The television droned pleasantly as the local news played in the background. Emma rested her head against Carl's stomach, her feet propped up on the couch, a lovely drowsiness beginning to wash over her.
Carl absentmindedly ran his fingers through her hair, the methodical motion adding to Emma's lethargic state. They had recently moved in together, and they had just had Carl's parents over for a small Thanksgiving dinner.
"Ten dollar jeans at Old Navy..." Carl muttered, his hand paused for a moment before he continued stroking her hair.
"What was that, sweetheart?" Emma titled her head back, giving Carl a quizzical look, realizing that she had completely zoned out.
"Old Navy commercial just came on—they're having a sale tonight starting at midnight," he informed her. He reached for the remote, suddenly, silencing the television, turning toward her.
"We should go..."
Emma abruptly sat up, a look of confusion sweeping across her face. "Why?"
"Why not?" Carl chuckled, his face curving into a grin as he took in her expression. "I've been needing a new pair of jeans for a while now—and it's crazy to pass up such a reduced price." He shrugged, looking a little sheepish. "I think it could be fun."
"Fun? Shopping on Black Friday?" Emma's mouth fell open, and Carl's ears turned pink as he turned away. "You're absolutely crazy," he turned his head ever so slightly, daring to catch her gaze. She laughed, pecking his cheek gently as she rose from the couch, heading for the stairs.
Carl's eyebrows creased together, running his fingers through his hair as Emma ascended the staircase. "Where are you going?"
Her mouth curved into a grin. "To get ready for our shopping excursion—where else, silly?"
XXXX
Ten minutes later, Emma stood in the doorway, donning a pair Mary Janes and her knitted beret as she buttoned her green pea coat.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Carl asked as he zippered his own coat. "I mean, I could just always run over quickly myself..."
"Quickly?" Emma smiled, reaching to straighten the collar of his jacket. "There's no such thing as quickly on Black Friday. Besides, I wouldn't want to miss out on your little adventure."
He chuckled, reaching out to cup her chin lightly, pressing his lips chastely against hers. "Adventure, huh? So you've been out shopping on Black Friday?"
"No...but I've heard plenty of stories," she told him, leaning in for another kiss. "It's madness—sheer madness."
"Now I'm getting a little nervous," Carl joked, lacing his fingers through hers as they exited through the front door.
"This was your crazy idea," she reminded him as he opened the passenger door of his red corvette for her. "Are you sure you want to go?"
"And miss out on this madness? Nah...I want to be able to tell people I've been out shopping on Black Friday," he laughed, stepping into his own side of the car and turning the key in the ignition. "Ready?"
"As ready as I will be," Emma muttered as they pulled out of the driveway, embarking on their adventure.
XXXX
As they pulled into the lot at the mall, Emma was quickly reminded why even she, a woman who appreciated a good shopping trip, had never dared to shop on the most infamous shopping day of the year.
At ten to twelve, the parking lot was already packed, and crowds of people swarmed the entrance, camped out in lawn chairs and tents.
"Wow," Carl's jaw dropped, after he had managed to find a parking space near the back of the lot. "Maybe we should just forget it..."
Emma was tempted to agree with him, but the thought of returning home felt somewhat defeating. They had made the trek, and with Carl by her side, Emma felt bold and spontaneous. "Not gonna happen," she laughed, unbuckling and stepping out of the car. She walked over to Carl's side, opening his door. "You want jeans—you're getting 'em."
He grinned at her—the perfect, charming smile she loved tugging at his lips, and Emma returned the smile as they walked through the lot, soon merging with rest of the crowd. The line for Old Navy snaked around the side of the building, and Emma couldn't help but to think about how ridiculous the whole notion of Black Friday was as they took their spot at the end of the line.
The air smelled heavily of cigarette smoke, and Emma winced when a man bent over on the street a few yards ahead of them, vomiting on the pavement. She rubbed her fingers together, properly registering the filthy people around her for the first time.
"You okay, Ems?" Carl asked, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
She nodded, taking in a deep breath. "Distract me," she managed to mutter.
"Hmm, a distraction?" Carl mused, looking wry as he turned to face her, drawing her hips gently toward him. "Will this work?" he whispered, bending over to kiss her lightly.
"Mhmm," she mumbled against his lips, bringing her hands to his neck, her anxiety quickly dissipating.
"Hey, lovebirds, the line's moving!"
Emma and Carl broke apart abruptly, looking to see an annoyed teenage girl behind them. Emma's face turned pink as she and Carl hurried to catch up with the rest of the line.
They entered the store shortly, and Emma found it hard to believe that the mob of people managed to fit.
"Jeans?" Emma yelled over the uproar, clamping her hand with Carl's, determined not to lose him.
Carl nodded, tightening his grip on her hand as they snaked through the teeming crowd toward the mens' section.
Carl quickly grabbed a couple pairs, hardly even looking at the jeans as he did so. "What?" he laughed when Emma raised an eyebrow. "They're all jeans to me."
"Need to try them on?" Emma asked as they pulled away from the table, her eyes darting around the store to find a dressing room.
"I probably should—but is there anything you want to look for first? I have a feeling the lines for the fitting rooms are going to be insane, so we could save a lot of time if we waited together," Carl said.
"I wouldn't mind looking for some cardigans," she told him. "If you don't mind, of course..."
"Of course not, gorgeous," he told her, the familiar nickname sending her heart racing. "Let's make this crazy shopping trip well worth it.
"Fifteen dollars?" Emma exclaimed as the reached a table filled with assorted cardigans, her hands gingerly touching the material that had already been handled by so many other people.
"Is that good?" Carl asked, holding up a grey sweater with an embellished flower of the neckline.
"Let's just say the cardigans I usually buy at J. Crew are around seventy dollars," Emma muttered, a bit embarrassed. "Of course these are no J. Crew cardis, but a few of them are actually pretty cute—I should shop at Old Navy more often..."
She chose a few sweaters, draping them over her arm. "Ready to try on?" she asked Carl.
"One sec," he told her.
He took her free hand, leading her to a table filled with—"Jeans?" Emma asked, almost incredulously.
"They're only ten bucks, Ems. Why not try a pair?" he encouraged, holding up a pair of dark skinny jeans, raising his eyebrows.
"I don't know..." she muttered, looking down at her stockinged legs poking out beneath her pencil shirt. "I don't really wear jeans..."
"You don't have to buy them—just try them on for the fun of it," he urged. "I've always wanted to see you in a pair of jeans..." he added, winking.
She blushed, but she dug through the pile of jeans, finding a pair in her size. "You win."
They approached the dressing room, surprised when the line was not quite as massive as they had anticipated. Emma tried on her cardigans quickly, easily picking two she wished to purchase, but she hesitated as she reached for the jeans, trying to remember the last time she had worn pants.
She pulled them over her tiny frame, taking in her appearance in the mirror. The jeans hugged her slender legs, and she found herself grinning slightly, feeling pleasantly surprised.
She pried open the door, poking her head out of the fitting room. "Carl?"
"Yeah, gorgeous?" Carl's voice came from the door across from her. He opened it, peering out.
"I have them on," she muttered, her face flushing. "But I'm not coming out. You have to come in here if you want to see."
"You're impossible," Carl sighed, though there was hint of a smile in his voice. He left his own dressing room, slipping into the cramped space of Emma's.
"What are you so embarrassed about, Ems?" Carl's eyes widened at the sight of her. "You look fantastic." He pulled her hips toward him, nuzzling her neck gently. "You should let the world see how sexy you are..." he placed a kiss against her color bone, and Emma felt her stomach flutter. "On second thought," said, gruffly. "Perhaps you shouldn't—I want you all to myself."
Emma giggled, lacing her arms around his neck, pulling her body against his, lifting her chin as she allowed him to kiss her. She parted her lips, allowing his tongue to enter.
"Ems," he groaned, reaching to let his fingers tangle through her hair.
Feeling daring, she straddled his thigh, the task much easier to complete in freedom of her jeans, pressing herself against him.
"God, Ems," he moaned, his hands reaching for her torso, tugging her shirt up as he let his hands dance across the skin of her belly.
As his hands fumbled with the button of her jeans, Emma placed a trail of kisses down his jaw, reaching the exposed portion of his chest visible through his v-necked tee.
"I thought you liked the jeans..." Emma teased him as he worked to pull the material away from her thighs.
"I do like them," he assured her. "I just like them better off at the moment..." he playfully growled as Emma shimmied out of the pants.
A knock on the door startled them, causing them both to fly apart.
"Y-y-yes?" Emma stuttered, blindly reaching for the fallen jeans.
"Never mind," came the voice of the fitting room attendant. "Just checking to see if someone was in there..."
Emma fell back against the bench, laughing wildly, letting out a sigh of relief. "That was a close call."
Carl grinned back at her. "Close? Hardly...I bet we could do so much more without getting caught," he raised an eyebrow, daring her.
"I have no doubt we could," Emma smiled coyly, pulling her khaki pencil skirt back over her thighs. "But if we're ever gonna get out of here, then we need to get in line."
Carl sighed, mumbling something that sounded like "you're no fun" under his breath.
Emma finished dressing, picking up the items she wished to purchase as she placed as kiss against Carl's cheek. "Just wait 'til we get home, sweetheart," she whispered, winking.
He laughed lacing his fingers through hers as the left the fitting room, ignoring surprised look the attendant shot their way when they emerged from the same room.
"Gosh, this is insane," Emma sighed as the took their spot at the end of the line—or rather, the mass of people all migrating toward the direction of the cashiers.
"So you're getting the jeans?" Carl noticed, glancing at the jeans draped over her arm beneath the cardigans.
She shrugged, but she gave him a devious look as she glanced at him from beneath her lashes. "I thought we could have some more fun with them at home."
"I'm quite upset with you right now," Carl muttered. "It's hardly fair of you to tease me this way." But he gently wrapped his free arm around her, pressing a kiss against her temple.
The line dragged on, and Emma soon found herself growing drowsy. She leant against Carl, closing her eyes.
"Getting sleepy, gorgeous?" he muttered, beginning to run his fingers lightly through her hair.
She nodded, perking her head up after a moment, straining to hear the radio. "I love this song," she murmured.
Carl strained to listen himself, grinning after a moment, his own voice joining the song after a moment. "You're a falling star. You're the get away car. You're the line in the sand, when I go too far." She grinned as his lips moved against her ear. "You're the swimming pool, on an August day. And you're the perfect thing to say."
He pulled away, grinning as he raised his voice as he continued with the next verse, "And you play it coy, but it's kinda cute. When you smile at me you know exactly what you do."
A couple standing behind them began to stare, and Emma felt her cheeks flush. "Carl, you're getting kind of loud," she muttered.
"Oh, am I embarrassing you?" Carl laughed, and Emma blushed deeper. His raised an eyebrow, looking especially devious as he eyed the table of argyle sweaters beside them, hoisting his body up to the surface.
"Carl!" Emma shrieked, her face turning a deep shade of red as the people around her began to mutter.
But Carl paid no heed as he stood his ground, belting the song as the refrain began. "And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times, it's you, it's you, you make me sing," he pointed toward, and Emma lowered her gaze, but she grinned in spite of herself. "You're every line, you're every word, you're everything."
He waved his arm, motioning for her to join him. "No, Carl," she mouthed, fervently shaking her head.
"Go on, hon."
Emma jerked around to see an older woman standing beside her, grinning up at Carl. "Let the man properly sing to you."
Emma sighed, reaching for Carl's hand as he held her up onto the table. "You're a carousel. You're a wishing well. And you light me up, when you ring my bell. You're a mystery. You're from outer space. You're every minute of my everyday..."
Her skin burned, but now she was smiling with no avail as Carl took her hands, dancing with her on the limited space the table offered.
"And I can't believe, that I'm your man. And I get to kiss you, baby, just because I can. Whatever comes our way, we'll see it through. And you know that's what our love can do." He grinned, spinning her carefully.
They store was nearly silent now as they held an audience, clapping along as they smiled at the pair.
Carl held Emma's gaze as he sung the last verse, the rest of the crowd melting away for a moment as he sang only for her. "And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times, it's you, it's you, you make me sing. You're every line, you're every word, you're everything. You're every song, and I sing along. 'Cause you're my everything."
"Love you, Ems," he whispered as the song ended, the crowd bursting into applause.
"Kiss her!" someone shouted, and soon a chant followed. "Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!"
Carl raised his eyebrow, gently lifting Emma's chin, revealing her red cheeks. She inclined her head every so slightly, granting him permission as he touched his lips to hers. The applause grew louder, and Emma leant deeper into the kiss, lifting her foot elegantly off the table top.
"Excuse me!" a voice rose above the din, and Emma and Carl broke apart to see an employee, a nervous looking teenage boy, glancing up at them. "Sir, ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to get down now."
Carl jumped down for the table first, reaching up to help Emma descend, twirling her around once before placing her on the floor. The crowd erupted into applause once again as Carl and Emma picked up their purchases.
"Guess it's back to the end of the line, then?" Carl sighed, lacing his fingers through Emma's, waving pleasantly to the flustered employee.
"Guess so," Emma laughed, giving his hand a squeeze as she caught his gaze, not caring one bit.
A/N: Dedicated to Strawberryrai. You always make me smile, so I want to make you smile too :]