.
Jim had stopped keeping track of the year by the months and the days. Instead he used how many days it was until Pam came back to keep track. It was his birthday and there were 46 days till Pam came back. He didn’t do anything special during the day. He got a call from his mom and dad in the afternoon. He went to his two classes and had lunch by himself. He got a call from Pam before she went to bed.
“Hey Birthday boy.”
“Man. Birthday man.”
“Okay, I get it, you’re a man now. When is the birthday man going out?”
“In a few hours.”
“Be safe, okay? Don’t drink too much.”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that one.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow after my classes. Happy Birthday.”
“Talk to you then.”
He showered before he was supposed to head out to the bars with the guys. His brother left a message for him while he was in the shower
“Hey little brother. Happy Birthday. I hope it’s memorable or at the very least you’re able to remember any part of the night. When you get back to Philly we’ll go out. I’ll call you tomorrow to make sure you didn’t die in a pool of your own vomit. Love ya.”
Jim put the phone back down. He walked over to his closet. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a sweater. There was a knock at the door. Jim looked through the peephole and saw a thumb covering only half of the person.
“Come back in 15 minutes, Michael. I’m still getting ready.”
“How did you know it was me?” He asked through the door.
“You have a specific knock.”
“Oh.”
Jim walked over to the bed to put the clothes down.
“You almost done?”
“Yeah Michael. Fifteen minutes, that’s all I need.”
“What are you doing in there?”
“Fifteen minutes! Come back in fifteen minutes.”
Jim got dressed. Messed with his hair a bit. It had been twenty minutes and he wasn’t sure why Michael wasn’t knocking at his door again. He opened his door and Michael was sprawled out in front of his door.
“How long have you been sitting there?”
He shrugged his shoulders.
After a short talk from Michael about drinking etiquette they met up with Dwight and Andy downstairs.
“Did everyone bring their dollars bills?”
Andy and Dwight nodded.
“Where are we going?” He knew already from the look on his face.
“A gentlemen’s club.”
“I hate to burst your bubble, but I went to my first strip club 3 years ago.”
“Yes, but you’ve never had a beer in a strip club.”
Jim didn’t argue with them. He knew that the less he fought it the sooner it would lose its appeal to the other three. When they walked in Michael went directly to the bar. Jim sat between Andy and Dwight. This was truly a surreal moment; Dwight was actually checking the girls out. Jim couldn’t wipe the silly grin off of his face.
Michael came back with only one shot in hand. He pushed it across the table.
“Which girl do you want? That one over there has Pam hair, but that one over there definitely has her body.”
Jim shook his head, took the shot and exhaled as he felt his esophagus warm up.
“That is creepy.”
“Its fine, Pam will understand.”
“Yep. That’s okay.”
They sat there for half an hour. Everyone was afraid to get a dance except for Dwight. Dwight was the only single guy there. They left after Dwight finished his dance and conversation with the dancer.
“You seemed to enjoy yourself.” Jim said to Dwight.
“Yes, I did.”
When they got to the bar Jim called his friend Mark. Kevin and Toby showed up later too. He wasn’t really sure when he got so drunk. It was like jumped out at him. One minute he was bragging about being sober and the next minute he was feeling every drink he had. He watched as Andy talked about Angela to Michael. He watched Dwight’s expression harden.
“Its funny, you wouldn’t know it from looking at her, but she’s into a lot of different things. She does this thing after sex that just surprises me every time.”
“I know what that’s like, Ja—My girlfriend likes to act out all of these fantasies. What about Pam?” Michael turned towards Jim. “I bet she’s kinky?”
Everything seemed to be going in slow motion for Jim. He blinked a few times before he actually comprehended what Michael had asked. He didn’t notice Toby trying to crane his neck to hear better.
He shook his head no, or at least he thought he did. “I don’t know.” He should have told him ‘no’ or told him to mind his business. Why did he say ‘I don’t know’?
“What do you mean you don’t know? You haven’t slept together yet?”
“No, I... uh... what’s going?” Jim squinted. He wondered if he could play stupid.
“Are you telling us that you guys have been together for almost 6 months and you haven’t closed the deal yet?”
“I think I need another drink.” It wasn’t like he didn’t have the chance to have sex with Pam, but that wasn’t something he wanted to broadcast. Nice guy Jim told his girlfriend no after she practically threw herself at him.
He wondered if they would forget what they were talking about if he ignored the question for a while longer. Michael had a short attention span so it shouldn’t have been that hard.
“You haven’t, have you?” Andy questions.
“I really don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“Come on Jim, we’re all friends here. Maybe we can throw a few pointers your way.” Andy said.
“Fine, we haven’t slept together yet. Happy?”
“Wow.” Kevin seemed to sigh this word out of him.
Everyone was quiet. That wow really said it all.
“I’m going to run to the bathroom.” He got up and walked to the bar instead. He sat down on a stool. He wondered if they would be worried if he left right now and just walked home. He ordered another drink and took a few sips before he got up and walked back to the table.
He sat back down and everyone stopped talking.
“Tell me more about that stripper. What was her name again?”
“Elizabeth.” Dwight seemed to get the hint that he needed someone to break the tension. “She goes to school with us. I didn’t get to ask her what it was that she studied though.”
“As someone who studies people for a living I would bet my room that she’s a dance major.”
“I think that’s a little stereotypical and you aren’t an anthropologist yet, so technically you don’t do that for a living.”
That was Jim’s way of sticking it to Michael. He told him that he didn’t want to talk about it and they continued anyways. It was a little spiteful, but he blamed it on the alcohol.
On the ride back to Dunder Hall he couldn’t stop thinking about Pam. Was it normal to love someone when you spent more than half of your relationship apart? Every time he closed his eyes he saw her face. He stumbled down the hallway to his room. He opened his top desk drawer and pulled some papers out and let them fall to the floor. He couldn’t remember Pam’s number at the moment and he didn’t know where that damn calling card was at. Before he knew it the top desk drawer was completely empty.
He sat down in his chair and tried to think of where he put them at. He looked up and taped onto the crappy backing of the desk was the number and the card. They were literally right in front of his face. He got a weird busy signal the first time he dialed the numbers. Making his first international drunk dial was harder than he thought it would be.
The phone didn’t ring more than twice before she picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hey.” He sort of slurred. “Were you still sleeping?”
“Uh-huh.” She rubbed her eyes. “How was your birthday?”
“It was okay.”
“Did you drink too much?”
“Remember the first time you spent the night at my house? I wish I was there right now.”
“So you did drink too much?”
“I miss feeling your skin.”
She laughed.
“What are you wearing right now?”
She laughed again. “You are really drunk.”
“What are you wearing?”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Pajamas?” She knew that answer wouldn’t be sufficient enough.
“You know what I mean.”
“Seriously?” She wasn’t sure what Jim she was talking to, but it wasn’t one that she had ever met.
“Yes, Pam. It’s my birthday, you’re not here, and I’m drunk.” He thought that he was secretly trying to prove to the guys that he could have Pam, even if she was around the world, but maybe he just really missed her when he was drunk. He’d figure it out later and probably feel guilty about it too.
“Okay, but you’re going to owe me, because this isn’t your present. That’s already in the mail. No one said anything about bonus gifts.”
“You got me a present?”
“Yes.”
“What did you get me?”
“Hopefully something you’ll like.”
“I miss you.”
She let out a chuckle. He had forgotten so quickly what he had been asking about before. “I miss you too. Go to sleep birthday man.”
“Okay.”
“Hey, and just so you know, I’m not wearing anything.”
“WHAT?”
“I’m just kidding.”
“I kind of hate you right now.”
“I hate you too.” She hung up the phone. She couldn’t help herself. Did that make her an evil girlfriend?
.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Jim goes out with the guys for his birthday.
Chapter End Notes:
Next chapter is Pam's last month abroad.
