First Date
Author's Note: Okay, here I go yet again! Like I said a while back, I wanted to write something that fills in the "gaps" in "Next Generation". Plus, I feel the need to atone for the misery I inflicted with the most recent chapter of that story by writing something romantic... This story is sort of an "out-take" on that one and piggybacks off chapter one of that epic. To remind everyone, Tommy and Jude finally got together some months after her 18th birthday. He admitted he loved her then; she rejects him, not trusting him and afraid he'll hurt her again (am I the only one who'd really like to see this happen on the show- Jude finally giving Tommy a taste of his own medicine!). But alas, true love does conquer all! She does eventually fall back in love with him, and writes a song for him (Take My Breath Away). Recording it finally brings them together... for real this time! Anyway, this story starts after that fateful, passionate night in the studio...
Sorry, everything's a bit out of sync! My mind has never worked in a normal way...
Anyway, you guys know the drill by now- I don't own anything, blah, blah... Enjoy and please do comment. Your feedback is my oxygen! I live off it, thrive on it...
dorothy
Chapter One- Morning Alone
Reluctantly, Tommy tore his eyes away from her, as her figure disappeared inside her own home. He drove off, of necessity focusing all his attention on the post-dawn, extremely crowded roads.
Safely back at his apartment, he quickly shed most of his clothes. Clad only in his black silk boxers, he slipped between the cool Egyptian cotton sheets of his queen-sized bed. He laughed softly at his own inconsistency. Despite asking it of Jude, he knew sleep would elude him now.
"I love you, Jude Harrison"
"I love you, Tommy Quincy"
"No running away this time, ok?"
"I can't..."
"Good. Because I can't either. I love you too much. I need you too much..."
He pulled her tightly against him and they collapsed together on that worn-out studio couch.
He stretched now in an expensive, luxurious bed; it no longer satisfied or comforted him. Not after the night he just spent holding her in his arms on a tacky piece of badly upholstered furniture. Still dreaming of her, he reached out, touching the empty space besides him.
"Someday..." he thought
Tommy's visions electrified his mind and body, rendering his predictions accurate. He slept only in brief, restless snatches. Eventually, he gave up trying, rising from the bed. As he showered, he thought of his earlier promises.
"We'll go back tomorrow and finish the song... And one more thing..."
Her soft azure blue eyes sparkled.
"Afterwards, I'm taking you out..."
"You mean, like on a actual date?"
"Yeah"
"Where?"
"Anywhere you want..."
"Anywhere you want, girl. Anything..." Tommy repeated now, as he wrapped a towel around his waist and went to select his clothes. Appraising his wardrobe with far more care than usual, he finally selected jeans, a white tank top, and his favorite cobalt lightweight button-down shirt. The deep blue shade was his favorite color and ironically, Jude's as well.
Restless, he sat on the bed, clicking aimlessly through the TV channels, stifling the urge to call her right then and there. It was crazy, Tommy chided himself. He was not used to waiting around like this, especially not for a girl. But, for her, he would. Each minute rendered him both edgier and more eager.
Finally, his moment arrived. He picked up his phone. After only one ring, her voice answered.
"Hello" she said, with the same blend of yearning and anxiety that he felt.
"Hello, sweetheart." Tommy replied, the unfamiliar, never before used nickname, slipping naturally from his tongue.
"Did you sleep?" he asked her.
"Not really... I couldn't..."
"Me either."
At opposite ends of the phone, both smiled.
"Do you want me to..." he began.
"I'm not dressed yet. 45 minutes, okay?"
"It takes me twenty just to reach you. So, it's fine."