Chapter 26, part 1: Collide

I want to be
Broken by You
And made brand new

Every thing's been perfect, can you believe it? Jay and I are... perfect! We've been together for six months... and we haven't had sex since that night after we got back from the restaurant. It has been extremely hard for Jay, but it's been hard for me too. A few times we almost slipped, but Jay's been very respectful of me. We were moving so fast, that I wanted to make sure he wouldn't get sick of me. I just can't get over how perfect we are. I mean we fight over little things sometimes, just careless arguments, but that's normal. Jay has changed so much... I'm really proud of him. We've even gotten used to being without each other. He still hangs out with his friends, and I have mine... the more we're apart, the more I love it when we see each other.

Manny says Jay has a surprise for me, for our six month anniversary. I'm a little surprised just hearing that. In the beginning, Jay and I both agreed that we weren't going to do the whole anniversary thing for the stupid 'one month', 'two month'. I thought the first we would actually celebrate would be the one year. I can't wait to see what he has planned. This time, Manny has been very, very good at keeping it a secret. Part of me is happy she hasn't told me, but the other part of me really wants to know... really bad... I'm so excited.

We, meaning Manny and I, are going shopping today. I have to find the perfect gift for Jay, since he is apparently getting me something really special. I can't even think about what it could be. We haven't even said 'I love you' to each other yet. Neither of us are quite ready for that step, plus I want this to not move so fast.

"Emma, let's go!" Manny called, already by the front door.

"Coming." Emma called back, walking out of her room. They gabbed as they walked down to Manny's car and drove to the mall.

"Do you have any idea of what you want to get him?" Manny asked. Emma was staring off into the windows of the stores they passed.

"No, but I think we, meaning Jay and I should..." Emma bobbed her head from side to side, suggestively.

"I got the perfect gift!" Manny exclaimed, taking Emma's hand. They walked past a handful of stores.

"Manny, what store are we going to?" Emma asked, almost being dragged by Manny. She was walking so fast, Emma felt as if she was going to trip over own her feet.

"We're almost there." Manny replied, not lightening up her fast pace. Suddenly, they stopped. Emma looked up to see the name of the store: Victoria's Secret.

"Manny!" Emma whispered/shouted.

"Oh, come on." Manny took her hand again, walking her into the store. "Oh look, they're having a sale!" Manny began picking up pieces of lingerie. "Try this on."

"Manny, I can't wear that!" Still whispering so no one else would hear her. Manny shoved it towards her.

"Yes you can." Manny pushed her towards the dressing room. Emma slipped into it, looking at herself in the mirror.

"I can't wear this!" Emma repeated, still whispering.

"Emma, open the door." Manny waited for Emma to open it. She looked around, Emma didn't want anyone to see her in it. "It looks great on you, and Jay will go coo-coo over it."

"Why am I buying something that is just going to end up coming off?" Emma asked, closing the door and changing back into her regular clothes.

"To get in the mood, it's hot. Plus, you can always just wear them as pajamas. Oh, and they're on sale!" Manny told her, already looking through more sets. "Now that we know your size, pick out some more."

"More, Manny, I don't even think I can wear this one." Emma said, holding up an ivory colored lace v-neck baby doll. "It's see through." Emma pointed out, even though everyone could clearly tell it was.

"It's not see through... its lace, with a very pretty floral pattern. Just find something you like." Manny continued looking, and Emma did too. She held up a sea breeze lace trim baby doll.

"This is cute." Emma held it against her body.

"That blue makes your eyes pop." Manny told her, looking it over. "See, now you're in the spirit. Okay, one more."

"Manny, another one?" Emma questioned, looking at the two in her hands.

"They are three for ten. You should never pass up a sale like this." Manny just continued looking through the clothes.

"Well, why don't you pick one out for yourself?" Emma said, unsure if she could really wear the lingerie.

"I own like a million, plus I'm not with my one and only true love, like you." Manny smiled. "Who would have thought, you and Jay Hogart."

"It's good though, right?" Emma queried, hoping Jay is the one for her.

"It's better than good, you two are perfect." Manny reassure her best friend. "Oh my, you have to get this." Manny held up a red and pink polka dot baby doll set, with cut-out sides, and small heart shaped pockets on the front, and it ties in the back.

"Manny, no." Emma shook her head.

"Emma, yes." Manny nodded her head. "Let's go pay."

"Jay's going to think I'm some kind of whore." Emma whispered as she looked at the items in her hand.

"No, Jay's going to think you look sexy." Manny corrected, taking Emma's hands, and dropping the clothes onto the counter. Emma paid for her new outfits, and took the bag from the cashier. Manny chuckled as they left the store.

"Oh gosh, take this." Emma put the bag behind her back and handed it to Manny. "I see Jay, so that bag is yours."

"Right, it's mine." Manny chuckled again. Jay was ahead of them, talking to Sean, and not really paying attention to anything around them. Emma and Manny went to the other side, sneaking up behind them. Emma tapped Jay on the shoulder, and Manny tapped Sean's. The two guys turned around, a smiling hitting their face once they saw the girls.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Jay asked, pulling Emma close to him.

"Oh you know me, can't resist a good sale." Manny answered first, giving Emma a small smirk. Emma leaned over, giving Sean a peck on the cheek, and giving Jay a soft kiss.

"You know, this would be perfect if you and Sean would get together." Emma said, derailing the conversation a bit.

"True, Sean's already felt her up." Jay agreed, hiding his snicker.

"Hey, I was drunk, and why does this always come up?" Manny asked, not looking at Sean.

"Okay, okay, we'll drop the subject." Emma overly exaggerated as she saw Manny look away from Sean.

"You two are funny, really." Sean stated sarcastically, looking at Manny out of the corner of his eye.

"You done shopping?" Jay asked, looking down at Emma. She quickly looked at the Victoria's Secret bag.

"Yeah, we're done." Emma nodded.

"Cool, let's get something to eat, and we can chill at one of the apartments." Jay waited for everyone to agree or disagree.

"Let's order in, I want Chinese." Manny said, already turning towards the exit. Sean, Jay, and Emma followed. Emma and Jay fell behind a little.

"You excited about tomorrow?" Jay questioned, whispering into Emma's ear.

"Yeah." Emma told him, staring at the bag in Manny's hand. "Are we going out, or staying in?"

"We can do whatever we want, I can adjust my plans accordingly." Jay replied, kissing the top of her head.

"I think I'd kinda like to stay in." Emma tore her eyes away from the pink striped bag. "Is that okay with you?"

"Of course, do you want to have dinner or something?" Jay asked, figuring out how he was going to do what he wanted to do.

"Um, it doesn't matter, we don't have to do anything special." Emma looked up at him. "I like just sitting on the couch with you."

Jay gave her a kiss. "We can order Italian at your place." Jay offered.

"That works for me. We can push Manny and Sean together." Emma looked at Sean and Manny, who were a little ways ahead of them.

"You sure you don't want anything special?" Jay double checked.

"I don't need anything... why, am I ruining your plans?" Emma looked up at him again.

"No, no, you're not... it's just, I will do something, if you want me to."

"No, I'm good, I swear. You, me and a movie is fine with me." Emma told him, reaching up and kissing him.

"Cool, that's good with me too."