Nothing Compares To You

Inner voices

"Simon! Mate! Happy Birthday!" he hugged him and kissed his cheek. "So good to see you! I should have been in touch ages ago, thank goodness for Joe and his organisational skills."

"Yes, I see you're as devilishly handsome as ever!" Simon smiled at Tom and then turned to Grace. "And just WHO is this astonishing creature!" he held out his hand and she shook it in a smiley limp-wristed kind of way.

"Grace - Grace Armstrong. You can call me Gracie, all my friends do, don't they Tommy?" she turned and smiled coquettishly. Simon looked at her for a moment and then said "Well Grace, it's nice to meet you." he left her in no doubt that was that.

"So, Tom, you back for long? There's been so much happening since you left you know." Simon stood, hands in pockets, just staring at him as he stared at Debbie. His eyes followed her as she walked over to join Joe and Iain. He continued to watch her as Simon went on, wickedly, "Well, as you can see Debbie is back. She was away, like yourself, after - well - after the divorce and..."

"So SHE is the ex?" Grace interrupted rudely "Oh Tom. Really?" Tom turned and the glare he gave her should have melted every plastic part of her. Should have. Didn't though. She, as always, was in survivor mode. Her second name should be Teflon, thought Simon, nothing was sticking to her.

Tom almost turned his back on her, but not quite. The gentleman in him just wouldn't allow it. His inner voice berated him, 'she's young. she's just threatened by your history with Debs, she wouldn't if she didn't care.' he sighed, perceptible to only Simon who smiled.

"You kept the house on didn't you?" Simon barged on "You staying there now?" Tom nodded, another wince on the way.

"We're staying in the house you were MARRIED in Tom?" Grace was more than slightly disgusted at the thought she'd been sleeping in the same bed as, well, his WIFE. "You didn't tell me that when you suggested it."

"I didn't tell you because it didn't matter." he said through gritted teeth, "it still doesn't. I'm not paying for a hotel room when I have a perfectly good house to use. Any anyway, it's a new bed so what's the problem?" he was beginning to lose patience. His ever present charm was being stretched about as thinly as it was possible to do. Simon decided he'd stirred enough.

"So, what are your plans?" he asked pleasantly, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Tonight?" Tom was ultra cautious, he was terrified of putting a foot wrong. For everyone's sake.

"Yes. You able to stay or do you have a previous engagement that calls you away to schmooze with the great and good of Hollywood?" he grinned and Tom smiled, relaxing more.

"No Simon, tonight I am all yours..." he gestured to the table laden with drink "As long as you keep me well lubricated!" he winked suggestively and Simon howled with laughter. They'd always enjoyed a good rapport and Simon knew Tom was as straight as a die, but he loved the banter. Just as he was about to suggest starting on that lubrication, all his fears over the last few weeks came to pass.

"Hi again" her voice broke into his thoughts and there she was. Standing in front of him looking, if it were possible, even more beautiful than he remembered. It hit him like a freight train. He fell into a trance. Wordlessly he grabbed her beautiful smiling face, and kissed her passionately. She melted into his arms, a soft moan escaping her as she succumbed to his advances, her body hard against his, her scent filling his nostrils as it always had. "I want you Tom, I still want you. Now, please... I love..." his rampant imagination was brought to a screaming halt by her voice. "Iain here is a huge fan. I hope you don't mind Tom, this... is Iain he's my..."

Before she'd had a chance to say any more, Iain grabbed Tom's hand and tried to remove it from the wrist. Inwardly Tom smiled, it hadn't been anything he hadn't encountered before, a fan melt down. All in a day's work and somehow, even here, even from him, reassuring. The fact that anyone, no matter how fleetingly, bothered to like his work and comment, was immensely flattering and heart warming to the overgrown kid who learned his lines and tried not to bump into the furniture.