A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out. I've been sick for nearly 4 weeks, and really busy. But this is my longest chapter yet, so that should please you! I hope you enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine.
Chapter 12
For a few weeks more, Jude and Tommy worked. They had five tracks completed for the album – an album that still had no name and no single. Darius was peering over their shoulders breathing hot fire down their necks. He was itching to release a single. Jude could see the cash signs flashing in his eyes.
"We need a single," Tommy began. The couple sat in the studio, behind the sound board, facing each other.
Jude sighed regretfully. "I like the songs we have done, but we haven't found the right one for a single," she insisted.
Tommy nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I'm thinking our first single should be a duet. It will really set up the 'mash-up' quality."
"Definitely," she smiled. "I really…" she broke off, choosing not to continue.
"What?" Tommy questioned.
"That song," Jude spoke. "The one we haven't written yet. The music that's been stuck in my head for…months at this point. I feel like that should be our first single, whatever it may be."
Tommy agreed quickly. "Darius will just have to suck it up and wait for his single," he grinned, a hint of a smirk upon his face.
"We need another duet, though. Maybe that's what we can work on today? But I don't know what it should be about…"
Tommy considered the possibilities for a moment until inspiration struck. "Distance. The premise should be distance…distance and longing."
Jude was agreeable, noticeably eager to get started. She spoke up almost immediately, spouting lyrics as they came to her. "I find the map and draw a straight line…"
Tommy smiled softly and continued for her, "Over rivers, farms, and state lines."
Jude beamed. "We need music," she decided.
The two entered the sound booth. Tommy sat down at the keyboard, and Jude grabbed her acoustic guitar. She strummed lightly, testing chords out, and sang, "The distance from here to where you'd be…"
Tommy sang, "Its only finger lengths that I see," referencing back to the map Jude sang about earlier.
Jude grabbed her song book and jotted the lyrics down that the pair had come up with so far. She marked a music change on the sheet, sensing that one needed to happen before the next portion of lyrics.
She set her pen down and continued coming up with lyrics. She sang, "I touch the place…where I find your face."
Jude reached out, a coy smile on her face, and trailed a lazy finger down Tommy's cheek and across his jaw-line.
"My finger in creases…of distant, dark places."
Jude penned the newly-developed lyrics. The couple continued their collaboration, testing out different sets of lyrics.
Tommy sang as Jude marked a change in the music, "I hang my coat up in the first bar. There is no peace that I've found so far."
Jude glanced at Tommy and continued, "The laughter penetrates my silence…as drunken men find flaws in science."
"Their words, mostly noises…ghosts with just voices…" Tommy sang with feeling.
"Your words in my memory," Jude sang, "are like music to me."
The pair paused for several minutes, discussed, and decided to the transition into the chorus. Distance and longing, they recalled as they wrote.
The pair sang the chorus together, having written beforehand.
"I'm miles from where you are. I lay down on the cold ground, and I…I pray that something picks me up…and sets me down in your warm arms."
They continued into the next verse, working from the top of their head. They wrote things down, scratched them out, and tried again.
"After I have traveled so far," Jude sang, "We'd set the fire to the third bar."
Tommy paused in thought, then continued, "We'd share each other like an island…until, exhausted, close our eyelids."
"And dreaming," Jude sang, "pick up from the last place we left off." She scribbled down lyrics furiously.
"Your soft skin," Tommy nearly whispered. He grazed his thumb across the smooth flesh of her open palm, "is weeping."
"A joy you can't keep in," Jude finished with a small smile.
Jude help out the song book the lyrics were in, and they sang the chorus together once more. Jude held the last note for some time, and they carried on, repeating the chorus.
She and Tommy worked for a while, adjusting lyrics here and there. After another hour or so, everything was settled, and the pair was finally pleased with the results.
"Now we need music," Jude commented.
They already had a general concept – the main keys and chords of the song – but nothing was set in stone. They worked tirelessly through lunch, grabbing nothing more than a quick snack to share as they worked on the music. It took them quite some time to settle on all the parts – vocal harmonization, when the guitar should come in, and much more. But they got it done, all the while having fun doing it.
In several hours, they were finished. They were not going to record it yet. They had just settled on the ending, and it had been a very long, but productive, day in the studio.
"Let's play the full thing," Tommy suggested. Jude nodded eagerly.
She played the opening guitar, and Tommy added the piano. The final version would have more instruments, but the pure acoustic version they played was effective, as well. It was raw – the emotion was more substantial.
They arrived at the chorus, and the piano became much more prominent. The tempo picked up slightly. The next verse was fluid, and the chorus came again. Jude looked at Tommy, a smile in her eyes, and moments later, Tommy turned his gaze to her. They both knew the music by heart at this point, having worked on it for hours. They were nearing the end of the song, and Jude was locked in Tommy's intense stare. He played the final notes on the keyboard, and the music faded into the background. Jude and Tommy still focused on one another.
They moved at the same time in precise synchronization. Lips found lips, and they allowed themselves to get lost. Tommy coaxed her mouth open underneath his, and their tongues met. He backed them up into a dark corner of the studio, not visible from the windows. No one would see them. Tommy pushed Jude gently against the wall. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, exploring the caverns of his mouth. Her fingers brushed the tiny hairs at the base of his neck. Tommy's hands, in turn, made their way downwards. He placed them on Jude's hips and leaned in for another breathless kiss.
Tommy worked his hands under Jude's shirt, his fingers lightly teasing and tickling her tense abdomen. He pulled his lips away from Jude's and moved them to her neck. She let out a pleased sigh. Tommy's hands moved upwards, just below her breasts, and Jude couldn't help but shoot her pelvis forward against his hips, urging him on. Tommy chuckled under his breath and moved forward, pressing himself against her, closing any distance that was previously between them. Jude moaned quietly as Tommy sucked lightly on her neck. The feeling of his hips pressed against hers sent Jude into a frenzy. She came apart at his touch.
Tommy pulled back from Jude momentarily and reached for the buttons of her shirt. He glanced at Jude, silently seeking her permission. She urged him on, searching out the buttons of his shirt, as well. A few moments later, Jude's shirt was completely undone, her lacey blue bra out in the open. Tommy dragged his thumb across the material, and Jude's breathing hitched. Noticing the front clasp, Tommy spoke a silent prayer to whatever god was listening. He quickly unhooked the clasp, and the cups of Jude's bra fell to the side, leaving her exposed before him. He cupped the milky flesh in his hands, causing Jude to gasp. Tommy kissed a path down from Jude's lips, to her neck, down her throat, all the way to her breasts. Tommy's teeth lightly grazed her nipple, and Jude couldn't hold back the guttural moan that escaped her lips. He captured one of her nipples in his mouth, and Jude's breathing sped up. She felt his hands move lower, leaving a trail of electric shocks in their path on her bare skin. His hands made their way to the button of her jeans…
Her phone rang.
Jude groaned – this time not with pleasure. It rang again, and Jude grabbed the phone from the pocket of her jeans. The caller ID read "Portia."
"It's your damn ex-wife," Jude grumbled.
Tommy choked on a laugh.
"Hello?" Jude spoke into the phone as she re-did the clasp of her bra and began buttoning her shirt. The conversation was brief, but definitely enough to be a mood killer.
After a few minutes, Jude hung up, slamming the phone closed, noticeable irritated.
"She wants to see me," Jude stated. "She didn't know if I was in or not, so she called. I'm meeting her in five."
Tommy sighed heavily. "We really can't catch a break, can we?" He adjusted his shirt, making the sure the buttons were aligned correctly.
"Apparently not," Jude confirmed.
She ran a hand through her hair in frustration. Tommy grabbed the hand, stopping the motion and held it. He gave it a squeeze, and Jude smiled. She leaned towards him and pressed a sweet, chaste kiss to his lips. She released his hand begrudgingly.
"I need to go," said Jude. "I'll see you soon. Hopefully this won't take long."
Jude left the studio and met up with Portia in her office. "What's up?" Jude asked. She had always liked Portia – interruption not included. The day she met her, the woman had landed her the cover of Solid Magazine. She was witty, and she saw things in a very real way. But still, Jude sensed that there was something off with her beneath the surface. It wasn't something the woman talked about, and Jude wasn't about to pry.
"So, Jude," Portia began, "The big one-eight is coming up soon. In a little less than two months you'll finally be an adult."
Jude nodded slowly, waiting for her to elaborate.
Portia continued, "Darius wants to throw a party. A huge blow-out. Media, press coverage, the works."
Jude groaned with displeasure, thinking back to her sixteenth. Her last big birthday had been a disaster, and she wasn't keen on repeating the experience.
"Is this really necessary?" Jude questioned exasperatedly.
"Yes," Portia intoned. "You know that if Darius wants a party, he will get a party. It will happen. It will be a lot more enjoyable for you if you cooperate, Jude."
Jude sighed miserably and gave in. "Fine," she said, noticeably grouchy. "Let's just try for no public break-ups this time around." She rolled her eyes at the memory.
Portia smiled with humor, "Good thing you're not dating anyone this year then."
Jude tensed at her almost slip-up. "Yeah." She cleared her throat. "Good thing."
"Darius knows you're not excited about this, Jude. So he's going to let you have a hand in the planning."
Jude nodded her response. She wasn't eager, but the outlook wasn't quite as bad as it had seemed previously. "Am I free to go?"
"One more thing," Portia began. "You're going to need a date."
Jude froze. Her previous though-process was immediately refuted – the outlook was, in fact, much, much worse.
"Date?" she choked on the much-hated word.
"Yes," Portia explained. "You will need an escort. Will that be a problem? You have plenty of guy friends, Jude…"
Jude blinked slowly and brushed the hair from her face. "No problem at all," the false nonchalance was transparent to both of them.
Portia eyed Jude speculatively and took her leave.
Jude entered the studio, frustration and disappointment clear on her face. Tommy looked at her, and before asking any questions, he immediately pulled her into a tight hug. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "What's wrong, girl?" he inquired softly.
"Darius wants a huge G-Major sponsored blow-out for my eighteenth birthday. Lots of publicity. Lots of media," she spat the word out bitterly.
"It's not that big a deal, Jude," Tommy remarked. "I know you don't like big parties, but…"
Jude cut him off, "And I need a date. A big, public date."
Tommy sighed, now sharing in her disappointment, and held her closer. "And there in lies the problem."
She nodded her head into his chest. Tommy leaned down and brought his forehead against hers.
"So we will have our own celebration beforehand," Tommy decided. "We can spend the day together. Make that your real birthday celebration. Then we can go to the party that night separately. I'll still be there…just not on your arm."
"Hmm," Jude tapped her chin with a coy expression. "I'll have to find a stand-in. Some fresh arm candy."
Tommy couldn't believe that he was actually suggesting it, but the words left his mouth without censor: "What about Spiederman?"
Jude smiled. "That could work. Just as friends. It wouldn't be too weird…he is my ex."
Tommy scowled, "Don't remind me."
"Calm down, Quincy," Jude insisted. "I'd much rather be by your side. But you and I both know that can't happen."
"Fucking Darius," Tommy muttered.
"He is quite the problem-causer these days," Jude agreed.
"If it wasn't so public, I'd say screw it," Tommy sighed. "But D would flip if the media caught wind of this. He wouldn't let me produce you anymore. Ever since I came back, I've been treading on thin ice with him."
"I know," Jude whispered. "But we will have all day beforehand." She paused, bit her lip, and smiled. "And maybe we'll have later than night, as well."
Teasers for Chapter 13:
"It will battle Corner of Your Heart."
Tommy was not a naturally jealous person.
He pressed his lips to hers with almost violent urgency.
