Hey, all. Just thought I'd let you know that I love this chapter on the boat.
"Well, well, well, look who's back from Tahiti," Jude smiled when Sadie and Kwest walked past security at the airport the following morning. "All tan and fabulous-looking."
"Jude!" Sadie squealed, rushing to hug her little sister. "God, you look older and it's only been a week!"
"Yeah, well, a lot has happened," Jude admitted, leading them to find their bags. "Especially last night."
"What happened last night?" Kwest asked, following her to her Mustang. "Something bad?"
"Bad, electric, scary, nerve-wracking," she nodded. "Those are all words I'd use to describe the course of events."
Sadie stared at her as Jude pulled out of the airport's parking garage. "That sounds like the dirty work of Mr. Tom Quincy."
"These days, everything is," Jude explained. "See, I had that showcase at the Vinyl Palace and was only supposed to do four of my songs: '24 Hours,' 'My Sweet Time,' 'Let Me Fall,' and 'Natural Disaster.' Well, we get there and Darius announces that G Major had been doing some drawing all week and three staff members got to pick a song from my iPod for me to sing. Well, I was okay with 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' from Jamie and 'If It Makes You Happy' from Spiederman, but Tommy chose 'Where the Stars Go Blue.'"
"That's a good song," Kwest noted. "What's the big deal?"
"He played it and made it into a duet," she went on. "It was just weird, you know? Then, backstage, we got into it and I told them him that I halfway wanted to kiss him and half wanted to punch him, so he made a cute comment and I stormed out. He infuriates me."
"Sure he does," Kwest teased from the backseat.
Jude threw him a look. "Don't go there, Kwest. Since you're family now, I can kill you."
"Oh, once you're family, it becomes legal?" he joked.
"Are you guys ready to go straight to the yacht or do we need to stop so you can change?" Jude asked, ignoring him.
"Please," Sadie scoffed. "As one of Darius' loyal servants, much like Tom and Liam, Kwest was always connected."
"Let me guess," Jude grinned. "His Crackberry? Yeah, I know a thing or two about those." She laughed at the memories.
"Well, we're dressed under our clothes," Sadie explained. "And what about you? Please tell me you're not in that hideous black one piece, Jude?"
"No, I got a new red string bikini at Pac Sun the other day with Patsy," Jude assured her.
"How in God's name did you get her in there?" Sadie asked incredulously. "I mean, it's not Hot Topic or some shady thrift store."
"I told her she could shoplift something," Jude answered, pulling into the marina's parking lot. "Which, of course, she did."
"That's my girl," Kwest laughed, getting out of the car. "So, are we getting ourselves back into anything weird we should know about?"
"Nothing new," Jude shook her head, grabbing her bag from the trunk. "Darius is still all-powerful, Liam is still pretentious, and everyone else is still lost in between."
"Good to know," he nodded, taking Sadie's hand as the three of them boarded the boat.
"It's about time!" Darius called out through his megaphone. "I'm used to waiting on Jude, but Kwest and Sadie? That's new."
"Yeah, but who drove?" Tommy asked from behind him, leaning against the railing in a black t-shirt and white board shorts.
"Hey, I got us all here safely," she pointed out. "And last I checked, my car is way cooler than that Soccer Mom thing you drive."
He pointed out to the parking lot to his familiar Viper. "Not today, Harrison."
Jude sighed and walked into the cabin, finding Jamie leaning against the bar. "Hey."
"How did the newlyweds enjoy Tahiti?" he asked.
"They loved it," she replied. "And I couldn't be happier for her, Jame. I mean, Kwest gives her love and attention; all Tommy ever gave her was lies and crap."
"And what does he give you?" he implored, taking a sip of his Coke.
"A headache," she answered honestly. "Seriously, last night, after his little performance, you couldn't have cut the tension between us in my dressing room with a hacksaw cause it was so thick."
Jamie chuckled. "That's funny. Most girls would describe him as 'godly' or 'gorgeous,' but you say no?"
"I'd say if you look up the word 'ignoramus' in the dictionary, his picture would take up an entire page."
"Ah, yes, that's what most guys would say to describe him," he laughed, watching Patsy pour her own mix of Jack Daniels and Sprite. "Do you like her?"
"Who, Patsy?" Jude asked. "Absolutely, Jamie. I mean, sure, she's a little unconventional most of the time, but she's another girl around. There's too much combined testosterone at G-Major for me, so having Patsy around lightens the mood a bit." She stared at him oddly. "Why do you ask?"
"My parents are visiting from B.C. next week and they want to meet her this time," he answered coolly, his voice tensing up.
"Ah," she nodded slowly. The Andrews' were both doctors in British Columbia and had left Jamie with his grandmother as a child. They were incredibly uptight and old-fashioned and Jude knew they would never approve of Patsy. "Well, Jamie I'll be around if they need convincing about her. They've always liked me."
"Cause they always thought you'd end up with me," he muttered. "God, what are they gonna say when they meet her?"
Jude nudged him. "When have you ever really cared? I mean, you see them what, once every few months? They come for a few days, criticize everything you do, and leave."
"Yeah," he sighed. "Plus, Patsy should make their trip fairly interesting."
"Hey, Jude, come lay out with me," Sadie said, sticking her head in. "Portia is on the phone with Betsey Johnson's people, so you're my only other girl." She glanced at Patsy, who was tempting a waiter to arm wrestle. "Yeah, just you."
Jude followed her sister to the top of the mega-yacht, which was, surprisingly, empty. She pulled off her vintage Rolling Stones t-shirt and brown Bermuda shorts before spreading out her towel. She laid on her stomach and pulled her iPod from her bag. "Alright, I'm gonna turn on Nirvana, so if I fall asleep, wake me up in half an hour to flip over."
Just as Sadie settled onto her towel, she noticed Tommy staring in Jude's direction. She couldn't see his expression behind his aviator sunglasses, but she smiled at him knowingly before she stood up and made her way to him.
"Leave drooling to dogs," she advised, closing his mouth with her finger. "It's highly unattractive, Tom."
"I should be in jail for my thoughts," he admitted quietly. "I don't care if she is 18 now."
"Well, her being 18 means that she's an adult and has to make her own decisions," Sadie pointed out. "Look, I know you hurt her, and as her older sister, I still kinda hate you for that, even if she doesn't. But, let it be known that I want to see her happy and when you two aren't fighting? Well, I've never seen her happier."
He sighed. "If only it were that simple. And what makes you think she's forgiven me, Sade? The wall around her heart is barely even thawing." He stared at Jude a minute longer before descending back to the lower decks.
"What was that all about?" Jude asked Sadie once they were together again. "You're not thinking of cheating on Kwest already, are you?" she joked.
"Jude, you've gotta let him in," Sadie stated calmly. "I know that's hard for you to hear, and I'm sure you've been hearing it all week, but you just have to do it. Simple as that." Jude opened her mouth to respond, but Sadie held up a hand. "Don't tell me it's not that simple, Jude, cause it is. Look, there are things you don't know about Tommy, things I don't have the right to tell you, but he's grown up a lot in the last year and the last thing he needs is the woman he loves keeping him at arms length."
"All I was going to say was 'how do I make that happen?'" Jude spoke sheepishly. "I mean, last night, I went AWOL. And I lied to him. When I told him I half wanted to kiss him, half punch him, about 90 of me really did want to kiss him."
Sadie smiled. "Talk to him; that's the best I can offer."
"I haven't kissed him in 376 days," Jude commented quietly. "Pathetic I would keep count, huh?"
"Not really," Sadie shook her head. "Now, get some sun and plan your next move."
"Hey, Sadie, where's Jude?" Spiederman asked Sadie a couple of hours later, finding Sadie near the bar. "Me and Wally are working on some music we want to show her."
"Jude!" Sadie screeched, pushing past him to rush back to the top deck. Jude was still sleeping on her stomach, her back as red as her bathing suit. "Oh, God."
Tommy appeared at Sadie's side, along with Kwest, Spiederman, Wally, and Portia. "Way to go, Sade. You've burnt your sister."
"If you wake her up, she'll freak," Portia reported, kneeling down next to Jude. "This is some serious damage."
"Well, we'll have to somehow get her to her car and take her home then," Sadie sighed, packing up her and Jude's stuff.
"I'll carry her," Tommy offered, bending down to carefully pick the girl up. "Just put her stuff into my car and I'll take her home. You guys stay; you haven't seen these people in a week and I've had enough of them already."
Sadie raised an eyebrow at him as she followed him to the lower deck. The ship had been re-docked for half an hour and everyone was just partying, not caring they were no longer sailing. "We'll just bring her car to my house, get mine, bring hers to her apartment, and go back."
"Whatever," Tommy shrugged, gently laying Jude in the passenger seat of his Viper. "Are her keys in her bag?"
Sadie reached in and handed them to him. "You can't go through a girl's bag, Tommy, no matter who she is."
Tommy drove back to the apartment complex in the most careful manner he'd ever driven the Viper. It had always been his fun carallowing him to be free and reckless, but with a pained Jude next to him, the thought of driving like that made him sick. He pulled into a spot in the complex's garage, got out, and slowly lifted her out, careful still not to wake her. Once at her door, he fumbled with the keys and unlocked it.
"What's going on?" she muttered, finally waking up as he laid her in her bed. "Tommy?"
"Shh," he whispered softly. "You got pretty sunburnt, Jude, so try not to roll onto your back."
"I what?" she muttered sadly. "I'll kill Sadie."
"Hey, you fell asleep," he reminded her.
She eyed him narrowly. "Do you really wanna fight right now, Quince?"
"I'll fight with you anytime," he murmured quietly. "If it means you'd talk to me openly."
She closed her eyes to keep from showing him any emotion. "Not now, Tommy. My back is on fire and I just want to go to sleep." She slowly reached around her back and untied her top. "You can go now. Thanks for getting me here." She pulled the top away and threw it to the ground.
"Fine," he sighed, walking to the door of her room. "Should I tell Sadie you won't be there to help tomorrow?"
"Duh," he heard her mumble before a pillow found it's way to the top of her head.