Chapter 19

Love Song

Jude woke up slowly, feeling his absence immediately. She turned her head and saw the note lying on his pillow, with a single red rose on top of it. She reached for the paper, leaving the rose on the linen.

Because days come and go

But my feelings for you are forever

She could already hear the music that would accompany those lyrics as she got up to shower his scent off her skin.

Comfort

Portia followed Tommy to the arena for a quick rehearsal that morning, for the show later that night. As they stood waiting for the other members to show, she saw a couple in the distance, standing close, looking pretty intimate.

"What's going on over there?" She asked in puzzlement. Tommy turned to see Spied and Jude in a tight embrace. He hated Spied in that moment with a blind intensity, not because the kid was moving in on Jude, but because he was doing something Tommy could not. Spied was comforting Jude who was hurting, hurting because of Tommy.

"They used to date." Tommy said distractedly. It wasn't the first time Portia noticed how much Tommy seemed to know about Jude. Had they hooked up at one point? But that still didn't explain why he remembered details about the girl. The Tommy Quincy she knew, when it came down to it only cared about himself.

"Well Chaz better watch out... because it doesn't look like they're done with each other." The last thing he needed to be reminded of was Chaz.

Goldmine

Tommy was waiting in the hotel lobby for Portia to come downstairs so that he could take her to lunch, when he spotted Chaz. He walked over to the other man, ready to confront him. He had been ready all day, but there had been too many people around at rehearsal that morning. Jude had reluctantly told him everything last night when he had pressed her, knowing she had been keeping something from him.

Portia stepped out of the elevator, her eyes scanning for the familiar dark hair. She spotted him talking heatedly to Chaz. Tommy had always had a hot temper since she had known him, so she started forward quickly, hoping to diffuse the situation. As she neared them Tommy's fist went up and connected with Chaz's face whipping his head back. Hotel security had been called when the desk workers had seen the argument escalate. Chaz's punch went wild, barely grazing Tommy's jaw. Portia moved between them her palms pressing on both their chests before they could hit each other again.

"Stop it!" She screamed, knowing there was nothing she could do to prevent more bloodshed. Security guards showed up then and pulled both men back. The lone reporter who had been haunting the lobby got the goldmine of pictures in this scene. And the headlines would read: Boyz Attack Love Triangle. There would also be confirmation of Lil' Tommy Q's marriage to Portia in the form of the wedding ring on his finger caught on camera.

When Portia asked what the fight was about, Tommy had refused to answer and she had known it would be a bad time to press him, when he was still so angry. He told her he needed to be alone, to calm down and that she should go to lunch without him. She let him go reluctantly, sensing more trouble coming.

Salvation

She opened the door at his knock and she took his hand pulling him in to close the door behind them. His arms were around her holding her tight and she remained silent, holding him too. His arms finally relaxed from around her and when she took his hands she saw the knuckle starting to swell. Jude did not say anything as she took ice from the bucket and wrapped a towel around it, holding it to his bruised knuckles. Her other hand found his cheek, touching it softly and he turned his head to kiss her palm. He walked them over to the couch and sat down, pulling her onto his lap and still neither of them felt the need to speak. He pressed his forehead against hers and let the anger drain away, unable to linger, in her presence.

Realization

Portia watched them from the side of the stage as Tommy started to sing. Kwest came up beside her and she turned to him.

"I never knew he could sing like that."

"None of us did..."

"How long have they been doing this?" Kwest hoped she was simply asking about the song.

"A few weeks after Jude joined the tour. I don't know any details. You'd have to ask Tommy." She nodded as her attention turned back to the couple. Kwest slipped away as she watched them. They played to the audience, her turning away from him and then coming back to sing the chorus. They stood close, their movements completely in sync, like they had done this a hundred times before. Portia had heard Jude's entire set with Tommy by her side, until this song, when he had left her to walk on stage without telling her why.

"Back to defend your territory huh?" Portia saw Diana, one of the back up dancers for Boyz Attack. She knew the girl did not like her and guessed it was because Tommy had married her. Everything fell into place at Diana's words, the fight, the way Tommy knew so much about Jude, the way Chaz and Jude just didn't seem to fit. "Wow they could light the stage with the electricity they generate." Diana said trying to instigate. She didn't like Portia for the reason guessed. Tommy had slept with her just once and never looked back even though she had given him every opportunity. He had married Portia a week after their little encounter. Diana walked away with a extra sway in her step, a grin on her face, knowing she had put doubts into the other woman's mind.

Portia had noticed when they had walked into the building, that Tommy hadn't given the scantily clad girls with the backstage passes a second glance. She had to convince herself that this was just another one of his flings, but doubts crept in as she watched them finish Broken. Tommy took Jude's hand automatically and they bowed. He pulled her off stage, both of them high from the adrenaline of performing. When Tommy spotted Portia he looked surprised as if he had forgotten she was there. He dropped Jude's hand and she joined her band leaving them alone. Tommy looked into Portia's eyes, but she would not give anything away. She needed all the information she could gain. She smiled at him, throwing him off guard.

"You were amazing." She kissed him until he pulled away.

"I need to go change." She nodded and watched him walk off. Portia was his wife and once his affair had run its course, he would come right back into her arms as he had every other time. She wasn't sure why she loved Tom Quincy so much to let him continue to do this to her, but she wouldn't give him up without a fight.