Chapter 17

The silence stretched out for several minutes that felt like years to JJ as she waited for Emily's response to her request. She knew that her girlfriend hadn't been expecting her to say what she had and that she would need some time to think about it, but patience had never really been her strong suit.

Emily sat back and thought about what JJ was asking for. As much as she wanted to make love to her blonde girlfriend, to truly claim her as her own, she knew that Jennifer deserved more than to lose her virginity in the back seat of a car. Emily looked over at her beautiful girlfriend and she knew that Jennifer deserved something special. She deserved romance and candlelight and a big comfortable bed and all the time in the world to truly enjoy the experience.

Emily's first time hadn't been like that. Gina hadn't particularly cared if Emily's first time was special or romantic. It was more about sex than making love and Emily knew that she wanted more for Jennifer. She wanted their first time together to be something they would both look back on years from now and remember with happy thoughts and not regret.

Emily turned to face Jennifer and said, "Jennifer, there's nothing I would love more than to make love to you, but it's not going to happen tonight."

JJ looked at Emily, confused, "What? Why not?" She was really trying not to jump to conclusions or let Emily's rejection hurt, but it wasn't easy.

Emily could see that her words were being misconstrued so she took a breath and said, "because, Jennifer...you deserve better than the backseat of a car for your first time. Because we deserve better than that for our first time together." Emily paused for a moment as she looked into JJ's eyes, "I want our first time together to be perfect. I want it to be romantic and special and...you deserve to have your first time be something you can look back on without any regrets. Does that make any sense?"

JJ thought about what Emily was saying and, after a few moments, she realized that Emily was right. Their first time together should be romantic and perfect. JJ let out a breath and looked around her car then back to her girlfriend. She grinned wryly, "Guess I didn't really think this through huh? You're right Emily...we both deserve better for our first time together."

Emily smiled at JJ, "for what it's worth, it means a lot to me that you want me to be your first." Emily hoped JJ understood that she wasn't saying no because she wasn't interested.

JJ looked at her girlfriend and lifted her hand to cup Emily's cheek. She looked into those brown eyes she had come to truly love and she said, "it's worth a lot. Trust me." She then leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend.

Emily gave herself over to JJ's kiss, pouring all of her love for the beautiful blonde into their kiss.

Before either of them knew what was happening, JJ was straddling Emily the passenger seat and Emily had reclined the seat all the way back. It was rapidly becoming their favorite position to be in when they made out in the car.

They finally pulled apart when oxygen became a factor and JJ looked down at Emily, smiling. "I love you, Emily...and I'll wait as long as it takes for you." JJ's voice turned very serious as she looked into Emily's eyes.

Emily saw the truth in JJ's eyes and it warmed something deep inside of her. She lifted her hand and cupped JJ's face as she said, "I love you too Jennifer, always."

JJ studied Emily's eyes for a moment more before she smiled and turned away for a moment. She turned the car back on for a moment, then she pushed a button on the dashboard. With a quiet hum, the top of the car began to open until it was settled into place behind the back seat. JJ then turned the car off and snuggled down into her girlfriend. She nuzzled Emily's neck, her arms wrapping around her waist. She muttered into the soft skin beneath her lips, "can we just snuggle like this for a while?"

Emily smiled then placed a kiss on the top of JJ's head, "Whatever you want baby." Emily tilted her head and looked up at the stars that were now spread out above them. Her eyes darted from one constellation to another as she silently relished the feeling of holding JJ in her arms under a blanket of stars. After a moment, Emily's eyes widened as she saw a shooting star. She made a silent wish that she would be able to keep the blonde in her arms happy and safe. Emily honestly believed that she had been born explicitly for the sole purpose of finding JJ and loving her. She closed her eyes and tightened her arms around her girlfriend, wishing that they could stay like that forever.

They lay there in silence for what seemed like days but was in fact only a few hours. It was bliss. The silence between them was intimate and companionable...they let themselves get lost in the feeling of being so close and together.

The silence was shattered by the ringing of JJ's cell phone. Reluctantly, JJ shifted and grabbed the phone from her pocket. She frowned when she saw it was her mother. She looked at Emily, "Sorry, it's my mom...hang on."

Emily just nodded as JJ answered her phone. "Hi mom...um, I'm with Emily..." JJ pulled the phone away from her ear for a moment to check the time then put it back by her ear, "yeah I just saw that mom...you what? Oh...um...ok hang on." JJ turned to Emily, "she wants to talk to you."

Confused, but trained to be polite, she took the phone and carefully said, "hi Laura...yes...thank you...yes of course...oh, um...alright...yes I'll make sure...yes...ok have a good night...I will...goodbye Laura." Emily ended the call then looked over at JJ, a crooked grin on her face.

JJ couldn't stand it any longer, she was curious about what her mom had said to Emily. "So? What'd she say to you?"

Emily took a breath then grinned, "She wished me a happy birthday...and then she reminded me, in a very nice way, that I may be 18 now but you are still 17 and you have a curfew that you're about to break. She also said that it's a school night and so, if I don't want you to be grounded, I better make sure you drop me off and get home...now." Emily was drawing light circles on JJ's back as she told her girlfriend what her mother had said. Laura had been really nice about it, not intending to be the 'bad guy' at all but just offering a friendly reminder.

JJ took a moment to process what Emily had told her. She knew, as soon as she saw the time, that she was in danger of breaking curfew and, while a part of her was concerned about it, the rest of her didn't care because she was with Emily. But now that her mother had called and very effectively ruined the mood they had lost themselves in, JJ knew that she was going to have to take Emily home and then go home herself and face the music. JJ leaned down and placed a light kiss on Emily's lips before she shifted off of her girlfriend and settled into the driver's seat again.

"Looks like our night is over. My mom has such perfect timing." The sarcasm in JJ's voice was enough to make Emily giggle.

"Yeah...but at least she didn't sound angry." Emily was trying to find the good in the moment.

JJ just grinned, "Of course she didn't, she was talking to you. When I get home, that's when the angry will show itself."

Emily turned to look at JJ, trying to see if JJ truly was scared of her mom. "Jennifer..."

Something in Emily's tone made JJ turn to her, "Em, it's not like that. I'm not...scared or anything I just...I'm not looking forward to the lecture about curfew and rules and 'being responsible' that I'm in for when I get home. Plus, I don't want the night to end."

Emily just nodded, satisfied with JJ's explanation.

JJ turned the car on and pressed the button on the dash again and the car's top began to quietly and smoothly return to its original position.

JJ shifted into gear then pulled away from Cook's Cliff. She quietly drove to Emily's house, her right hand wrapped around Emily's left hand as they enjoyed their last moments of the night together.

After about fifteen minutes, JJ pulled up in front of Emily's house and put the car in park and turned to Emily, "We're here."

Emily turned to JJ, "Yeah..." Emily didn't know what to say that didn't sound cheesy or stupid.

JJ smiled at Emily then leaned closer. She kissed her girlfriend. Emily reached up and pulled JJ closer, getting lost in JJ's kiss.

After a moment, JJ pulled back and smiled, "I better get going...good night Emily. I'll be back in the morning to pick you and Liv up for school, okay?"

"Okay..." Emily smiled as she remembered some of the French she'd learned last year when she was living in Paris with her mom. "bonne nuit mon amour...r?er avec les anges, demain sera fourni avec une nouvelle lumi?e et tout mon amour pour vous." Emily leaned closer and kissed JJ again then reached for the door handle.

JJ put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Whoa, wait a minute. You can't just drop some sexy sounding French then leave without translating it."

Emily smiled as she looked at JJ, she cleared her throat and said, her cheeks tingeing a light pink, "I said, 'good night my love, dream with the angels, tomorrow will come with a new light and all my love for you'...it sounds better in French." Emily looked down, a little embarrassed by her cheesiness.

JJ, however, was charmed by the cheese. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her and she felt her heart melting at the sentiment. "In any language Em, it's still sexy and beautiful...just like the girl who said it."

Emily smiled but didn't say anything as she looked into impossibly blue eyes and saw the love shining in them.

After a few minutes of silence, JJ said, "Okay, it's time for you to go inside so I can get going. My mom isn't going to wait much longer before she calls again."

Emily opened the car door and almost as if on cue, JJ's cell phone rang again. JJ's mom's face smiled back at them from the caller ID. Emily giggled then got out of the car. She turned back, before JJ answered the cell and smiled, "Good luck baby, see you in the morning."

"Thanks, see you tomorrow. Sleep well Em."

JJ waited until Emily went inside her house before she answered her cell phone, "Hi mom. I'm on my way home, can't drive any faster." JJ put the car in gear and began driving home, listening to her mother's voice as she made sure JJ really was driving home.

Two weeks passed with the normal high school activities. Emily began rehearsals for the school play, really getting into the role of Rizzo and learning her lines and her cues. She liked the other cast members, they were civil enough but there seemed to be a bit of a chill in their attitude towards her. The girls were polite but distant whenever they weren't 'in character'. During the actual rehearsals, anyone looking in would swear that they were all best friends. But when they took breaks or weren't running lines, they would be in their own little group and Emily was usually left off to the side on her own. She didn't mind as much as she probably should, mostly because she had other things to worry about...like the guy playing Kenickie.

Jim Steele looked like the kind of guy who was used to getting whatever and whomever he wanted, but Emily knew there was one person that Jim wanted and couldn't have...Alex Cabot. Emily made it a point to know all the guys names in the play, so she would know which one was crushing on JJ and make sure he never got too close. JJ's 'admirer' was Trevor Langan who was playing Danny Zuko. Emily was suddenly glad that JJ hadn't tried out for the play, knowing that if she'd won the role of Sandy, she would have to kiss Trevor and Emily knew that it would lead to no good.

They were currently on a break in the rehearsals, they'd just run through the 'Summer Nights' musical number and were taking a break before taking it from the top. It was a key scene, it set up for the audience the dynamic of both groups and also gave Rizzo the information she needed to bring about the big reveal later at the bonfire pep rally.

Emily sat off to the side in the big auditorium and took a sip of water as she waited for Mrs. Hotchner to gather them together again. She looked around and saw the girls together in their group talking and giggling. Emily rolled her eyes and shook her head then turned to look at the guys who were also in their own little group talking. Emily chuckled quietly to herself as she realized that, if she was a blonde, she'd be the perfect Sandy; the new kid, the outsider, trying to fit in with the cool kids in school who had their own tight knit group. Emily realized how lucky she was that she had been accepted so readily into JJ's group of friends.

Jo Marlowe took a second to glance over at the new girl, Emily, who was sitting by herself. She was a decent enough actress and her singing voice was definitely up for the challenge of Rizzo, but there was something about her that Jo still didn't trust.

By now, it was common knowledge that Emily was JJ's girlfriend, so Jo knew it wasn't that she was worried about Emily trying to steal one of the guys and starting a turf war or anything like that...there was just something about the way Emily would look at her sometimes, like she was seeing someone else.

Jo turned back to her friends just as Lizzie was saying something about Halloween. It was a little less than two weeks away and they still hadn't agreed on a theme for their costumes.

Cheerleading and football practice was running a bit long and JJ was getting bored, and missing Emily who was still at rehearsals for the play, so she leaned over and tapped Olivia's shoulder, "Hey Liv?"

Olivia Benson reluctantly dragged her eyes away from her girlfriend's current attempt at a split and turned to look at her friend, "Yeah?"

"I'm getting bored so I'm gonna go for a walk. Text me when you and Alex are ready to go and I'll meet you two at the car ok?"

Liv looked at her friend for a moment then smiled, "Okay, go on. I'll text you."

JJ smiled, "Thanks Liv. See you later."

JJ stood up and quickly left the bleachers where they were sitting and sprinted towards the parking lot. She stopped at the edge of the lot and looked between the building and her car for a moment before an idea occurred to her and she got an evil grin on her face. She quickly turned towards the building and slipped inside the side door. She quickly and quietly covered the distance between the door and the auditorium. Luckily, the door was ajar and she was able to slip inside without anyone noticing. She took a seat near the back, far out of sight from the stage, where she could watch the rehearsals. JJ settled into the seat and waited.

No one noticed the new arrival. Mrs. Hotchner stood from her seat and announced they were going again. Everyone jumped into action, already accustomed to not dawdling when the drama teacher spoke.

Emily joined up with the girls and smiled in greeting, like you would with an acquaintance. Jo and the girls smiled back, slipping into character and preparing for their musical scene.

The guys grouped together as well, at the other end of the stage, to simulate being in a different area of the school grounds as the girls as they sang their song.

Mrs. Hotchner waited for her actors to take their marks before she took a breath, "okay, let's take it from Danny's line about 'all the horny details' and then move right into the song. Let's try to get all the way through it this time without dropping any cues or lines!" Hailey Hotchner lifted her right hand into the air and held it there for a moment before she swiftly lowered it and shouted, "and...go!"

The girls waited for their cue as the guys crowded around 'Danny' and began clamoring for details about the girl he met over the summer.

'Danny' grinned at the attention and said, "Oh come on, you don't wanna hear all the horny details..." The clamoring got louder and the guys advanced on him so he said, "okay I'll tell you!"

At that moment, 'Danny' sang his opening line, which was followed by the guys falling away in relief and then the girls picked up their part of the song as 'Sandy' sang her line.

And so it went, back and forth as 'Danny' and 'Sandy' sang about their summer romance and their friends made it into more than it was.

'Danny' in typical guy fashion, was painting the romance as nothing more than a few weeks of sex and fun in the sand, while the innocent and sweet 'Sandy' was singing about how romantic it all was and what a gentleman her guy was and how it was about love. And 'Rizzo' in her own typical tough girl way was keeping things 'real' with her line about 'Sandy's' guy sounding like a drag.

Near the back of the auditorium, still unnoticed, was JJ. She was watching the song play out and she smiled at Emily as she sang her lines. JJ paid attention to all the people on that stage, feeling very protective of Emily all of a sudden. She knew her girlfriend was in no real danger, but she also knew that Emily was on stage with at least two people who could pose a problem. The obvious one was Trevor, who might try to do something to Emily now that it was common knowledge around school that she and Emily were together. There was no telling how he might act or react around Emily now.

The other person was Jo Marlowe, the girl that Emily admitted bore a strong resemblance to her first girlfriend, Gina. JJ was secure enough in Emily's love for her that she wasn't worried that Emily would cheat on her with Jo or leave her for the other blonde or anything like that...but she knew that the resemblance could prove to be a distraction for Emily and might have a negative effect on her performance in the play.

For all these reasons, JJ was sitting in the auditorium watching the rehearsal...and also because she really wanted to see Emily's face. They had every class together so she saw her all day, but it never seemed like enough. JJ watched, entranced, as Emily joined the chorus with the other girls begging 'Sandy' to tell them more. Emily even had the choreography down pat. As the song drew to a close, JJ leaned back in her seat and just smiled as the last line was sung and the girls began to talk again. Two lines into the speaking portion, Mrs. Hotchner brought rehearsals to an end and let them all go for the day. JJ took advantage of the small commotion on the stage to slip quietly out of the auditorium and out to her car.

She didn't want anyone to know where she'd just been, so she decided to go to her car to wait for her friends. She was halfway across the lot when her cell phone buzzed an incoming text. She took it out of her pocket and checked the message.

[Practice over. locker room first then 2 the car. C U there! οΎ–O]

JJ smiled at Olivia's typical text shorthand. She replied with a simple 'ok' then opened a new message and sent a text to Emily, [got bored, waiting in the car...come entertain me?] JJ hit send and grinned. She knew Emily would know what she meant by 'entertain me'.

JJ got to her car and slipped into the driver's seat. She turned the car on just long enough to put the top down, taking advantage of the warm weather, then she closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the headrest.

Olivia was in the girls' locker room, waiting for Alex to take a quick shower and change back into her regular clothes. She kept herself entertained by playing solitaire on her phone. She was used to this and she didn't mind, mostly because she loved Alex so much that she would wait as long as she needed to, but also because she knew that once Softball season started, Alex would be the one waiting on her after practice.

Emily finished gathering her things and was about to turn towards the rear of the auditorium to leave when her cell phone buzzed an incoming text. She shifted her stuff to her left hand as she grabbed her cell with her right hand and checked the messages. She grinned when she read JJ's message. With an extra bounce in her step she hurried towards the exit. She quickly called Olivia's cell phone. Her cousin answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey Liv, um...where are you and Alex right now?"

"Al's taking a shower and I'm waiting on her in the locker room, why?"

"I wanted to have a few moments alone with JJ, think you and Alex could...delay your departure for a bit?" Emily was hoping that Alex and Liv weren't in a big hurry to get home.

Olivia grinned, willing to play along if it meant Emily and JJ were together. "Um...yeah I think that can be arranged. I'll text you when we're about to head to the car, ok? Maybe like an extra ten minutes?" Olivia knew she could find something to do with Alex for a few extra minutes in the locker room. The showers were looking pretty good right now.

Emily picked up her pace, "That's perfect. Thanks Liv. See you later."

"Bye Em! Have fun!" Liv's voice took on a teasing tone before she hung up.

Emily just shook her head and grinned at the phone before she tucked it back in her pocket and began to walk faster towards the parking lot.

When she reached the area where JJ's car was parked, she saw that JJ was sitting in the car with the top down and her eyes closed. Emily grinned wickedly as she began to creep up to JJ's car, not wanting to alert her girlfriend to her presence just yet.

JJ was blissfully oblivious to Emily's approach, she was too busy fantasizing about a naked Emily and...chocolate sauce. They hadn't crossed that final line yet and made love but JJ hoped they were close to it. She was getting tired of taking a cold shower after she dropped Emily off at home every night.

Emily snuck up behind JJ and quietly stepped closer until she was close enough slip in front of her. Before JJ could sense her closeness, Emily leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend.

JJ jumped at the contact, but soon realized it was Emily (she'd know those lips anywhere) and relaxed into the kiss. They lost themselves in their kiss, tuning out everything but the feel of their lips moving together.

After a few moments, Emily pulled back and smiled at JJ, "Hi baby...miss me?"

"Always. Now get in this car so we can properly make out until Liv and Alex get here!" JJ wanted to be able to run her hands over Emily's curves and she couldn't do that with Emily standing outside of the car. Emily tossed her things into the back seat then, in a move that left JJ stunned, she placed her left hand on the edge of the windshield and her right hand on the edge of the door and with one big jump, Emily propelled herself into the car and right onto JJ's lap. She quickly settled into JJ and placed her hands on the back of the seat on either side of JJ's head.

Emily grinned at JJ's surprised face and said, "I didn't think you wanted to wait for me to walk around the car...so here I am." She leaned closer and kissed her girlfriend.

At the far edge of the parking lot, with a clear view of JJ's car, stood Jo Marlowe and Lizzie Olivet. The others were already long gone but they had lingered because Jo was Lizzie's ride home and Jo had forgotten her sweater in the auditorium so she had to go back for it. They watched as Emily walked up to JJ and kissed her and then they too were surprised when Emily hopped right into the car.

Lizzie turned towards Jo, "did you see that?"

Jo's voice was a combination of annoyed and bored, "Yeah I saw that...not bad."

Lizzie turned back to look at JJ's car then she said, "You know what's sad?"

"What?"

"Trevor has never been that happy to see me...not even when we first started dating." Lizzie would never admit it out loud, but she had real feelings for Trevor. She realized over the summer that, at some point, she had fallen for Trevor. She knew though, that he was still hung up on JJ so she pretended to still want Brian, when in reality she wished that Trevor would let go of JJ and fall for her.

Jo looked at her friend and saw the truth in her eyes. She knew in that moment that Lizzie was really in love with Trevor. She made a silent promise to get Trevor to let go of his futile crush on JJ and focus on the girl he had who loved him. "Don't feel too bad about it Liz, once Trevor grows up a bit and lets go of his stupid crush on JJ, he'll come around. Come on, let's get out of here." Jo wasn't sure why, but seeing Emily with JJ made her...jealous. She couldn't explain it because she knew without a doubt that she was straight...she just knew she didn't like it.

They turned away and headed for Jo's car, a 2005 midnight blue Chrysler Sebring, more than ready to get out of there and away from the two girls.

When they could linger no longer, Liv sent a quick text to Emily letting her know they were on their way before they gathered their things and headed for the door of the locker room, adjusting their clothes along the way.

Emily pulled away from JJ's lips when she heard her phone's text message alert. She quickly checked it then looked at JJ, "To be continued. Liv and Alex are on their way to the car now."

"Oh...dang it...ok." JJ pouted a bit but didn't move her hands from Emily's hips, effectively holding her in place on her lap.

Emily smiled down at her girlfriend, "Jennifer, I should probably move over to the passenger seat now."

"Yeah...probably..." JJ's drifted off, her hands still not moving from their place on Emily's hips.

Emily slid her hands down to rest lightly on JJ's. "Which means mon amour that you're going to have to move your hands."

JJ looked down at her hands and grinned, "Oh...yeah..." She slowly slid herhands away, trailing them down Emily's thighs until they rested on the seat. "Go ahead...before I change my mind and keep you here."

Emily grinned then slowly slid away, settling down onto the passenger seat. She smiled at JJ and them looked towards the school just in time to see the door open and Liv and Alex step outside the building. Perfect timing as far as Emily was concerned, she was about five minutes away from forgetting her reasons for waiting to make love to JJ and taking her right there in the school parking lot.

JJ took a moment to get her hormones under control before she pasted a smile on her face and turned to greet her friends who finally made it to the car.

After a moment, JJ turned the car on and drove them away from the school. It was Friday and the weekend stretched out in front of them.

TBC...

AN: Here it is! The long awaited, much anticipated update! Hope I didn't disappoint. For those who were hoping to read a love/sex scene this chapter because of what JJ said, sorry but that's not happening...yet. I threw in some interaction with the pack just because I felt like I had to go back to them a bit, talk about the play. By the way, for clarification, the play isn't based on the Broadway version of the play but on the movie. The Broadway version is different from the movie in certain areas and since I've never seen that version, I have only the movie to go by as reference, hence the play is based on the movie. Sorry for any confusion. Before anyone freaks out, I have NO plans for turning Jo gay or having her come between Emily and JJ...I have a different plan for her and her jealousy over seeing them together. So relax. As always, lemme know what you thought about this chapter. Hope you like it!