Part 3

JJ looked around the jewelry store in awe. There were so many gorgeous, but expensive things. There were rows of beautiful collars from those that were really expensive to those that were more inexpensive, though none of them were really cheap. All of them were gorgeous and none of them were gaudy or in bad taste, not that she would expect that at the most exclusive jewelry store in the city. Dave insisted she had to have the best. There were also many beautiful necklaces, rings and even ankle bracelets. Everything conceivable to make a person even more beautiful was on display.

There were chandeliers on the ceiling giving the store an old fashioned ambiance, but then the story had been around since the 1700s, so it was kind of expected.

"I'm impressed," JJ admitted quietly, as she looked around the store unable to look away from all the gorgeous jewelry. Nothing here was really cheap, but then, you couldn't expect it to be since this was the best jewelry store in the city. Real gems and precious metals, as well as the craftsmanship of the jeweler cost and JJ well knew it. This wasn't a place for costume jewelry, the cheap, the gaudy or the poorly made. No, it was a place for the gorgeous, the unique, the elegant and for exquisite craftsmanship. Stuff from here should last a lifetime and beyond. It was the kind of jewelry that should be able to be passed down to any children she and Dave happened to have, which was something she and Dave were going to have to talk about sometime in the near future, but not quite yet.

"If you don't find anything here you like then we can go somewhere else," Dave said, as he escorted her into the store.

"It isn't likely that we'll have to go anywhere else," JJ said, as she started looking at all the beautiful things. "I know very well that this is the best jewelry store in the city."

"Only the best for my mate," Dave said softly, sincerely, as he gave her hand a squeeze.

"May I help you?" asked a short little man with a small blond mustache on his upper lip to go with his blond hair, and a very upper class British accent.

"Yes, sir, we're going to be looking at collars," Dave said politely. "This beautiful lady just agreed to be mine."

"Ah," the man said. "This way then. We have a good selection of collars for those Alpha/Omega couples that decide to make their arrangement permanent."

"So, you sell a lot of collars?" JJ asked curiously.

"It's not exactly our biggest seller since we do tend to be expensive. Still, we sell enough of them that we make a decent profit. A lot of people can't afford our collars since we are the best jewelry store in the city, which means that we only sell the most exquisite jewelry, the real deal and not costume or gold and silver plated. People who shop here only expect the best and that is exactly what we deliver. We have a reputation to maintain after all."

"Which is exactly why I brought Jennifer here, as I know that you only sell the best," Dave said sincerely.

The little man showed them an exquisite display of different kinds of collars. There were several rows of collars that were gold or platinum or silver. Some were solid metal; others were made out of delicate wire of silver or gold and yet others had designs etched into the metal. Also, some were studded with gems, others were plain with no extras. All of them looked relatively comfortable as they were padded with a soft material that would make them more comfortable to wear, especially every day, all day.

"So, see anything you like?" Dave asked JJ softly, even as he gently caressed her cheek.

"I see a lot of things I like but I really don't need anything so fancy," JJ protested mildly, despite her longing to have something so beautiful. She has never owned anything so nice before. She had inherited a couple of pieces from her mother, while her brother had inherited several things from their father. While the pieces from her mother were really nice and not costume jewelry they definitely weren't anywhere close to the quality of the pieces she was looking at. The pieces she was gazing at were absolutely exquisite and obviously done by a master of their craft, which indicated that the prices were going to be way up there.

"Only the best for my mate," Dave told her. "I can see the longing in your eyes despite the fact that you said you don't need anything so fancy. There is a difference in being practical and in giving into getting something you really want whether you believe you need it or not."

"That's the female in me," JJ said. "The female in me longs for pretty things and while I have some nice pieces from my mom they aren't anywhere close to the quality of these. They're the genuine deal, but these are obviously done by a master of their craft. However, my more practical side is telling me not to get anything too fancy, as I don't really need it and it would only attract the worst elements of society. Unlike a necklace that you can tuck under your shirt collars are visible unless you wear turtlenecks all the time."

Dave could see the point that JJ was making, but still, he wanted to get only the best, so did his best to convince her. Finally, JJ decided on a platinum collar, studded with topaz because that was her favorite stone. She had finally suppressed her more practical side and let her more girlish side out for the day. The collar was lovely and one of the cheaper ones they sold though that didn't mean it was inexpensive, since it was still nearly 400 dollars, causing JJ to wince when she first saw the price tag.

JJ continued to look around while Dave went and paid and thought how she would love to have the earrings and bracelet to go with the collar, but she figured that Dave had spent more than enough for one day. She knew he wouldn't mind, as he was generous and kind, but still, she controlled her longing with an iron will. She had gone all her life without a lot of expensive possessions and she wasn't about to change now. She knew figuring out how to become immortal was enough to deal with, as she never wanted to leave Dave's side. She had felt comfortable in Dave's presence from the moment they had met. She had just known that he was the one for her. She had been having dreams on and off about a couple of other women that looked vaguely like her and a man that could have been Dave's twin brother. She had never figured out why she had been having those dreams. A practical girl like her didn't usually believe in things like reincarnation, but she had often wondered if those women she had been dreaming about ever since she was 20 were her previous selves and if the man was really her Dave. They looked enough like her that she was pretty sure of her conclusions and besides, if Dave could be immortal it was possible reincarnation existed too. She was sure that Dave had been involved in some way with her previous selves if what she saw in her dreams were true and not just her vivid imagination at work. She couldn't really imagine why she was dreaming about two different women if they weren't her in some form or about Dave, if it really was her Dave and not his identical twin.

She was curious enough that she was going to ask Dave about it, but she was afraid of how he would react. Perhaps, she should just leave well enough alone.

"So, let's get going," Dave suggested, as he took her hand and kissed the back of it gently, causing JJ to blush prettily at the utter adoration on his face.

~~~Dave and JJ~~~