The phone rang. No answer. The phone continued to ring; still no answer.

…This is Jim, leave a message…

"Hey, Jim, it's Pam," I started, probably sounding more frantic and desperate then the first two messages. "I know that by now I should have it in my head that you are on your way to Canada but if you make it to the airport early or are able to get free chance at all, I really hope you are able to call me back. I think we should talk. Just-" About a million things raced in my head. So many things I could and possibly should say but it was hard to articulate exactly how I felt, especially over the phone. "Just- give me a call back." Another pause, that I could have punctuated with I love you or even I miss you but instead I simply said 'bye' and closed my phone.

I wasn't sure how else to contact Jim, short of getting on a bus right then and heading over to the airport. But that would have been a little drastic. There was no need to worry, I kept telling myself. Jim just had to catch a plane. It had nothing to do with my conversation with Alex. Nothing. But the more I tried to dismiss the notion from my head, the more worried I got.

I contemplated trying again, but feeling that it was no use, I decided that I should at least try to concentrate on the reopening of the festival and less on my relationship. My attempt to clear my mind failed when I saw Alex strolling across the path.

"Hey," I shouted, letting my anger get the best of me. It was rare that I was ever mad at anyone but Alex's speech had hit a nerve. "Listen, you have no idea what you're talking about," I started. "I am not holding myself back from anything. And Jim, my boyfriend, most definitely isn't holding me back, so you have no right to accuse either of us of anything."

"Hey, Pam, calm down," he said quietly. I had expected him to be shaken but instead he looked more amused. "You can take it out on me all you want but you have to ask yourself, who are you madder at right now, me or yourself?"

I was about to let my anger come full front and start yelling when, behind Alex, I saw Kelly and Ryan stumbling down the path, each tightly wrapped up in the other, making out as they walked. "Oh good god," I uttered. Alex turned to see them as well.

"Oh, Ryan," Kelly gasped between kisses. "I'm so glad we're back together."

"I told you I'd get you back," Ryan returned. "Did you break up with Darryl yet?"

"I sent him a text," Kelly said, grabbing onto Ryan tighter. "It's over."

Ryan pulled away. "Really? That was quick."

Kelly ogled him. "Of course, silly. There's no one but you."

I thought I was going to be sick. I was going to continue my rant at Alex but realized that it wasn't worth it. I didn't want to admit that he was partly right. I was very annoyed with him, but more so annoyed that he made me doubt myself. Instead of saying anything, I just gave him a shake of my head and walked away, leaving him a little confused.

I meandered through the park, not really having any direction. After about ten minutes of me wandering around, constantly checking my phone to see if Jim had called me back or not, I leaned up against a tree to watch everyone else in the park. I was glad the people who had made it out looked like they were having a good time because this morning had been a nightmare for me.

"Hey, Pam," I turned my head to see Oscar coming up beside me. "You okay this morning? I couldn't help but feel you've been having a rough time this week."

"Hey, Oscar," I responded. There was something calming about Oscar. A voice of reason amongst the madness. "It has been kind of bumpy," I admitted. "I feel like this festival is a disaster. I mean, can it get any worse than this?"

Oscar chuckled. "It's not really that bad."

"Not really that bad?" I said in disbelief. "Have you been here at all this week?"

"It's always this crazy," Oscar explained. "But I don't think you've ever been this closely involved. And the people who show up don't know either. With the exception of the tightly wound Mrs. Allen, I think everyone has been enjoying themselves this week."

"Jan got fired," I reminded him.

"Jan was always going to get fired," Oscar came back. "It was just a matter of when. Same with the museum's financial issues. The festival hasn't added to them, maybe just made them more prevalent."

"Right," I said, digging my foot into the ground a little.

"Is this really what's bothering you?" Oscar asked after a moment of silence. "How's the new relationship going?"

"Fine," I said automatically. "Jim and I are," I blushed a little before continuing. "I love him, Oscar."

Oscar gave me a friendly smile. "I'm not surprised."

"I got into Pratt," I went on, knowing that Oscar sensed there was more to the story then that. "On the waiting list actually."

"Well great!"

"But I'm not sure I'm going to go," I said. "And not because of Jim and not because I'm too scared too, I'm just- I don't know how to put it. There's so much going on and-"

"-And it's all a little overwhelming?" Oscar finished for me. "Because Pratt is a great school but you're not sure that's what you want to do with the rest of your life?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed, excited that someone finally seemed to get it. "Yes, thank you Oscar. I think I just need to see where my life is headed before running off to New York."

"That makes sense," Oscar said. "And, if I'm not too bold, Jim is giving you a hard time?"

"No," I said instantly. "No, Jim's been great. Just- David Wallace's assistant berated me this morning for the possibility of waiting or not going at all."

Oscar rolled his eyes. "That little punk? Don't listen to him. He's a pretentious art snob. Follow your heart Pam, that's what you're good at doing."

"Thanks, Oscar," I said feeling better. "Did I ever tell you how delightful you are to have around?"

Oscar let out a laugh. "Thank you. Thank you. So, we're still good for the Finer Things Club next week?"

"Yeah, sounds good," I agreed. I said goodbye to Oscar and feeling slightly better about my situation, I headed to the pavilion to help set up the decorations for that night's festivities.

As I made my way up to the pavilion, I noticed that someone was leaning up against one of the pillars. "Oh my god," I said, my breath catching when I realized who it was.

"I'm not going to Canada," Jim said as I came closer. A broad grin slipped over my lips. A grin that I couldn't contain if I tried. "Oh, don't think it has anything to do with you. I just didn't think an awards ceremony being held in Toronto had anything to do with Scranton. And when I talked to Josh about it, we both agreed that maybe it'd be better for my work ethic if I took the day off like planned. I'm not sure why you're grinning at me like that. I mean, Dwight jumped on the chance to take the story anyway, something about a beet expo in Toronto. Besides, I don't even like baseball that much anyway. But I assure you my decision has nothing to do with wanting to spend time with you."

His voice trailed off as I came up close to him. "I'm so glad you're here," I told him.

"Me too," he said before leaning down to kiss me.

Before Jim and I could sink into our kiss, I hear Michael's voice shouting at me. "Pam, Pam! I've got it!"

I reluctantly broke away from him. "Got what, Michael?"

"The disco ball!" he held up the shiny orb, proud of it.

"Sounds like you've had a great morning," Jim commented, not taking his eyes off me.

I sighed. "You have no idea."

"So, I came to kidnap you for lunch," Jim said a few minutes later, as soon as we had helped Michael put his disco ball up in the pavilion. "Unless, you're needed around here."

"Oh, please, kidnap me," I said. "There's probably plenty here to do but I need to get away for a little bit."

Jim laughed. "Alright then," he said slipping his hand in mine as we headed towards the parking lot.

"Hey, uh," I started. I was slightly nervous to ask him about earlier when he was on the phone during Alex's speech. "Did you get any of my messages?"

"Messages?" he asked, looking genuinely unsure. "My phone died, so if you tried to call me, I didn't get it."

I let out a little sigh of relief. "Okay, never mind then," I said, dropping the subject for now. "Just ignore the bunch of messages I left when you charge it up. So, did you have some place in mind for lunch?"

"Uh," he hesitated for a moment. "I was thinking we could have lunch at my place, if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, sure," I said, eager to see where he lived.

A smile formed on his lips. "Okay good."

"So, you aren't on your way to Canada," I said after we made it to his car and were on our way.

"Nope," he said with a laugh. "To be honest, I wanted out of that the minute Josh asked me to do it. If it weren't for the fact that I'm still on probation, I would have turned it down flat when he asked me."

"Yeah, about the probation," I said concerned. "Not going to this story isn't going to affect that at all, is it?"

"Josh assured me it wouldn't," he explained. "If it had, I doubt he would have let me out of it."

"And Dwight is going to a beet expo?" I asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, don't get me started on that," he said. "I'm just happy to hand the whole thing off."

During the car ride over, I told Jim all about the bad morning from the crazy meeting to Ryan's horrible insults to the tree crashing down. The only thing I didn't mention was Alex but I thought I would save that for later. Jim was a great listener and I was grateful how tolerant he was about me complaining on about my work situation. He nodded in the correct places and agreed in others but mostly let me vent, which is what I really needed. I wasn't sure if I could express to him how happy I was that he wasn't heading off to Canada right then.

In turn, Jim told me about his interview and how smoothly it went and more about Dwight and his beet farm, his one instance where he visited making me laugh. By the time we reached Jim's home, all the pent up anger and frustration I had been feeling earlier seemed to have dissipate.

Jim lived across town in one of the older neighborhoods. I was surprised when we pulled up the driveway to a smaller house instead of one of the many apartment buildings we had passed along the way.

"So, you rent a house?" I asked after we had gotten out of the car.

Jim opened the front door for me. "Actually, I, uh, own it."

"Really?" I hadn't pegged Jim as a homeowner.

Jim nodded as he led me into the kitchen. There were boxes everywhere and he scrambled to clear off the kitchen table, pushing the contents of the table into an empty box and tossing into a corner. "Sorry, I haven't fully unpacked yet."

"So, you just bought the house?" I concluded.

"Kind of," he admitted. "I've been living here for two months. I tend to get things out when I need them."

"Cute," I said with smile.

"So, what would you like?" Jim asked, opening the fridge. "I have turkey, roast beef, ham, and tuna."

"Well stocked on the lunch meats, huh," I said with a laugh. "Turkey would be just fine."

As Jim made the sandwiches, I made myself comfortable on one of the stools next to the counter. I watched Jim get out the bread and cheese, hesitating on asking the question that had been back in my mind since I had seen him.

"Uh, Jim?" I started nervously.

"What?" he asked, not aware of what I wanted. "Not making the sandwich right? Oh, you probably want mustard." He grabbed the condiment out of the fridge.

"Yeah, thanks," I said. "But, I was just wondering," my voice trailed off.

Jim stopped making me the sandwich to eye me curiously. "Yes?"

I clasped and unclasped my hands. "Uh, how much did you hear, earlier, when we were on the phone? I mean, how much did you hear when Alex gave his little speech?"

"All of it," Jim answered simply.

"All of it?"

Jim nodded his head and went back to making the sandwiches. "Yeah, then my phone died." He reached for a bag of chips that lay on the top of the fridge.

"And it didn't bother you?" I asked slowly.

He handed me a plate, giving me a suspicious look. "Should it have?"

"Well, it's just that he," I tilted my head unsure of what I was asking. "Why didn't it bother you?"

Jim let out a laugh as he grabbed a couple of sodas from the fridge. "Well, first of all, that guy Alex? Totally into you."

I scoffed. "How can you even know that, you've never met him."

"Any guy that tells you to ditch your boyfriend is into you," he assured me.

"He's, like, seven or eight years younger than me," I pointed out. "I doubt he'd be interested."

Jim came around the counter to sit on the stool next to me. "Really?" he asked in disbelief. He looked down at his sandwich. "You don't really get it do you? You're beautiful. Beautiful in the way that matters. I mean, yeah you look amazing but you have this sweet, wonderful personality. I don't know how everyone hasn't fallen in love you."

I blushed. It wasn't every day I heard something like that. "Thank you."

Jim looked up at me, seriousness in his eyes that hadn't been there before. "And besides, I meant what I said this morning and I hope you can trust that. If you want to stay here, that's fine. And if you want to move to New York, I'll support that as well. Hell, if you want to go to Japan and join the circus, by all means, do that. I want to be apart of your life but I don't want to prevent you from living it."

"Oh," I melted a little. "I guess I'm not used to anyone caring so much. I don't think Roy ever did." I paused, taking in a deep breath. "There's been so many changes in my life recently, not just you, but with the museum, Jan getting fired, Roy, getting into Pratt. Everything is happening so fast. My head is spinning. It's just so- scary, you know?"

Jim picked at the crust of his bread. "So, does this mean you want to slow down?"

"No!" I said quickly, grabbing his hand. I looked him in the eye, wanting him to know that that was the last thing I wanted. "No, not at all, Jim. Not scary bad, scary good. It all feels a little overwhelming at times. I'm so glad I'm here with you. You know, this is probably going to sound incredibly cheesy, but you're not just a boyfriend to me. You're my best friend."

Jim's face seemed to relax. "Really?"

"Yeah," I gave with a smile. "I'm not sure if you realize how amazing you are. You're a comforting rock in my insane world. I admire how relaxed you are, taking everything in stride. I don't know how you do it, but you certainly calm me down."

"It's just an act," Jim said attempting to be modest.

"Oh, come on," I said giving his hand a squeeze.

"Pam," Jim started. "I'm probably just as scared as you are. You have no idea. In this past week, I've gotten into a fight, went on probation for screwing up at work, and have pretty much alienated all prior relationships just to spend time with you. And I don't regret it. I can't believe how lucky I am to have found you because you make me feel alive. And as thrilling as that is, I don't know what the hell I'm doing. And that is scary."

"Well," I gave. "I think you're doing just fine."

He smiled at me. "You know, before I met you, my entire life was routine. My job was just a routine. Even my girlfriends were just a routine. I don't know if I can thank you enough for finding that spark in me. For letting me know that I can be better, even if my actions in the past week have proved otherwise. So the only thing I can hope to do, is give a little bit of what you've given to me, back to you."

"You've given me more than you know," I assured him. "I don't know where I'm going in my life. I really don't. But I'm so glad that I've found you, too. Because now the journey won't be so lonely."

Jim pulled me into a warm hug. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too."

"So, it was my parent's house," Jim explained as he took me down the hallway. We had finished our lunch a few minutes earlier and he was now giving me a tour of the house. "My parent's were retiring and I had been saving up for a while, so I decided to buy it from them."

"Cool," I said as I inspected the photos on the wall. Most of them were cute photos of Jim's family, his parents, his brothers and his sister. The one at the end, however, was a painting of a creepy clown. "What is this?" I asked laughing.

"Oh, that," he said shaking his head. "You know, what's remarkable is that growing up I didn't even notice this thing. It is horrifying isn't it? But the scary thing is, it won't come off the wall." To demonstrate, he tried prying the frame off the wall. It wouldn't budge.

I tried myself, the picture not moving at all. "That is crazy."

"Where are the art thieves when you need them?" Jim joked as he led me around the corner to the living room.

"Wow," I said, taking immediate note of the décor. "Paneling and orange shag carpet. Score."

"It was the '70s," Jim defended with a shrug.

The only thing that was new was a black leather massage chair sitting next to a raggedy, old, brown couch. "I can not believe you have a vibrating chair," I said with a laugh. I sat down in the chair to make myself comfortable. The chair wasn't even turned on and it was the most relaxed I had felt in a long time.

"Yeah, got this as a gift for graduating college," Jim said, punching a few of the buttons to get it going. "It was either this or something practical," he explained. "The chair seemed like much more fun."

The machine turned on, the vibrations immediately spreading out against my body. I closed my eyes as the gentle waves pushed against my back, shoulders and legs. "Oh, Jim," I said sinking into the chair more. "This is fantastic. I am never leaving this chair."

"Never?" Jim inquired, raising an eyebrow. He sunk down to his knees so that he could be eye level with me. "That seems like an awfully long time."

"Well, it's going to take a lot to get me out of this thing," I said.

"Really?" Jim gave me a mischievous smirk, as if my statement had been a challenge. "I bet I could get you out of that chair."

"Yeah?" I shot back. "Bring it."

Jim immediately started playing with the buttons on the chair. Instead of the calm wave of vibrations that had been generating, the chair began to violently whack at my back.

"Ack," I said, leaning forward, trying hard to keep my butt firmly in place. "Why does this chair have a death setting?"

Jim laughed. "Weak, Beesly, weak."

"Hey, I'm not budging," I said firmly.

Jim pushed the buttons once again on the chair control and the vibrations came to a complete stop. Still on his knees, he came around the chair so that he was directly in front of me. We stared at each other a moment, his grin never faltering, me unsure of where he was going with this. A split second later, his hands were at my side, tickling me frantically.

I burst out laughing. "No fair," I said through my laughter. "No fair!"

After a few more seconds, Jim pulled away. "Alright," he gave in. "Do you want some dessert? I have some Tiramisu, it's a few days old, but still should be good."

I shook my head. "Weak, Jim, weak."

A half smile formed on Jim's lips. A wicked half smile. "Alright, then," he said before placing his hands on my wrists. "If that's how you want to play. It is on."

Jim leaned in, his body hovering over mine. My heart began to race as it always did whenever he got this close. He gently brushed his lips against mine, barely a touch and they were gone. I leaned in for more but he pulled way, grinning devilishly. He moved in again, his lips tauntingly close. I remained steady, having a hard time resisting the urge to kiss him, knowing that if I tried, he would just pull away. After a moment, he placed a tender kiss on the corner of my mouth, then continued to lay light kisses along my jaw line. I rolled my head back against the chair, allowing him access to my neck. He playfully nipped and sucked at my skin as he worked his way down my neck. He stopped suddenly and I squirmed in the chair, torn between giving in completely and holding on to my resolve.

He brought his eyes to mine and I saw there a dark want that I had never seen before. He spoke, his voice a low, sensual rumble. "There's nothing I'd like do to more," he said, inching closer, teasingly slow, "then to make out with you right now."

I held my place definitely, not sure how much longer I could hold out until I finally succumbed to my own desire. His hands dropped my wrists down to my knees and he massaged them gently for a moment before running them repeatedly up and down my thighs. A heat I hadn't felt in a long time ripped through me and I finally broke, lust finally overtaking me.

My hands now free, I pulled him in for a hungry kiss and moaned a little at the relief of his lips finally on mine. We kissed frantically, each of us not able to get enough of the other. Our lips opened and tongues entwined as we both gave in to the lust, the passion. I ran my hands through his soft hair, pulling him as close as I possibly could.

Jim's hands left my thighs and wrapped around my waist, pulling me forward and off the chair. I crossed my legs around his torso as he lifted me. "Looks like I win," he whispered between kisses.

"You haven't won anything yet," I teased as he lowered me onto the carpet.

My chest tightened as I realized I wanted more and although a sense of nervousness began to flow through me, it didn't stop me from pawing at his shirt. We broke apart long enough for me to help him pull it the rest of the way off. I looked at him lovingly, tracing my hands over his bare arms, chest, and stomach. He was beautiful.

He ran one hand gently through my hair and over my cheek, asking me with his eyes if it was okay to continue. I was scared not having done this in a long time but my need to feel close to him overtook my fear and I nodded, letting him know that everything was alright. We began to kiss again, slow and deliberate, each one warming me, engulfing me more.

I felt Jim's hand slip beneath my shirt, gradually massaging upward until tentatively resting on my breast. I arched into his palm, letting him know it was okay and he squeezed hard, causing me to moan into the kiss. He began to knead my breast, his touch electrifying. Soon, my shirt was off, thrown next to his and I was running my hands down his back, to his hips, wanting to feel more of him.

There was nothing in the world but Jim, his hands all over my skin, his lips sweet on my own. Nothing at all.

Until my cell phone rang.

"Ignore it," Jim panted.

I wanted to but as the phone continued to ring a frightening realization came to me. My parents! My eyes grew wide with panic; I had completely forgotten I was meeting my parents for lunch.

"Jim, I'm so sorry," I told him. "But I- we've got to get back to the festival."

Jim rolled away and stared at the ceiling. "Uh, okay."

"It's my parents," I explained. "I told them I was meeting them for lunch and they're probably on their way—"

"Oh, that's fine," he said, his eyes not coming down. "But first, you need to put your shirt back on and secondly," he paused. "I'm gonna need a minute."

I heard him chant, 'Dwight eating beats' as I scrambled to get my shirt and throw him his. I let out a sigh as I slipped it over my head wishing that something about this day would go the way I wanted it to.