Glass could have shattered from the excited yelp that escaped my larynx, and Tommy had to place his hand over my mouth to keep me from repeating the entire episode.
"Don't forget your vocal cords are not completely up to par yet, sweetheart. You do actually want to be able to perform at the thing, don't you?" He whispered on a chuckle as I rolled my eyes up at him before pulling his hand away from my lips and squealing again—only a little lower this time. Oh my God! This was unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable! Looking around, I took in my surroundings in a daze—squinting at the two cakes that smiled up at me (literally because Darius had obviously gotten smiley faces put on them) as I sighed in tremendous satisfaction. Wait! Hold on a second.
"There are two cakes here, D. Why two?" I asked suddenly as my gaze landed once again on the large masterful confections as Darius cocked an eyebrow in amusement.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to notice? And I'm glad you asked." Darius stated cryptically before turning toward Tommy with a grin.
"Congratulations Quincy! You've been nominated for Producer of the year, the non-classical category." Darius finished as I felt my jaw drop in awe. Oh, if only I had it in me to scream again! Nobody said anything as Tommy just stared at Darius disbelievingly.
"You're kidding me right?" Tom asked almost in a whisper as I jumped up and down beside him in glee, holding my hands over my mouth in order to keep myself from laughing and crying all at the same time. How poetically right everything just seemed to be at the moment! Tom just gaped for a good five minutes before he finally managed to process the idea enough to be able to look around the room without drooling. He caught my gaze, and I held up my hands in a gesture of wonder and excitement before opening my arms up to him for a hug. He didn't need to say anything—all he did was rush forward and pick me up off of the ground before swinging us both around and around in one joyous sweep of the room.
"We did it." I whispered in his ear as he set me down slowly—gazing at me a moment with a small smile before turning back towards the room at large and throwing his arms up in a salutatory gesture.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's celebrate!" He yelled as everyone whooped and hollered before rushing towards the cake and sodas while talking a mile a minute amongst themselves. I watched as everyone ran around congratulating each other, because, all in all, it had been a team effort and the whole studio was proud of the nominations. It reflected well on all of those involved. Lord knows, I couldn't have done it without any of them, especially Tom. I searched him out amongst the flashing faces, grinning as I finally caught sight of him amidst the chaos—waving at him over everyone's heads as he looked back up at me with a merry twinkle glistening in his eyes. It was good to see him smile. God only knows, the flash of those pearly white teeth did amazing things to my insides. My face fell as a wave of desire sucker punched me in the gut. He must have felt it too because the next thing I knew, neither one of us were smiling as we just gazed at each other—letting everything-the noise, the conversation, and the smiles-fade into the background like white noise on a television set. I just couldn't look away.
"God Jude! I'm so very proud of you." A voice said suddenly from behind me, and I turned quickly, breaking contact with Tom, to see my dad standing there with a bright smile radiating from his face, and I practically glowed at the praise before throwing myself into his arms happily.
"Can you believe it?" I asked as I pulled away long enough to look up into his eyes with an excited smile. I suddenly felt like a kid standing in the center of a candy store reveling in the fact that my parents just told me I could select whatever I wanted. He grinned down at me before handing me a dozen red roses.
"For my Instant Star." He said softly as he hugged me one final time before holding me away from him and perusing me like a concerned parent.
"Are you doing okay? Do you feel better? Are you still happy about where you're staying?" Dad asked imploringly, and I laughed at his bombarding questions as I patted him reassuringly.
"Yes, yes, and yes." I answered with a laugh as he nodded quickly before turning around to look for Sadie. I wished him the best of luck in this crowd. Laughing, I turned away too only to come face to face with Tom Quincy.
"Are you happy where you're staying?" Tom asked quietly.