Yay! It's working today--the site didn't work again yesterday. Seriously, is anyone else having these problems?
Anyway, hi again! You guys crack me up with your responses to the last cliffie...I figured the warning at the beginning would help make it a little better, but I guess not! So here's the next part with the contents of the box...it's not what some of you were thinking. While this is just fiction, I don't think they'd run down the aisle too quickly, so no wedding plans. Sorry :( But I came up with something close, I hope you like it.
Also, I love this chapter. Especially the end. This is another one of those scenes that still makes me laugh. But be warned, there's a part in the beginning that is rated T for Teen.
I'm hoping the site cooperates and lets me update in a few days. If you don't see the next post, just know that I'm trying! I'm not forgetting about any of you, I promise. So I hope you like the gift and as always, ENJOY!
"Tommy…" Jude started breathlessly, staring down at the contents of the black box.
"Do you like them?" he asked anxiously.
"Like them? I love them!" she exclaimed, her eyes glazed over by the large, sparkling diamond earrings before her. "They're beautiful."
"You don'talways wear earrings but I thought these were pretty special," he started, still nervous at her reaction.
"They're…incredible. Honestly. I love them," she said, taking her eyes off the earrings to meet his gaze. She leapt off the stool and into his arms, embracing him tightly. "Thank you so much," she murmured.
"You're welcome," he returned, smiling at her reaction. "You should put them on."
She pulled back a bit, realizing that Hilary hadn't supplied her with earrings. "Did you plan this or something? Hilary forgot to give me earrings."
"Maybe…" he replied with a mischievous smile. "I might've mentioned something to EJ."
She smiled and leaned forward to bring her lips to his. "Thank you," she repeated, pulling back and scurrying over to the mirror in the hallway to put them on. He followed her slowly and watched as she clipped them onto her ears.
"Perfect," she said, looking at them on. They shone brightly against her skin, attracting the light from the room. "I love them."
"Good," he said pleasingly, looking at her reflection. She turned towards him once more, smiling widely, as he tucked her hair behind her ears to see the earrings better. He smiled too, watching as they reflected against the glow in her eyes. He brought one hand to her cheek and gently caressed her soft skin.
"You look beautiful," he said quietly. Her smile turned more modest, gazing into his eyes warmly. He brought his other hand to her cheek and drew her face closer to his, leaning down to press his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his back and opened her mouth slowly to feel his tongue graze hers. He massaged his tongue against hers and heard her groan quietly from the intensity. His hand lightly traveled from her cheek down the side of her body, feeling the smoothness of her dress. He rested his fingers against the knot on the side of the dress holding it together. He started fumbling with it for a moment, keeping his mouth steadily affixed to hers, and finally felt the tie pull apart. She instantly sighed in his mouth, feeling the dress come apart and his hand slide between the fabric to touch her bare skin. As his fingers dragged up her stomach and over her bra, she broke the kiss and pulled back, breathing heavily.
"Tommy…" she sighed, as his mouth went to her neck. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his lips against her neck, but quickly opened them again, struggling to maintain control.
"Tommy," she tried again, a little more convincingly, "we can't do this now."
He trailed kisses up her neck to her ear, nibbling around where the diamond earring was situated. She closed her eyes again, losing concentration, as he asked quietly into her ear. "Why not?"
She sighed and swallowed, trying once more to regain her senses. "Because…we have a dinner to go to."
"They can wait," he said breathlessly, pulling back and going towards her other ear.
"No, really…we have to get going…" she said distantly, feeling both of his hands now roaming all around her body under her dress. As his hands made their way down to the edge of her panties, her eyes opened once more and she placed her hands over his to stop him.
"Tommy, we can't. Not now, at least."
He pulled back from kissing her ear and sighed deeply, "I know, you're right."
"I'm sorry…" she said regretfully, looking into his eyes.
"Don't be," he said, lightly kissing her lips. "I just got carried away. We should get going."
She grinned at him, "We can continue later where we left off, if you want."
His eyes lit up as his brows raised. "You've got yourself a deal, Harrison."
She smiled and stepped back, attempting to retie her dress and smooth out her hair. After they were both fully straightened out and she had sufficiently reapplied her lip gloss, they took off.
"Quincy, the restaurant is the other way. You missed the turn off," Jude remarked, watching the street that lead to the restaurant pass behind her in the mirror.
"Oh, I know," he said, readjusting in his seat. "I actually have to stop by the studio quickly. I forgot something."
"The studio? That's really out of our way—I'm going to be totally late. What's so important that you can't get after dinner?" she asked, staring at him.
He kept his eyes focused on the road and swallowed loudly, clearly thinking. His eyes glanced around the car and eventually landed downwards, as one of his hands went to his pants pocket.
He looked up at her with a spark in his eyes, "My wallet. I left my wallet in my office."
"Really? I thought you had it before," she said in confusion, vaguely remembering feeling it in his pocket.
"Nope, that was my cell phone," he said quickly, eyes back on the road. "It'll just take a minute. We'll run in and grab it and then leave. Okay?"
She shook her head and sighed, leaning back in her seat. "Whatever you say, Quincy. But you're going to have to explain to everyone why we're late. And the words 'make out session' better not be part of it."
He laughed lightly. "Okay, I'll explain."
Ten minutes later, the Viper rolled into the parking lot of G-Major, which was all quiet. The lights were out in the building as they pulled up to the front.
"Come on," Tommy said, parking the car and turning off the ignition.
"Why? Don't you just want to grab the wallet and leave? Do you need me for that?" she questioned. All of his actions were starting to frustrate her.
"Just come on," he said more persuasively, opening the door for her. "I'm not sure where it is. I need you to help me find it. You know how messy my desk is."
She sighed loudly and got out of the car. "Fine," she mumbled, following him to the door and standing with her hands on her hips as he pulled out the keys to unlock the door.
He turned towards her before opening the door with a grin on his face. He saw her impatient expression and said, "Will you please relax? It'll just take a minute, I promise." He gave her a puppy dog look, causing her to roll her eyes and loosen up.
"Okay, okay," she agreed, to which he gave her a quick peck on the lips.
He opened the door and let her in, not being able to see because of the darkness. He flicked on a light in the lobby, revealing a quiet and still room. They started walking towards the main room, holding hands, with her following him. As they approached the landing, the room was pitch black and completely silent. She stood next to him, waiting for him to turn on the light, but he didn't.
She looked at him through the darkness and said loudly, "Please don't tell me this is another attempt to get me to have sex with you."
He immediately froze in his stance, his body tensing at her comment. She looked at him curiously and asked, "What is it?"
He exhaled loudly and said to her quietly, "Just turn on the lights."
She didn't understand his reaction so she kept going. "Is that what this is? Because you know, I didn't mean to upset you before. But when I said we should wait until later, I just meant—"
"Jude," he said firmly, turning towards her in the dark and looking straight into her eyes. "Turn. On. The. Lights." She flinched a little at his forceful tone until he added, "Now."
She scoffed in irritation and turned around, pulling her hand away from his. She walked over to the wall where the lightswitch was and unthinkingly flicked it upwards to illuminate the room.
"SURPRISE!"
Her mouth dropped open as she looked down at the hundreds of faces around the room laughing and clapping for her. Cameras flashed and music sounded, her eyes taking in the balloons and streamers, all to celebrate her birthday. In her shock, she turned towards Tommy, whose face was red.
"Oh. My. God." she muttered, barely audible, mouth still agape.
He took a deep breath and walked towards her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He dragged her stunned body to the edge of the landing and whispered, "Happy birthday, girl."