eeeek! i meant to post this days ago but...i forgot. whoopsies. i'm so sorry. good news, though, is that i should be able to work on the next part within the next few days!! so something to look forward to?

i hope you all enjoy this chapter!


2.2

The morning after, he stroked her blonde curls, marveling in their softness, while she slept peacefully beside him. Or rather, she slept half on top of him, a leg careless thrown across his own and her head nestled comfortable on his chest.

"It's not from beer," she mumbled sleepily, her breath warm and moist against his skin.

Tommy's hand froze mid-stroke at the sound of her voice. Rehearsing the words in his head, it took him a couple of moments to understand what she was actually saying. Once it clicked, he chuckled and continued to caress her hair.

After a few more minutes of comfortable silence, Jude finally picked up her head and locked eyes with her lover.

Yes, her lover. There was definitely no question about that after last night. Sure, it had taken them seven years since they first met to reach this point, but they did reach it eventually.

"You want some breakfast?" he asked, smiling lazily, clearly content with his performance from the night before and her obvious satisfaction.

"Nope," she replied with an insinuating look, "but I know of something else I want…"

The sex kitten was back.

Sitting up, Jude maneuvered her body so that she was now straddling Tommy. She didn't bother covering her torso or anything else with a sheet. Any modesty she previously had around him was thrown out the window last night as they completely exposed themselves to the other, physically and emotionally.

"And people think guys are the ones that think about sex 24/7," Tommy muttered, although a large grin had already spread across his face.

Jude laughed, the sunlight streaming through the window making her eyes sparkle. It was so cliché, but Tommy couldn't help feeling transfixed. Damn, look at what that girl turned him into—corny and cheesy.

She leaned forward and lightly brushed her lips against his, but quickly pulled away before things could escalate farther. The previous night, kissing had obviously led to other things, and those other things had made it uncomfortable for Jude to be able to walk this morning…which is why she wanted to stay in bed for a while longer.

As she straightened back up, he pouted. Jude just rolled her eyes and began to stretch, reaching her arms above her head and arching her back. Just like she knew he would, Tommy stopped moping at the chaste kiss and decided to enjoy the view, backlit by a bright morning sun.

He glanced from her slender fingers down her toned arms to her face, still aglow in the aftermath of last night's events. Her eyes were closed and a small smile played upon her lips, and even with her hair all mussed up, she was still the only sight Tommy would want to wake up to every single day for the rest of his life.

Wait, what?

Hastily shoving the thought to the side, his eyes continued to venture down her body. Smooth neck, small but firm breasts, flat abdomen...something caught Tommy's eyes, and he squinted, trying to get a better look.

A finger caressing her lower stomach snapped Jude's eyes open. Looking down, she saw Tommy's callused finger—who else's would it be?—tracing a small spot back and forth, back and forth.

"What's this from?" he innocently asked, clearly not realizing the implications of his simple question on Jude.

Should she tell him the truth? Tell him about one of the things that tore her parents apart? Reveal the one fact that had caused her the most pain out of everything in her life?

"Oh, nothing important," Jude replied nonchalantly, praying he wouldn't try and dig more information out of her about it.

And just to make sure that was the end of Tommy's questions, she leaned forward once again, firmly pressing her lips against his. She didn't retreat this time—partly because he had clamped an arm across her back, fully preventing her from doing so even if she wanted to (which she didn't)—and once again, kissing led to other things…