Do you sometimes go autopilot? It's a state when you are so used to the routine that it becomes a habit. This is what exactly happened to Tim and Pam, who by every day, got closer with each other. It just happened one day. They go lunch together, stop by each other's station, talk in the pantry, bring him coffee, bring her snacks.
Outside their private lives they seemed to be out of touch but when in the office they are like brothers and sisters. This is how most of the project team looked at them.
"Don't you find Tim and Pam cute together?" Jenna once told Mark. These two were flirting with each other but they maintained professional conduct in the office.
"Cute my ass. Tim is collecting girls for his portfolio. What brother or sister you are talking about?" Mark said with some hint of naughtiness in his voice.
"Are you telling me that targeting Pam as his next prey?"
"Oops, I did not say that. I was only telling you there is no such thing as brother and sister relationship with Tim." Mark quickly retorted.
"But you make it sound like that. They never dated outside of office. I don't think they are hiding anything." Analyzing things, Jenna recalls they would go out in group for team building or Pam is with her out of office. Most of their discussion revolves around the solutions they are completing for the client.
"They might be professionally compatible. Like a teacher or coach to a student" Mark knows Tim is interested with Pam. Girls run after him, but this is not the case for Pam. He probably has not found the timing to tell her or is playing the slowly but surely strategy afraid to be rejected.
Jenna nodded in agreement. Pam is too naive for a seasoned guy like Tim. If something is going on between the two, she would be first to know. Though she could tell that in most of discussions with Pam recently Tim is always a name she drops frequently.
It's been almost 6 months. The project is about to wrap up. As most project that has been deployed successfully, a celebration is mandatory. This brought the whole project team from both side into an exclusive resort 1-hour plane ride from the city. The flight schedule was distributed morning and lunch time. As precautionary measure, not everyone under the same team and company can take the same flight. By course of fate, Tim and Pam was on the same schedule. Jenna was part of the lunch time flight.
Tim worked it out that they seat together away from the rest. In the guise of post validation discussion, he has made the secretary booked their seats together 3rd row while most are either in middle seats or at the back.
They saw each other in the airport 7:00am. "hey, did you get your boarding pass?" Tim asked as she approached Pam. He was wearing white polo shirt with a small Tommy Hilfiger logo on the left chest area paired with denim shorts that fits his body. For some reasons he was wearing a white slip-on rubber shoes which looks like what Pam is wearing.
From afar they look like in couple outfit with Pam wearing a light denim loose romper that ends mid her thigh. The strap of the romper is spaghetti style, so a tight fitted white mini in shirt looked perfect with it. Tim was smiling inside gazing at this pretty little lady in front him. They look like they are in couples' outfit.
"What funny thing is running in your head?" Pam was suspicious of how Tim is looking at her. "Don't go telling me I look like mushroom, Smurfette…" she was bound to enumerate how calls her name in their small talks when he cut her.
"You look pretty today." Tim said with a big smile on her face.
Still suspicious about the 'pretty' comment, "What a pretty broccoli or corgi?" She was laughing like she is used to these names when Tim who was also laughing suddenly grabbed her wrist to take her to the counter.
Suddenly butterflies were in her stomach. That sudden wrist grabbing caught her off guard. Of the times they have known each other, this is the first time Tim initiated a physical contact with her. She had a complex feeling about this.
"Her name is Pamela Cruz," Tim tells the ground crew while still holding her wrist. He turned to her and said "give me your ID"
"How about releasing my" pointing with her lips the hands that holds her wrist.
"Ooops smurfette needs both hands to take the ID out." It was sarcastic but funny.
Pam pursed her lips and handed over her company ID to the ground ticket crew.
Seating together, Pam doesn't seem to be surprised at all, it was a blessing for her that she could pick on Tim's brain on programming.
Tim was enthusiastically conversing with Pam while looking her adoringly in the eyes. Pam has not noticed it until she paused and took something from her bag. When she returned to talk to Tim he was still all eyes on her. This suddenly made her feel awkward.
Subconsciously touching her nostrils afraid something interesting is hanging in there, "is...there…something…" she was stammering.
"Do you think I was joking earlier when I said you are pretty?"
Pam's complexion is fair but cannot be categorically called white yet she felt like her cheeks turned red. She was about to put the back of her palm in Tim's forehead to check if he is running a fever when he grabbed her hand. It was warm yet she shivered at the feeling of getting her hand held by a man. She was totally caught off guard and speechless.
"What are you doing?" This first time in her life that she asked what seems to be obvious. Because of the sensation that his warm hand is giving, she had this complex emotion inside. Pam knew Tim grew up in the US and this is probably normal, but she never held hands with a guy. Why would a man hold someone's hand? At least in the country where she grew up, this is already intimate. Does Tim like her?
"Obviously I am holding your hands because I like to." Tim stated the obvious not moving his gaze from Pam. "If you are rather wanted to know why I like to hold your hands, there are even other things I want to do right now." He had the naughty look in his face and that alerted Pam. In passing she heard Tim had beautiful ex-girlfriends. Yes, its ex-girlfriends, with his face and personality that could be true. Not to mention the western culture has been open about relationships, this suddenly scared Pam.
She immediately tried to pull back but instead, Tim held her hands even tighter and put it his lap. Pam did not struggle. She is nervous, surprised, confused and happy? Literally they are on air but she is like floating. It felt strange but one thing is for sure she is not angry at Tim. He said he liked to but not lie her…'ahhh what should I do? Should I keep calm, should it pull my hands back again…' Pam is in chaos.
Tim rested his head and closed his eyes, they were in this position until they have landed. Tim was not sleeping; he did not want Pam to feel awkward and actually wanted to enjoy the moment. Who knows that after this, Tim will not let go of her hand.