A/N: Thanks for all of your replies! I'm sooooo happy you guys seemed to like the last chapter. It means a lot to me.
I'm sorry that I've been a delinquent poster, but here's the next chapter. The one after this should be up over the weekend, as long as you like this one :) And all I can say is, when you read this, just trust me. I promise I won't lead you astray :) ENJOY!
This chapter picks up where we left off, the morning after the concert...
Jude awoke with a startle, sitting up abruptly as the phone on her bedside table rang. Before taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she answered the phone.
"Hel—hello?"
"Hi there," she heard on the other end of the line. Rob.
"H—hi," she said, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the sleep.
"Are you just waking up?" Rob asked.
She picked up the clock and saw the time: 12:16pm.
"Umm, sort of…" she replied, feeling a cool draft hit her body as she clutched the sheet to cover herself. She immediately looked down in shock, realizing she wasn't wearing any clothing.
"Late night?" Rob asked.
Jude scrunched her face up in confusion, putting the pieces of her night together, and looked over to see Tommy's sleeping figure beside her. Her jaw dropped opened in alarm, the memories rapidly flashing before her eyes—the first, second, and third time they had gone at it the night before, finally calling it quits around 6am.
"Umm, yeah…you could say that," she said softly, searching the ground for an article of clothing to put on. "Can you hold on one second?"
"Sure," he replied, as she tucked the cordless phone under her arm.
None of their clothing was in the room, so she quietly got up and grabbed the blanket that had fallen off the bed, wrapping it around her body before tiptoeing into the hallway.
Once in the hall, she gently closed her door, and brought the phone back up to her ear.
"Hi, sorry," she said in relief. She stared in awe down the hallway, seeing all of the clothing scattered on the ground, a trail leading from the living room into her bedroom.
"That's okay. Is everything alright?" he asked in concern.
"Sure," she said, trying to act relaxed while picking up the clothes. "I umm…just needed to close the curtains. It was a little too bright in my room."
"Well, it is after noon," he replied with a smirk. "How was the concert?"
She swallowed hard before replying. "It was…good."
"How were your seats?"
"Great—front row."
"Wow, you must've been freaking out…" he remarked.
"Umm yeah…freaking out…" she repeated, making her way to the living room to pick up her tank top and Tommy's shirt.
"Jude? Are you okay? You sound kind of…preoccupied or something," he commented.
Holding all of the clothing, she sat down on the edge of the couch, "No, I'm fine. Just had a long night."
"But it was fun?" he questioned, sensing something wasn't right.
She thought for a second, blushing at the memories. "Yeah, it was fun."
"Good, I'm glad. Did Tom have fun too?"
She bit her lip to avoid smiling. "Yeah, I think he had fun too."
"Great. Do you want to go grab some food?" he asked.
"Umm, sure, but I need to get dressed and everything," she said edgily.
"Okay. So you want to say 1:00?" he offered.
"Umm, sure. That should be fine," she said hesitantly. That gave her 45 minutes to get ready and sneak out without Tommy seeing.
"Great. I'll come by beforehand to show you some of the pictures I took last night," he said.
"No!" she suddenly exclaimed, standing up.
"What? Why not?" he asked in confusion.
She thought quickly. "I…umm…the place is a mess. And…I'm not going to have time to look at the pictures before we go. Can you just bring them with you to the restaurant?"
He paused before answering, making her anxious. "Okay. So I'll just meet you at the restaurant?"
"Yeah. Did you want to go to Cleo's?" she replied, trying to act casual.
"Sure. I'll see you there," he said.
"Great. See you then."
"Love you," he said.
She looked down at the ground, taking a deep breath. "Love you too," she muttered quietly before hearing him hang up.
Ever so quietly, she made her way back down the hallway, carrying all of their clothes and clinging to the blanket around her body. She tiptoed back into her bedroom and placed the clothes in a heap near her dresser. Not bothering to look over at the bed, she quietly tried to open one of her dresser drawers, pulling it out inch by inch.
"You can open it all the way, you know," she heard behind her, causing her to jump.
She whipped around and met Tommy's gaze, lying in her bed intently watching her.
"Ohh…sorry," she said nervously, her voice rattling, "I didn't mean to wake you."
"No, it's fine," he said, sitting up. She turned back around to avoid gaping at his chest, pretending to rummage through her drawer but letting her mind race. "I heard the phone," he added.
"Oh, yeah, that was…umm…just, uh…" she stumbled, her back still facing him.
"Rob?" he asked quietly.
She slowly turned around, looking at him. "Yeah, him."
He sighed, watching her hang on to the blanket around her body a little tighter in uneasiness. Not knowing what to say, he started quietly, "Jude—"
"Don't," she said quickly. "I can't…I can't listen, I can't think…"
"I know," he mumbled softly, looking down ruefully.
She took a deep breath and said slowly, "I just…need you to leave."
He looked up at her, meeting her gaze and seeing the sincerity in her eyes. "Well, we probably should talk first."
"No, we don't need to. There's nothing to discuss," she said coldly, turning back towards her dresser and pulling out a t-shirt and jeans.
"Are you serious?" he questioned from behind her.
"Do I sound like I'm joking?" she retorted, anger resounding in her voice. Leaving her clothing on the dresser, she quickly walked over to her nightstand, picking up her watch. As she took it from the stand, Tommy leaned over and grabbed her arm.
"Jude, just hold on one second. We need to talk—you can't just act like it didn't happen."
"Why not? As I recall, those exact words came out of your mouth a good six years ago," she spat, pulling her arm out of his grip.
He exhaled deeply, recalling the exact situation she was referring to. "That was different, Jude."
"Why? Because the way I see it, both times, we crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed," she replied heatedly, standing across the bed and crossing her arms over the blanket.
"But we're both adults now and we need to accept the choices we make," he replied firmly. "You can't take it back. And you can't just act like it didn't happen."
"Really?" she questioned sarcastically. "Watch me."
She grabbed her clothing and hastily walked out towards the bathroom. He got up at once, found his boxers in the pile of clothing in the corner and slipped them on, following her down the hall.
"Just lock the door on your way out," she instructed, hearing him approach the bathroom.
"Jude, just listen. What happened last night…yes, it was wrong and shouldn't have happened…but it did, and…"
"Quincy," she said pleadingly, turning towards him in the doorway, "I don't want to talk about this. Please."
"Fine," he replied shortly. He sulked back to her room and quickly put his clothes on, not saying another word. Jude just stood there in contemplation, listening to his movements. She heard him walk out of her room and down the hallway, pausing briefly at the bathroom before continuing to the front door.
"So…I'll just call you later then?" he asked, trying to remain calm.
She took a deep breath and looked down at her feet. "I don't think that's such a good idea."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"
She looked up at him hesitantly. "I don't think you should…call me."
He took a step back, leaning against the wall in the hallway. "Why not?"
"I just…" she started, feeling the tears burn the back of her throat, "I can't do this anymore."
He eyed her in disbelief, not comprehending her words. "What are you talking about?"
"I can't be friends with you anymore," she confessed, her tears coming to the surface. "I can't have you in my life anymore."
"Are you crazy?" he asked, totally confused by her reaction.
"Tommy, we can't be friends," she replied shakily. "Especially now…how could I possibly be friends with you after what we just did? We're supposed to go back to hanging out in the park and eating dinner? I can't do that!"
"So you'd rather have nothing?" he questioned sharply.
"I'd rather have nothing than to have this!" she exclaimed, wiping away her falling tears. "Everything was perfect before this…before you. I was happy before you came back into my life. I had a boyfriend who I love—"
"Jude, don't even go there…" he warned, grinding his jaw in frustration.
"I did! And you ruined everything! I was so stupid to think we could ever actually be friends," she muttered angrily through tears. "Sadie was right. You and I—we can't ever just be friends. And you know it too."
He glared angrily at her, upset by her words and furious at her decision to end their friendship. Breathing heavily, he muttered, "So that's it? We're done?"
She nodded and sniffed, her tears still streaming. "That's it," she replied firmly.
He huffed and rushed toward the door. "Just so you know," he said, pulling his shoes on and seeing her standing in the hallway, "I'm not accepting that. We didn't see each other for five years, Jude, and I don't buy one bit of that speech you just gave about being so happy before seeing me again."
She looked away, wiping her tears again, and stayed silent as he grabbed his jacket and opened the front door. Before leaving, he looked back at her and said quietly, "You might be able to convince yourself that you were happier before I was back in your life, but you can't convince me."
He then turned and slammed the door, leaving her crying alone in the hallway.