Hi all - I'm not going to ramble too much here, as this is one of the longest chapters I've written and I'd like to get right into it. I hope no one minds the length, but I couldn't bring myself to take anything out of it--it's another one of my favorites, with a good mix of humorous and serious moments. Oh, and part of this chapter and the next one are rated T, just as a warning.
Thanks again for all of your amazing feedback - I seriously cannot believe how many reviews this story has. It's really flattering and inspiring for me. You guys are the best. So here's the next update...hope you ENJOY!
"How could you not want a party?" he asked, taking a bite of his pizza slice.
"What does that mean? How could I not want a party? What am I, some sort of attention whore?"
"Maybe," he said with a smirk. "I'm just saying, it's not like you mind the spotlight."
"Oh, right, Quincy, because out of the two of us, I'm really the one who loves people fawning all over me."
"Hey now, I left the spotlight a few years ago."
"Really? Because I seem to remember your face in Talk Weekly last Tuesday with the headline 'Little Tommy Q Adds Porsche to Car Collection.' I'd say that's definitely low-profile."
"What can I say? The public wants to know about me."
"And your car obsession," Jude said, in between pizza bites. They both grinned over their pizza slices, sitting at the counter at Tommy's apartment. After rescuing Jude from her deserted house, Tommy took her back to his place, stopping to pick up pizza on the way.
"So why don't you want a party?" he asked.
"I just don't," Jude said simply, putting her pizza down on the plate in front of her. "I guess I feel like I don't need all of that hype—the decorations, music, people—it's not really that personal, you know?"
"I understand," he replied, taking a sip of his soda. "But Jude, it's your 18th. You've been waiting for this for a long time…don't you want to celebrate?"
"First of all," she clarified, "last time I checked, we both have been waiting for this for a long time."
"True," he admitted quietly, smiling at her over his can.
"Second of all, I'm not saying I don't want to celebrate. Just not with a big party. I'm thinking dinner—just a few people getting together."
"And that's it? Just dinner?"
"That's it. Just dinner," she confirmed.
He paused and thought for a moment. "Okay, then. Dinner it is," he said, watching her smile and eat her last bite of crust. He stood up with his plate and walked over to the pizza box on the stove. He grabbed two slices, put them on his plate, and walked back over to the counter. He put one piece on her empty plate and sat back down next to her.
"Does that mean you don't need any gifts either?" he asked quietly, with a knowing grin.
"No gifts?" she asked, glancing over at him in horror. "Who said anything about that?"
"Well, it seems like you'd rather keep things simple, so wouldn't gifts just add more complication?" he questioned, grinning at the response he was about to get from her.
She dropped her piece of pizza onto the plate and stared at him in shock. "Do you not know me at all?"
He smiled and took another bite of his pizza, watching her squirm out of frustration.
She continued, "Gifts are totally necessary. They're like a requirement to even have a birthday. Without gifts, it's like no one cares that you made it through another year. Like no one appreciates that you've grown up, and in this case, officially become an adult. Without giving a gift, it's like you don't care that I was even born!"
He spit out his bite of pizza onto the plate in laughter. She watched him and realized that her reaction was slightly over the top. She couldn't help but laugh lightly with him.
"Jude," he said, his laughter subsiding, "I was kidding."
"Oh yeah, I totally knew that," she said, as he smirked at her obvious attempt to cover her exaggerated response.
He reached out to grab her hand, pulling her towards him. She hopped off the stool and stepped forward, standing in front of him.
"We'll make your birthday perfect," he assured her softly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Gifts and all."
"Thank you," she said quietly with a smile. She leaned forward to give him a quick kiss. As she drew her lips back from his, she looked into his eyes, getting lost in the sea of blue and feeling the mood grow more serious.
"I missed having you here," he muttered quietly, thinking about the month they had spent apart and how this was her first visit back to his apartment.
"I know, I missed it too," she agreed softly. "Can you believe these five months are almost over?"
"Thank god," he said with a sigh, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in closer. "Even if it turns out that we can't work together, I'll be happy just to be able to tell people."
She brought her arms around his neck. "I know…no more lying, no more sneaking around. We might get boring."
"I doubt that," he replied with a grin. "Just think of what we will be doing to make things more interesting…" he started, moving one hand to her cheek and bringing her face to his. She felt the warmth of his breath as his lips met hers. She wrapped her arms tighter around him, kissing him intently. He pressed his lips to hers a little firmer, feeling the smoothness and fullness of her lips. The heat between them grew more intense as she opened her mouth a bit wider, granting his tongue access. He immediately swept his tongue against hers, both of them feeling the spark ignite.
She pulled back a little, gasping for air, as his lips went straight to her neck. The temperature in her body shot up, feeling him kiss under her ear.
"You know," she said shakily, barely able to speak, "it's only two weeks away."
She exhaled deeply as his mouth traveled down her neck towards her collar bone, his hands holding her waist securely.
"There's really not much of a difference," she got out, her eyes fluttering open, "between now and in two weeks."
She felt his actions slow at her insinuation, as he leaned back up to look into her eyes.
"Jude…"
"I want to," she cut him off, speaking with confidence.
He looked at her tentatively. "Are you serious?"
"I know it's a couple of weeks early," she said softly, "but I'm ready."
"I don't know, Jude," he said hesitantly. "I thought we were going to try to wait the full time."
"We did wait," she replied, pulling back further. "We waited 4 months and 2 weeks. That's like 90 percent of the way there."
"Wow," he uttered with a grin. "That tutor of yours is really paying off."
"Shut up, Quincy," she said with a smile, lightly hitting his arm. "You know what I mean. We made it through a majority of the time. And even though I'll officially be an adult in two weeks, nothing between us is going to change between tonight and then, will it?"
He looked into her eyes, seeing her sincerity. He couldn't deny the fact that he wanted nothing more than to take this next step with her, but he wanted to make sure it was right.
"Are you sure? Because we don't have to…it is only two weeks…"
"I'm positive," she said, looking directly into his eyes.
He sighed and started running his fingers through her hair. "But this was going to be your birthday present," he said with a snicker.
She chuckled lightly. "Well, I guess you'll have to come up with something else."
He gazed into her eyes more seriously. "I want this more than anything…you have no idea how much…I just want to make sure you're 100 positive."
"I am," she confirmed with certainty.
He took a deep breath and exhaled, revealing a small smile. "Then who I am to argue?"
She smiled a little too, seeing his expression go from thoughtfulness to anticipation, the reality of their decision settling in. She bit her lip in eagerness as her eyes locked with his. They stared at each other for a few moments, unable to look away, both feeling a sudden rush of longing. Impulsively, Tommy pulled her back towards him and crashed his lips against hers. She met his intensity and instantly embraced him, feeling his tongue go straight into her mouth. She groaned faintly at the contact, massaging her tongue against his.
Holding her tightly, he slid off the edge of his stool to stand in front of her. He quickly leaned over and lifted her up, scooping her into his arms, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He cradled her against him and continued kissing her, stumbling away from the counter and walking down the hallway towards his bedroom.