"You're going on tour with me?" I asked Tom quietly a little while later as we were removing our skates on the sidelines of the rink. He nodded slowly. I couldn't seem to find my voice as I gazed over at him.

"Why?" I asked softly as he met my gaze directly—staring a moment before looking back down at his feet.

"It's not something I have to do, Jude. Just say the word and I'm out." He replied firmly as I felt my heart literally stop. I grabbed his arm quickly without meaning to.

"No…I mean…well…I just wasn't expecting that, is all." I remarked fiercely as he looked over at me again with an amused smile. I was finding it really hard to concentrate on getting off my skates. A sound behind me made me look up in time to see Chris leaning down over my shoulder. He looked tired. Something told me that he wasn't happy I found spending time with Tommy more appealing than with him. It wasn't him, and it wasn't that I found Tommy more appealing. He had to know that. I just needed to figure out what I felt for Tom. I needed to put things into perspective. I knew Chris was leaving for California the following day right before we left on tour, and it saddened me only because Chris had become my new Jamie. He and Tom had seemed to reach some sort of plateau with each other too because they glanced at each other suddenly as if conveying a silent message while I finished removing my skates.

"I need to go pack." Chris remarked simply as I looked up into his darkened gaze warily. I could tell he was conflicted so I stood up as if to follow him. He only pushed me right back down again before shaking his head.

"No, you need to go get ready for your tour. Tom was telling me this morning that you guys were scheduled to leave on the spur of the moment as well—sometime late tomorrow afternoon? Something about Darius already being angry that you guys were behind schedule on it to begin with." Chris replied as I stared up at him mutely. Tom reached out his hand in order to shake Chris's firmly.

"Keep her out of trouble, would you?" Chris asked as I felt tears burn the back of my eyes. He seemed to notice the sudden emotional turmoil I was experiencing as he pulled me up into a quick, fierce hug. Did we have to say goodbye right now? He slipped a piece of paper into my palm as he let me go before turning to walk off. I didn't even glance back at Tom as I opened it—smiling as I saw the words scrolled across the parchment.

"I haven't lost hope. Call me for anything. I'll come running in a heart beat." It read, and I shrugged to myself as I perused it.

"He's a good guy." Tom said suddenly from behind me as I just nodded mutely.

"And he's got the right idea. We both need to go pack." I stated simply before walking toward the entrance of the rink. I needed to use this night to evaluate everything that had just happened today. I was leaving for tour tomorrow. That sounded daunting, But I was actually already packed. Darius had had the tour planned and the bus outfitted for months, but scheduling problems kept moving it back. Now, he finally had everything the way it was supposed to be. He hoped. The daunting thing was knowing that Tommy was coming along now. I wasn't sure how I felt about that—wasn't sure if I was even still angry at him. I had told him I wasn't angry anymore, but I wondered vaguely if that was my head talking and not my heart. I guess I was about to find out.

To be continued...


Author's Footnote: Okay guys, don't be scared when I tell you that this is the end of this fic because it is only because I've designed this story to be a lot like Note to Self and Note to Self: Realizations. Note to self was a twelve chapter lead up into Note to Self: Realizations which took you into a European tour with Jude. He Loves me, He Loves me Not was a twenty-two chapter story that brought Tommy back from Montana to find a conflicted and somewhat angry Jude trying to forget about him by dating someone else. It worked nicely to introduce how Jude and Tommy now feel about each other--about their reservations when it comes to becoming a team again and maybe whatever else they might be. Jude's still angry and she's hurt. The Fic that will show up as the continual of this story is called "When a Man Loves A Woman" and it's about the American Tour and the problems and humor that arises from it. Hopefully, it'll even beat the measley 46 chapters I wrote for Note to Self: Realizations (laugh out loud). And don't worry, I fully intend for Chris (I love his character) to make several Cameo appearances especially when they hit California. Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing. I'm saving my personal thanks for the end of 'When a Man Loves a Woman" only because I'm determind for you guys to follow me to that story (smile). See you there. Hugs.