Hi--you guys are awesome with your responses to the last chapter! I love it so I was really happy to see most of you did too...it still cracks me up picturing Jude saying that sex line loudly before turning on the lights...lol...
Anyway, here's the next part. The end of this chapter is some huge dream of mine that would never actually come true but hey, I figured it could happen to Jude instead of to me :-) It's really cool and what I wouldn't give to get a gift like this...
BTW, I'm heading out for a long weekend (happy july 4th! or at least for all of you Americans :) ) but should be back to post the next update on Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm sort of drawing this out a bit because I don't want it to end...but there's still more to come before then, so stay tuned :) Have a good weekend and ENJOY!
"You could've said something," Jude whispered, as Tommy walked her down closer to the crowd.
"And ruin the surprise?" he replied, smiling outwardly but avoiding anyone's eye contact.
She looked around in shock, walking down the steps. "So…there's no dinner?"
"Nope, no dinner," he replied, reaching the end of the staircase. She took a deep breath and put on her widest smile, immediately being enveloped by a group of people. Tommy watched her get pulled away into the crowd and stayed at his spot, smiling at the irony of the situation. His thoughts were interrupted as Kwest walked over to join him.
"So…you're trying to get her to have sex with you?" Kwest asked with a snicker.
"Just don't," Tommy replied, still showing a smile as attention in the room remained on Jude.
"You do realize that her parents are here, right?"
"Yes, I'm aware. I invited them," Tommy said, with an edge of bitterness.
"Okay. Just making sure you're prepared for questions," Kwest remarked, stepping off the staircase to join in the crowd around Jude. Tommy watched him go and kept his eyes on Jude, happy to see her glowing reaction. She was spinning around and hugging people all around her, thanking them for coming. He left his post to go towards the bar, grabbing a drink and staying away from the commotion.
A few minutes later, as he wassipping his drink slowly, he feels a pair of arms wrap around his chest from behind. He instantly turns to see Jude's smiling face.
"What was that for?" he asked, putting his drink down.
"For doing all of this. EJ just told me it was all your idea and that you two have been planning this for a few weeks," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him.
He smiled and hugged her tightly. "I hope you don't mind. I know you said you didn't want a party, but I thought you deserved one."
"Thank you," she said, pulling back and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "It's perfect."
"And in case you weren't happy, we had Luigi's cater it just in case," he added with a grin.
She laughed lightly. "This explains a lot."
"Like what?" he asked.
"Like…you being kind of distant lately or not wanting to see me last night…"
"Well, hanging those balloons over there took awhile," he replied, motioning to a stack of balloons hanging near the DJ booth.
"Well, thank you," she repeated, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "And I'm sorry…about what I said before I turned on the lights."
He laughed, "It's okay. People probably thought I was trying to get you to sleep with me anyway."
She smirked at his comment, then said, "My parents were freaking out the second I saw them. I told them it was all a joke, but I don't think they believed me—they'll probably question you too."
"Great," he replied with an eye roll. "Technically, it's my fault anyway. If I hadn't tried to stall for time back at your house, you wouldn't have said anything."
"That's what that was? Stalling?" she asked, her mouth agape.
"Sort of. EJ told me they needed a few more minutes, so I needed a way to distract you…but I swear, I enjoyed every minute of it."
"Very sneaky, Quincy…" she said with a grin, as a figure came up behind Jude and covered her eyes.
"Umm, Quincy, who is this and do they realize they're ruining my eye makeup?" Jude asked, her eyes sealed shut under the person's hands.
He smirked. "I can't tell you who it is, but I will say that she has enough blue eye makeup on to cover you both."
Sadie immediately uncovered Jude's eyes and hit Tommy on the arm.
"I am not wearing too much makeup, you jerk!" she shouted as Jude whipped around to see her sister.
"Sadie!" she yelped, jumping on Sadie with a hug.
"Happy birthday, Jude! You didn't think I'd miss this, did you?" Sadie exclaimed in return.
"How did you find out about it?" Jude asked.
"Your, umm, producer over here did a good job letting everyone know," Sadie explained, looking at Tommy. "By the way, Mr. Producer, you're trying to get my little sister to have sex with you?" Sadie asked Tommy, who just shrugged.
"What can I say? I thought she'd want a memorable birthday," he responded as Jude attempted to hold in her laughter.
Two hours later, the party was in full blast and everyone was having a great time. All of her friends and family had shown up: Jamie, Kat, SME, her mom and Steven, her dad and Yvette. All of G-Major was there too, along with a few music industry executives. She was truly impressed with all of Tommy's effort. And it turned out that no one forgot about her birthday after all.
As she was standing in a conversation with Jamie and Spied, she heard a tapping on the microphone from the stage. She looked up to see Georgia at the mic with Tommy standing behind her, both in front of a closed red curtain. She instantly got nervous at the sight, not knowing what to expect.
The crowd gathered near the front of the stage, Jude standing in the front row. Once everyone had assembled and quieted down, Georgia began speaking.
"As you all know, we're here to celebrate Jude Harrison's 18th birthday."
A round of applause was heard around the room as Jude blushed slightly from the attention.
"Here at G-Major," Georgia continued, "we're extremely proud to have Jude as a part of our family. She's one of the most talented, dedicated artists I know, and her passion for the music shows in every song she writes. She's worked very hard over the past few years, and has truly earned the recognition and awards that have come her way.
"Now, because she is turning 18 today, we wanted to give her a special, memorable gift. Something that showed her how much she means to us. So we asked her…producer to help us come up with a great idea, which he did. Tommy?" Georgia asked, turning the mic over to him. Jude immediately felt flushed as he stepped forward, unsure as to what was about to happen.
"Like Georgia said, Jude has been a huge part of all of our lives and I know personally, I wouldn't be the same person I am today without her."
Jude met his gaze and grinned warmly up at him, as he continued.
"So to show our appreciation, we've arranged a gift that could only be made possible for Jude. The gift isn't exactly tangible, it's not something she can take home at the end of the party, but it is something we hope that she'll remember for the rest of her life."
Jude looked confusedly around, bewildered at what this mystery gift could be. She turned towards Jamie who just shrugged, equally unaware of the gift.
Georgia started to retreat off the stage as the lights dimmed and a spotlight fell onto Tommy.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to sing," he joked into the mic as people chuckled in response. "But I am going to present you with your gift, Jude. This is for you, girl. Happy birthday from all of us here at G-Major…" he started, everyone hearing movement behind the curtain.
"Straight off their world tour," Tommy began, his voice a little louder, "double Grammy award winners, and Jude Harrison's favorite band…I'm proud to introduce…the one, the only…
"GREEN DAY!"
Jude's jaw dropped open as Tommy rushed off-stage and the curtains parted to reveal the whole band. The guitars immediately started to the familiar tune of " Holiday" and Billie Joe stepped out into the front of the stage.
"Happy birthday, Jude," he said, before starting to sing.
Jude stood in the front row in complete and total shock, her friends and family starting to scream all around her. Jamie was next to her jumping up and down in excitement while Kat started dancing frenetically to the side. Jude looked up at them with a huge plastered smile as Billie Joe's voice began echoing throughout the room. The moment she heard the first few words of the song, she started shrieking at the top of her lungs, as the reality of her gift started to settle in.