Chapter 5

Hilarious

Tommy walked off the stage, wiping the sweat off with a towel that had been thrown his way. He saw Jude and her boys sitting off to one side. She had tears running down her face, her eyeliner staining her cheeks. As he walked over she started laughing, until she started to gasp.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Tommy asked SME as he crouched down beside her. She looked up at him, her eyes focusing on his bandanna and started cracking up again. He watched her in a kind of sick fascination, as she alternated between laughing and wheezing.

"We..uh..had a bet." Kyle finally spoke up, still staring at Jude. "She lost."

"Yeah she didn't even make it past the first chorus." Wally chimed in.

"It...wasn't...the...music..." She wheezed, trying hard to catch her breath. "It...was...the butt wiggling!" She burst out, before she started laughing again, clutching her belly. Tommy glared at her.

"What was the bet?"

"She had to watch you guys perform an entire song with a straight face." Spied said, still staring at Jude in amusement. Was he supposed to be insulted? Hell yes. Was he supposed to be angry? Probably. So what did he do? He sat down and started laughing with her, surprising the hell out of SME.

Let's Blow This Joint

Tommy went storming by Jude as he left the stage. They had had a sound check early that evening, and everyone had to be present even though the concert wasn't until the following night. She ran to catch up with him.

"Hey what's wrong?" He stopped to look at her, his angry glare softening the barest degree.

"Nothing... Chaz was just being an ass as usual. I'm getting out of here." He started walking again, leaving her standing there. "You coming?" He tossed over his shoulder. She followed him quickly. They left the arena and grabbed the first taxi they saw.

He started drinking at the first bar and grill they wound up at. Jude paced herself, only having one. He didn't speak much, but she finally got the whole story of why Tommy was so angry. Chaz had accused him of hogging the spotlight again. Apparently it had been part of an ongoing fight between them. He appreciated that she had left with him, even though he hadn't said it.

"I got a question for you Harrison."

"Yes?"

"Is there something going on between you and Spied?" Whenever he saw them together they seemed so close. She snorted in amusement.

"Are you jealous Quincy?"

"Why Harrison? Do you want me to be?" He teased back.

"Of course you should be. Everyone should want me."

"Oh they do..." He eyed her and gave her a look that made her skin warm.

"Spied and I aren't together." She said changing the subject, feeling a little nervous at his blue eyed gaze. He had the most gorgeous eyes, she thought. She snapped herself out of her reverie. "We tried it for a while, but decided we worked better as buds." If that was her definition of 'friends' maybe he had a chance after all. He took a long look at her wondering what it was about her that got to him. She was pretty, but there were plenty of nice looking women around. Her voice was amazing, but he had met other talented musicians. He took a long drink of his beer and contemplated the mystery of Jude Harrison.

She followed him to 3 other bars that night, having 1 drink to his 3. Jude was the first girl he had ever hung out with that hadn't demanded he share his feelings or asked that hated question: What are you thinking? He wondered why women didn't seem to understand that men hated that question.

Strawberry Fields Forever

The faint light of Dawn painted the inside of Jude's eyelids red. She cracked her eyes open, her head pounding and wondered where she was. She was lying on something damp and spongy. She turned and saw him, barely a breath away from her face. His eyes were still closed, and as she looked down she realized he was completely naked! She allowed herself one more peek before sitting up. Mmm he did look good. Maybe this would be a good birthday for once. She had made SME keep quiet about the usually disaster filled day. Then she realized she was only in a bra and panties. What the hell?! She wondered if they had done anything last night, but she was still wearing something at least and she didn't feel sore except for that pounding in her head. She looked for her clothes and saw them in a nearby pile. She got dressed quickly and spotted his clothes a few feet away.

They had been sleeping on the grass in some kind of park. What had happened last night? She vaguely remembered daring him to jump in a fountain? And her skin did smell faintly like chlorine. Nearby she saw a large round mosaic and realized where they were, her dad being a huge Beatles nut, obviously. Strawberry Fields Memorial. Tommy still hadn't moved. He had had a lot more to drink than she had. She wanted to laugh, but realized it would make her head hurt that much more. She wondered if she should wake him, but then thought better of it. SME and the Boyz had been playing pranks on each other for weeks. Tommy had orchestrated the prank the other night and Jude knew they would kill her if she let this opportunity go to waste. She didn't particularly like having a backup band with bleached blond (Wally), purple (Spied) and pink(Kyle) hair. Feeling only the slightest twinge of guilt, she gathered up his clothes and looked for the exit to the park. She caught a cab and was soon headed back to their hotel.

Tommy woke up an hour later to the buzz of voices and the morning sun beating down on him. He opened his eyes to see a group of Japanese tourists with cameras in their hands clicking away. He felt the breeze against his skin and it was then that he realized he was completely naked. He looked around in horror, not seeing his clothes or the blond that had been with him last night. He heard a few of them speaking his name. Oh shit! They recognized him. He stood up, trying to cover his man parts with his hands and one of the tourists tossed a I LOVE NEW YORK bath towel at him. He thanked him profusely and wrapped it around his waist. He tried to walk calmly past them out of the park. Their cameras still going, catching his retreating back with the word 'LOVE' centered on his ass.

He finally found a cabbie, only in New York, willing to give him a ride and got back to the hotel. He had only had to promise an autograph for his daughter. He wondered what had happened to Jude and his clothes. The cabbie was nice enough to pull onto a side entrance of the hotel where the buses usually parked. That's when he noticed the Boyz Attack bus had a makeshift flagpole on the roof and flying from the top of it, was a pair of boxers?! His boxers...He would have laughed if his head didn't hurt so much. At least he knew Jude had made it back okay. He went inside to bum some money from the hotel desk, to pay the driver.