A/N: Okay, here it is--the last chapter!! This will be followed up probably next week with a two-part epilogue, which I think will be posted all at once so no one has to wait any longer. :) I just wanted to thank everyone for all of your reviews for this story. I have really enjoyed writing it and reading your feedback has only made me want to make the story better. So I hope you've all enjoyed reading it so far and keep your eyes open for the eppy. And happy New Year!!
"Wow, you look amazing," Tommy remarked as Jude stepped into the living room, where he was waiting. She smiled and did a quick twirl, showing off her black dress. It was simple yet pretty, with wide straps and an A-line skirt hitting just above her knee. She wore simple black heels and dangling gold earrings.
"Thanks," she replied, slipping on a sheer black sweater on top of the dress. "You clean up pretty well yourself."
He grinned and walked closer to her, as she observed his black pants and blue button-down shirt.
"Well, I did shower for you," he said, putting a hand on her waist. "Although I couldn't find my shampoo so my hair smells like your peach one."
She laughed lightly and said, "It's very masculine on you, though. I like it."
He smiled and leaned in, gently brushing his lips to hers. She touched the edge of his shirt, feeling the crispness of it on her fingers. They both pulled back a little, looking into each other's eyes.
"Ready to go?" he asked softly.
"Sure," she said, stepping back to grab her purse on the couch. As she turned back to him, her eyes scanned the room, glancing at the various boxes and crates stacked in all corners. He had gone to his old apartment earlier that day to retrieve the rest of his belongings, which were all brought back to her place.
She bit her lip, as he went to get their coats, and said hesitantly, "Maybe we should postpone this. We could finish unpacking all of your stuff first and then go."
He turned back towards her and replied, "Jude, it's going to take a few days to get settled. And I think we've postponed this long enough."
She sighed and said, "I guess that's true."
He held her coat out for her to put on, as she walked over and slipped into it. "I suppose five years is a little too long to wait for a first date," she said with a grin.
"You think?" he asked jokingly. "Okay, Miss Harrison. Shall we?"
She nodded, taking hold of his hand. "We shall."
He turned the lights off and opened the door for her before exiting the apartment and heading out for their first official date.
----
They spent the next few hours at his favorite Italian restaurant, just a few blocks from her apartment. It was quaint and romantic, someplace she had never been, with faint music and soft lighting. They laughed and shared stories as the hours flew by and the bottle of wine began to disappear.
Walking back home, they took their time, arms around each other as they weaved down the familiar streets. They paused at every couple of blocks, not being able to last too long without sharing a kiss. Jude had never felt so happy in her life. She was on cloud nine, not being able to stop smiling.
As they approached the memorable street corner where they had reunited a few months earlier, they waited patiently for the light to change.
"And this…this is where it all began…" Tommy reminisced, pulling her in closer with his arm resting around her waist.
"Well, began again," Jude clarified. "And really, that would be the Starbucks across the street."
"Close enough," he murmured quietly, leaning over and capturing her lips with his. She turned towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping her lips steady on his. He held her tightly, not caring about the onlookers or passer-bys as the light changed.
Running out of oxygen, they both separated, staying close. She smiled against him and quietly muttered, "That peach shampoo is really starting to grow on me."
He laughed lightly and kissed her head before pulling back and taking her hand. Turning towards the intersection to cross, they abruptly stopped and looked at the figure standing before them.
"Jessica?" Tommy asked quietly, his voice wavering.
Jessica stood before them with her arms crossed, a stern look on her face. Jude's heart instantly began to race, looking back and forth between the two of them, seeing the panic in Tommy's eyes.
"Well, it looks like you've moved on pretty quickly," Jessica said coldly.
Tommy shifted uncomfortably, running his free hand through his hair while he held Jude's in the other.
"So I take it this is what you meant when you said we weren't right together?" Jessica asked callously.
He took a deep breath, glancing over at Jude who was biting her lip, clearly uncomfortable. He looked back at Jessica, still standing with her arms crossed.
"I didn't lie when I said that," he replied reluctantly. "It didn't matter why—we weren't right together."
"And exactly how long after you said that were you with someone else?"
He glanced at her uneasily, wanting to escape this conversation. "Jessica—"
"I can't say I'm shocked," Jessica continued, not bothering to let him speak, looking between the two of them, "but I didn't realize the recovery time for getting over a fiancée would be quite so fast…"
He sighed, letting her vent, gently squeezing Jude's hand as a sign of reassurance.
"…and you," Jessica resumed, staring at Jude, "did you plan all of this? Did you use everything I told you that night at the bar to manipulate the situation?"
Jude's eyes widened in disbelief at Jessica's accusation. "What? No! I didn't plan any of this!"
"Jessica," Tommy said decisively, "if you want to blame someone, blame me. Jude didn't have anything to do with this. It was my decision, my choice. I wanted to be with her…"
Jessica looked down listening to him, visibly pained by his words. Tommy saw her reaction and quietly muttered, "I'm sorry."
"No, you're not," Jessica replied immediately, taking a deep breath to pull herself together. "It's fine. I'll be fine."
Tommy and Jude glanced over at each other in apprehension, not knowing what to say as Jessica stood up straighter and adjusted her coat.
"Oh, I almost forgot, I have a little parting gift for you," Jessica said, digging into her purse. "One that I didn't expect you to reuse," she grumbled bitterly, before pulling a small item from her bag and walking over to Tommy. She held up the item in front of him—it was her ring. He looked at it briefly before looking into her eyes, seeing her anger and hurt. Meeting his gaze, she harshly shoved the ring into his hand.
"Maybe next time it'll actually mean something," she muttered tersely before brushing past him and walking away from them.
Tommy took the ring and put it in his pocket, turning to watch Jessica down the street. Seeing her reach the far street corner, he sighed and turned back to Jude, wrapping an arm around her tightly.
Wordlessly, they began walking towards Jude's apartment, the tension and awkwardness of the situation becoming overwhelming. Jude couldn't find the right words to say and for the life of her, she couldn't tell what he was thinking. He held a blank expression, clearly in thought, silently walking along, looking straight ahead.
A few feet away from her apartment, Jude suddenly stopped walking. He took a step and realized she had stopped, turning back to face her.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" she repeated, trying to remain calm but growing frustrated at his lack of reaction. "Tommy, you just saw your ex-fiancée. For the first time since you left her. And she was…she was…"
"Bitter?" Tommy offered quietly.
"Yes, bitter," Jude said. "And upset. And shocked…we just witnessed her entire spectrum of emotions. But you're not showing a single one in return."
He sighed and looked away. "What do you want me to say, Jude? That I feel bad knowing that I put her through all of that? That I hate what I did but I'm not sorry I did it? She has every right to feel all of those things…but I'm not about to take back anything that happened."
Jude remained quiet, looking down at the ground, replaying all of Jessica's words in her head.
"I feel horrible," she muttered softly.
He took a few steps closer to her, taking her hands in his. "Don't. You didn't do anything wrong. If I hadn't asked her to marry me in the first place—"
"But you didn't know," Jude said in his defense. "You didn't know any of this would happen."
"Yeah, but I did know that she wasn't the right one and I did it anyway," he continued, both of them growing quiet again.
"I can't believe that just happened," Jude murmured.
"I know," he agreed with a quick shake of his head. "I guess it had to happen sooner or later. We only live two blocks away."
"Yeah," she agreed distantly. "But I don't know if I can handle seeing her on a regular basis."
"I can't," he confirmed. "We'll figure out something. It's a big city. There's got to be a way to avoid seeing her."
Jude nodded hesitantly, taking a step forward and releasing his hands to wrap her arms around him. He circled his arms around her in return, holding her close, and let out a deep sigh.
Staying against him, Jude curiously dipped her hands into his coat pockets to feel the ring. She pulled it out and stepped back a bit to look at it. He watched her, waiting for her reaction, as she turned it around and looked at it closely.
"It's pretty," she said quietly. "Did you pick it out yourself?"
"Sort of," he replied. "She told me what she wanted."
She nodded a little, looking up at him. "What are you going to do with it now?"
He shrugged, gently taking the ring back and looking at it. "I don't know…sell it maybe."
"Yeah?" she questioned in surprise.
He nodded, "Probably. I don't want to keep it."
She nodded slowly, as he put it back in his pocket and wrapped his arm around her waist. They silently started walking again, approaching her apartment. As they were a few paces from the front door, he leaned into her and whispered,
"Besides, it's not really your style anyway."
A grin immediately emerged on her face, turning towards him to see him smiling back at her. Tightening her grasp on his jacket, and leaning in towards him, she whispered back,
"You're right. It's not."
He smiled widely at her and leaned in further to place a light kiss on her lips. Approaching the front door, he stepped out of her hold to open the door for her, following her closely into the building. Without another word, they walked contently up the stairs and through the doorway into their apartment.