A/N- well, here it is, the last chapter. AT LAST!! i'm so excited to start working on other things...

thanks for all the reviews, they make me smile and they make my day. I really appreciate that people want to share their opinions with me. hugs for all of you. and hugs for all the other people that followed along, thanks for staying with it, and i hope you check out my other stuff when i post it up here.

i have to agree with WriterGurl123, i totally loved the ending of the last chapter, and i wanted that to be my ending of the story. knowing that another person out there agreed with me made me really think hard about screwing this chapter. i'm posting it and if anyone thinks that this chapter was better off not existing, let me know. because i dont know.

thanks again, and enjoy!

"Hello?" I heard Jude's quiet voice say. I rubbed my eyes. "Yeah, okay, thanks for calling, I'll get back to you soon," I heard him say quietly. He hung up his cell phone and glanced at me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," He said. I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. "You can keep sleeping," He offered.

"I'm up, it's okay," I said. I felt around the covers for my shirt and pulled it over my head. I sat up and continued to stretch out my arms. Jude got up and walked to the other side of the bed. He pulled down the covers and he picked me up like a little kid. I smiled as he carried me out of the room. I rested my head against his chest and closed my eyes.

"Keep those eyes closed, you don't want to see the awful mess," Jude said as we walked through the main room. He sat me down on the counter in the kitchen and he rested his hands on my knees. I smiled at him. He leaned in and lightly kissed me on the lips.

"Breakfast?" He asked. I nodded. He started rummaging around the cabinets and pulled out random bowls and ingredients. Like always, I wondered what he would make. I sat on the counter and watched him work. "Can you see the top of the refrigerator from there?" Jude asked me. I nodded. "Is there a waffle iron up there?" He asked.

"A waffle iron?" I asked, laughing. "I didn't think there was such a thing," I said.

"How else do you think the waffles get those handy little grooves in them?" Jude asked.

"I never thought about it. I just know that when I open up a box of waffles, there they are, already made and ready to stick in the toaster," I said. I reached up and grabbed the large piece of equipment and handed it to Jude. He plopped it on the table and opened it up. It was waffle shaped and it had the large grooves in it. He plugged it in and started to mix batter for the waffles. He also started to cut strawberries. "Can I help?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

"No, just sit there and look pretty," He said. "Actually, try to do something else because you being pretty is too distracting," He murmured as he bent down to measure out a cup of milk. I smiled at the compliment and continued to watch Jude work. He poured a large amount of the batter in the waffle iron and it made a large hissing noise. Then he closed it and glanced up at me. "You actually eat those cardboard waffles that come in a box?" He asked me as he walked over to where I was sitting. He kissed me lightly on the lips.

"Not all of us are lucky enough to have our own waffle irons," I retorted. He kissed me again. I wrapped my arms around his neck and slid off the counter so that I was pressed up against him. We got a little carried away, so carried away in fact that the only thing that distracted us from each other was the smell of burning waffles. Jude let go of me quickly and opened the waffle iron. The waffle was very well done to say the least. Jude put it on a plate anyway, and he filled the waffle iron again with more batter.

"Don't come near me, I don't want to burn this one too," He warned me with a small smile. After another ten minutes, we had two perfectly cooked waffles in front of us. Jude grabbed the bowl of strawberries that he cut and blended them up. Then he added some sugar and poured it over top of the waffles. He added some powdered sugar and then he went to the fridge and took out a container of whipped cream. He sprayed a good amount on each waffle, then he handed me a plate.

"This looks more like dessert than breakfast," I said as I followed him out of the kitchen with my plate. He sat down on the couch in front of the TV and I sat down next to him with my knees on his lap.

"Usually people would prefer eating dessert than breakfast, so I consider that a compliment," He said. I took a bite and the waffles were amazing.

"This is really good," I said.

"I know," Jude said proudly. We ate in silence for a few minutes.

"It's nice that it's so quiet," I said. "Where's Fred again?" I asked.

"He's visiting his parents. I'm saving that burnt waffle for him," Jude said.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that," I said dryly, putting my empty plate down on the coffee table.

"I'm always thinking of Fred," Jude smiled, putting his plate down too. Then he leaned in and kissed me. My heart fluttered like always and I climbed onto his lap. He kissed me again and I felt his hands travel slowly up my shirt, giving me goose bumps. Then my cell phone rang. "Shut up," Jude called out to the cell phone, and he continued to kiss me and pull at my shirt. When it wouldn't stop ringing, I finally broke away from him and answered it. It was my mother.

"Why didn't you answer right away?" She demanded.

"I was asleep and my cell phone was in my purse which fell under my bed," I said off the top of my head.

"I wanted to remind you about lunch today, that's all. I'll see you at noon dear," My mom said, then hung up. I put the phone down.

"Do you have any classes today?" Jude asked.

"No, just lunch with my mom," I said.

"Think she would mind if I came along?" Jude asked as he put his empty plate along with mine on the coffee table. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head on mine.

"Of course she won't mind," I said. "She loves you more than Kenny," I added.

"That's not hard to do," Jude said and I rolled my eyes.

"So why do you want to join my mom and me for lunch?" I asked as I rested my head on his chest.

"Because all night I kept thinking how depressing it would be when you left in the morning,"

"So going out to lunch with me and my mom helps how?" I asked, touched by the fact that I was on his mind more than he let on.

"I get to spend more time with you," He said simply. "I would offer to kick Fred out and have you move in, but your dad would shoot me," He said.

"Poor Fred, does he always take the heat?" I asked.

"Always,"

"My dad would shoot you, wouldn't he?" I said.

"I don't think he's one to have his daughter move in with a boy before she's married to him," Jude said.

"He would totally shoot you," I giggled, imagining my dad with a gun, chasing after Jude.

"No, Fred would probably get hit instead, by accident," Jude said and I laughed.

"What time is it?" I asked

"Around ten," He said.

"I should go home and get ready for lunch then," I said.

"Or you can stay longer and not get ready?" Jude asked hopefully.

"I'll see you in a couple hours," I said dryly as I got up. I went back into Jude's room and grabbed the rest of my clothing which consisted of my dress from last night and a sweater. I stuffed them into my purse and walked out of the room and to the door. Jude was already cleaning up the dishes. He dried off his hands as I walked over to the door.

"Where are you going for lunch?" He asked.

"La Italiana," I said.

"See you there at twelve then?" He asked.

"See you then," I said and he gave me a tight hug. I felt all warm and cozy, like someone just wrapped me in a large blanket. "Thanks for letting me stay last night," I said.

"Thanks for coming," He said and he kissed me on the cheek and I left the dorm, thinking about last night, which was perfect.

"Hello?" I answered my cell phone, which started vibrating as I got in my car.

"Hey. Remember that call I got this morning?" Jude asked.

"You know it's been two minutes since I left your place, right? And yes, I remember the call," I said.

"It was about the restaurant," He said.

"Why didn't you tell me then?" I asked incredulously. Jude had been waiting for a call for about two weeks now to tell him if he could work in a small space in Baltimore.

"I was distracted by the fact that I woke up and saw you next to me, I apologize but it's not something that's ever happened before," Jude said. "Especially since you weren't wearing a shirt," He added.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me! What'd he say?" I asked.

"That I could have it," Jude said.

"Jude, that's great!" I exclaimed.

"I know, I'm excited. You know what's weird though?" He asked.

"What,"

"That I'm even more excited to see you at lunch," He said.

"Really," I said. That seemed hard to believe. Opening a restaurant has been a dream of Jude's since he was little. I just became a bigger part of his life last night. And food always came first with him.

"Yeah," Jude said quietly. I stood there, waiting for him to say something. "Charlotte, I think I love you," He said, and my heart did a summersault. "I definitely love you, I know I do," He said, and I could hear the smile on his face. "I think I have for awhile now," He said softly. "I miss you already," He complained. "This is awful. Is it going to feel like this every time you leave? If this is the first time I've told you that I love you, what's the second time going to be like? Obviously more time as passed therefore I'll love you even more, so it'll be even harder for you to leave. Charlotte, what am I going to do?" He exclaimed. I was just sitting in my car with a cheesy grin on my face. He loved me. "What happens if you meet some other guy and decide that you love him more? What will I do?" Jude murmured.

"I love you too," I said giddily.

"That doesn't help me, I need some advice," Jude exclaimed. Then I heard him suck in a breath. "You love me?" He asked suddenly.

"Yup!" I said happily. My heart felt like it was soaring, I was like nothing I've ever felt before. Everything felt like it was going to be okay.

"I love you," Jude said again, like he was tasting the words to see how they felt in his mouth. I jumped out of my car, barely remembering even to turn it off. I ran, well more like skipped, all the way back to Jude's dorm, where he was standing in the door. He saw me coming and opened his arms with a big smile on his face. I jumped into his arms like in the movies and he spun me around. He kissed me on the top of my head and just stood there, holding me in a tight hug.

"How important is this lunch with your mother?" Jude asked.

"Not very important," I said.

"So it wouldn't be a big deal if you were late for it?" He asked.

"She'll survive," I said, unable to stop smiling. My mom would be pissed, but it was hard to be worried about that at the moment. Jude walked inside his dorm again, me plastered to his side. He navigated us through the mess on the floor and we went back to his room. He picked me up and tossed me lightly on the bed and laid down next to me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I love you," He whispered, running his hand over my stomach.

"I love you back," I said happily. At the moment, nothing else mattered. I didn't care what happened next, the future seemed blurred in my head. I was perfectly happy lying here with Jude for the moment. Everything was nice and simple, just how I liked it.

A/N- so it's over. if you've never reviewed this story before, please stop and make a comment, let me know what you think overall. i hope you enjoyed it, and keep checkin for a new story i'll start posting up in the next few weeks...it should be longer and a lot different from this one, that's for sure. and make sure to pick up a copy of Fast Times at Barrington High!!