AN: I decided to get this out since I've had so many thoughts and ideas, I couldn't wait for tomorrow. Hope you like it!
Back at G Major:
I walked in and saw that Jude and Kwest were still recording, so I went and talked with Georgia and E.J. for a minute. When I returned, Jude still hadn't finished, so I sat down next to Kwest as he handed the controls over to me.
"Hey Kwest. How's our girl?" I asked, wondering how much longer this would take.
"Awesome, man. Just listen to her." Kwest said as Jude continued belting out her song.
I listened to a few bars before nodding my head in approval. "That's our Jude. Never one to be satisfied until it's absolutely perfect."
"Ours, or yours?" Kwest joked, punching me in the arm lightly.
"Listen, man. I gotta ask you a favor." I waited until I had Kwest's attention.
"Sure, man. What is it?"
"It's about tonight. I want everything to go well, so here's what I need you to do…"
I told Kwest what I needed him to do, and Kwest was more than happy to help.
As Jude finished her last few notes, she looked up, jumped off her chair, and practically flew into my lap.
"Hey Tommy, are you ready to go?" Jude asked, excited.
"Sure, but we still have plenty of time before we have to get there." I assured her, loving her enthusiasm.
"OK, I want to go home and get ready for tonight first. Can you give me a ride?" Jude fluttered her eyelashes at me.
"Do you even have to ask?" I said, as I grabbed her hand. "Kwest, man, we're taking off. Got everything taken care of?"
"You know it," Kwest nodded. "Jude, just make sure you don't keep Tommy up too late. You know how he needs his beauty sleep, otherwise he gets cranky in the morning."
Kwest and Jude instantly cracked up, while I replied testily, "Very funny, guys. Enough cracks at me, OK?"
"Oh, come on, Tommy. That's our favorite kind of entertainment, right, Kwest?" Jude looked from Kwest to me, giving me the same look I always give her when she has to do something she doesn't want to do but ends up doing for me.
"You'd better watch it, man. Jude's using your own tactics against you. And we know how much you can't resist her." Kwest laughed as Jude wrapped her arms around me, knowing perfectly well she'd won that round.
"OK, I admit. She is pretty irresistible," I said as I touched my forehead to hers. "Come on, babe, we'd better get going if we want to get there by the time we're supposed to."
I started dragging Jude off, but not before Jude replied sassily, "What? You mean little Tommy Q can't just walk in whenever he wants and get instant service?"
I stopped long enough to spit out, "Of course I can. Anytime, anywhere. Let's get going already, OK?"
Kwest and Jude exchanged a look, and Jude willingly followed me out.
At the Harrison house:
We'd just stepped in as Jude broke free from my grasp and flew up the stairs, calling out, "I'll just be a minute." Since I knew how long Jude could take, I made myself comfortable, sat down on the living room sofa, and picked up a magazine to read. After a few minutes, I was tired of reading, so I stood up and walked over to the fireplace mantel. I saw that the mantel was covered with pictures of Sadie, Jude, and the family. Every one of those pictures reflected happiness. I reflected on my own family, who I hadn't kept in close contact with since my split from Boyz Attack. Come to think of it, I hadn't been close with my family since I joined Boyz Attack, but just thinking about it made me envious of Jude's situation. Even with all the drama between Sadie and Jude. I heard a click as someone unlocked the front door and walked in.
I turned as I heard a familiar voice. "Hey, Tommy, I didn't expect to see you here."
I automatically responded, more out of politeness than out of interest, "Hey, Sadie. Jude just invited me in for a minute. We'll be out of here in no time."
"Oh? Where are you guys going?" Sadie asked, curious.
"We have this party with Georgia, E.J., Kwest, and a few other people. It's in preparation for her upcoming release party."
"Oh, OK." I was glad to see Sadie quickly losing interest. "So, Tommy, does our arrangement still stand?"
"Of course," I said, promising myself that I'd talk to Jude and the others so that we could come up with a plan to get out of it.
Just then, Jude descended the stairs. She was breathtakingly beautiful, not that she ordinarily wasn't, but that night she was even more beautiful than I ever imagined. Her hair hung down in soft waves, and she wore an amazing shimmering gown complete with matching purse and heels. She asked me, "How do I look?" as she stepped off the last step and spun around slowly.
"Wow," was all I managed to get out, before Sadie responded with "Pick up your jaw, Tommy." She retreated to the kitchen, not even wanting to say goodbye before we left.
I offered Jude my arm, escorting her outside to my Viper. I opened the door for Jude as she smiled widely, then got in the driver's seat and drove off to the restaurant.
After we arrived, we were greeted warmly by the host, who proceeded to seat us at a table outside on a private covered terrace. After we placed and received our orders, I noticed that Jude wasn't eating.
"Jude, is everything OK?" I asked, suddenly worried that she was thinking that there was something going on between me and Sadie.
"Yeah, I'm just worried about a test I have tomorrow, that's all," Jude said, giving me a don't-worry-I'm-OK look.
I took her hand and squeezed it a little. She smiled, and the two of us continued eating and talking. We talked about E.J.'s peppiness and knack for driving everyone crazy trying to get the right image, Kwest's ability to understand and sympathize with Jude on several levels, even though he was my best friend, and Georgia, who, at many times, made Jude see her as someone she could confide in and ask for advice, professional as well as personal.
We were just about to leave the restaurant when Jude's cell phone went off. Jude answered it once she saw that it was Sadie, thinking that Sadie wouldn't call unless it was important.
"Hey Sadie, what's up?" Jude said, wondering if anything had happened.
"Not much, except for one little thing…" Sadie trailed off, loving how she could get and keep Jude's attention so easily.
"What's that?" Jude prepared for the worst. Knowing Sadie, it was probably something bad for Jude and good for her.
"Didn't Tommy tell you? He took me out to lunch today. At that nice little Italian place by G Major." Jude could almost hear the pride in Sadie's voice.
"Thanks for the tip," Jude said, fighting to control the range of emotions inside her: first jealousy, then anger, sadness, and indifference. She promised herself that she'd never show how much Tommy had hurt her by taking Sadie out that afternoon, either to Tommy, Sadie, or herself. She saw that I was watching her, wondering what was going on, and hung up shortly after.
"Jude, what was that all about?" I was clearly puzzled.
"Tommy, did you take Sadie out for lunch this afternoon?" Jude asked, point-blank.
I decided that lying to Jude would hurt her just much as telling her would, perhaps even more, and told her the truth. "Yes, I did. We went to this little Italian place just around the corner from G Major."
"So does this mean you like her?" Jude asked, incredulous at my honesty.
I took her hands in my own, and looked right into her eyes. "No, Jude, I don't. Sadie's blackmailed me into taking her out, otherwise she was going to tell your parents about us."
"Why didn't you tell me before?" Jude was stunned for a second, then became angry. "Why should I believe you now?"
"After all we've been through, Jude, I thought you knew me better than that. I thought you knew how much I love you and want to be with you, and how I'd do anything to keep it that way." I reached for her hands, but she pulled away.
"How many times have you said? Not to me, but to other girls? And how many times have you really meant it?" She stood up to leave, as I tried to stop her from making a scene. Not that there wasn't one already, since all of the people in the restaurant had turned around and were watching us. As if that was enough, Jude took her leftover plate of still warm spaghetti and meatballs and promptly dropped it all over my head. "Oh, I'm sorry, Tommy, I didn't mean to do that." She paused, then continued, "Here, let me clean you up a bit." She took my glass of water and proceeded to throw it in my face, then walked out the door without looking back.
My POV: I am so gonna kill Sadie.
AN: So, what do you think? I had originally written an alternate ending, but this one seemed much more fun to write (and I had a great time writing it). As always, read and review.