“Liftoff” by victoria_p (T)

[stars-inthe-sky.livejournal.com]

Fandom: THE OFFICE
Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert
Length: 825 words
Author on LJ: musesfool
Author Website: Dreamwidth | Tumblr
Why this must be read: This is exactly how I've always felt their first date should have gone: quick, sweet, and fun, and ending just the way every JAM 'shipper out there would want.

"It's a date," Jim had said, and meant it.

Pam can't quite believe it, but now they're sitting across from each other in the dimly lit restaurant. She hasn't even had a sip of wine yet, but she's dizzy with a fizzy mixture of hope and anxiety and the potent memory of the way he'd kissed her, the soft press of his slightly chapped lips, the heat of his tongue in her mouth. Under the table, his foot bumps against hers and when it retreats, she slips her shoe off and rubs his ankle with her toes. He jumps, as nervous as she is, and they both laugh. She takes a gulp of water, wondering how she's going to make it through this dinner. Because it's Jim, and they've eaten hundreds of meals together, but never like this. Never with the potential for it to go somewhere. This feels like the most important dinner of her life.

She wishes she'd had time to run home and change, put on something pretty, but she'd retouched her lipstick, let down her hair, and the way he's looking at her now makes heat rush heavy and slick between her thighs.

The first few minutes are full of typical self-conscious first date conversation about the menu, but they've known each other for five years, and the awkwardness fades as they slip into the routine back-and-forth that's as comfortable as breathing, and as necessary. Jim tells her about the interview, about New York, and she only hears one word in three, her heart beating loud in her ears, but she knows him well enough to respond to the rhythm of his voice even when she's lost track of the conversation, mesmerized by the way he licks a stray drop of wine off his lower lip. It doesn't matter; the important part of the story is that he withdrew his name from consideration and came back to her.

They order tiramisu for dessert and share it. It's rich and creamy on her tongue--good enough to make her close her eyes, lick her spoon clean, and when she opens them, Jim is staring, hot and intent, at her mouth. Her lips feel swollen, like he's already kissed her, and she can't quite catch her breath.

Liftoff