him now, a part of his life now…

“We’re not going to fall apart.”

“No. I know.” There was a look in her eyes that made him reach for her hand, lace their fingers together, lean back so that their shoulders touched.

“So… our first fight huh?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t like… I don’t…”

“Me neither.”

Pam rested her head against him, “Can’t we just be simple together then?”

He closed his eyes, “I think we can try.”

After thinking about it for a moment she looked up at him, “We’re going to fail at it aren’t we?”

“Umm, yeah. Miserably.”

Pam laughed, “But we’ll have fun doing it right?”

“Oh yeah.”

Pam rummaged through the fridge and pulled out two cartons of Chinese from the night before, “I’ve been out of town for two weeks. What do you except?”

“I expect my girlfriend to cook a nice meal for me, especially when I haven’t eaten all day.”

Pam’s eyes widened and she threw something tin-foiled at his bare chest, “Watch it.”

He laughed as he caught it, “Kidding. What is this?”

“No clue.”

Jim sniffed at it, grimaced and threw it across the room into the trashcan.

“Nice shot.”

“Thanks… here, move aside. I can put a meal together out of practically anything.”

Pam moved back and leaned against the counter, “You should have your own cooking show.”

“I’m thinking about it. Quit my job. Join the Food Network. Have a show where I can make a meal out of ketchup and a bag of Roman Noodles.”

“Okay, that sounds disgusting and I’m not eating it.”

Jim straightened and glanced at her with a smile, “Not a problem.” He held up a loaf of bread and a package of cheese slices.

Pam grinned, “My favorite.”

“So he’s standing next to my desk and he’s got this cup full of urine and he’s looking at it like it’s the holy grail and I can’t say anything because--”

“I jinxed him.”

“Yeah, I’m stuck there at my desk and it’s the worst day ever not to be able to talk and she’s taking some kind of sick pleasure in it--”

Pam giggled, “But somehow he’s managed to carry on an entire conversation with the office gossip without saying an entire word--”

“It really wasn’t that hard..’

“And he even pulls out the fake crying--”

“Okay, that was all your fault.”

“How was it my--?”

“Wasn’t it enough that you jinxed me?” Jim turned back to the group, “She just had to torture me all day long.”

Pam shrugged, “It was fun.”

They grinned at each other.

“Wow. How long have you guys been together?”

“Oh um… three months?”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Well, we’ve been friends for awhile.”

“We used to work together and--”

“Aww, an office romance?”

Pam took a sip of her champagne, “Errr, sort of, I guess.”

“So did you guys know right away?”

Pam and Jim looked at each other.

“Ummm, no.”

“It just sorta happened.”

“She fell for my dashing good looks.”

“Uh-huh. Sure. Just finish with your story Casanova.”

“Uh-huh.”

She turned to look at him. He was propped up against the headboard, engrossed in a book, his fingers trailing lazily up and down her calf. She watched him for a moment then turned back to the movie with a smile on her face.

Four months. In four months she had become a part of him, a part of his life and he was a part of hers and it felt weird to be so far away.

Five years of not being with her and he had almost forgotten what that felt like. Almost.

Sometimes that aching pain came back, that moment in the morning before he was fully awake, before he reached out and touched the softness of her shoulder and knew that she was real. It was real.

“My crazy cousins got in today.”

“How was it?”

“Bad. Pam, I was reduced to locking myself in the hall closet for ten minutes just so I could have some peace and quiet.”

“How’s your mom handling it?”

“Better than I would. These kids are ripping apart her house and she just keeps smiling.”

“Probably to keep herself from killing one of them.”

“Probably… how’re the festivities at your house?”

“Quiet actually. My grandparents got snowed in so it looks like it’s just me and David and my parents.”

“How’s that?”

“Not bad actually. David actually asked about you.”

“Hey, progress.”

“Yeah… I miss you though.”

Jim smiled, “I miss you too.”

“It feels weird to be here. It’s always been home but now… I don’t know.”

He knew what she meant.

“Hey, I know we already exchanged presents but--”

“Jim.”

“No. It’s nothing really. Check the front pocket of your suitcase.”

He could hear the rustling of covers as she crawled out of bed. Closing his eyes he imagined her flannel pajamas, the way she would sit in front of her suitcase with an eager smile on her face.

She laughed, “Jim. What is this?”

“It’s… listen, don’t read it right now…I just…I meant to give it to you awhile ago and I just never got the chance.”

Pam fell silent.

“I don’t need to read it Jim.”

“…No… I just…I wanted you to know.”

“Yeah.” She waited a beat, then, “Where have you been keeping this thing? It looks like it went through the washing machine.”

Jim laughed and settled back down against his pillow, “Actually, I think it did. It was in the back pocket of my pants and…”

“Thank you.”

“Yeah. Merry Christmas Beesley.”

Jim glanced up, a slow grin spreading across his face, “I wore you out huh?”

She rolled her eyes, “Sure.”

“Hey… you’re wearing my shirt.”

Pam giggled and joined him back in bed, sitting next to him on her knees.

“I just ironed that.”

She looked down at the yellow dress shirt she was wearing, “It looks better on me.”

“Now that I would actually have to agree with.” He turned the television off, threw the remote control off the side of the bed and pulled her closer, onto his lap, “I have a confession to make.”

She settled her hands on his shoulders and regarded him thoughtfully, “What’s that?”

“I used to think about it… what you would look like dressed just like that... sometimes during work…” A dark red stole into his cheeks as Pam’s mouth dropped open in mock shock.

“Jim Halpert. You were having impure thoughts about me during work hours?”

He shrugged, “Hey, you were there. You know what it was like. I was bored. A lot.”

Pam shook her head, “So I was just a distraction for you huh?” She bent her head to kiss his chin.

“Yep. Pretty much.”

“A way to pass the time?”

“Hmmm. It’s a good thing my life’s so boring.”

“Because, otherwise what would you need me for?”

“Exactly.”

She pulled away from him and gave him a look, “You know, I’m feeling completely underappreciated. I think I’ll just leave.”

As she attempted to move away from him Jim grabbed her around her waist, attempting to flip her over onto her back. They got tangled up in each other in the process and before they knew it they were both on the floor laughing.

“Smooth move Halpert.”

“Hey. I told you I had moves. I didn’t say they were smooth.”

Pam giggled, “Maybe it is a good thing you keep me around. Not many other girls would put up with this kind of crap.”

“True. I guess even when my life does get exciting I’ll have to still keep you nearby.”

“Sure, I’ll always be up for a booty call.”

Jim laughed loudly as he pulled the comforter off the bed and draped it over them, “Booty call? Really?”

“Hey. Don’t laugh. I am all about the booty calls.” She snuggled next to him on her side, tangling her legs with his. “Did you ever used to build forts when you were younger? You know, drape sheets and blankets over all the chairs in the living room and then sit underneath like it was this whole new world? Did you ever do that?”

He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and looked at her in a bit of wonder. “Yeah.”

“That’s kinda what this feels like.”

“A whole new world?”

She couldn’t help but laugh at herself, “Yeah.”

“Are you gonna sing now?”

Pam opened her mouth and began with a short, off-tune, “A whole new world…” but Jim silenced her with his mouth. She laughed against him, “Well now I’m insulted.”

“You should be.” He kissed her again, “Incredibly insulted.”

They smiled at each other, her head resting on his arm, his thumb brushing over her ribcage.

Leave us here.

Leave us here.

Jim continued to watch her, his face growing serious. She reached out and ran a finger down his cheek, “What?”

They were breathing together, so close that their noses touched, so close that she almost breathed in his next words…

“Will you marry me?”

Pam looked up and bit her lip, “Oh… uh… nothing.” She shook her head, “It’s stupid.”

“Come on.” Jim bent down to where she was sitting cross legged by the side of the bed.

“It’s just…” She peered into the box and then pulled off the top with a sigh, “It’s just a bunch of stuff… umm, memories I guess.”

His lips curled up with a smile as he glanced through the contents of the box, “I didn’t realize you were so sentimental Beesley.”

“Yeah well…”

“Is this?” He pulled out the paper clip chain and held it up with his index finger.

She laughed, “Yeah. God, do you remember that day?”

Jim shook his head, “I was really bored.”

“It was cute… I thought…”

He glanced up at her and she shrugged again, “It was nice to see you excited about something.”

“Wow. My life must have been incredibly sad.”

“Shut up. It was not.”

Jim just smiled and continued looking through the box, “What’s this?”

“Oh…” She blushed as he unfolded the piece of construction paper, “It’s my first piece of artwork.”

He looked up at her, then back down at the painting, running his fingers over the cracked painting. Something in her stomach flipped in that touch, in the way that he seemed to know that it meant something.

“Well, you can’t just keep this in a box under your bed.”

“Oh? And what I’m I supposed to do with it?”

Jim grinned at her and jumped to his feet, taking the painting with him as he walked out of the room.

“Wait Jim… What…?” She threw the rest of the contents into the box, added the worn Christmas card to the top and shoved the whole thing back under her bed.

Pam ran out of the bedroom, “Where are you--?”

Her mouth dropped open and she stopped short in the doorway of the kitchen.

The painting was hanging on the fridge as Jim surveyed it proudly. He turned to look at her, “It’s your first piece of art. Someday it’s gonna be worth something and I think that deserves a place of honor don’t you?”

Worth something.

Yes.

Pam bit her lip, trying desperately not to cry, her heart pounding. The smile dropped off Jim’s face as he looked from her to the painting.

“What?”

She shook her head and took a deep breath, counted to three…

“Nothing… I… you…”

You fit me.

“Nevermind.” With a small bounce in her step she turned from the kitchen, ““What do you say we get this New Years Eve party started?”

Jim stared at her, still confused, but he followed her to the living room, “Okay, but I vote that we watch the Fugitive first.”

Pam made a face, “Seriously?”

“Hey, it’s a good movie. It’s a really, really, really, really good movie.”

“Wow. Ebert and Roeper should totally ask you to join their show.”

He nodded seriously and pointed his thumbs in the air, “Hey, what has two thumbs and loves the Fugitive? This guy!”

“You’re such a dork.”

But he wasn’t going to take them back. She looked into his eyes, saw that he meant it, saw that he wanted it, that he had always wanted it and words weren’t really needed to express that. Everything he needed to say was in his eyes. In the touch of his fingertips as they trailed up and down her back.

It had always been there. Between them. Between the words and the glances and the touches.

They fit.

It was the thing she was most sure of when she opened her mouth to answer him.

“Okay.”