"Tell me that's not Jack Johansen…" I gulp. After I hung up with Kwest earlier that morning, everyone else somehow ended up calling me as well ruining any chance of me catching some Z's. Which pretty much explains why I'm sitting here having a victory beer with Ethan after spanking his ass in a game of tennis. At least he was more of a challenge than I thought.

"Where?" Ethan asks, glancing around.

"Across the street, about to go into the jewelry store right…" I reply, slumping down in my seat.

"Oh yeah, that's him alright…" Ethan replies, nodding his head. "You want to go and holler at him?" He asked me, attempting to use some slang, but failing miserably. He's been trying to do that all day long. If he only could hear himself sounding like a moron.

"No." I say, replacing my hat and sunglasses.

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Aren't you two good friends."

"No." I tolerate him because he's Jude's flavor of the month. Well past several months. "Kinda."

"Oh." Ethan replies, as though he has some clue what I'm talking about. But he doesn't have one clue.

"I wonder what he's buying," I murmur aloud. Maybe he bought Jude something and now he's returning it because he thinks she cheated on him. Or MAYBE he's buying something for his other woman. Ooh. Maybe he has another woman. Or maybe he's buying something for Jude. Thoughts and possibilities just keep rushing through my brain. I just can't take it anymore.

"You know what Ethan, I'm going to catch up with you a little later. I think I will go see what Jackson's in town for…"

"Well alright. I'll catch you later bro?"

I look at him wearily and slightly shake my head. He's killing me with his preppy slang thing he's got going on. "Um…yeah. Sure." I lie, waving good-bye to him and hurrying across the street.

"Tom! What are you doing here?" Jackson asks, awkwardly slapping hands with me.

I instantly regret just waltzing into the jewelry store without a story. I usually always have a story and a plan B…and a plan C. "Oh…I was just…you know walking and I thought I saw you. What are you doing here?" I improvise.

"I'm picking up something…" he replies leaning against the glass case.

"Oh? What is it?"

"Ah…man I can trust you right?" he asks me, whispering.

"Yeah…" I lie, leaning on the case beside him. No he can't trust me. You can't trust competition. It's unheard of. He should know this. He's in the entertainment business too.

"I'm going to propose to Jude this Sunday."

I unintentionally swallow the gum I was chewing, nearly getting choked in the process.

"Whoa, you okay man?" Jax asks, whacking my back.

"Yeah…I'm good," I answer, through teary eyes. I'm not sure if the almost tears are because of him planning to propose to Jude, or if its because of my near death experience.

He reaches in his messenger bag that he's carrying and hands me a bottle of water. "Here man, be easy." He smiled, genuinely caring. It's hard to be cold to someone when they're being so nice to you. It'd be better if he would actually hate me a little.

I take a swig of it and tighten the cap back on. "So when did you decide that you would pop the question?"

"Well, I've been thinking about since I met her." He replies, looking away bashfully. "I don't know. There's just something about Jude," he shrugs. "I felt it when I met her. And I know, I've only known her some months, it's just…I've never felt this way before. You know what I mean?"

I really hate him at this moment. I hate the way he reminds me of myself. He's so…nice. And I hate him because I can imagine he and Jude leading a happy life together. It sucks that I can imagine her with him…the house with the white picked fence, the 3 kids, and the dog: the works.

"Yeah I know what you mean man…" I sigh.

"And then this morning…when I saw you and her on the front cover of all those tabloids. It felt like my heart was being ripped out." My ears perk up a little bit, when he says this. "I don't know. I know you guys are really, really, good friends…but I just felt like I was missing out. So I decided to just take a week off from the movie set and see her kick ass at the VMA's." he smiles, and he has "the look" on his face too. You know the look. The "love sick" look. The I-found-the-love-of-my-life look.

I swallow down vomit, and roll my eyes when he's not looking my way. "So when are you going to pop the question?" I ask. It's really the only thing I want to hear about. I don't want to hear about how much he loves her.

"I'm thinking Sunday. My agent's already got MTV involved. You know how she's supposed to be presenting that award with Avril?" he pauses, waiting for me to answer. "We were thinking about just scrapping that whole thing, and surprising her with me proposing there."

"Nationally?" I question, raising my eyebrows.

"What you don't think that's a good idea?" he asks, frowning.

"Oh no, she'll love that…" Its kind of the coward way if you ask me. I mean, what woman is going to say no in front of 30 million viewers? Okay, I'm going to acknowledge that I'm hating on him right now. Jude will love it. She'll fall in love with him all over again. Actually I think she'd like anything as long as it wasn't something corny…like proposing at the top of the Eiffel Tower…

"You sure?" he asks. "I was thinking somewhere more romantic…like Paris."

I shake my hand, trying to conceal the grin on my face. The friggin Eiffel Tower? He and Jude are like oil and water. Paris? Give me a break. "Nah man. She'd love being proposed to on stage."

"Good," he grins, relief washing over him.

A stout little man comes towards holding a box out for Jax. "Ah thanks for doing to this on such short notice Leonardo." Jax smiles, shaking Leo's hand. He opens the box and looks at the ring. A smile creeps across his face. "You think she'll like it?" he asks, holding the box out to me.

I take it out of the box and look at it close up and ask for Leo's eyepiece. It's a pretty ring…but I don't think it's for Jude. It's a little too extravagant and gaudy. It has 3 stones, the band's silver, and it's a little too traditional; not special enough.

"It's a beautiful ring." And it is. But Jude likes gold and she doesn't like diamonds too much. It's to cliché.

"I helped design it…" Jax put in.

I nod my head, and continue looking at it. It has an imperfection in the third stone, but besides from that it's all right. But like I said, it's not a ring for Jude.

"I think she'll like it," I nod, putting it back in the box and handing it to him. I didn't exactly lie. I'm sure she'll learn to love it… after a few years.

"Man you don't know how relieved I am…" he sighed.

Just then my cell vibrated in my pocket I flipped it out, a picture of Jude and me flashed. I glance at Jax's reaction, but he just has a curious look on his face. I shrug.

"Hey…remember not to mention I'm here." He reminds me. I nod.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey Quincy…come meet me for lunch."

"Damn girl. You could ask," I whisper, gesturing to Jax to hold up, while I walk outside to continue the conversation.

"Like you have anything better to do..."

Ha. I could be milking information out of your boyfriend. If only I could say that. "I'm out with some people right now."

"Come on Quincy. Please…I need to vent, before I go flip out on these people here," she whispers, conspirator-like.

"Why what's going on?" I ask bemused.

"Um…they want me and Avril to feed the feud that the tabloids already have going on. But she and I are trying to petition that. It's so mental…I actually like the girl. We're thinking about collaborating on a record. Think that can be arranged?"

"Maybe."

"Awesome."

"Okay where you taking me out to?" I ask her.

"I don't know, I'll meet you back at the hotel in an hour though. I got to get back to the boardroom."

"See ya later girl," I reply, hanging up. I'm smiling ear to ear because I didn't tell hee anything yet. Yet. I can keep this from her for the next 2 days. I look up to see Jax staring at me. "What?" I ask.

"Ah nothing, I was just about to head back to my hotel."

I nod. "I'll see you later then." I wave, turning on my heel and walking towards my car.

"Hey. Tommy. Wait up a second."

I turn back around. "Yeah?"

"I know this is a probably a stupid question, but you and Jude don't have a…"thing" going on do you?"

I admit. I hesitate before answering this question. "Nah…man we don't have a "thing" going on." I say, turning my back towards him.

"I know man. I just had to make sure though. She assured me you didn't. I hate it when the tabloids cloud my judgment. You know how it is."

"Yeah man. It's all good." I assure him.

So I'm sitting here in my hotel room waiting for Jude to hurry up and get ready so we can go out to lunch. She said she'd be ready in about 20 minutes, but that's 30 to 35 minutes in Jude time.