Our New Beginning

The Day of the First Date

"I'm sorry, what was the question?"
Pam turned back to face the camera crew with wide and glossy eyes. She bit her lip as she often did when she wasn't sure quite what to say. She also thought that maybe, if she bit down hard enough, she may just wake up because this can't be real life. There's no way that Jim really did just ask her to dinner. There's absolutely no way that this isn't just another pathetic fantasy, and she'll wake up in a minute once again cocooned in her cold and empty bed. She bit down on her lip a little bit harder and... nothing. She really wasn't dreaming. That really did happen. Holy shit.

The talking head didn't last much longer after Jim's entrance. Pam was way too flustered to give any kind of structured answer without breaking into a wide smile that took over her rosy cheeks. The crew decided they'd got all the footage they needed from her that day so she could return to work. Pam stood up from the worn office chair, straightening her charcoal skirt and moving her hair about a bit to give it some more movement as she walked. However, as she reached for the door handle, she realised she was nervous to actually leave the room. The last time anything definitively romantic had happened between the her and Jim, he moved away soon after so they never really had to face interacting with each other when it wasn't facing as platonic. How the hell was she supposed to act around him for the rest of the day? Things still weren't like old times before Stanford so she couldn't hang by his desk all day. But then she couldn't not say anything to him, right? Pam put on a brave face as she pushed down on the old creaky handle and took a deep stride into the bullpen. Jim wasn't even at him damn desk. He was with Michael. Thank god for that.

The day was pretty empty work wise. Very few phone calls, a lot of free cell. Michael had asked her to reorganise his iTunes playlists into alphabetical order but she had until the end of next week to finish that. There was also a button that did that request in less than a second, but Michael's clueless when it comes to computers really.
Jim was in Michael's office for maybe 20 minutes before he emerged. Pam immediately glanced up at him as the door opened and he gave her his classic cheeky smile as he walked towards his desk. She'd missed these kind of moments so much. Even though they were only tiny little things, they meant so much and her heart always tickled with joy each time. Especially when he called her 'Beesly'. Pam had always thought Beesly was the most horrendous surname that anyone could be landed with and yet, when Jim said it, it filled her to the brim with happiness - especially when he added that little bit of exaggeration, 'Beesly!'. He had always been good at making her love certain things that she'd always detested.

The clock had just landed on three o'clock. Dwight was being utterly irritating and making fun of Jim's fancy new hair and suit, belittling him on failing his interview. Jim retaliated by stealing Dwight's beanie and wearing it whilst profusely denying that it wasn't his own. Pam watched it from behind her desk and giggled rather obviously after two and a half minutes of Dwight stretching desperately to reach Jim's head. Jim clocked this and, after returning the dreaded beanie, stood up and strolled over to join Pam at her desk, leaning so casually on the top with his hand deep in the jellybean container.
'So, dinner tonight. Still up for it Beesly?'
"Yeah, totally, of course!" Pam was so nervous that one answer of acceptance was clearly not enough. She smiled out of embarrassment (for something that, really, isn't all that noticeable or embarrassing) and bowed her head down towards her keyboard. Jim found this completely charming and a wide smile spread across his face as he chuckled slightly.
"Good. Glad to hear it. Anywhere in particular you fancy?"
"Oh um, I'm not really sure." Pam giggled even more "Maybe -"
"Keep that thought, Beesly. Say no more." Jim interrupted softly "I'm gonna surprise you"
"Ok then" Pam replied as she brimmed with excitement "That sounds fun" nodding as she fiddled with her pen.
"Ok then. I'll pick you up at seven?"
"Seven sounds good""Great" Jim replied with a grin. Pam was looking up at him and he was looking directly at her, their eyes interlocking in a deep trance. She had no idea how long they stared into each other's eyes without saying anything. It could've been just a second, but it felt like a glorious eternity. If someone told her she'd never be able to break eye contact with him for the rest of her life, she would be perfectly content. He has such kind eyes.