A/N: I'm so sorry for not posting sooner but I was seriously having technical difficulties on this site. If any of you are DLS members, I'm posting on there too so if you don't see an update here, you can always try there too.
Anyway, here's the next chapter, which picks up right after the scene in the park. I'm working on the next couple of chapters and they should be posted within the next day or two, assuming you all like this one :-) Oh, and I don't own The Fray, I just love them. Thanks for reviewing and ENJOY!
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Jude walked into her apartment, closing the door and leaning against it. She had a huge smile on her face that she couldn't get rid of. As much as she wanted to deny it, she loved hanging out with Tommy. She loved the way he made her feel—how easy it was to talk to him and how little she had to explain herself. She thought about watching him run through the park without his shoes and the expression on his face when he stepped onto the cold grass, making her laugh aloud.
"What's so funny?" she heard, looking up to meet Rob's eyes across the room.
She quickly snapped out of her daze and stepped away from the door. "Nothing, just a funny story somebody told at dinner."
"So it was good?" he asked, walking further into the room.
"Yeah, it was okay…kind of a boring crowd," she said, taking her shoes off and throwing her purse on a chair. "How's the work going?"
"Okay. I hope you don't mind that I'm here—my neighbors are dancing to that salsa music again," he explained, sitting on the edge of the couch.
"Not at all. You know you're welcome here anytime," she said, leaning over and kissing him. He reached behind her and pulled her in closer, breaking the kiss to look at her.
"A backless dress?" he asked with a mischievous grin.
She smiled at him. "Do you like it?"
"Of course, but what did the prim and proper hostess think?" he replied, referring to Jessica.
"Well, I had a wrap covering it so no one knew," she said, giving him another quick kiss before retreating towards the kitchen.
"Very sneaky," he replied. "Did you meet anybody halfway decent?" he asked, hearing her turn on the faucet.
"Not really. Everybody was pretty blah," she replied, emerging from the kitchen with a glass of water.
"Who did you talk to then?" he asked, as she sat down in the chair opposite him.
"Well…I met this couple who are cousins of Jessica's. We talked a little, but I mostly just hung out with Tommy."
"Ahh, the groom…did he have fun?" Rob asked, sliding down into the couch.
"Not at all. I think he was dying more than I was," she replied, putting the glass down. She sighed and relaxed comfortably in the chair, lifting her feet to rest on the edge of the coffee table.
He scrutinized her appearance for a minute, then asked, "Jude? Why are your feet dirty?"
Her mouth immediately opened to answer, though no response came out. She put her feet down on the ground and quickly stood up, heading towards the closet to grab a towel. "Umm, well, I kind of went for a walk through the park."
"It's close to midnight. You walked through the park by yourself at this time of night?" he asked in a slight panic.
She stopped for a moment by the closet, debating how to handle his question. She slowly took the towel from the shelf and brought it back over to the couch. "No, I actually got dragged there."
"Dragged there?" he repeated, appearing confused.
"Yeah," she said casually, wiping the grass off her feet. "Tommy was seriously about to explode at that party, so he snuck out and dragged me with him."
Rob leaned back against the couch, eyeing her closely. "Uh huh…and you just walked through the park without shoes? Both of you?"
"Sort of," Jude said quietly, focusing intently on the dirt between her toes. "It wasn't a big deal. He was all tense over the party, so I thought it would help loosen him up a little."
"Uh huh," he repeated, still watching her carefully as she finished cleaning her feet. "Whatever you say, Jude."
She looked up at him irritably. "Please don't act like a jealous boyfriend, Rob."
"I'm not saying anything," he replied, putting his arms behind his head.
"Then stop looking at me like that," she replied. "He's my friend. He needed to get out of there, so I helped him. You would've done the same for one of your friends."
He chuckled. "I don't think I would ever want any of my friends to remove their shoes."
"Well that's because your friends haven't showered in weeks," she replied with a grin, standing up to approach him. "Stop worrying, okay? I love you. How many times do I have to tell you?"
He gently pulled her towards him until she was seated on his lap. "A few more times wouldn't hurt."
"Okay…I love you," she replied, kissing him lightly. "I love you, I love you. Good?"
"Getting there…" he said softly, pulling her in to kiss her more deeply. She wound her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his, trying to keep her focus on the main guy in her life.
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The phone rang loudly causing Jude to sit abruptly, her hair strewn all over her face. She looked over at the clock, reading 7:00am. She heard Rob groan next to her, pulling the pillow over his head. She leaned over and clumsily grabbed her cell phone. She saw the name on the front and sighed, reluctantly getting out of bed and stepping into the hallway. She quickly opened the phone and groggily said, "Hello?"
"Good morning, sunshine," she heard on the other end of the line.
"Tommy, do you have any idea what time it is?" she asked tersely, walking towards her living room.
"Umm, I believe it's around 7:00. Too early for you?" he asked playfully.
"You think?" she replied sarcastically, plopping down on the couch.
"Still your pleasant self in the morning, I see," he replied with a smirk.
"Very funny. If you showed up with coffee like you used to, then maybe I'd be happier," she replied with a yawn. She heard a soft knock on her front door as she groaned and stood up. "Hold on a second, somebody's at my door…"
She unlocked the door and opened it, seeing Tommy standing before her with his phone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He smiled at her as her jaw dropped.
"What is this? An intervention?" she asked, shutting her phone.
"I came prepared. This is for you," he said, handing her the cup of coffee.
"You didn't," she remarked with wide eyes, grabbing the cup and walking back over to the couch. He walked in, closing the door behind him, and watched her sip the coffee with a huge smile on her face. He then scanned her appearance, smirking loudly.
"Nice outfit," he commented.
She suddenly grew self-conscious, looking down at her Rainbow Brite shorts and matching t-shirt. She quickly smoothed out her ragged hair, saying, "Well it's not like I was expecting visitors at 7:00am on a Sunday morning."
He chuckled and walked over, sitting in the chair opposite her.
"So…are you here just to bring me coffee or did you disturb my sleep for another reason?" she asked.
"For another reason, but I come bearing gifts," he replied with a grin.
"Gifts?" she asked excitedly.
"Yes," he confirmed. "Gift number one—the coffee."
"Check," she said, taking another sip.
"Gift number two—what are you doing next Saturday night?"
She thought for a few moments, "Next Saturday…in two Saturdays is Sadie's wedding, but I think I'm free next weekend. Rob has a dinner for school, so he'll be out, but I'll be around. Why?"
"Because…I happen to have tickets to a concert that I thought you might be interested in."
"Which concert?" she asked.
"Ohh, just a little band you might know...The Fray," he said offhandedly, watching her mouth gape and her eyes widen.
"The Fray? Oh my god, Tommy, they're my favorite!"
"I know, you made me listen to that CD at least ten times when we were cleaning out your closet, remember?" he said.
"Yes, but I didn't know you were actually paying attention! Oh my god! How did you get tickets?" she asked, overwhelmed by excitement.
"I have a friend who works at their label and offered them to me…I had to go meet him at the crack of dawn to pick up the tickets, but it's yours if you want to go."
"Of course I'll go!" she exclaimed before quieting down. Her expression quickly changed to be more serious, as she asked, "Wait—what about Jessica? Won't she be mad?"
He chuckled. "No—first of all, she hates that kind of music. If it's not an angry female rocker, she can't stand it. Secondly, she'll be out of town for work, so she couldn't make it anyway."
"Okay…" she replied hesitantly. "If you're sure. I don't want to start anything with the two of you."
"You're not, I promise," he said, meeting her gaze and holding out her ticket. "Just come with me. It'll be fun."
She smiled widely again, before grabbing the ticket and replying, "Sold."
"Good," he said, standing up. "If you said no, I was prepared to take that coffee back."
She looked at him challengingly. "Oh really? So I'm assuming you were prepared for it to be spilled all over you?"
"No, that's my fiancée," he joked, before turning towards the door.
She put her coffee down and stood up, laughing lightly at his comment. "Thank you so much," she said sincerely, before wrapping her arms around him in a hug. He held her for a moment until he heard a noise behind them.
"Ahem," Rob's voice sounded, causing them to immediately separate. Jude looked back at him, perched against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Hi," she said, backing up further.
"Morning," he replied flatly, eyeing Tommy suspiciously. "Hey."
"Hey," Tommy responded, feeling the awkwardness of the situation set in.
Jude felt it too, quickly saying, "Tommy just stopped by to give me this—it's a ticket to The Fray concert next week!"
"That's great," Rob said, sitting on the couch.
Jude noticed his indifference and turned towards Tommy, grinning uneasily.
"Well, I should go. I'll talk to you later," Tommy said to Jude, then glanced over at Rob. "I'll see you around?"
"Yeah, I'll see you," Rob replied, nodding at him before watching him walk through the door. Jude thanked him one last time before closing the door, leaving her and Rob alone.
She sighed and looked over at him. "Well, I need another hour of sleep. Want to come back with me?"
"No, that's okay. I've got work to do," he responded, standing up. He gave her a quick kiss before she walked back down the hall and closed the door to her bedroom.