Pam and Jim

Arts and Crafts

"I don't know, I guess I've never really thought about it."

"Seriously?"

"What!?"
"Jim Halpert you have got to be kidding me." Pam chuckled.

Jim chuckled right back, his grin wide.
"Pam, I don't see what the big deal is."

"My boyfriend, Jim Halpert."
Jim smiled just at the sound of her voice saying those words. It would never get old for him.

Pam continued mockingly , "has never 'really thought about' his possible career as an artist."

They were sitting in Pam's apartment, at the table in her tiny kitchen. After lots of nagging by Jim, Pam had finally agreed to sit down and draw for him. Scratch that. With him. She had made it very clear as she had carefully gotten out her watercolours and paper that she would stop immediately if Jim stopped trying with her. He had no idea why she was so shy- as if drawing with him were somehow more intimate than the other things they'd done together.

Now, several hours later, Pam held up his picture in front of her, blocking her face as she examined his work and he looked down at the table grinning.

"Jim Halpert. This is incredible." She tried to hide her smile from her voice but hiding things from Jim never worked. She peeked out from behind the paper and they grinned at each other.

When Pam finally went back to mocking his interpretation of a dog, Jim decided to take the opportunity to get up and try to squeeze around to the other side of the table and join Pam on her chair. She glanced up at him as he walked over and stopped next to her.

"Okay Beesly. Scoot over." He stood next to her, hands in his pocket as he looked down at her. She scooted closer to the side of the chair that was supposed to be his.

"Like this?" She smiled cheekily, knowing full well that she was being annoying.

Jim smiled and looked up. "Come on Pam, don't ruin this."

She grinned at him.

"I was trying to be all smooth joining you over here but if you don't want me to..."

"No, no, no!" Pam moved back over to her side. This was the same joking they had always been doing, but now, finally, he was allowed get that one bit closer and they weren't about to waste it.

Jim spun around slowly to see Pam's cheesy grin as she patted the half-seat next to her, and he couldn't help smiling back as he slid in next to her.
As he looked at her, suddenly she wasn't smiling anymore, just staring into Jim with her mouth a tiny bit open as part of her natural look of alertness. She was adorable.

Jim reached for her ears, leaning down slightly to bring his lips to hers. Pam inhaled, filling what little space was between them as she returned the kiss and reached for his hair. Jim turned his head more and moved his right hand around to the small of her back, pulling her as close as he could get on the tiny chair. He reached his fingers up under the hem of her T-shirt, and that's when she pulled away.

"Jim," she breathed, looking down and away with a little smile. "Not now."

"Why not?"

Pam looked at him as he moved his bands up to hold her face and scanned her eyes.

"Pam, I've waited so long just to hold your hand, hug you, kiss you," his voice rose and he looked over her head and away with a tiny shimmer in his eyes, "to laugh just the two of us, to have dinner, to come home together, to have-"

A fire track wailed past.

"I know."
He looked back at Pam, who was lightly holding his hands on her face.
"Me too."

Jim smiled through the tears, and turned back to the table, grabbing his picture and waving it.

"Is it because of this that you won't kiss me?" He laughed, not caring that they weren't kissing and just happy to be close enough to smell her hair. Close enough to hear her tiny breathing giggles. Close enough to know that tonight they would go out to dinner, come home together, and hopefully not be interrupted by a fire truck.

"You dork," said Pam with a smile.