Here is the last installment of Funny Little Frog... I hope you all enjoy it. :-)
Also, for no reason...
If you have seen The Ruins then this little blurb will make sense to you. I wrote it after I saw that...interesting film, and well. As I've said, if you've seen it, then go ahead and read on. It doesn't have anything to do with the story so don't feel obligated:
"Jude, pick me up a carton of cigarettes on your way home, will ya?" I whine from the couch, watching as my best friend glares at me from across the room.
"You have a cold," he sighs, rolling his eyes, "you're not handicapped."
"Handicapable, Jude."
"Capable or not, you've got two legs," the Brit continues, laughing, "use 'em."
Hee hee... Oh Joe Anderson. Anyway. Story time, gather round kiddies!!
Disclaimer: Across the Universe does not belong to me. It's true. I haven't even bought the DVD yet.
If there's one thing I hate more than anything, it's feeling hung over.
I wake up uncomfortably warm and light headed, my eyes slowly cracking open only to fall back shut. Arms, legs, fingers, toes… I'm all here. I'm sometimes amazed that I haven't lost a limb yet during one of our drunken escapades.
Jude lies next to me, and I wonder why I never made it to my bed. No wonder it's so warm… The Brit is like a damn furnace. Which can be nice in the winter, but in the summer…
I push Jude's arm off of my chest and clumsily untangle our legs before standing up, the world spinning around me. I shakily make my way across the room, my stomach aching.
Once in the kitchen, I begin to pour myself a bowl of cereal before deciding that's too much work. I grab the box and stumble back into Jude's room, my arms feeling impossibly heavy as I tumble back into bed, my head smacking the wall on my way down.
"Ow, fuck," I mumble, wincing as I situate myself. Jude says something.
"What?" I ask, leaning closer to him as he repeats himself.
"I said could you keep it down?"
"Oh, I'm fine, thanks. Don't worry, it's only a concussion. I'll be back on my feet in no time."
I watch as Jude slowly reconciles himself to waking up, his half-lidded eyes glaring at me. I move my legs from where they'd previously been dangling over Jude's so that he can sit up, his body slumping next to where mine is propped up against the wall.
I shove a handful of Kix into my mouth before offering Jude some of the sugary cereal.
"How do you feel?" Jude asks, popping one piece of cereal into his mouth.
"Hung over," I reply, shoving another handful into my mouth, "shitty. You?"
"Fine," he answers, stretching his arms out in front of him, "Although I wasn't the one who ended the night on a tequila shot contest with JoJo."
"Oh. Who won again?"
"JoJo."
Right," I mumble, watching as Jude lights a cigarette out of the corner of my eye. A moment passes before I steal a drag from Jude's cig, handing it back to him as I exhale.
"I have to work in a few hours," I grumble, crossing my legs Indian style and wrapping my arms around my stomach. I lean forward over my knees, letting my hair fall around my face. Fucking miserable…
Suddenly I feel Jude's warm hand on my back, and I nearly jump at the contact. Jude rubs my back, his hand moving in slow circles as we sit together in silence. I begin to breathe in time with Jude, letting my eyelids fall shut. My spinning world becomes stable, the sharp pain in my stomach fades as I concentrate on Jude's warmth.
I'm almost asleep, slumped over my lap, when I hear Jude inhale sharply, cursing under his breath.
"Sorry, I dropped my cigarette," he apologizes, and I sit back up, stretching my arms above my head. My back cracks.
I hear Jude shifting around behind me, a shiver running down my spine when I feel his breath on the back of my neck. I hear him light another cigarette.
After a moment, Jude's hands press against my lower back.
"Do you want me to stop, or…?" he asks, his voice catching.
"Well shit, Jude," I chuckle, though my voice sounds strained, "you won't hear me complaining."
Jude tugs at my shirt and I look back at him, his hair messy and a cigarette dangling from his lips that are twisted up into a smirk.
"You're going to have to get a little bit closer, mate," he says, mimicking the way I'm sitting as he crosses his legs in front of him.
I slide back and immediately his hands are on my back and shoulders, making my breath catch in my throat. Jude presses against my back, rubbing at the tightness in my muscles. I let my head fall forward, wondering what I did to receive Jude's undivided attention like this.
Whatever I did, it was certainly worth it because Jude is really fucking good at giving back rubs…
After a few minutes, I feel myself growing tired again. My eyelids grow heavy, and I sit up straight to try and wake myself back up. I shake my head and blink a few times, wondering what time it is.
"You good?" Jude asks, pulling his hands back to himself.
"Yeah, thanks," I yawn, moving to slump against the wall. I feel Jude pull his arm out of the way to make room for me when, instead, he wraps his arm around my shoulders. Jude pulls me into him, moving his arm down so that his hand rests on my hip.
Stunned and slightly confused, I try to sit back up but find that Jude's grip on me is stronger than I originally thought. I take a deep breath and try instead to relax. The hand on my hip is shaking slightly, and when I glance up Jude is staring raptly at the smoke from his cigarette.
I close my eyes when Jude's gaze shifts from the smoke to me, and my heart skips a beat when I feel my best friend's lips brush against the top of my head. Strangely, this doesn't wig me out half as much as I would've expected it to.
Warm, tired, hung over and relaxed, I quickly fall asleep, my head pressed to Jude's chest where his heart is beating way too quickly.
I probably shouldn't have done that.
I take a drag off of my cigarette, my heart still racing in my chest. I can't help but think that Max's reaction to my kissing him was…better than I could have hoped for. Sure, he was half asleep, and yeah, I didn't exactly kiss him, but still…
Max stirs slightly, and I look down to where he's curled up next to me, his face buried in my chest. He breathes in and out slowly, his hot breath against my neck driving me crazy. I tighten my grip on him and lean my cheek against the top of his head.
I could live with this.
I sigh and stretch my legs out in front of me, the irrational hope that perhaps Max and I could start something edging its way into my mind. I know it's unlikely, probably impossible, but tonight certainly didn't crush any hope of Max and I…
My heart jumps into my throat, and I look down at Max. There's no doubt I'm attracted to him, and I think, in a way, I have been since I first met him. Something drew me to him when I first saw him rushing through the campus at Princeton. I could have approached anyone else to ask them what I needed to know, and yet I didn't. I continued wandering around the foreign university until I saw Max, and for some reason asking him was as simple as helping him pick up his papers. Talking with Max came naturally; there were never any awkward pauses where neither of us knew what to say.
I pause in my thoughts to examine my best friend, his pink lips slightly parted, his hair falling into his face. He hasn't shaved in a few days, and there are shadows underneath his closed eyes. He never gets enough sleep, proudly proclaiming that he'll "sleep when he's dead".
I smile, feeling content for the first time in a few weeks. Max's hipbone juts into my hand from underneath his thin t-shirt, and I lean down to kiss his forehead.
He should eat more.
I grab my jacket and am out the door in seconds flat. I just woke up minutes ago, but already I'm late for work. The fact that I woke up basically on top of Jude doesn't help my state of being, either.
He kissed me. Jude fucking kissed me. And sure, okay, that's not such a big deal because I won't lie and say we've never kissed before. But before today alcohol or drugs have always been involved in any type of sexual interaction between Jude and I. Before today, Jude was my clearly defined best friend. Before today, I'd never considered him as anything else.
Goddammit.
I rush down the stairs, practically tripping over myself as I near the bottom. I push open the door and run down the sidewalk towards the cab company that I work for, knowing that I've already received multiple warnings about my tardiness. Hopefully they can forgive one more. Or else Linda had better be acting manager. I can charm amnesty out of her, at least.
I continue jogging, thoughts of Jude running through my mind. Did I do something stupid last night? Is that what this is about?
My heart skips a beat when I think about what I could have done to Jude during a blackout night. That's it, I give up alcohol.
Okay, so I don't, but still what the fuck did I do to make Jude start acting like that? Does it matter?
I turn the corner and head into the office, preparing myself for a lecture on being "punctual".
"Max!"
"Oh thank God," I breathe, looking up to find Linda staring at me through her glasses.
"What kept you?" she asks, smirking at me out of breath.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I reply, giving her my best smile, "it's been a rough day, huh?"
"Alright, alright, I don't have time to deal with you today, Mr. Carrigan," she laughs, turning back to her paperwork, "Just clock in and I'll let you keep your job."
"Thanks, Lin," I sigh, lifting my shirt to wipe the sweat off of my face. I smirk when I let my shirt drop back down, noticing that Linda has not failed to notice.
I quickly clock in and go back outside, grabbing the keys to my cab on the way out.
My mind spins with thoughts of Jude, of the way he pulled me tightly to him, the feeling of his hands on my back, his lips brushing against my hair. The Brit's soft voice and accent, his breath washing over my neck.
My heart pounds quickly in my chest, and suddenly I'm excited for my shift to end.
I drag myself up the nine flights of stairs, exhausted after seven hours of driving angry tourists to popular locations.
My heart starts to beat faster as I near our floor, with thoughts of earlier today and only a vague idea as to what I'm actually going to do once I open the door going through my mind. I've run the scenario through a dozen times in my brain during the course of my day, but I still have no clue what I'm going to say to Jude.
I pull the door open and walk into the apartment, listening for Sadie or JoJo or anybody, but the apartment is silent. I kick my shoes off and walk towards Jude's room, finding that empty as well.
Ah, shit. Sadie's playing a gig tonight. I forgot.
I walk into the kitchen and stop when I see Jude leaning against the wall, a glass in his left hand.
"Whatcha got there?" I ask, walking across the kitchen and opening the fridge.
"Orange juice," Jude says, and I feel his eyes on my back.
"Why didn't you go to Sadie's gig?" I continue, shutting the fridge and moving to lean against the kitchen table, across from Jude.
"I was going to, but I fell asleep after you left and…" Jude pauses and glances up at me, "by the time I woke up, they were already gone."
"Oh," I say, my heart pounding in my throat.
"Listen, Max," Jude starts, and I grip the back of the chair next to me, "a…about what happened… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"
"Don't worry about it, Jude," I interrupt, watching as Jude leans forward and sets his glass of orange juice on the table.
"Still, I… I wanted to make sure that we're okay. I don't want there to be any… strangeness between us," he says, and I quickly shake my head.
"No, man," I quickly say, barely able to keep this up, "it's totally fine." Jude looks up at me, his eyebrows furrowed as he tries to figure out the tone in my voice.
"Okay, well," he sighs, giving me a smile, "I just wanted to make sure. Do you want to go catch the last hour or so of Sadie's gig?"
"No," I say, smirking when Jude turns to look at me, a confused look on his face. I press myself away from the table and into Jude, pushing him sharply into the wall. Fuck our clearly defined friendship. "We're not going anywhere."
"Max?" Jude says nervously, his eyes wide.
"Jude, I…" I begin to say, but quickly give up on words when I feel Jude's hands gripping my waist, when I see the hopeful look lighting his face as I slide my hand up his chest to rest on the back of his neck.
I smirk at Jude before tugging him down into a kiss. Jude inhales sharply as I press myself closer to him, our bodies flush against each other now as his grip on me tightens.
"Max," Jude breathes once I pull away, thoroughly satisfied with the way my best friend's lips feel against mine, "you don't have to…"
I brush my lips up against Jude's to make him be quiet, feeling him smile as he moves his hands up to cup my cheeks. He presses away from the wall, walking me backwards until my ass hits the table. In one motion, Jude slides his hands back down my sides and lifts me up onto the table, his hands gripping the backs of my thighs as I wrap my legs around his stomach.
I deepen the kiss, our lips meeting hungrily as I pull Jude closely to me, his hands sliding underneath the hem of my t-shirt. I twist my fingers into Jude's hair, my breath coming in short gasps now as he lifts my shirt up to my chest, breaking the kiss briefly in order to finish pulling it over my head.
Once my shirt is tossed halfway across the room, Jude pulls me back to him, his hands running all over my back and shoulders. I rest my wrists on Jude's shoulders, cradling the back of his head as I pull him back to me, our lips meeting in another searing kiss. I open my mouth against his and run my tongue along his top lip, smirking when his hands clamp down on my hips.
Jude pushes up into me, his lips moving against mine as we share breath. I slide against him, breathless, as the other man moves his hands down to my thighs, his fingers digging into jean. I detangle my fingers from Jude's hair to pull at the bottom of his sweater, dragging my fingers up his stomach. Jude's stomach muscles clench underneath my touch and he chokes on a groan. I pull away from Jude's mouth to tear his sweater off of him, watching with satisfaction as he eagerly sheds the clothing. I let his sweater fall to the floor, eyeing the other man's torso greedily.
"Bedroom," I command, leaning towards Jude as a wicked smile lights his face.
"Yes," he whispers, pressing another kiss to my lips.
I slide to the floor, pinned between the table and Jude. Jude pulls my hands from around his neck and pushes them onto the table behind me, covering them with his own hands.
"Jesus, Max," he says, smiling. Jude leans his forehead against mine, looking into my eyes, "you're sure?"
I grin as I slip out from my makeshift cage, grabbing Jude's hands as I start walking backwards towards his bedroom.
"From here on out, Jude," I reply, hooking my fingers into his belt loops, "no more talking."
An uncomfortable pins and needles sensation in my arm pulls me from my sleep. I start to pull my arm to myself when I glance over, smirking when I see Max's mop of yellow hair not two inches from my face. My arm tingles, reminding me that it is still trapped underneath the other man. I slowly drag my arm to me, holding my breath when Max stirs.
"…stop…" he mumbles, and then promptly turns over onto his side, freeing my arm and me of my problems.
I stretch and rub my arm, waiting for the feeling to return. I try to convince myself that this is normal; Max lying next to me, our legs barely touching as we have obviously ended and will now start another day together.
I think being naked ruins the illusion a bit, though.
I pause, memories from last night flooding my mind. Yesterday when it was so dark, and all I cared about was Max Max Max and having more of him, his body against mine, more of his lips, his teeth, his tongue… My stomach clenches, and I try to put my mind onto other things.
Not that it's so terrible to think about.
Max turns back over so that he's facing me and opens his eyes, squinting at me. I watch, my heart pounding in my chest, as he brings a hand up to wipe his forehead, letting it slide into his hair where he grabs a handful of his yellow locks.
"Morning," he mutters.
"Hi," I reply, my hand resting against my chest.
Max scratches his jaw. A few moments pass by in silence, each of us caught up in our thoughts.
"C'mere," I say, smiling when Max glares at me.
"…why?" he asks suspiciously, and I laugh.
"Just come here," I press, nudging him with my foot.
"Not until you tell me why," Max argues, though he's smiling.
"You stupid toff," I laugh, pulling him to me. Max chuckles and presses himself against my side, his hair tickling my cheek from where his head is resting on my shoulder.
"Are you making an honest girly out of me, Judey?" he asks after a moment, and I snort, ruffling his hair.
"Keep talking weird and I won't."
Max sits up and smoothes his hair back down before leaning over me, a stupid grin on his face.
"Fair enough," he says, and I reach up to cup his cheek, my thumb rubbing over stubble. I smile before Max leans down, his hot breath bouncing off of my lips. I press up into the kiss, moving my hand to rest on the back of the other man's neck.
Max pulls away after only a moment and my eyes open, a slow smile spreading over my lips.
I seem to have worked myself into quite a routine here.
I chew on my thumbnail anxiously, my foot tapping against the floor. I wish I knew what I was doing by sleeping with Jude. I figure that "it just seemed like a good idea at the time" won't fly when he wakes up expecting… something. Expecting what? I hope to hell that Jude doesn't expect me to fall deeply and madly in love with him.
I hope to hell I didn't ruined something.
I press myself out of the kitchen chair and move towards the counter, my stomach churning. I decide to have a cigarette instead of cereal. Nicotine is, after all, a part of a balanced breakfast.
Jude is asleep in the other room, and I'm making shitty jokes to myself in the kitchen. I drum my fingers on the countertop, wondering what to make of this situation I've managed to put myself into.
I fooled around in college. Who doesn't? But never with my friends; no, for some reason that line was never crossed. What happened to that line? Jude seems to have erased it completely.
I'm bad at holding down relationships. Hell, I'm lousy at it. And for some reason I've always figured that having sex with someone you actually care about denotes a relationship.
Relationships scare the hell out of me. I hate feeling tied down.
My stomach clenches when I hear the doorknob to Jude's room turn, and I look up to see him standing in the doorway. He's wearing jeans and a t-shirt, his hair sticking out at strange angles as he rubs at his eyes.
I move back to my chair, my arm crossed over my stomach as I pretend to be half asleep.
I've been awake for a couple hours, now.
"Max," Jude's voice cuts through the silence, and my shoulders tense up, "…what are you doing?"
"Eating breakfast," I say, raising my hand into the air to show him my cigarette.
Jude walks to stand behind me, and he leans down to lightly kiss the back of my neck.
"Are you okay?" he asks quietly, his hand gripping my shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah…" I reply, turning around to look at him, "No, man, I mean…why wouldn't I be?"
Jude raises his eyebrows, and then smiles before taking a step back.
"Why… Max Carrigan, worried? I've never seen you like this before, mate," he laughs, turning to open the fridge.
"Yeah, well, it's not without good reason," I mumble, hearing the fridge shut. I look up at Jude, who is now holding the carton of orange juice.
"You don't have to do this," he says, shaking his head.
"Yeah, and what's that?" I ask, lighting another cigarette.
"I'm not sure," he admits, raising his eyebrows and frowning, "it…is fun though, yeah?"
I smirk and stand up, watching as Jude takes a few steps towards me.
"Yeah," I admit, closing the distance between us, "it is."
Max and I sit on either end of the couch in the main room, facing each other. He hands me the joint we've been passing back and forth, his fingers lightly brushing mine.
"You've got the last drag," he notices, grinning as he taps his foot against mine, "you'd better share it."
I smirk as I inhale, our eyes locking as he waits for my invitation. I pull my fingers from my lips and gesture for him to get closer. Max's eyes light up as he crawls down the couch towards me, his hands braced on the armrests on either side of me.
I press my mouth over his, our lips parting as I exhale the smoke. Max inhales and sits back, his ass falling onto my knees, and I decide I like this new seating arrangement and so I place a hand on his hip to prevent him from moving. I allow the other man to snatch whatever's left of the joint from my fingers.
"Mm, yum," Max says, his eyes shining as his lips twist into a smirk. I grip Max's waist and pull him closer so that he's sitting in my lap, laughing when his knees practically hit him in the face. "Sorry, man," he apologizes, chuckling as he presses away from me, "that isn't happening."
Max stands up and stretches, his back cracking. I extend a hand, silently asking him to help me up and smiling when he rolls his eyes. He mumbles under his breath about a lazy ass, good for nothing so and so but moves to help me despite his protests.
Max begins to pull me up but quickly gives up when he realizes I'm heavier than he is. He sets the joint down in the ashtray before grabbing both of my hands and tugging me up, my arms wrapping loosely around his waist as soon as I'm standing in front of the other man.
"What's gonna happen when Luce shows up next week?" he asks as I nuzzle the side of his neck, placing light, airy kisses just below his ear.
I pause and pull back, his deep blue eyes locking once again with mine.
"What?" I ask, chuckling breathlessly, "Does it matter? I mean, Max I thought… I thought we were…"
"Just having fun, I know. And we are," he finishes for me, his eyes narrowing, "but shit, Jude. She is my sister."
I bring my hands up to cup the sides of his face, my chest beginning to ache. A few moments pass in silence until suddenly Max pushes me roughly back, the backs of my knees hitting the couch. I fall so that I'm sitting, my hands gripping the edge of the couch.
"You know what? Forget I said anything," Max amends, grinning as he walks to stand in front of me. I reach for the other man, pulling him down on top of me and crushing our lips together. I wrap my arms around him tightly, feeling his fingers run through my hair.
Max's mouth moves over mine, his tongue brushing against my lips before he bites down lightly on my lower lip. I make a noise in the back of my throat and reach for his belt, feeling his hands work their way down my chest until they rest on top of mine. I glance up quickly, my chest rising and falling heavily.
"I don't want next week to come," I admit, and he laughs.
"Yes you do," he contradicts, reaching in between my arms to grab at my belt, "but until it does," he continues, dipping his fingers below the waistline of my jeans, making my stomach clench, "you're all mine."
Questions/Comments/Concerns?
The End! Hopefully (or not, depending on how you look at it) you'll see me around some more. Thanks for reading!