Sorry it's taken me so long. I hope someone is still interested. Tell me what you think if you still are. As always ENJOY!

Chapter 28

"Fuck," he swore as his calf connected with the coffee table before he managed to drop onto the couch.
His best friend observed his sprawled form for a moment, managing not to roll his eyes, before speaking. "What's going on with you man?"
"What do you mean? I had a few drinks. Big deal." Tommy's slurred sarcasm was not lost on Kwest, but he ignored it anyway.
"Weren't you supposed to see Jude tonight?" Kwest's chocolate gaze watched as Tommy ran his fingers through his hair. He stared down at the coffee table, as if seeking answers from the dark wooden depths.
"Yeah, we went out," Tommy answered quietly, his mind still full of the woman in question.
"And…It wasn't good?" Kwest still wasn't sure how he felt about the Tommy and Jude situation, but was wise enough to offer an opinion. He felt uncomfortable as his friend's slightly glazed eyes met him with a fanatic gleam.
"She's amazing. She gets it, without me having to say anything."
"Okay…" Kwest barely missed a beat as he backed up a few steps. "I'm gonna get going. I have an early session."
Tommy didn't acknowledge his friend's exit from the apartment, instead he managed to stand and find his way to the stash in his freezer.

Kyra paused the yoga DVD she had on when she heard her ring tone from behind the couch. She answered without looking at the display, hoped that it was Tommy calling and that she would not be that girl, home alone, on a Saturday night. Of course she could have found somewhere to be, but some part of her held out for only him. The voice on the other end was female and she felt her shoulders sag just the slightest bit. "Bianca, hey. How are you?"
"Are you and your boyfriend fighting Kay?" her best friend asked with genuine concern in her voice.
"No Bee…Why are you asking?" Kyra wasn't sure why she lied, maybe because she wasn't ready to admit that she was losing Tommy, or in fact had already lost him.
"Well there's this video on Youtube that's trending right now…"
Kyra hung up her phone, after thanking her friend for the information, promising she'd call her back if she needed, her lips pursed in a tight frown. Instead of using her phone, she went to her laptop, wanting to see this video clearly.

She surreptitiously drank in every detail of his appearance as he opened the door, surprised that for once he did not look perfectly put together. His hair was not styled, sticking up in random clumps and his beautiful eyes were bruised. He wore only black sweats, low slung on his hips, making her eyes stray to the hard chest she had not seen in too long. If possible it seemed his muscles were even more cut than two years ago.
"Jude," his low raspy voice had her gaze shooting back up to his own intense stare. "Are you okay?" he immediately asked, this having been the first time she had willingly showed up here despite all his hints and casual invites in the last few weeks.
She swallowed hard, blinked and finally nodded.
"Come in," he said as he stepped back to allow her entrance, running his fingers through his messy hair. He looked at her in puzzlement when she made no move to go inside.
She bit her lip and sighed, before moving into his apartment, careful not to brush against him as she passed. She paused behind his couch and turned, shaking her head when he waved his hand, indicating she should sit. "I can't stay."

He grabbed a t-shirt off the back of the couch, and she was only partially thankful he covered all those distracting tats. "Okay…What's so important you couldn't tell me tomorrow at brunch?" He wasn't even slightly embarrassed at mentioning the unmanly pastime, because when you were in a couple it was a perfectly acceptable activity. He shook his head slightly, taking in that train of thought, of Jude and him being together. He had never gone the girlfriend route, but found the idea did not bother him at all.
Before she answered her eyes roamed his body again, before settling on his face, taking in every defined angle, wondering why it was always him she responded so strongly to. She wasn't the type of girl that was only swayed by looks, no matter that the men she had been involved with were considered prime specimens. She might instinctually be drawn to him, but she, the songwriter, had no words to describe why.
"That's why I wanted to talk to you. I uh can't make it. I'm going out of town. You weren't answering your phone so I thought I'd stop by on my way out." The truth was she wanted to see him again, one last time, before she let the absurd idea of 'more' between them, go. That idea of 'one last time' pierced her heart so she found herself moving forward, her arms wrapping around his torso. The feel of him wrapping around her, had her closing her eyes. Too soon her brain told her she had to pull back.
"I need to go." Jude stepped out of the circle of his arms, staring at him with an expression that had him holding his breath.
As she started to slip out of his grasp completely, he caught her hand. "No."
"Tommy I have a long drive."
He took her other hand with his, and pulled her into his space again. "Why do you have to leave? Don't go Jude. Stay." It was obvious where this was going, obvious that the tension brewing between them finally needed an outlet. There was some primal instinct that told him he had to keep her here.
Jude looked everywhere, but at him, her eyes finding the scotch glass and half empty bottle of Glen Livet on his coffee table. She couldn't help but study his face then, as if trying to discover how much he had been drinking. She hadn't noticed before that his tan skin was a bit flushed or that his eyes a bit glassy, but she did now. He looked-Vulnerable- and seeing that, something inside her twisted.
Although the smart thing would have been to stop this descent into madness, the truth was, Jude wasn't really that girl, no matter how hard she had tried for the last couple years to think before she acted. It had always been her nature to be the one who leapt before she looked, to let emotion take her over, drown her. So even she knew what she should have been doing, she couldn't seem to stop her own lips from finding his, seeking that feeling that only Tommy Quincy had ever invoked so strongly within her. It burned so brightly between them, scorched her breath from her lungs as she felt him consume all the oxygen from her body.
It was familiar and brand new all at once, and complicated and simple, difficult, but easy, much, much too easy. His arms pulled her all the way in, until her breasts pressed against his hard chest. Her hands slid down his muscular back, fingers pushed up past the material of his shirt to find the hot skin underneath. Their mouths met again, tongues darted out to tangle and caress.
The removal of clothes was unexpectedly unhurried, but efficiently done nonetheless. She pulled his t-shirt off first and he followed smoothly with her loose sweater leaving her in a thin cotton camisole, that had his body clenching in reaction. She wore no bra, going for comfort on her trip, and it was clearly evident to his gaze by the stiff peaks that captured his attention. His fingers were in her hair, pulling her head in again, so that his mouth could join with hers. His grasp slipped from her tresses and both hands found the hem of her top. He pulled back just long enough to raise the cloth over her head, before taking her mouth again. Skin to skin, she backed him towards the bedroom, their fingers working in unison on her tight jeans. His sweats came off easily in the bedroom, before his hungry lips found the delicate skin of her neck once more.
Tommy sat down first, sliding towards the middle of the bed, as she knelt in front of him on the comforter. His lips trailed down to Jude's shoulder, making something in the vicinity of her heart clench. He was being too gentle, giving her heart too much time to react, so her fingers dug into his hair tugging his mouth back to hers.
"Jude," he murmured against her lips. She shook her head, her teeth grazing his lower lip. She leaned forward, pressing the length of her body against his. His hands slid down her smooth back to cup her ass, squeezing and caressing. Jude unfolded one leg to sling over his thigh and then the other, pressing their bodies even closer together. His erection pulsed at the juncture of her body, where her silky thighs cradled the hard length. Moistness seeped from her, onto his hardened flesh, making his growl vibrate between their lips. He lifted her up slowly, dragging her heat along him, making her the one to gasp in surprised need.
He tried to meet her eyes, but after a moment Jude glanced away. She placed her hands on his shoulders, using him to raise her hips higher, trying to position herself over him. Tommy did not disappoint, aligning himself against her wetness, loosening his grip on her, so that gravity had her enveloping him in her tight core.
She bit back her scream, into his shoulder, their breathes now equally ragged. She felt him, stretching her almost to the point beyond discomfort, every pulsing inch inside her. And then he began to move, raising his hips, getting even deeper. She soon found his rhythm, moving her hips against his, her arms wrapped around his neck and his arms wrapped around her waist to facilitate their joint movement. She felt every press of his flesh moving inside her, slipping against every nerve ending and she felt herself spiraling up.
Jude heard Tommy growl against her neck, a second before he raised his body to press her onto her back, managing to stay in her. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he crushed her breasts against his chest. In this position he was able to draw himself out to the tip, before thrusting deep again. His movements were now clearly uncontrolled and he rasped against her neck, "come. Please." One of his hands slid between their bodies to find the bundle of nerves, rubbing desperately as his pace increased even more. She cried out at the sudden, pleasure flooding her, her tightening muscles squeezing him, to his own breaking point. He called out her name as he sought his own release, pumping into her until every last scrap of energy was spent. Tommy pressed her hard against the soft mattress, his lips resting on the temple of her turned head. Although he did not want to slip from her body, he knew he was crushing her and reluctantly moved beside her. Unwilling to sever all contact, he tucked her head into his shoulder and she responded by curling more firmly into his side.

Tommy wasn't sure at first what woke him, but then he saw her form. "Jude?" he whispered in a concern laden rasp that did not fail to make her breath catch.
Her back was to him as she sat on the edge of the bed, sheet wrapped around her bare body. "Why do we always do this when there are other people involved?" she asked in a small voice that pierced into his own heart. She didn't fight when his arms wrapped around her shoulders and he pulled her back into his chest.
"Girl there's something I know I should have told you, but I…I didn't think you wanted to know."
"What?"
"Kyra and I, we're not serious. It was never like that."
She didn't understand, couldn't process what exactly he was telling her. The few times she had referred to Kyra as his girlfriend, he had never once denied it. It was basically the same as lying, wasn't it? She couldn't even begin to guess why he would withhold that information, because she knew that much at least. He had done it intentionally. "Are you still seeing her?" she asked quietly, half dreading the answer.
"No. I told her yesterday, before the show."
She didn't ask anything else, simply nodded her head. They lay like that for an interminable time before either said another word.
His fingers stroked her hair gently, his mouth close to her ear, still a bit surprised that she was here in his arms, that she allowed him to hold her again. "I missed you," he finally confessed, wiping away the last façade of friendship away.
She forced herself not to tense, to keep her breathing regular, not answering his statement, pretending to be asleep. She waited until his own breathing slowed and his arms grew heavy around her body, before daring to move. Slowly she extricated herself from his embrace and slid out of his bed. She followed their path from the living room, finding her clothes and shoes scattered along the carpet. She closed the bedroom door behind her, before attempting to get dressed. Jude found a notepad on his counter and left a simple note, tearing the page and leaving it for him to find, before slipping out of the apartment.

When Jude entered her car, she heard the familiar chime the bag she had left on the passenger side floor. Jude pulled her phone out of her bag, seeing three text messages and one voicemail from Sadie.

Sadie: Are you coming over soon?
Sadie: Where are you? Did you forget about the party?
Sadie: Jude are you okay?

Jude frowned down at her phone. She had forgotten that she promised her sister she would make an appearance at her sorority party. Jude suspected Sadie only wanted to brag about her record deal, but she had reluctantly agreed anyway, knowing that both of them were trying to build their relationship. She took a deep breath before dialing her sister, even though it was already past midnight, she doubted the party would be over yet. Her sister answered on third ring.
"Hello." Jude could hear a rap song and voices in the background that almost drowned out Sadies' greeting.
"Hey, it's me. I'm sorry I forgot about the party. Something came up."
"It's alright. I figured there was a fifty, fifty chance you would be here. You're alright though?"
"Um…Yeah I'm okay."
Even though Sadie had been drinking she didn't miss the pause and slight hitch in her sisters' voice. "What's going on Jude? You don't sound…"
"I slept with him," Jude said softly, subconsciously hoping her sister couldn't hear her, but also needing to get that weight off her chest.
"What? Ugh hang on." Suddenly the noise of the party was barely a murmur in the background. "You slept with someone? Zac? I mean I never thought it was a good idea, but it's not that big of a deal is it?"
Jude shook her head, even though there was no one to see in the darkness of her car. "No, I slept with Tommy."
Jude heard a choking noise and then a gurgled scream, "what?! Tommy who?" Sadie demanded vehemently.
Jude sighed and rested her forehead on the steering wheel. "You know who Sades," she answered wearily, knowing all along her sister would not have approved of their friendship.
"How…You haven't seen him in two years Jude. What the hell?!"
Jude knew it was time to tell her the truth, past time really and although it had been easier to hold the information from her sister in the short term, look where she was now, still screwed up by her own stupidity. "He was at the last Havoc concert Sadie. He uh got in touch after." It didn't seem like the right time to bring up the song, the song that she still hadn't found the courage to record. "We started hanging out again. Just as friends. I mean he has a girlfriend, at least I thought he did. Shit. What is wrong with me Sades?"
Sadie wanted to ask more questions, but she knew she couldn't push Jude about this. Tom Quincy had done such a number on her sister the first time, that she was scared to press Jude. "Come over. Talk to me or not. The party's still going on so…"
"I can't. I'm getting ready to head out actually. Jess is expecting me tomorrow, er today. Whatever."
"Jess? Isn't he like in New York?"
"Yeah. He's there for school."
"Don't you have an album to work on? When did you decide to go?"
"I…" Jude took a deep breath. "I know I'm stupid. I really thought we could be friends."
"But you can't." It wasn't a question. "Are you still…" Sadie didn't want to finish the sentence, not wanting the truth in the answer.
"I'm in love with him. I don't know that I ever stopped being. That's why I have to get out of town. I can't be in his life anymore."
"Running isn't going to fix things Jude."
"I'm not!" Jude denied, maybe more sharply then she had meant to. "Sorry I just need to get my head on straight. I'll be back soon. Promise."
"You don't think he'll care that you just left."
"I…I don't know."
Sadie sighed this time. "Be careful little sister. I don't want you to get hurt again. I don't trust him."
"I will. I know. I really need to get going Sadie. I'm still in front of his apartment."
"Oh…Oh you mean you just… And he didn't even stop you from leaving?"
"He's asleep, at least he was when I…" Jude trailed off. She didn't quite understand why it had hurt to walk away like that, even though logically she knew she didn't owe him anything. "I'll call soon 'k?"
"Be safe little sister. I love you."
"Love you too. Bye." Jude looked back up at his windows after, ending the call. The lights were still off and she breathed a sigh of relief. She powered off her phone completely and started her car, looking one last time, before she pulled away.

It should have been strange that he knew the moment he woke up, that she was gone. His hand still reached out to confirm with the cold sheet meeting his fingertips. He had suspected this would happen, had rightly guessed that sex would send her running. But he hadn't been able to come up with anything else to make her remember their connection. And that pull had been strong between them, as if never frayed, never tested. Yet his Hail Mary had still failed. He felt a surge of anger, some of it at her, but mostly at the situation. She was right to distrust him. But still…Why hadn't her feelings been enough for a slim chance?
Tommy got out of bed and pulled his sweats off the floor, putting them on quickly before walking into the living room. He turned the lights on and looked around, hit with the fact that it was as if she had never been there. He saw the white slip by his bottle of scotch and had it in his hands in an instant.
His fingers clenched around the paper as he read the brief words.

Tommy,
I can't be your friend. I'm sorry.
Jude

He didn't accept the finality of those words, not this time. He tried her phone, but predictably it went straight to voicemail. He didn't have a number for the apartment, but he did know where she lived and he did not care that it was late. Tommy quickly threw on some clothes before grabbing his keys off the counter and heading quickly out the door.

He hadn't seen her Mustang on the street, but went up to her apartment anyway. His knock was answered a minute later, by a bare-chested Zac, clad only in boxers. It was obvious he had been sleeping. "What the hell man?"
"Did Jude come back?"
Zac's eyes widened a little as the fog in his brain cleared. "You're Jude's Tommy?" She had never said that her friend Tommy was a producer at his studio, and it was a common name so he had never thought to assume. "Uh no she said she was getting out for a few days."
"Did she say where she was going?" Tommy asked more tersely than was polite.
"Uh New York I thought. She said she was meeting up with a friend. Jess I think."
"You have his number?"
Zac shook his head. Tommy turned without another word and left the man stunned on his doorway. He didn't care that he may have just outed Jude to her boyfriend. He only cared about finding her.
His Blackberry was in hand before he even hit the stairs. He retrieved the number from his address book and dialed, placing it on speaker as he opened the buildings' front door.
"You can't be serious," was the answer on the other line.