By midnight the credits of the movie rolled and Pam was fast asleep on the couch beside him. Jim carefully put the bowl of popcorn on the table and shook Pam awake gently. It took a while; she was a deep sleeper.
When she finally stirred and opened her eyes, Jim helped her to stand up and steered her towards the bathroom so she could change. He quickly took of his pants in the living room and put a spare set of sweat pants on (he found them in one of the drawers, courtesy of the hotel). He left his t-shirt on and pulled a brush (also from the hotel) through his hair.
Pam emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, wearing a baggy t-shirt and some shorts.
Jim took a deep breath. This was it.
"Pam, I need to talk to you about something."
She yawned widely and got under the covers of the bed, apparently still drowsy. "Can it wait until morning? I'm just so … so tired." Pam rested her head against the pillow on the right side of the bed. "What with the long day of driving and getting locked in here and having to watch reality television. You know."
"Okay." Jim deflated, even though felt kind of relieved. How many more chances was he going to get? But he supposed that she should at least be awake when he talked to her about it.
He had turned to walk into the living room when he saw Pam, already half asleep, gesture to the pillow beside her.
"Um, what?" He stammered. He was fully expecting to be sleeping on the couch. Pam's room had only one king-sized bed and that tiny two-cushion sofa in the other room.
"Puh-leeze, Jim. You're too tall for that couch just sitting on it. … I mean, I'm comfortable sleeping in the same bed if you are." Jim was sure she must have heard his jaw hit the floor. She added, "We're friends, right?"
Jim was frozen there for a minute. Did that really just happen or did he imagine it?
"Right, Jim?" She asked again.
When he regained his senses he practically ran to the other side of the bed and lay down.
"Right." Jim said, making sure to keep to the very edge of the mattress, just to keep some distance between them. He grinned. "Goodnight, Pam."
Pam was already asleep, breathing steadily, her gentle snores barely audible. To Jim, at that moment, it was the most beautiful sound.
He was soon fast asleep himself.