Jude grabbed his hand and led him to a very busy street. The street was lined with tents and people. He looked around in awe.
"I take it you've never been to a street fair?" She asked from beside him. Tommy shook his head, stillin awe. Jude was really opening his eyes to a whole new world. She led him to a large tent selling old LPs. She grinned and looked around.
"I love it here. You can find only the rarest, best records ever." She immediately began digging through the nearest box. Tommy watched her in fascination.
"Come on, go ahead and look through it. Who knows, you might find something you can sell yourself!" Tommy just shook his head. He carefully began rummaging through a box close to him.
They spent the next hour laughing over old records with ridiculous styles and fawning over the classics. They were now making their way towards a tent selling French fries, Hamburgers, and Hot Dogs. Tommy couldn't stop smiling.
They both ordered a drink and decided to split a basket of fries. They sat down at a round table just outside the tent. Jude slowly sipped her Coke and glanced around at all the people shopping. Tommy caught himself staring at her.
Her red hair was blowing through the wind, whipping all around her. The sight made his heart warm up. Little by little, Jude was putting his heart back together.
"I just love watching the people that walk by here." She said. Tommy looked up surprised.
"Why's that?" She shrugged.
"I love seeing all the happy families walk by." She looked down. Tommy sensed that she was hurting herself. Just as he was about to ask, Jude looked at him and smiled.
"You wanna go to Central Park?" Surprised at her change in attitude, all Tommy could do was nod.
He let himself be led, liking the feel of her hand entwined with his. They arrived at Central Park and just walked aimlessly around, enjoying the beautiful day.
"So when do you go back home?" Jude asked him. Tommy looked up in surprise.
Right, because he had said he was visiting a friend. His lies were becoming too much. He smiled.
"I'm actually thinking about staying a little longer." Jude looked at him, surprised.
"What about your store?" Tommy shrugged, the lies coming so much easier now.
"That's the beauty of being the boss." Jude seemed to accept his answer.
"What made you decide to stay?" She asked innocently. Tommy shrugged and looked away.
"I don't think I've seen all that New York as to offer yet." He looked her straight in the eye. She blushed.
"I should probably get home." She whispered. Tommy nodded, sad to see her go. She reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone.
"Do you mind if I ask for your number?" She asked. Tommy just shook his head and pulled out his phone as well.
They traded numbers and bid each other good bye.
Tommy watched her disappear into a crowd, before turning to head back to work.
He entered G Major in a much better place then he had left it.
He walked into studio 1 where Kwest was mixing.
"Welcome back man, you took an extremely long lunch break. I had to send Lauren home eventually since you weren't coming back." Tommy just shrugged. Kwest frowned at him.
"Where have you been this entire time?" Tommy shrugged again.
"I met the most amazing girl last night." Kwest looked at him in surprise.
"Wow, you already moving on from Claire? Man, I knew you were fast but damn!" Tommy shot him a look.
"Actually, I've been spending time with your girlfriend's sister." Kwest just stared at him, clearly surprised.
"She was really spending time with you? Last I checked,the girl hated industry types." Tommy looked away.
"Why do I recognize that look?" Kwest asked, shaking his head.
"When we met last night, I lied about who I was. I didn't know her and I really didn't want to get into my whole personal life. I didn't think I would ever see her again. But then I saw her at my favorite diner today. It was a complete surprise. She took me to her classroom, and then we went to a street fair and looked through old records. It was a blast! I can't even remember the last time I've ever just kicked back and had fun like that." Tommy trailed off, looking into space.
"I don't believe it." Kwest shook his head. Tommy looked at him, confused.
"Don't believe what?" Kwest just smiled.
"You are falling for this girl." Tommy just shook his head.
"I am not. I hardly know her. Besides, I'm still very upset about Claire."
"Well, that might be true, but you can't deny that when you're with her, your heart hurts less, and you're thinking about Claire less." Tommy didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Amazingly enough, Kwest just knew.
"You got it bad, man."