“I love you. I LOVE you. I love you. It’s only ever been you. I love...you.”

Jim stared at himself in his bathroom mirror, his hands gripping the sink, knuckles nearly turning white as he repeated different ways he could finally spill his secret of love. The nerves that were overtaking him were almost too much, but not enough to keep him from going forward with his plan.

Tonight was the night he was going to tell Pam about everything. The longing, dreams, hopes, and the love that had flourished over time had finally become too difficult to stifle. Jim Halpert was at the end and needed to share this before he exploded. Casino night was the perfect night to do that. It was Friday night so if she loved him back, the weekend was theirs, but if she broke his heart, he had a few days to piece himself back together before he would need to face her again. 

He had a plan for how to make tonight unforgettable and he was determined to see it through. He had enlisted Mark to help him with some of the key details, not trusting his office mates to keep his biggest secret. He knew he was going over the top, but it was about time he did something about his feelings and why not go big for it?

Jim knew that he was taking the most important risk of his life tonight. This was bigger than when he’d asked Katy to Prom all those years ago in front of her cheerleading friends and swore he would be the laughing stock of the school. This was it for him. If Pam felt the same way, then she was the one and this would be the beginning of their life together.

“You gotta get it together, man.” Jim said to the mirror before glancing away to his suit that was laying out on his freshly made bed.

He wasn’t expecting anything to happen tonight or even this weekend, but on the off chance it did, he wanted to be prepared. Pam wasn’t just some girl to him. She was everything.

Pushing away from the sink and moving his left to turn off the bathroom light, he began dressing. It took him no time at all which left him with twenty minutes to spare before he would need to leave. 

He sat down in the kitchen to talk with Mark while he waited for the clock to countdown to go-time. He figured distracting himself with mindless chatter would be better than pacing in his bedroom and working his nerves up further.

“You think she’s going to say she loves you back tonight?” Mark inquired, cocking his right eyebrow just enough to make Jim’s heart rate increase at the thought of her rejecting him.

“Well, her and Roy have been broken up for months now. We’ve practically spent all of our free time together anyway.” Jim paused, his hand on the back of his neck. “I am a bit nervous bypassing the whole, dating for a while then telling her I love her method, but it’s just different with her, you know?”

Mark looked at him, his eyes showing, well, Jim wasn’t actually sure what they showed.

“What’s up? Why are you looking at me like that?” Jim questioned, sighing, and moving his weight to his left leg.

“Have you thought about what happens if she doesn’t say she loves you? I don’t want you to get hurt, man, and she seems to always hurt you by mistake.” Mark finally let out, breathing his own sigh.

Jim looked up, a gleam in his eye, “But, she’s never intentionally hurt me, I just let my emotions get in the way. Tonight might be the same way, but then at least she’ll know and maybe I’ll have a chance. She’s everything and more to me and I think she feels it back.” Jim stood up, his nerves lessening as the thought of her feeling the same way calmed him down, and grabbed his suit jacket off the back of his chair. Quickly thanking Mark for his help, he made his way outside, started his Toyota, and drove towards the office.

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It was half past seven by the time Pam arrived. She had spent the last two hours making herself over so she could barely resemble the person she was Monday-Friday, 8-5. She knew she wasn’t kidding anyone, but she had been feeling pretty great about herself and thought she should finally show off the fancy new version of herself she had become since breaking up with Roy.

Isabel had come over and helped her do her hair, first straightening it to get the kinks out, then curling it into soft waves that brushed her shoulders. She hadn’t wanted to purchase a new dress for this occasion, deeming it wasteful, so she had decided to wear her special periwinkle dress that hadn’t seen the light of day in quite some time. 

Pam had spent the previous night steaming it, getting it just perfect. She felt like something special was going to happen during the night and wanted to have the outfit match the moment.

Walking around the warehouse, she could feel an air of mystique swirling around Dunder Mifflin tonight. A normally ordinary, boring workplace had turned into one of fun and games with a feeling that anything was possible.

Eyeing Jim across the room, she blushed a bit. He looked so handsome in his suit she thought to herself. He had done his hair in a different way than normal and it made her feel breathless for a moment when she thought about her own hands running through his hair. He was engrossed in conversation and hadn’t seen her yet. So she was able to openly stare. She rarely had these moments and wanted to take the chance while she had it. 

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Jim glanced up and saw Pam eyeing him, excusing himself from his conversation with Phyllis before walking over to her.

His breath caught in his throat. She looked beautiful. No, that wasn’t it, he thought to himself. Gorgeous. Stunning. Breathtaking (literally). Those were better adjectives than beautiful to describe her.

She didn’t compare to any fantasy of his. She had exceeded every expectation he had of how she would look tonight. Jim was in trouble.

Walking towards her and grinning, he admired the way her hair touched her shoulders gently, curled, but soft. Dainty, but refined. Jim’s pulse quickened as he neared her. He wondered what it would be like to run his hands through her hair.

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Seeing Jim walk towards her made Pam feel weightless. She felt like the only girl in the room. The way his eyes were on her made her feel wanted and alive. She didn’t know how to describe her feelings since they had never dated, but she wanted to date him and be more than this. She so wanted to.

Jim stopped in front of her, his grin having morphed into something more serious.

“You look, uhm, wow. Incredible.” Jim said, stumbling through his words. 

Pam looked up at him through her eyelashes, smiling before whispering a thank you.

After a silent moment, Jim seemed to have regained control as he asked her to come with him, motioning her towards the stairs that led out of the warehouse

Pam agreed having no idea where he was leading her exactly, but trusting him with everything she had.

They walked upstairs to the office. It was quieter here, Pam thought to herself, more romantic. 

Was there even romance in this friendship? Were they more than that? Pam’s heart began to race, but she tried to calm it down, reminding herself that Jim was her best friend and probably didn’t like her like that.

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Jim made his way to the office, his heart pounding more by the second. He thought he was going to die from the pressure, but if so, what a way to go...proclaiming your love and all.

He could barely concentrate. Pam’s dress kept swaying in a way that made him feel lightheaded. The way that it hugged her body showed him more than he was typically given permission to see. He felt lucky that she had agreed to come up here with him like he was the chosen one.

Jim opened the office door for her and heard her gasp hearing her whisper, “oh my”.

The entire office was lit in candle light which served as the only light source. 

Jim walked up behind Pam momentarily hesitating before reaching down to softly grab her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.

He could gauge the situation better if she pulled away and slapped him for the unwanted advances. He could heal easier from that then having his heart verbally broken.

So when Pam didn’t pull away and instead tightened her fingers, his heart thudded faster.

Jim maneuvered them so they were standing in the center of white roses. Jim had gone all out for this grand gesture. He was banking on his feelings being reciprocated. He had no idea what to do if they weren’t.

Taking both of her hands in his, he saw small tears falling from Pam’s eyes. He reached up, cradling her right cheek in his hand and swept his thumb across her to wipe them away.

“Pam,” he started, his hands back to holding hers as more tears fell, “I know this is unconventional. I know this is all rather...weird” he continued, letting go of one hand to motion towards the office turned romantic getaway. 

Reaching once again for her hand, Jim continued, “Ever since I met you, I knew there was something special about you. Something that I knew I would never find again no matter how hard I tried to. You have me wrapped around your cute finger.” Jim made a bold move and pulled their interlaced hands to his lips to kiss each of her fingers. 

When she didn’t pull away and the sparkle left in her eyes from the tears shone brighter, he carried on. “Pam, this is a lot I’m sure, but I didn’t know how else to tell you what I want to tell you. I wanted it to be unforgettable. I want to give you everything, forever.”

Pam’s face started lighting up more and Jim took that as a good sign. 

“I need to show you something…” Jim led her out of the circle of roses, out into the hall, and up the stairs to the roof. Jim went first to not make her feel uncomfortable.

As she emerged onto the roof, Jim blocked her view and covered her eyes, leaned down towards her ear, and whispered, “This is for you”.

Pam opened her eyes and the tears flowed again. He could tell she was overwhelmed in a happy way.

Jim had spelled out, “I love you” in candles on the roof, set up a picnic with red wine, and had laid blankets out all around.

Pam pulled Jim towards her, her tears having a mind of their own. Jim leaned down, tucked a curl behind her ear and whispered, “I love you. You have no idea how much.”

Pulling away slightly, Pam gazed into his eyes. She no longer felt like she was always searching for something when she looked into his eyes. She had found it. 

She put her hands on either side of his face, pulling down slightly until his lips were mere inches away from hers. “I love you too. It’s always been you. It always will be” Pam whispered.

She had barely gotten her proclamation out before Jim’s lips crashed into hers. His lips felt like the springtime waves along the coast against hers. Smooth, lovely, and peaceful. 

Jim slowly turned her so her body was against the industrial air conditioning unit, the whir of the machine creating a nice white noise effect for this moment. He pressed against her, leaving a trail of kissing starting at her lips, moving onto her forehead, then her cheeks, and leading down towards her neck.

Pam had never felt this loved for and cared for by anyone. She felt his grip at her hips move as he encircled her waist, pulling her closer, and trying to eliminate any gap that there might still be between them.

Gasping for air, Pam repeated herself again, “I love you, Jim. I love you. I LOVE you. I love you”.

Jim moaned quietly as his lips captured hers again in a battle that they both won. 

“I’ll love you forever, Beesly, I swear on that. I’ll make you the happiest person alive. I promise.” Jim replied as he rested her forehead on hers, catching his breath now.

He studied her face as Pam studied his. They both broke out into grins and laughed.

Jim pulled back, with one arm still around her waist. “It took us awhile to get here, but I’m glad we finally made it”

Pam smiled back, leaned in to give him a quick peck, and felt his knees get slightly weak, then responded, “Me too. Now I don’t know about you, but that wine looks delicious and I think we have a lot to talk about. What do you say, Halpert? Up for it?”

“I’m up for anything, Bees, let’s do it.” Jim loosened his grip on her and they walked towards the picnic, eager to start their lives.