Okay now would be a good time for me to reiterate one very important point—reiterate it and then staple it in very big bold italic print to the front of my forehead: I love my sister, Sadie Harrison. Okay there it is—plain and simple. And why do I feel this need to shout this out over the rooftops and into every little nook and cranny? Simple. If I didn't, then I would have a very hard time reminding myself of that fact whenever she managed to do something that irritated the living hell out of me. Like now for example.
I was still trying to process what I saw as I stepped through Tommy's front door—a big sweeping living room that sat starkly against a shining wooden floor with a fireplace situated against a cozy corner bordered by a very large big screen t.v., a cul-de-sac kitchen that housed every appliance in the world (Martha Stewart would be proud), and a small spiraling staircase that led to what looked like an entire set of rooms above our heads—when Sadie decided now would be a great time to announce her presence in true Sadie fashion.
"I think I need a shower." She said cheekily, as if she needed to point out the obvious, before flipping her shirt suddenly over her head and throwing it onto the floor in a small, dusty pile—leaving herself completely exposed with the exception of a bra and a very short pair of boy shorts as she looked towards Tommy pointedly as if asking 'where's the bathroom' with her eyes.
"Sadie!" I exclaimed as she stalked down a small hallway I hadn't noticed before behind me—throwing me a slightly hurt glance as she did.
"Grow up, Jude. It's nothing he hasn't seen from me before." She said sardonically, and my jaw snapped shut with a bang as if she had just thrown a huge pail of cold water over my head. Of course he had. They had dated once, and fairly seriously if I really wanted to be honest with myself. There was still that little trip to Europe they took that none of us would ever truly know all the details about. And, suddenly as I glanced over at Tom's even expression, I couldn't help but feel envy. Is it just me, or does it seem as if every woman in the hemisphere has had a chance with him but me? Now would be a good time to quit fooling myself. I watched Sadie round the corner with a slight sashay of her hips before glancing down miserably at the rags that still hung from my own soot-covered limbs.
"I have another bathroom, Jude." Tom stated quietly as I glanced over my shoulder at him—watching as his eyes burned into mine with an unreadable expression. I just shrugged as I gave him a small smile before pointing teasingly to Sadie's' crumpled shirt laying seductively on the floor.
"Okay, but don't expect me to do that." I said with a small laugh as I watched him grin down at me with a heated look in his eyes. My heart fluttered spasmodically as he lifted his hand suddenly before rubbing gently at the soot that still marred my face—running his fingertips first over my eyes and then over my cheekbones before finally easing them down the side of my neck and my shoulders.
"Of course not, Jude. Believe it or not, I expect more class from you." He stated huskily as his fingers wrapped firmly around mine—entwining them together resolutely before tugging gently at me until I realized that he was asking me to follow him. I practically stumbled as my body finally remembered to send signals to my brain as he led me to the stairs, and I stomped up them in horror as I realized the rooms above us were carpeted. I pulled quickly at Tommy's arms.
"I can't go up here, Tom. This stuff on me is hell to get out of fabrics." I said softly as he rolled his eyes up at me before continuing upward, dragging me as he went.
"I may be a perfectionist, Jude, but I do know people who can help me clean up any mess I can't deal with myself. So just take a deep breath and keep climbing." He said on a chuckle as I shook my head resolutely—clearing my mind of the image that Sadie had left me with. I could even understand her actions now. Even as strange as I felt saying this, I really wanted to take my clothes off in front of the guy too. Damn, who wouldn't? But I also wanted to be the one girl that left him wanting—because, obviously, I had discovered that most of the women in his past had just offered themselves to him on a silver platter, and I wanted him to have to work for me.
Hell! I mentally slapped myself on the head to wipe my mind again of all images. "Stop it, Jude!" I yelled at myself bracingly. He's married, he's married, he's married. I kept running that thought through my head slowly but for some reason, it just wasn't doing it for me anymore because the only thing that managed to come to mind after that was—but he's separated, he's separated, he's separated. Geez, I was losing it!
"Are you okay, Jude?" Tom asked suddenly and my head jerked up as I realized we were standing in front of his spare bathroom. Oh dear God, it was in his bedroom!
"Uh…yeah, I'm fine." I stuttered helplessly as I looked over at Tom's bed before quickly looking away again. The damn thing was huge! Closing my eyes briefly, I heard Tom rustling through some of his dresser drawers before tapping me lightly on the shoulder.
"Change into these when you're done. I'm going to take something down to Sadie as well. Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again as I took the clothes from him and then nodded mutely. My world was suddenly too small—I needed to step away from him before I did something to embarrass myself, so I quickly walked into the bathroom and slammed the door behind me. Leaning against the door, I gasped as I saw myself in his mirror—quickly gagging as I realized I was almost completely and entirely black. God, I had to get this stuff off of me. I stripped quickly and turned on the water in the shower—staring mesmerized at the steam rising up from around the drain as I walked slowly under the stream of water to stare just as fascinated at the swirl of black that started circling the floor at my feet. I just stood there a moment absorbing the heat and watching until the water turned clear again before grabbing his soap and scrubbing with as much strength as my arms would allow until my skin started turning a rosy red. I must have stood there forever—letting the water drip over my head like a small waterfall because a knock at the door finally brought me out of my reverie.
"Jude, come on! We're going to order in something to eat." Sadie called through the door, and I stared forlornly at the pile of soot covered clothes bunched up in the corner of the room against the marble floor as I stepped away from the water in order to dry myself off and throw on the button up white shirt and green boxers that Tommy had handed me. I had to fold the boxers over three times to get them to fit around my waist, and the shirt fell quite a ways below my thighs as I tried my best to make it look even the slightest bit, I don't know, sexy maybe. But, oh, I was failing miserably. Shaking my head at my reflection, I threw open the door and skipped down the stairs determined not to let my wardrobe malfunction bother me until I saw Sadie. My jaw dropped as I reached the bottom of the stairs. She was wearing an old black T-Shirt that she had tied to circle her midriff while sporting similar black boxers folded until her rear was almost exposed. Well, there went my attempt at beautification. Tom smiled up at me as I shrugged a shoulder and leaped the rest of the way down—strolling over casually as the two of them leaned over a phone book obviously disagreeing with each other.
"What do you want, Jude?" Tom asked suddenly as I walked over to plop onto his couch, casually sinking into the soft material like a freakin' Cheshire cat.
"Uhh….Pizza's fine. I'm not picky." I said with a sigh as Sadie scoffed. I was too tired to care. I could feel my eyelids drooping as I rubbed my cheek against the fabric of his sofa reminding myself that I was definitely going to have to ask who his designer was. Oh, the wonder of it! I felt like I was on a cloud, and I guess the comfy feel of it finally got to me because I vaguely remember Tommy stooping down in front of me before my entire world went black.