Jim drives outside of Scranton Business Park in silence, Casino Night still in full swing inside the warehouse. Pam looks kind of dazed, her high heels resting on the floor of the car and her bare feet tucked underneath her bottom. Jim has to remind her to strap on her seatbelt. Meekly, she complies. His brain is going a mile a minute. Pam is coming home with him. Pam! Warm, funny, beautiful Pam. Engaged Pam. Well, she isn’t engaged anymore, is she? She took off her ring and said she planned to return it to Roy. Ugh, Roy. Still sleeping, blissfully unaware of what his fiancée has decided to do. He almost feels sorry for him. Almost… Jim wishes there was a way to discreetly tip off Mark that he is bringing Pam home with him, but there is no opportunity while driving. Mark has never been one for subtlety, so Jim can only pray he is out, sleeping, or staying at his girlfriend’s for the night.
Jim parks the car outside his building, quickly coming around to Pam’s side to open her door for her. She’s already unbuckled by the time he gets there. Barefoot, she makes her way out of the car. He leans over past her to grab her heels from the floor of his car and her cell phone from the passenger seat, before closing the door as quietly as he can manage. He ushers Pam in front of him as he digs in his pockets for his keys. Here goes…everything. Jim unlocks the door and gestures for Pam to enter ahead of him. The house is quiet, lights off, hopefully meaning that Mark is out for the night. It is a Friday, after all. Pam stands stiffly in his living room while he places her heels by the door and her phone on the table. She walks over to set her engagement ring next to her cell phone. When he glances up, she’s staring at him.
“Well, would you like a tour again? I can’t promise you that the place has changed that much from the last time you were here.”
She nods, agreeably. “Sure.”
“Okay, if you would be so kind as to follow me.” He holds his arm out for her to take, and she lightly rests her hand in the crook of his elbow. He tries not to get too caught up in the feel of her hand on his arm.
“Well, you’ve seen the living room. We’ve got your standard couch, flat screen, your basic kitchen, the patio is out back, and if you will follow me upstairs…” They stop by his bedroom, and Jim is reminded of the last time the two of them were here, when she sat on his bed and made fun of his yearbook picture. It’s almost too much. “Um, listen, you can take my bed for tonight. Just give me a second to change the sheets, and I’ll take the couch, or better yet, if Mark is sleeping elsewhere tonight, I’ll just take his room.”
“Okay.” She pauses, thinking. “Um, do you have any clothes you don’t care about that I can wear tonight? This dress isn’t the most comfortable thing…,” She trails off, looking awkward.
“Um…” He stares at his dresser.
“You don’t have to, I was just wondering.,” She’s quick to add.
“No, no, I, um, I’m just trying to think. If the way my sweater fits you is any indication,” He smirks at the blush developing on her cheeks. “anything I have will be absolutely huge on you.”
She nods understandingly. “Anything is fine. I just need something to sleep in.”
“Um, let’s see…” He’s rifling through his drawers. Soon enough, he produces a large, white Scranton University T-Shirt. “How’s this? It’ll be huge on you, I know. But it’s clean, I promise.” He holds it out to her and she takes it from his hand.
“This is fine, thanks. Um…you don’t have anything I could wear with it, do you?”
His eyebrows rise to his hairline. “Yeah, the thing is, Pam, I’m 6’3, and so…there’s just no way any pajama pants I have will fit you. I mean, here, maybe this will work.” He pulls out a pair of black sweatpants. “Since there’s a drawstring and, I mean, you’re definitely gonna have to roll these up a bunch, but they at least shouldn’t fall off of you…” He hands it to her, and with a murmured “Thanks,” she takes her borrowed pajamas and lays them on the bed.
“No worries, Beesly. Okay. So…you can change in here, or in the bathroom, which is down the hall, and I’ll go see if I can hunt down a spare toothbrush.”
She smiles up at him shyly. “Great, thanks, Jim.”
“Anytime.” She has no idea how much he means it.
