A Little Later...
People milled around the yard as I watched from the distance—doing my best to keep from finding the keys to that dead blasted truck so I could smash it into another building as I observed the group of girls shadowing Tommy's every move. Of course they would stick to him like maximum strength glue. The man had the sex appeal of a saint driven to sin. Where were Mason's prayers when I needed them?
"He's always had a way with the women." A voice whispered near my ear, and I turned my head slightly to see Catalina leaning against the side of the house next to me. I averted my gaze quickly.
"I really don't know what you're talking about." I stated simply as she laughed. The sound made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
"Don't be so naïve, Jude. I've seen the way you two act together. Was it always this way, even back at the studio?" She asked quietly now as I nodded while grimacing when I saw the girl from the store suddenly grab Tommy's arms. He didn't push her away. And that bothered me.
"Probably worse back at the studio." I admitted evenly as I shrugged. "We fought less but bottled up things more so, in a way, the emotions were worse there." I continued as Catalina nodded.
"I figured as much." She replied as she moved away from the wall—moving closer to me as she watched two other girls whisper something into Tommy's ears. Jesus, my hackles were raised right now and that irked me! I had no right to allow myself that discomfort. Catalina placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently before beginning to walk away into the crowd as I tried not to gape. Her gentle touch almost burned itself into my skin as I touched the place she had patted me self-consciously. I was having a hard time figuring out how she felt about this whole situation.
"Maybe you're just what he needs in order to get him to quit running." Catalina called out over her shoulder as I stared at her retreating form in confusion.
"Running?" I called out softly in return as she glanced back with finality—eerie, yet firm finality
"From himself." She remarked as she motioned toward the huge table set out in the middle of the yard.
"Time to eat!" She announced loudly as everyone looked up expectantly before happily migrating toward the table. I couldn't blame them. The food smelled absolutely wonderful as I followed suit—pulling out a chair that was directly across from Tommy's and situated right next to Mason's. Oh yeah, that was a wonderful selection (said with more than a hint of sarcasm). Tom smiled at me softly and I sort of nodded back slightly in his direction as he seated himself while his 'fan club' began arranging themselves neatly around him. And I tried desperately, I swear, not to roll my eyes as bimbo number 1,2, 3, and 4 began arguing incessantly about who would get to sit where. I mean, geez, at this point I would have settled with telling them all to sit on the grass and put him in the middle of the circle. The arguing escalated, and Mason took a deep breath before slamming a fork down on the table. He was getting more than a little aggravated as well. It wasn't like we were sitting at this table to receive, quite emphatically, a very bad case of heart burn. Everyone looked at Mason as he smiled sweetly at the group—not apologizing in the least for his erratic behavior. Kudos to him!
"Are you people that caught up in who gets to monopolize Tom Quincy's time because if that's the case, I have a mildly interesting proposition." Mason remarked as all of the girls, and Tommy if we're being honest, looked over at him with an expressions of piqued interest.
"Proposition?" The girl I had come to know as Izzie asked curiously as Mason grinned. He was up to something and it was making my skin crawl. He nodded as he leaned forward to explain. I actually found myself leaning forward as well. How sick is that?
"This offer includes a chance to spend the rest of the evening alone with Tommy under one condition? I'll ask you twenty questions about the man, and you have to answer at least six of them correctly in order to win—a sort of twenty question game defining which girl knows him the best. What do you say, Tommy? You willing to give that a shot?" Mason asked as the girls smiled cattily all of a sudden while the members of Tommy's family closest to us grew quiet. I think everyone was actually hoping Tommy would say yes. I felt like I was watching the friggin Dating Game. Tom smiled.
"Only if Jude agrees to play too." Tommy stated suddenly as my head shot up like a cannon ready to fire. What? I didn't want to play—had no interest in time alone with him. Or did I? Mason nudged me, and I realized that I had been sitting there for a good five minutes while staring in front of me in shock.
"This is a joke, right?" I asked Tommy quietly as the other girls agreed with me loudly. Glad to see I wasn't the only one reluctant for me to join in this little, twisted game. Or were they just afraid that I'd win? Tom just shrugged.
"Afraid, Jude, that you just might win?" Tom asked, speaking aloud the question I'd just been asking myself, as I flinched. Most of these girls had been in relationships with him at one time or another. Why should I expect to win? Mason nudged me again. The night wasn't getting any younger.
"Fine." I finally answered as Mason smiled. What did I have to lose, right?