As Jude wavered, struggling with her internal voices, Tommy took the opportunity to do the only thing he could think of to convince her. He brought both of his hands to her cheeks and leaned in abruptly, capturing her lips with his own.
Jude jumped slightly as his lips made contact with hers, trying to pull away. She pushed back against his chest, resisting his sudden actions. Feeling her opposition, he moved his hands around her back, holding her firmly and not letting her budge.
She felt the intensity of his mouth against hers, the softness of his lips, the electricity that surged through her body as he held her close. Feeling her defenses weaken, she closed her eyes and allowed her body to relax against his, opening her mouth just enough to feel his tongue brush against hers. She wrapped her arms around him, losing all ability to think rationally or coherently, as his hands ran up her back and into her soaked hair.
Thunder sounded above and the rain continued to fall, completely saturating both of them. But they stood on the corner of the street as the cars drove by, in their own world, fully absorbed in each other.
Neither one could move, as their mouths connected and tongues intertwined, igniting passion. The heat between them grew more intense with the cool rain not helping to lower the temperature. She laced her arms around him tighter, her fingers grasping his soaked sweatshirt to help her not lose her balance. He kept his hands in her matted hair, feeling her kiss grow from hesitant to passionate in just a few moments.
Feeling the lack of oxygen become overwhelming, she suddenly broke away, breathing heavily and trying to regain consciousness. She rested her forehead against his, still clinging to him and hearing him try to catch his breath as well. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, yelling at her to calm down, to start thinking again, but all she could concentrate on was the tingles running up and down her body.
She fell quiet, listening to the mixture of the rain hitting the pavement and her heart beating rapidly, trying to slow her racing mind to figure out what she was thinking. She couldn't remember what they were talking about before or how she had gone from yelling to kissing him.
Not knowing what to do, she opened her mouth to speak, muttering the first word to break their uneasy silence.
"Tommy…"
His name sounded doubtful, tentative as it rolled off her tongue. Recognizing her hesitation, he moved his hands from her hair to her cheeks, but pulled back slightly to look into her eyes.
"Jude…" he started in response, seeing her confusion return, and sighed. "Stop thinking so much."
She couldn't help but faintly smile, knowing that he could read her like a book.
He smiled back at her reaction, watching as her expression softened. "I'm serious…you're thinking too much."
Her smile faded as she looked up at him earnestly through the falling rain. She still felt unsure of herself, unsure of her decision, but somehow felt comforted by the look in his eyes. He seemed to be so certain of this—so sure of what he wanted, so positive that they would be right together. Her nerves grew calmer just by seeing the determination and sincerity reflected in his gaze.
"Just…be with me," he said softly, leaning forward and delicately kissing her head.
Her eyes fluttered closed and she exhaled deeply, feeling his warm breath against her.
He leaned down further, gently kissing her lips. "Be with me," he repeated quietly, up against her lips.
She opened her eyes, pulling back a bit to collect her thoughts. She knew what she wanted. She knew who she wanted. She knew that Rob could never make her feel this way. No matter what he did or what he said, it would never feel the way she did when she was with Tommy. He had always been there, in her heart and in her mind, and deep down, she knew that all of her hesitation, all of her questions, would disappear once she gave in to what was in her heart.
He searched her eyes for some recognition of her decision, waiting to hear the words that he had been hoping for. "Will you? Will you give us a chance?"
She took a deep breath, gazing up at him. Looking into his eyes, she realized that some people search their whole lives to find the kind of connection, the kind of chemistry, she had with the person standing before her. It wasn't common, it wasn't normal, and she knew that it wouldn't just come around again for her. She was one of the lucky ones. She found her soul mate, so how could she ever think to let him go?
Feeling a lump form at the back of her throat at her sudden insight, she was certain of her decision. So she silently answered his question, by giving him a subtle yet simple nod.
His eyes widened at her movement, appearing to be in disbelief. "Yes? Was that…a yes?"
The edges of her lips turned upwards into a grin, instantly feeling more at ease with her decision.
"Yes," she said quietly, the tears welling up in her eyes. "It's time."
His mood immediately changed, a smile emerging at her words. "Really?"
Unable to speak, she nodded in response, his enthusiasm spreading to make her smile wider.
Through his smile, he leaned forward and captured her lips, pressing his lips to hers excitedly. He pulled away and looked into her eyes, the tears of happiness running down her cheeks.
"You won't regret this…I promise," he said eagerly, his eyes glowing.
"I know," she agreed softly, as he soothingly wiped away her falling tears.
Smiling even wider, he reached down and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up in the air. She laughed as she felt her feet leave the ground and her body being spun around in a quick turn.
As her feet touched the ground again, he immediately brought his lips to hers once more, both smiling and laughing through the kiss. He pulled back to wrap his arms around her, drawing her into a warm embrace. She held him close, hearing his heart beating just as fast as hers was, and sighed contentedly in his arms.
Closing her eyes, she took a minute to savor the moment. After all of her running, trying to find herself, her journey had ended at the point where it all had started. With a kiss in the rain.
He held onto her firmly, as she thought she heard him sniff a little above her. But a moment later, she heard his voice softly whisper in her ear, "I love you, Jude."
She pulled back to see his teary-eyed expression, his eyes glazed over with emotion. She smiled the widest smile she could and stood up to capture his lips. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him into a tight hug, faintly murmuring in his ear, "I love you, too."
Jude could feel him smiling as he squeezed her tighter, wrapping his arms around her back.
Feeling the rain start to blow around against them, she opened her eyes and leaned back, looking at him intently.
"I do have one request, though," she said, trying to disguise her enthusiasm with a more serious tone.
His smile faded and he shifted to gaze at her sincerely. "Okay. Anything."
Her lips gently curved upwards into a grin as she quietly replied, "I need to get out of the rain."
He smiled and let out a light snicker at her request. "Consider it done."
Pulling out of the embrace, he grabbed one of her hands and turned to snatch his backpack and jacket, which had fallen to the ground as he had stopped her from running. He picked them both up, slinging the backpack over his shoulder and holding the jacket in his free hand, keeping his other hand linked with hers.
He looked at her with a grin and tugged on her hand to bring her closer, kissing her again as she stumbled into him. She giggled giddily through his small kisses, feeling as he let her hand go and pulled away to fondly gaze at her. He wrapped his arm around her, keeping her close, and she slipped her arm around his back. Blissfully, they started walking back towards her apartment, feeling as the rain started to slowly let up and the thunder began to fade into the night.
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A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I just wanted to let you know that the story isn't ending yet - stay tuned for more!