"Emily," Chloe said as she walked into the living room.

"Hey, Chloe."

"Good, I was hoping to catch you here. I have something to show you."

Emily looked down and saw that Chloe was holding a sketch. "Is that the dress?"

"Yes it is."

"Oh wow!" Emily rushed over to get a closer look at it. "It looks so beautiful!"

"I'm glad you approve!"

"The flowers on it are gorgeous!"

"I thought you would like that. And it's light blue, the color you said you wanted. My favorite color too." Chloe smiled.

"Oh thank you so much, Chloe! This is great!"

"What's great?" Monica said, walking into the living room. Emily suddenly turned pale.

"Oh hi, Monica. I was just showing Emily the prom dress I designed for her," Chloe explained.

Emily bit her lower lip. Monica stared at Emily with disapproval.

"Ah, Chloe, I'm afraid that Emily has neglected to tell you something."

"What do you mean?"

"Emily is not going to prom. She has stayed past her curfew one too many times and her father and I have decided that the only way to get through to her is to forbid her to go to the prom. Emily, I think you owe Chloe an apology for making her go through all of that work."

"Really, it was no trouble at all--"

"That's not fair, Mom! I have been looking forward to this for months and you know that!" Emily started to tear up.

"Well maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to come home at 3 a.m."

"I didn't mean to stay out that late! I fell asleep! How many times do I have to tell you that? Mom, ground me for the rest of the year! Ground me for life! I don't care! Just please let me go out just this one night! Please!" Emily pleaded.

"You can go to the prom next year. You'll be a senior then so it'll be more special."

"But I want to go now!"

"I'm sorry, Em, the answer is still no."

"Oh, Monica, are you sure you won't reconsider?" Chloe asked.

"Chloe, I'm sorry you went through the trouble with the dress, but the punishment still stands. Emily needs to learn that she cannot stay out all hours of the night and not expect to get punished for it. She can wear the dress next year."

"I'm sorry, Chloe," Emily said in tears. "I hate you!" She said to her mother and ran up to her room in tears.

Monica saw the look of concern in Chloe's eyes. "Don't worry, she always acts like this when she doesn't get her way. She needs to learn though."

"Monica, I know that what Emily did was wrong, but don't you think that forbidding her to go to prom is a little harsh? I mean, it's prom! It's the night every girl looks forward to in high school."

"I'm sorry, Chloe. Emily will have to be punished for her actions. I'll let her go next year, but this year, she is going to sit this one out. I have to get to the hospital." Monica then hurriedly left the room.

Chloe sat down and sighed. "Poor Emily. Her very first prom with her very first boyfriend and she is going to miss it. Unless…" Chloe smiled. She suddenly had a great idea.

Emily wasn't sure why Chloe wanted her to come over to her suite, but she said it was really important. Emily knocked on the door and a few seconds later, Chloe appeared. "Hey, Em, come on in."

"Hey, Chloe." Emily said softly, still upset with her mother, even though it had been a week since their ugly outburst.

"Hey, what's with the long face?" Chloe asked.

"You know," Emily said.

"Well, I have got something that will make you very happy!"

"What?"

"Follow me."

Emily followed Chloe to her bedroom. Chloe opened up her closet and pulled out a beautiful light blue floor-length dress with navy-blue flowers embroidered on the front. "What do you think?"

"Chloe! It's beautiful!"

"It's yours."

Emily took the dress and held it up against her, admiring the dress in the mirror. "Oh, I love it! It's so pretty!" She then stopped. "Chloe, I can't wear this. I still can't go to prom, remember?"

"Emily, you're going to prom," Chloe stated.

"What?"

"You heard me! You're going to prom."

"Huh? Did you talk to my mom or something?"

"No."

"Well then, what are you talking about?"

"Okay, I had an idea…"

"Monica? Hi, it's Chloe." Chloe glanced over at Emily grinning on the bed.

"Oh, hi, Chloe. What can I do for you?" Monica asked on the other end of the line.

"Well, I was calling because I was concerned about Emily. She seems to be taking this punishment about not going to the prom really hard."

"Oh I know. She's been moping around the house all week, but I'm sorry Chloe, I'm not going to change my mind."

"Oh, I understand, but that's not why I was calling."

"Oh?"

"Well see, I was thinking. Would it be okay with you if Emily and I sort of had a girl's night out on prom night? I was thinking that we could hang out at my place and watch girl movies. It would take her mind off of it and it would be just us girls."

"Hmm, I don't know…"

"Well think about it this way, Monica. If Emily is with me, then you know that she won't be sneaking out of her room to go to prom or anything."

Emily had to hold back her laughter when Chloe said that.

"You know what, Chloe, I hadn't thought about that. Emily is a master at sneaking out of the house. That is actually a pretty good idea."

"So is that a yes?"

"Well, as long as I know that she is with you, then sure, that will be just fine."

"Oh great! Thanks, Monica."

"Alright, goodbye."

"She said YES!" Chloe exclaimed.

"AHHH!" Emily jumped up and down and ran over to hug Chloe. "Chloe! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

"Hey," Chloe said and walked into Jax's penthouse.

"Hey," Jax said.

"Okay, I have like, a huge favor to ask you."

"Alright, you've certainly got my attention. What can I do for you?" Jax walked over to the couch and sat down. Chloe followed him.

"I need your help in pulling off a stunt."

"Uh-oh, this sounds like trouble," Jax laughed.

"Yeah, and you and I are best at that!" Chloe smiled. "Okay, here's the thing. Emily's prom is coming up, but Monica and Alan won't let her go because they are punishing her for staying past her curfew one time too many."

"They won't let her go to prom? Gee, that's strict."

"I know! Well I told Emily that I was going to make sure that she gets to go to the prom with Juan, no matter what, so I kind of need your help."

Jax laughed. Chloe was always willing to do anything in the name of true love. "What can I do?"

"Emily is going to come over to my suite on Saturday night. Monica is under the impression that she'll be watching girl movies with me all night long, but what we'll really be doing is getting her ready for the prom. Meanwhile, I need you to go pick up Juan, bring him over to my suite, and then take the two to the country club. I need to stay at my place, just in case Monica calls. Then you need to pick them up, take Juan home, bring Emily back to get changed, and then I can take her back home."

"Okay, so let me get this straight. You want me to help you pull a fast one over Monica and Alan's heads?"

"Yes."

"And this is all in the name of true love, am I right?"

"Of course! So, will you help me? Come on, it'll be fun!"

Jax laughed. "Of course I'll help you."

"Oh, thank you, Jax! You're the best!" Chloe leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Okay, I gotta run. I have some pre-prom errands to run for Emily and Juan."

"What time am I supposed to pick Juan up?"

"Uh, I'll let you know Saturday. Kinda depends on how long it takes to get Emily ready. See ya!"

"Bye." Jax laughed. He loved her romantic nature.

Emily, dressed in a robe, sat in Chloe's bedroom chair as Chloe put the final touches on her hair and Elizabeth applied some lipstick.

"This color looks great on you, Emily," Elizabeth said.

"Oh and your hair is so beautiful!" Chloe said.

"Can I see?" Emily asked

"Just one moment, let me finish with this lipstick," Elizabeth said.

Suddenly, the women heard a knock on the door.

"That can't be them already, can it? I'm not even dressed yet!" Emily panicked.

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Chloe said calmly. "We're making perfect time. Elizabeth, will you get the door? I'll finish with the makeup."

"You nervous?" Jax asked Juan as they stood out in the hallway.

"A little. I've never been to the prom before so I don't know what it's like."

"Well don't worry. You'll have a great time. You'll be with the girl that you love, and that's the most important thing."

"Hey, you guys. Come on in," Elizabeth said, opening the door. "Emily's not quite ready yet. Just give us about five more minutes." Elizabeth then rushed back into the bedroom.

"Is that Jax and Juan?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, they're here. Where's Em?"

"She's in the bathroom changing."

"I can't believe you and Jax are sneaking those two to the prom!"

"Well you only have your first prom once! I wasn't about to let Monica and Alan make Emily miss it."

"Yeah, I have to agree. I think it was really unfair of them to do that."

"A little help, please!" Emily said as she walked back into the room and struggled with her zipper at the back of her dress.

"I'll get it." Chloe walked over to Emily and zipped her dress up. Then she straightened out the dress, making sure the straps and all were in place, and then admired the gown. "Oh, Emily, you are so beautiful!"

"Emily, that dress is simply gorgeous on you!" Elizabeth added.

Emily blushed. "Thank you." She looked at herself in the mirror.

"I think you're going to blow Juan's mind," Chloe whispered.

"Oh, is Juan here? Was that him at the door?"

"Yeah, he and Jax are waiting so we better get moving," Elizabeth said.

Chloe and Elizabeth walked into the living room.

"Emily's ready," Chloe announced.

Emily walked out slowly, and Juan gasped at her beauty. He walked over to her and took her hand.

"Wow," he said. "Emily, you look so beautiful. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

"Juan…" Emily blushed. "You're embarrassing me," she whispered.

Juan smiled. "Oh, I almost forgot." Juan walked over to the table and picked up a box. He pulled a corsage out of it and gently put it on her wrist.

"It's so pretty," Emily said.

"Not as pretty as you,"

"Juan!"

Chloe, Jax, and Elizabeth laughed softly as Emily's face went beet red again.

"Well, if we're going to do this, then we should get a move on," Jax said and pointed to his watch.

"Oh, wait, we need a picture first!" Chloe rushed into her room and came back a few seconds later with her camera.

After taking a few pictures, it was time for them to go.

"Now, Emily, remember," Chloe reminded, "You and Juan have to meet Jax in the parking lot at 10:30 sharp! No exceptions, okay? I'm sorry you have to leave so early but…"

"No I know, I know. Chloe, I'm just so grateful that I'll at least get *some time* at the prom! Even if it was only an hour, that would be fine with me!"

"Well you'll have almost three hours so that should be enough!"

"Oh, Chloe, before I forget. Just in case my mom asks, what movies did we see?"

"Oh, hmm. Okay, tell her that we were in the mood for a little Julia Roberts so we watched Steel Magnolias and Pretty Woman."

"Okay, great!"

"Bye you two! Have fun!" Elizabeth said.

"Bye!" they said.

"And thank you so much, Chloe, Elizabeth, Jax, everyone! Thank you!" Emily said.

"Yeah thanks!" Juan said.

"Bye!" Chloe said.

"Bye!" Emily said.

Jax smiled at Chloe as he headed out the door.

"Thank you," she mouthed to him.

Chloe knocked on Jax's penthouse door after dropping Emily off at the Q mansion.

"Come in," she heard Jax say.

Chloe walked in with a smile on her face.

"Hey, you're back. So did Monica or Alan suspect anything?"

"Not at all! It took just about everything in me not to laugh out loud! It was a huge success! Emily got to go to prom and she had the time of her life!"

"Good."

Chloe joined Jax on the couch. "Jax, I want to thank you. I couldn't have pulled this off without you. I really appreciate you helping me out."

Jax smiled. "I'd do anything for you. I love pulling off crazy schemes with you. And you know, it was actually fun! Brought back a lot of memories, you know, listening to the way Juan and Emily went on and on about how much fun they had."

"You know, Jax, I've been thinking a lot lately about our prom."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mmm-hmm. Jax, I don't think I ever told you, but that was the best night of my senior year."

"Really? Better than graduation?"

"Ten times better! You were so incredibly sweet, and I had such a wonderful time. I'm actually glad that Mark dumped me, because I know there is no way I would have had as much fun with him as I did with you."

Jax smiled. "That was a really special night for me too."

"Hey, Jax?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something that has been bugging me for the longest time?"

"Sure."

"Why did you go to the prom by yourself? I mean, Jax, you could have had *any* girl in the school that you wanted!"

"Oh, I doubt that."

"Jax! Hello! Did you see yourself? Did you look into a mirror? Come on, you were gorgeous!"

"Were?" Jax asked, slightly offended.

Chloe playfully hit him in the shoulder. "And *still* are! All the girls were crazy about you! Those afternoons when you would pick me up from swim practice, the girls on the team were literally swimming in a pool of their own drool!"

Jax laughed. "So that explains why they were always so giddy around me."

"But I don't get it, Jax. You still went to the prom by yourself. How come?"

"Well, it was Jerry's idea really. He said if I went to the prom unattached, it would leave me free to dance with all of the girls there." Jax laughed softly. "But it turns out, once I got there, I realized that there was really only one girl I wanted to dance with. And looks like I got my wish."

Chloe blushed at his compliment. "That was such a special night. It feels like it happened just yesterday too. Time really does fly."

"I don't even remember what 18 feels like, it's been so long. And now we're almost 30."

Chloe smiled at Jax. "You turn 30 next Sunday!" she teased softly.

"Yeah, I know. I feel so old."

"Me too," Chloe agreed.

Jax and Chloe both sat on the couch with blank expressions on their faces. They sighed.

Chloe then looked over at Jax. He didn't know she was looking at him. She smiled. He was so cute. "Jax, you remember that pact we made when we were kids? That if neither of us were married by the time we were 30 that we would marry each other?"

"You remembered that?"

"Of course. How could I forget? Back then at 10, 30 seemed like such a long ways away. And now, it's here."

"I came close you know. I was engaged. Well, for a few weeks anyway. But I didn't quite make the 30 year deadline."

"Well look on the bright side. I turn 30 in a couple of months, and from the looks of things, I won't be getting married anytime soon, so you may just get yourself a wife by the end of the year after all." Chloe laughed softly.

Chloe looked down at her bracelet and started fiddling with it. Jax smiled at her. Now would be the perfect time to just ask her.

"Chloe?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah?"

"Have you ever wondered…"

"Wondered what, Jax?"

"Have you ever wondered, well, what it would have been like if you and I…I don't know…if we had ever dated?"

Chloe's heart started to pound rapidly. Was Jax saying to her that he had had thoughts of dating her in the past? She had had thoughts of dating him ever since she was a teenager. "Actually, Jax, I have."

Jax had felt so nervous asking her that. He thought for sure that Chloe would laugh at him, call him a silly name and say, "Of course not, Jax! You're my best friend! Dating you would be too weird." So when Chloe didn't say anything like that at all, he was surprised. She had thought of dating him?

"Have you?" Chloe asked him.

Jax smiled at her. "Sometimes."

Under normal circumstances, Chloe would be too nervous to say this, but when Jax said he thought of dating her sometimes, her nervousness just lifted away. "Jax, when I told you that all of the girls were crazy about you, well, I was one of them you know."

Jax felt his heart beat faster. Chloe was crazy about him back then? The statement completely shocked him. "Are you serious?"

Chloe smiled and shook her head. "Yeah. I had a *major* crush on you back in junior high."

Jax grinned widely in shock. "What?!"

"Oh come on! Don't tell me you didn't know! It was *so* obvious!"

"It wasn't obvious to me!"

"Jax, how could not know?" Chloe started to laugh. "I did *everything* to get you to notice me! I wore my hair differently; I bought clothes that I thought were sexy! Mom had a little problem with that. I wore makeup! I even shaved my legs! But you *still* didn't notice me!"

Nothing could possibly wipe the smile from Jax's face. He loved hearing how Chloe was crushing on him. "Chloe, I can't believe you had a crush on me!"

Chloe shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you never knew."

"You know, Chloe, you're one to talk. I wasn't the only who was blind when it came to admirers."

Chloe looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Chloe, do you remember that Valentine's Day in high school when you got the dozen red roses?"

"Yeah, and I didn't know who it was from."

Jax smiled at her.

"You mean to tell me it was *you*? You sent me the roses?!"

Jax smiled wider and shook his head.

"Jax!" Chloe hit him in the shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me?! I racked my brain for weeks trying to figure out who sent them!"

Jax shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I was just afraid I guess. What if you didn't feel the same way?"

"But what if I did?" Chloe asked softly.

Jax looked at her and saw she was staring intently at him. "Chloe, by any chance, do you still have a crush on me?"

"No, Jax," Chloe said softly.

Jax's heart sank.

Chloe took his hand. "Because what I feel for you now, it's so much more than just a crush. What about you? Do you still feel the same way about me like you did in high school?"

"Chloe, I've always loved you, and my love for you only grows stronger by the day. I think that's the real reason why I went to the prom by myself. No other girl could ever compare to you, Chloe."

Finally, their feelings were out in the open. Jax and Chloe smiled at each other and looked away, blushing from the revelation.

Chloe suddenly lit up. "Wait right here! I'll be right back!" Chloe hopped off from the couch and dashed over to the door.

"What are you doing?"

"You'll see!"

Jax remained on the couch, missing Chloe already. Now that she knew that he loved her, he wanted so much to show her.

About ten minutes later, Chloe finally came back.

"Sorry it took so long," Chloe apologized. "I had to look for something. Remember these?" Chloe held up a record.

Jax laughed. "Yeah. What are you up to?"

Chloe didn't answer. She went over to Jax's entertainment center. "I hope this thing still works." She opened the lid to the record player and blew the dust off from it.

Jax stood up, anxious to see what Chloe was about to play.

Chloe put the record on and music began to play. "Ring any bells?" she asked him.

"This was the last song they played at the prom," Jax said.

"Dance with me, Jax."

And suddenly, the two were no longer dancing. They were just standing there, holding each other and looking into each other's eyes. There was no hesitation this time as they leaned forward and their lips met.

As the song ended, Jax straddled Chloe over to the couch and they fell down on it, never taking their lips off from each other for even a second.

Jax couldn't believe how exhilarated he felt. Just simply kissing the woman he loved was the most incredible feeling in the world.

Chloe's head was spinning. She couldn't believe Jax was kissing her, and not just as a friend! How could she have been so blind before? How could she not know that Jax felt this way when it was so completely obvious?

This kiss felt so good, so right. This was meant to be, and they both knew it. Jax slowly pulled away to look into her beautiful brown eyes. The question was in his eyes, and he didn't even need to use words to ask it.

Chloe simply shook her head, and Jax picked her up. He reclaimed her lips once more as he carried her to the bedroom…

To be continued…

*Song Credit: "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper