Friday Night Lights - "If This One Could Be With You", Tim/Julie, R
Title: If This One Could Be With You - 10/10
Author: lindentree
Rating: R
Character(s): Tim/Julie
Word Count: 4,560
Summary: After 2x11, "Jumping the Gun", Julie's parents come up with an appropriate punishment for her - tutoring Tim Riggins.
Bet you thought you'd have to wait another two weeks for the next chapter. Not so! We've finally arrived at the end of the story. Thanks to the_wanlorn for all her fabulous beta work and support throughout the writing of this fic. Thanks also to ishie for cheerleading and for giving in to my constant FNL pimping.
Huge, tremendously grateful thanks to those of you who've read and commented on each chapter. Your feedback and encouragement means a lot - all those little comment notifications in my inbox are the reason this story was completed. Seriously - thank you.
Here's a little treat for you to enjoy while you're reading - the song which inspired the title and, really, the story itself:
Sam Cooke - Wonderful World
Enjoy, and thanks again. I haven't yet managed to purge Tim & Julie from my brain, so I'm sure there will be more on the way. ♥
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
“Sure you don’t want a burger or something?” Tim asked, his voice hopeful, as he pulled into the end of her driveway.
“No, thanks. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, and I think I owe my parents a family night or something,” Julie replied, sending a sidelong glance his way. She caught the slight downturn of his mouth, and was quietly pleased at the thought that he didn’t want their date to end yet. “I’d invite you in, but I think maybe we might want to hold off on that whole conversation, you know?”
Tim put the truck into park, leaving the engine running and looking at her house contemplatively. “You’re gonna tell them, though, right?”
Julie knew what he was really asking. She looked at him for a moment, waited to speak until she caught his eye. “Don’t worry,” she said. “You’re not my dirty secret.”
He looked away, his only response a little nod.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Julie unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned across the cab, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Okay,” he said, his voice very low. “Night, Jules.”
Julie wanted very badly to kiss him again, but she restrained herself, instead merely smiling once more at him before hopping out of the truck.
Feeling as light as air, Julie walked up to the house. Standing on the front step, she turned to look back at Tim. She unlocked the door, waved once at him, and watched as he waved back before pulling away. She held her flowers in her hand, thinking that she’d have to get them in water soon, for they were already somewhat the worse for wear, having spent the morning in Tim’s truck and the afternoon in a dark movie theatre.
Her good mood evaporated, however, when she entered the house and found both of her parents standing in the foyer, arms crossed over their chests in eerily similar expressions of annoyance and disapproval.
“Hi,” Julie greeted them meekly. “What’s for dinner? Smells good.”
“Don’t you try to butter me up, young lady,” Tami said, shaking her head angrily. “Just where the hell have you been?”
“What?” Julie protested, immediately defensive. She knew she was in trouble - her mother only cursed when she was really upset. “I didn’t break curfew.”
“No, you just skipped half a day’s worth of classes,” Tami replied. “Your father and I both work at your school, Julie. It’s not like you can hide it.”
Exasperated, Julie rolled her eyes. “It was only two classes, and besides - finals are over. It’s only a few more days until Christmas vacation, anyway.”
“Doesn’t matter,” her father interjected. “You’re supposed to be in class, you had better be in class. Where the hell were you?”
“I was out.”
“Out?” Tami repeated, her voice rising. “Out where? With whom?”
“Were you out with that girl again?” Eric asked. “What’s her name - Tara? Tina?”
“Her name is Tyra, Dad, and no, I wasn’t out with her,” Julie scowled at her father, before glancing over at her mother. Tami was looking at her very closely. She glanced down at the flowers in Julie’s hand, then back up at her face, comprehension dawning. Julie gulped.
“I know exactly who you were with,” Tami bit out.
“Mom-“ Julie began.
“Who?” Eric interrupted. “Who was she with?”
“I want you to look right at me and tell me the truth, Julie,” her mother said, her face deadly serious. “Did you skip school with Tim Riggins today?”
Julie glared at her mother, knowing she was trapped. “Yes,” she replied, dropping her eyes to the floor.
“Riggins?” her father exclaimed. “Tim Riggins? Why the hell are you skipping school with Tim Riggins? I thought y’all were done tutoring.”
“Julie?” her mother asked, looking at her daughter expectantly. “You might as well tell us both what’s going on, for real, because sneaking around obviously isn’t working out so great for you.”
Eric looked at his wife and then at his daughter, bewildered.
Julie heaved a huge sigh. “I skipped with Tim because... Because we’re going out. Tim’s, um, my boyfriend. As of today.” She winced, waiting for the explosion.
It came, so predictable that it would have been funny, if it weren’t for the fact that Julie was pretty sure it meant she’d never see Tim Riggins or the light of day ever again.
“Are you kidding me? Going out? Boyfriend?” her father shouted. “If you think there is a snowball’s chance in hell that you’re going to be allowed to go anywhere with Tim Riggins ever again, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“Dad!” Julie shouted back. “You can’t do that! Besides, he’s your fullback, so if he’s such a delinquent, why is he on your football team? Why did you let him stay here? Why did you let me tutor him? Huh?”
“Don’t take that tone with me, young lady,” Eric snapped.
“All right, all right,” Tami said, coming between the two of them. “Enough is enough. Julie, go to your room. We’ll discuss this later.”
Julie turned and stomped to her room, barely resisting the strong urge to slam the door behind her. She threw her bag on the ground, and flung herself dramatically across the bed.
She could concede that skipping school had been a bad idea, and an even worse one now, as she realised the consequences it might have for her and Tim even being allowed to see each other. Too bad Tim always made these things sound like such a good idea at the time. Julie sighed and rolled over, reaching into her bag and fishing out her cell phone. Scrolling through her contacts, she found Tim’s home phone number and selected it.
The phone rang as Julie silently urged Tim to pick up the phone. They had made a date for the next day, Saturday, and she wanted to warn him not to come pick her up, but that she’d meet him somewhere else. Clearly it was not the time for him to come knocking at the Taylors’ door.
A mechanical click sounded in her ear, and an automatic recording began. We’re sorry, but the number you are dialling is not in service. Please hang up, and try your call again. This is a recording.
Sighing, Julie clicked the “end” button and threw her phone back into her bag. It looked like Billy hadn’t paid the phone bill again.
Julie stood up and crept over to her bedroom door, pressing her ear against it. She could hear her parents’ voices in the living room, but they were speaking softly enough that she couldn’t hear what they were saying.
She wandered back to her bed, sitting down with a despondent sigh. It would be a miracle if she was allowed to see Tim again, never mind date him.
***
It was Saturday morning, and Tim was on his way over to the Taylors’ to pick Julie up for their second official date - their first one had consisted of the two of them making out in the back row during a matinee showing of Enchanted, which Tim considered a very successful first date indeed. Even though Julie kept shoving him away and trying to pay attention to the movie, smirking all the while.
Tim knocked on the Taylors' front door. When it opened and revealed Coach standing on the other side, his stomach sank. He'd been hoping he might somehow be able to avoid this confrontation for, well, ever.
"I want to talk to you," Coach said in a low, steady voice as he stepped out onto the front stoop and closed the door behind him.
"Yes, sir," Tim mumbled, stepping back and running an anxious hand through his hair.
"Now, my wife informs me that you and my daughter have some kind of thing going on. I didn't want to jump to any conclusions and think that you would abuse our trust and hospitality in such a way, so I thought I'd give you the benefit of the doubt and provide you with an opportunity to tell me that my wife is, for once in her life, mistaken."
Tim gulped. He'd known Coach Taylor long enough to know that when he went on this way and stood there with his arms crossed, working his jaw, he was well and truly pissed off.
"Uh, the thing is, Coach, she's not mistaken."
Coach exhaled harshly through his nose, like an angry dog. "You wanna tell me what the hell is going on, here, then?"
"Well, I guess what's going on is I'd like to ask permission to date your daughter, sir."
"You'd like to ask my permission to date my daughter," Coach repeated.
“Yes, sir.”
“You understand how this looks to me, don’t you? You’re not ignorant of that?”
“No, sir. I mean, yeah, I know how it looks.”
“All right then, explain to me why I shouldn’t go back in there and tell Julie that under no circumstances is she to talk to you, look at you, or even acknowledge your existence ever again?”
“Because,” Tim shrugged, “you and I both know that if you did, Jules’d go right ahead and do what she wanted to do, anyway.”
Coach glared. “I don’t expect you to understand this, but that is my daughter in there. My daughter. There is nothing in the world more important to me than Julie and Gracie. They are both very special.”
"I know she's special, that she's special to you and Mrs. Coach. Thing is, she's special to me, too. She's real special to me, Coach."
Coach didn’t reply for a moment, just continued to glare at Tim, his jaw clenched. Finally, he spoke.
“I do not like this. I am not going to pretend to like it. You are extremely fortunate that my wife is on your side, because if it wasn’t for her, you’d be long gone and Julie would be halfway to an all-girls school for juvenile delinquents in New England.”
Tim stared at Coach, afraid to hope.
“If you harm a hair on her head, or treat her in any wrong fashion, or if you ever hurt her or make her cry, I will make your life miserable. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” Tim rasped, relieved.
“Glad we understand each other,” Coach said, turning to head back into the house. Tim made as though to follow him, but Coach stopped and turned back. Tim stared.
“You can head home,” Coach said. “Julie’s grounded for skipping school.”
Coach went into the house and shut the door behind him, a little too firmly. Tim stood for a moment, scratching his head, before sighing and heading back to his truck.
Dating a girl whose parents actually kept an eye on her was going to be more of an adjustment than he’d thought.
***
Julie spent Saturday in her bedroom, alternately reading, texting Lois and Tyra, and staring bleakly at her bookshelves. Finals were over, so she didn’t even have anything to study.
Tim was supposed to come pick her up at one o’clock, but he hadn’t shown up yet. She wouldn’t be allowed to go anywhere anyway, but she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he’d forgotten about their date.
Sighing, she rolled over on her bed, trying to think of something she could do to amuse herself that didn’t involve thinking about Tim Riggins. She’d read all the books she had already, and her parents weren’t letting her use the TV or the internet. Maybe she could reread House of Leaves again.
A familiar rumble out on the street had her up and at the window in a flash, craning to see the front of the house. Unfortunately, all she could see was the side of her neighbour’s house.
The engine of Tim’s truck shut off, and a second later, she heard the front door open and close. She stood anxiously in the middle of her room, straining to hear anything, but she couldn’t. Debating the prospect of climbing out her window and sneaking around the front of the house to eavesdrop, Julie heaved a frustrated sigh. She hated the idea of Tim being subjected to her father’s irrational craziness without her there to defend him.
Less than five minutes later, the front door opened and closed once again, and the engine of Tim’s truck started with a low purr. She listened as the truck’s noise faded into the afternoon. Her shoulders sagged for a moment before she heard her parents’ voices in the other room. Walking over to her bedroom door, she pressed her ear against it, trying to hear what they were saying.
She jumped in surprise when, a moment later, a knock sounded on the other side of the door, right next to her head. Moving away, she cleared her throat, preparing herself for the onslaught.
“Come in,” she said.
The door opened and her dad’s head appeared, his hair standing up - a sure sign of frustration and contemplation.
“I need to talk to you,” he said, coming into the room and closing the door behind him.
“Okay,” Julie shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. She wasn’t sure why; she felt anything but apathetic about what was about to happen. Maybe she wanted her dad to think that his opinion of her love life didn’t matter to her.
“Tim was just here,” he said, his hands on his hips, looking - to Julie’s surprise - about as anxious as she felt.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. You two have plans today?”
“Yeah, we did,” Julie replied, idly running her toes through the carpet and avoiding her father’s gaze.
“I told him you’re grounded again.”
Julie huffed, embarrassed, but didn’t say anything.
“Can’t say I’m not surprised that Tim’s someone you want to spend your time with,” he said.
“Yeah, well, you don’t know everything there is to know about him,” Julie said defensively, struggling to keep her voice down. There was no point in getting angry; she’d figured that much out about dealing with her parents.
“Neither do you,” he replied, obviously struggling to do the same. “I’m not saying he’s not a good kid. I just... What’s wrong with Matt Saracen, anyway?”
“Nothing’s wrong with Matt,” Julie shrugged. “It’s... I messed it up, okay? I screwed up, and it can’t be fixed, and he moved on. Anyway, this has nothing to do with Matt.”
“It doesn’t?”
Julie looked up at her father, confused. “No, it doesn’t! What, do you think I’m with Tim to get back at Matt or something?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, running a hand through his hair. “Look - your mother and I just don’t want you to get hurt. We want you to be with people who want good things for you, too. We’re just trying to understand.”
“I just like him,” Julie mumbled, “and he likes me. That’s all.”
Her father just looked at her for a long time, his eyes soft.
“All right,” he said, finally. “But there are gonna be rules. You’re to be home by eleven on the weekends. No going over to Tim’s house; I’m well aware that expecting Billy Riggins to act as chaperone is next to useless. No drinking. No dates on school nights.”
“Does tutoring count as a date?” Julie asked, teasing.
Eric scowled. “All tutoring is going to happen at our house, in the living room, hands on the table.”
“Dad!”
“Well,” he grumbled. “Come here.”
He pulled her into a tight hug. “You make sure he makes you happy. If you’re not happy, you shouldn’t be with him.”
Julie smiled against her father’s chest. “I will.”
“All right, then,” he said gruffly, turning to go. “You’re still grounded, but your mother and I would like to have Tim over tomorrow night.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. If my daughter’s going to be dating Tim Riggins, I want him where I can see him.”
***
Tim stared up at his bedroom ceiling, idly spinning a football in his hands. He was disappointed that his and Julie’s date that afternoon hadn’t worked out, and he hoped she knew that he hadn’t just stood her up.
He was thinking that he ought to insist that Billy get the phone reconnected when he was disturbed by a persistent tapping sound. Looking over at his window, a face peering in from outside startled him.
“Jules?” he asked, getting up off the bed and opening the window, “What are you doing here? Coach’s gonna kill me.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” she replied, grabbing the window frame and hauling herself into the room. “I was too... I don’t know. Excited, I guess.”
“Yeah?” he asked, squinting at her in the dim light. “Why’re you excited?”
“’Cause my parents said it was okay for us to go out,” she said, standing up straight and beaming at him.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah,” she replied, brushing past him to sit down on his bed and glancing around the cluttered, messy room. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”
“Thanks,” he smiled, taking in the sight of Julie sitting comfortably on his bed, like that was a normal thing. Which he guessed it was, since they were dating now. He cleared his throat.
“Come here,” Julie said, motioning at the empty space beside her. Tim obliged, sitting down next to her and resting his elbows on his knees. He couldn’t believe how nervous he felt. Everything had changed between them; nothing was the same as it was before. He frowned down at the grungy carpet between his feet. What if they ruined the friendship they had by trying to make it something else? It had happened to him before, it could happen again.
“Hey,” Julie said softly, nudging him with her arm. He looked up to find her watching him, an amused look on her face. “You wanna know something?”
Tim nodded.
“I was sitting right here when I realised I liked you,” she said.
“Yeah?” he said, not sure how he was supposed to respond. He was never sure what to do when people started talking about feelings.
“Yeah,” Julie replied. “It was that night that I snuck over, after your dad came. I sat here and looked at you and thought, ‘Oh no, I really just want to kiss him right now. Awkward.’”
“You wanted to put the moves on me that long ago?” he asked, smiling at her.
“Sure,” she replied. “I pretty much wanted to do this.”
Julie brushed Tim’s hair out of his eyes with one hand, while reaching for his with the other. Lacing her fingers loosely with his, she moved in close and kissed him.
“Hm,” Tim mumbled a minute later, when they broke away. “Wonder what woulda happened if you’d gone ahead and done it then.”
“I don’t know,” Julie laughed. “It probably would have made all those study sessions a little difficult.”
“They already were difficult,” Tim griped.
“Oh, come on,” Julie said, bumping her shoulder against him playfully. “It wasn’t that hard, and you did great. You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for.”
“I didn’t mean the schoolwork. I meant sitting across that damn table from you all the time while you’re sitting there, busting my ass, your cute nose all scrunched up. It was torture.”
“Oh,” Julie breathed, blushing.
“You didn’t even know that you were driving me crazy,” Tim said, his voice low. He leaned in close, kissing her again.
Julie kissed him back, a little more aggressively than before, and he soon found himself once again being straddled by Julie Taylor while he placed hot, open-mouthed kisses down her neck.
He felt more than heard her soft groan as it vibrated against his chest. Julie’s hands slid down his torso and unbuttoned his shirt, tugging impatiently at it until he got the hint and tossed it aside.
Feeling that turnabout was fair play, Tim divested Julie of her hoodie and her t-shirt, leaving her clad only in a simple, teal-coloured bra. With a shiver, goose bumps popped up along her arms. Tim leaned in and kissed her collarbone, intent on leaving a bruise there for her to find later.
“Are you giving me a hickey?” Julie asked breathlessly, tangling her hands in his hair. Tim suppressed a groan. He loved that.
“Mmm-hmm,” he mumbled in response.
“Hmph,” she said. “That’s very caveman of you.”
Tim shrugged, sucking harder and running his hands down her bare back to grip her denim-covered backside. This time it was Julie who groaned, before pulling away from him and meeting his lips with her own. Spreading his hands across her back, Tim turned them both onto the bed so that he had Julie pinned, their jeans the only barrier between them. Julie shifted her hips to accommodate his, and Tim couldn’t help himself; he thrust against her, once.
Julie gasped, breaking their kiss.
“Sorry,” Tim said, looking down at her surprised face. She blinked, the prettiest blush staining her cheeks and her neck.
“It’s okay,” she said. “It’s just that I’ve never really... You know.”
Tim looked into her wide brown eyes, her pupils huge in the dim light. “I thought you and Saracen... You never...?”
Julie looked flustered. “No, we didn’t.”
“Oh,” he replied, suddenly feeling more apprehensive in this situation than he had in a very long time. He pulled back slightly, and watched as Julie’s face turned an even darker shade of rose.
“You don’t have to - it’s fine,” she stammered. “I mean, I don’t want to do that right now, but you don’t have to stop what you’re doing. You know?”
Tim blew out a tense breath. He tucked one hand up under Julie’s head, burying it in her hair, before running the other down her bare arm. Watching her face closely, he shifted his hips and thrust against her again.
She gasped again, her legs sliding up to grip his hips. Tim moaned at the close contact, his head dropping to her shoulder.
“This okay?” he asked, his lips brushing her ear. He thrust against her yet again, his hips finding a slow, shallow rhythm.
“Uh huh,” she replied on another gasp, her fingernails digging into his shoulders.
Tim kissed his way across her chest, finding his way back to the spot he’d been concentrating on before.
“That’s not fair,” Julie mumbled, wiggling away from him to find a spot of her own to mark. Her teeth scraped across his collarbone, and Tim jolted.
“What are you doin’, now?” he rumbled.
“Paying you back,” she said, her breath hot against his skin. “Seeing as it’s sort of impractical to tattoo ‘RALLY GIRLS - NO TRESPASSING’ on your forehead.”
Tim laughed, rolling them both and relaxing against his pillows so that Julie was half sprawled across his chest. “I ain’t gonna stop you,” he said, running an idle hand through her long, silky hair.
They stayed that way for a while, kissing and quietly exploring each other. Tim was just pondering getting Julie’s bra out of their way when she sighed and pulled away.
“I’d better go,” she said. “Can’t risk getting caught sneaking out, at this point.”
“Think your dad’s gonna be okay with it?” Tim asked gruffly, putting a bit of space between them.
“Yeah, I mean, he’s not over the moon about it,” Julie said, settling on her side to look at him. “But he’ll come around once he remembers that you’re, you know... You.”
Tim tried not to let it show, how much that comment pleased him, but it didn’t work. Julie grinned at him before reaching over and gently brushing the hair out of his eyes. Tim decided he’d never cut his hair short, not ever, if it meant she wouldn’t be able to do that anymore.
“Come over tomorrow afternoon, okay?” she said.
“You sure? Thought you were grounded.”
“I am, but that doesn’t mean I can’t see my... boyfriend,” she said quietly, as though she was testing the new term, like dipping her toes into a swimming pool.
“Boyfriend,” Tim repeated, doing the same.
Julie smiled at him again. “It’s late - I’ve really gotta go. Don’t want to fan the flames.”
“I’ll give you a ride,” Tim said. He sat up, grabbing his shirt and sloppily buttoning it. Behind him, he could hear Julie rustling about, retrieving her own clothes, and was surprised at the thrill it gave him.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I found a shortcut.” She pulled her t-shirt and her hoodie back over her head, then quickly leaned up to kiss him. “Besides, I’m pretty sure my dad’s developing a sixth sense for the sound of your truck within a three block radius.”
She left the same way she arrived, climbing out of his bedroom window and standing between a couple of dead dogwoods planted next to the house. She poked her head back in the window.
“Goodnight,” she said, smiling at him.
“Night,” he said, coming over to the window and watching as she turned and disappeared into the darkness. He stood there for several minutes after she’d gone, just staring out the window.
Finally, he turned and collapsed face-first on his bed, heaving a deep, contented sigh. He breathed in the smell of his sheets; they smelled like their familiar bed smell, but now with liberal overtones of sweat and Julie.
He thought about the way she’d moved against him only minutes ago, the way she moaned and the way he responded to her. Remembering the sweet sensation of her body pressed up tightly against his, he groaned.
Sleep was going to be a long way off tonight.
***
“Honey, you tear those lettuce leaves any more roughly and we’re gonna be having mulch, not salad.”
“Sorry,” Julie mumbled, frowning down at the mangled leaves sitting in the colander in front of her. It was Sunday afternoon, and Tim was due to come over any minute now. For the last hour, she’d been growing steadily more tense, pleased that her parents were trying for her sake, but worried that Tim would be too nervous, and get all weird and avoidant like he sometimes did.
“Relax,” her mother said softly to her, carrying a small stack of plates and bowls out to the table.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Julie yelped, tearing out of the kitchen to beat her parents to the door. She slid to a stop in the foyer, and opened the door to find Tim standing on the doorstep.
“You’re here,” she said, smiling. She cocked her head at him. “Did you comb your hair?”
“Yeah,” he replied, reaching up to touch his hair self-consciously. “Billy said I should.”
“You look nice,” she said.
“You too,” he replied, his eyes landing on the long-sleeved t-shirt she’d put on to cover the extremely obvious hickey on her collarbone. He smirked at her.
Julie looked away shyly.
“Tim, you have any dinner yet?” Tami called from the kitchen.
“No, ma’am,” he replied, lingering in the foyer.
“We’re having chili,” Coach’s voice piped up. “Come on in here and set the table.”
Julie smiled at him, her expression encouraging.
“Come on,” she said, holding out her hand to him. “Don’t be nervous.”
Tim closed the door, and came into the house.
-end-
Author: lindentree
Rating: R
Character(s): Tim/Julie
Word Count: 4,560
Summary: After 2x11, "Jumping the Gun", Julie's parents come up with an appropriate punishment for her - tutoring Tim Riggins.
Bet you thought you'd have to wait another two weeks for the next chapter. Not so! We've finally arrived at the end of the story. Thanks to the_wanlorn for all her fabulous beta work and support throughout the writing of this fic. Thanks also to ishie for cheerleading and for giving in to my constant FNL pimping.
Huge, tremendously grateful thanks to those of you who've read and commented on each chapter. Your feedback and encouragement means a lot - all those little comment notifications in my inbox are the reason this story was completed. Seriously - thank you.
Here's a little treat for you to enjoy while you're reading - the song which inspired the title and, really, the story itself:
Sam Cooke - Wonderful World
Enjoy, and thanks again. I haven't yet managed to purge Tim & Julie from my brain, so I'm sure there will be more on the way. ♥
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
“Sure you don’t want a burger or something?” Tim asked, his voice hopeful, as he pulled into the end of her driveway.
“No, thanks. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, and I think I owe my parents a family night or something,” Julie replied, sending a sidelong glance his way. She caught the slight downturn of his mouth, and was quietly pleased at the thought that he didn’t want their date to end yet. “I’d invite you in, but I think maybe we might want to hold off on that whole conversation, you know?”
Tim put the truck into park, leaving the engine running and looking at her house contemplatively. “You’re gonna tell them, though, right?”
Julie knew what he was really asking. She looked at him for a moment, waited to speak until she caught his eye. “Don’t worry,” she said. “You’re not my dirty secret.”
He looked away, his only response a little nod.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Julie unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned across the cab, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Okay,” he said, his voice very low. “Night, Jules.”
Julie wanted very badly to kiss him again, but she restrained herself, instead merely smiling once more at him before hopping out of the truck.
Feeling as light as air, Julie walked up to the house. Standing on the front step, she turned to look back at Tim. She unlocked the door, waved once at him, and watched as he waved back before pulling away. She held her flowers in her hand, thinking that she’d have to get them in water soon, for they were already somewhat the worse for wear, having spent the morning in Tim’s truck and the afternoon in a dark movie theatre.
Her good mood evaporated, however, when she entered the house and found both of her parents standing in the foyer, arms crossed over their chests in eerily similar expressions of annoyance and disapproval.
“Hi,” Julie greeted them meekly. “What’s for dinner? Smells good.”
“Don’t you try to butter me up, young lady,” Tami said, shaking her head angrily. “Just where the hell have you been?”
“What?” Julie protested, immediately defensive. She knew she was in trouble - her mother only cursed when she was really upset. “I didn’t break curfew.”
“No, you just skipped half a day’s worth of classes,” Tami replied. “Your father and I both work at your school, Julie. It’s not like you can hide it.”
Exasperated, Julie rolled her eyes. “It was only two classes, and besides - finals are over. It’s only a few more days until Christmas vacation, anyway.”
“Doesn’t matter,” her father interjected. “You’re supposed to be in class, you had better be in class. Where the hell were you?”
“I was out.”
“Out?” Tami repeated, her voice rising. “Out where? With whom?”
“Were you out with that girl again?” Eric asked. “What’s her name - Tara? Tina?”
“Her name is Tyra, Dad, and no, I wasn’t out with her,” Julie scowled at her father, before glancing over at her mother. Tami was looking at her very closely. She glanced down at the flowers in Julie’s hand, then back up at her face, comprehension dawning. Julie gulped.
“I know exactly who you were with,” Tami bit out.
“Mom-“ Julie began.
“Who?” Eric interrupted. “Who was she with?”
“I want you to look right at me and tell me the truth, Julie,” her mother said, her face deadly serious. “Did you skip school with Tim Riggins today?”
Julie glared at her mother, knowing she was trapped. “Yes,” she replied, dropping her eyes to the floor.
“Riggins?” her father exclaimed. “Tim Riggins? Why the hell are you skipping school with Tim Riggins? I thought y’all were done tutoring.”
“Julie?” her mother asked, looking at her daughter expectantly. “You might as well tell us both what’s going on, for real, because sneaking around obviously isn’t working out so great for you.”
Eric looked at his wife and then at his daughter, bewildered.
Julie heaved a huge sigh. “I skipped with Tim because... Because we’re going out. Tim’s, um, my boyfriend. As of today.” She winced, waiting for the explosion.
It came, so predictable that it would have been funny, if it weren’t for the fact that Julie was pretty sure it meant she’d never see Tim Riggins or the light of day ever again.
“Are you kidding me? Going out? Boyfriend?” her father shouted. “If you think there is a snowball’s chance in hell that you’re going to be allowed to go anywhere with Tim Riggins ever again, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“Dad!” Julie shouted back. “You can’t do that! Besides, he’s your fullback, so if he’s such a delinquent, why is he on your football team? Why did you let him stay here? Why did you let me tutor him? Huh?”
“Don’t take that tone with me, young lady,” Eric snapped.
“All right, all right,” Tami said, coming between the two of them. “Enough is enough. Julie, go to your room. We’ll discuss this later.”
Julie turned and stomped to her room, barely resisting the strong urge to slam the door behind her. She threw her bag on the ground, and flung herself dramatically across the bed.
She could concede that skipping school had been a bad idea, and an even worse one now, as she realised the consequences it might have for her and Tim even being allowed to see each other. Too bad Tim always made these things sound like such a good idea at the time. Julie sighed and rolled over, reaching into her bag and fishing out her cell phone. Scrolling through her contacts, she found Tim’s home phone number and selected it.
The phone rang as Julie silently urged Tim to pick up the phone. They had made a date for the next day, Saturday, and she wanted to warn him not to come pick her up, but that she’d meet him somewhere else. Clearly it was not the time for him to come knocking at the Taylors’ door.
A mechanical click sounded in her ear, and an automatic recording began. We’re sorry, but the number you are dialling is not in service. Please hang up, and try your call again. This is a recording.
Sighing, Julie clicked the “end” button and threw her phone back into her bag. It looked like Billy hadn’t paid the phone bill again.
Julie stood up and crept over to her bedroom door, pressing her ear against it. She could hear her parents’ voices in the living room, but they were speaking softly enough that she couldn’t hear what they were saying.
She wandered back to her bed, sitting down with a despondent sigh. It would be a miracle if she was allowed to see Tim again, never mind date him.
***
It was Saturday morning, and Tim was on his way over to the Taylors’ to pick Julie up for their second official date - their first one had consisted of the two of them making out in the back row during a matinee showing of Enchanted, which Tim considered a very successful first date indeed. Even though Julie kept shoving him away and trying to pay attention to the movie, smirking all the while.
Tim knocked on the Taylors' front door. When it opened and revealed Coach standing on the other side, his stomach sank. He'd been hoping he might somehow be able to avoid this confrontation for, well, ever.
"I want to talk to you," Coach said in a low, steady voice as he stepped out onto the front stoop and closed the door behind him.
"Yes, sir," Tim mumbled, stepping back and running an anxious hand through his hair.
"Now, my wife informs me that you and my daughter have some kind of thing going on. I didn't want to jump to any conclusions and think that you would abuse our trust and hospitality in such a way, so I thought I'd give you the benefit of the doubt and provide you with an opportunity to tell me that my wife is, for once in her life, mistaken."
Tim gulped. He'd known Coach Taylor long enough to know that when he went on this way and stood there with his arms crossed, working his jaw, he was well and truly pissed off.
"Uh, the thing is, Coach, she's not mistaken."
Coach exhaled harshly through his nose, like an angry dog. "You wanna tell me what the hell is going on, here, then?"
"Well, I guess what's going on is I'd like to ask permission to date your daughter, sir."
"You'd like to ask my permission to date my daughter," Coach repeated.
“Yes, sir.”
“You understand how this looks to me, don’t you? You’re not ignorant of that?”
“No, sir. I mean, yeah, I know how it looks.”
“All right then, explain to me why I shouldn’t go back in there and tell Julie that under no circumstances is she to talk to you, look at you, or even acknowledge your existence ever again?”
“Because,” Tim shrugged, “you and I both know that if you did, Jules’d go right ahead and do what she wanted to do, anyway.”
Coach glared. “I don’t expect you to understand this, but that is my daughter in there. My daughter. There is nothing in the world more important to me than Julie and Gracie. They are both very special.”
"I know she's special, that she's special to you and Mrs. Coach. Thing is, she's special to me, too. She's real special to me, Coach."
Coach didn’t reply for a moment, just continued to glare at Tim, his jaw clenched. Finally, he spoke.
“I do not like this. I am not going to pretend to like it. You are extremely fortunate that my wife is on your side, because if it wasn’t for her, you’d be long gone and Julie would be halfway to an all-girls school for juvenile delinquents in New England.”
Tim stared at Coach, afraid to hope.
“If you harm a hair on her head, or treat her in any wrong fashion, or if you ever hurt her or make her cry, I will make your life miserable. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” Tim rasped, relieved.
“Glad we understand each other,” Coach said, turning to head back into the house. Tim made as though to follow him, but Coach stopped and turned back. Tim stared.
“You can head home,” Coach said. “Julie’s grounded for skipping school.”
Coach went into the house and shut the door behind him, a little too firmly. Tim stood for a moment, scratching his head, before sighing and heading back to his truck.
Dating a girl whose parents actually kept an eye on her was going to be more of an adjustment than he’d thought.
***
Julie spent Saturday in her bedroom, alternately reading, texting Lois and Tyra, and staring bleakly at her bookshelves. Finals were over, so she didn’t even have anything to study.
Tim was supposed to come pick her up at one o’clock, but he hadn’t shown up yet. She wouldn’t be allowed to go anywhere anyway, but she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he’d forgotten about their date.
Sighing, she rolled over on her bed, trying to think of something she could do to amuse herself that didn’t involve thinking about Tim Riggins. She’d read all the books she had already, and her parents weren’t letting her use the TV or the internet. Maybe she could reread House of Leaves again.
A familiar rumble out on the street had her up and at the window in a flash, craning to see the front of the house. Unfortunately, all she could see was the side of her neighbour’s house.
The engine of Tim’s truck shut off, and a second later, she heard the front door open and close. She stood anxiously in the middle of her room, straining to hear anything, but she couldn’t. Debating the prospect of climbing out her window and sneaking around the front of the house to eavesdrop, Julie heaved a frustrated sigh. She hated the idea of Tim being subjected to her father’s irrational craziness without her there to defend him.
Less than five minutes later, the front door opened and closed once again, and the engine of Tim’s truck started with a low purr. She listened as the truck’s noise faded into the afternoon. Her shoulders sagged for a moment before she heard her parents’ voices in the other room. Walking over to her bedroom door, she pressed her ear against it, trying to hear what they were saying.
She jumped in surprise when, a moment later, a knock sounded on the other side of the door, right next to her head. Moving away, she cleared her throat, preparing herself for the onslaught.
“Come in,” she said.
The door opened and her dad’s head appeared, his hair standing up - a sure sign of frustration and contemplation.
“I need to talk to you,” he said, coming into the room and closing the door behind him.
“Okay,” Julie shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. She wasn’t sure why; she felt anything but apathetic about what was about to happen. Maybe she wanted her dad to think that his opinion of her love life didn’t matter to her.
“Tim was just here,” he said, his hands on his hips, looking - to Julie’s surprise - about as anxious as she felt.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. You two have plans today?”
“Yeah, we did,” Julie replied, idly running her toes through the carpet and avoiding her father’s gaze.
“I told him you’re grounded again.”
Julie huffed, embarrassed, but didn’t say anything.
“Can’t say I’m not surprised that Tim’s someone you want to spend your time with,” he said.
“Yeah, well, you don’t know everything there is to know about him,” Julie said defensively, struggling to keep her voice down. There was no point in getting angry; she’d figured that much out about dealing with her parents.
“Neither do you,” he replied, obviously struggling to do the same. “I’m not saying he’s not a good kid. I just... What’s wrong with Matt Saracen, anyway?”
“Nothing’s wrong with Matt,” Julie shrugged. “It’s... I messed it up, okay? I screwed up, and it can’t be fixed, and he moved on. Anyway, this has nothing to do with Matt.”
“It doesn’t?”
Julie looked up at her father, confused. “No, it doesn’t! What, do you think I’m with Tim to get back at Matt or something?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, running a hand through his hair. “Look - your mother and I just don’t want you to get hurt. We want you to be with people who want good things for you, too. We’re just trying to understand.”
“I just like him,” Julie mumbled, “and he likes me. That’s all.”
Her father just looked at her for a long time, his eyes soft.
“All right,” he said, finally. “But there are gonna be rules. You’re to be home by eleven on the weekends. No going over to Tim’s house; I’m well aware that expecting Billy Riggins to act as chaperone is next to useless. No drinking. No dates on school nights.”
“Does tutoring count as a date?” Julie asked, teasing.
Eric scowled. “All tutoring is going to happen at our house, in the living room, hands on the table.”
“Dad!”
“Well,” he grumbled. “Come here.”
He pulled her into a tight hug. “You make sure he makes you happy. If you’re not happy, you shouldn’t be with him.”
Julie smiled against her father’s chest. “I will.”
“All right, then,” he said gruffly, turning to go. “You’re still grounded, but your mother and I would like to have Tim over tomorrow night.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. If my daughter’s going to be dating Tim Riggins, I want him where I can see him.”
***
Tim stared up at his bedroom ceiling, idly spinning a football in his hands. He was disappointed that his and Julie’s date that afternoon hadn’t worked out, and he hoped she knew that he hadn’t just stood her up.
He was thinking that he ought to insist that Billy get the phone reconnected when he was disturbed by a persistent tapping sound. Looking over at his window, a face peering in from outside startled him.
“Jules?” he asked, getting up off the bed and opening the window, “What are you doing here? Coach’s gonna kill me.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” she replied, grabbing the window frame and hauling herself into the room. “I was too... I don’t know. Excited, I guess.”
“Yeah?” he asked, squinting at her in the dim light. “Why’re you excited?”
“’Cause my parents said it was okay for us to go out,” she said, standing up straight and beaming at him.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah,” she replied, brushing past him to sit down on his bed and glancing around the cluttered, messy room. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”
“Thanks,” he smiled, taking in the sight of Julie sitting comfortably on his bed, like that was a normal thing. Which he guessed it was, since they were dating now. He cleared his throat.
“Come here,” Julie said, motioning at the empty space beside her. Tim obliged, sitting down next to her and resting his elbows on his knees. He couldn’t believe how nervous he felt. Everything had changed between them; nothing was the same as it was before. He frowned down at the grungy carpet between his feet. What if they ruined the friendship they had by trying to make it something else? It had happened to him before, it could happen again.
“Hey,” Julie said softly, nudging him with her arm. He looked up to find her watching him, an amused look on her face. “You wanna know something?”
Tim nodded.
“I was sitting right here when I realised I liked you,” she said.
“Yeah?” he said, not sure how he was supposed to respond. He was never sure what to do when people started talking about feelings.
“Yeah,” Julie replied. “It was that night that I snuck over, after your dad came. I sat here and looked at you and thought, ‘Oh no, I really just want to kiss him right now. Awkward.’”
“You wanted to put the moves on me that long ago?” he asked, smiling at her.
“Sure,” she replied. “I pretty much wanted to do this.”
Julie brushed Tim’s hair out of his eyes with one hand, while reaching for his with the other. Lacing her fingers loosely with his, she moved in close and kissed him.
“Hm,” Tim mumbled a minute later, when they broke away. “Wonder what woulda happened if you’d gone ahead and done it then.”
“I don’t know,” Julie laughed. “It probably would have made all those study sessions a little difficult.”
“They already were difficult,” Tim griped.
“Oh, come on,” Julie said, bumping her shoulder against him playfully. “It wasn’t that hard, and you did great. You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for.”
“I didn’t mean the schoolwork. I meant sitting across that damn table from you all the time while you’re sitting there, busting my ass, your cute nose all scrunched up. It was torture.”
“Oh,” Julie breathed, blushing.
“You didn’t even know that you were driving me crazy,” Tim said, his voice low. He leaned in close, kissing her again.
Julie kissed him back, a little more aggressively than before, and he soon found himself once again being straddled by Julie Taylor while he placed hot, open-mouthed kisses down her neck.
He felt more than heard her soft groan as it vibrated against his chest. Julie’s hands slid down his torso and unbuttoned his shirt, tugging impatiently at it until he got the hint and tossed it aside.
Feeling that turnabout was fair play, Tim divested Julie of her hoodie and her t-shirt, leaving her clad only in a simple, teal-coloured bra. With a shiver, goose bumps popped up along her arms. Tim leaned in and kissed her collarbone, intent on leaving a bruise there for her to find later.
“Are you giving me a hickey?” Julie asked breathlessly, tangling her hands in his hair. Tim suppressed a groan. He loved that.
“Mmm-hmm,” he mumbled in response.
“Hmph,” she said. “That’s very caveman of you.”
Tim shrugged, sucking harder and running his hands down her bare back to grip her denim-covered backside. This time it was Julie who groaned, before pulling away from him and meeting his lips with her own. Spreading his hands across her back, Tim turned them both onto the bed so that he had Julie pinned, their jeans the only barrier between them. Julie shifted her hips to accommodate his, and Tim couldn’t help himself; he thrust against her, once.
Julie gasped, breaking their kiss.
“Sorry,” Tim said, looking down at her surprised face. She blinked, the prettiest blush staining her cheeks and her neck.
“It’s okay,” she said. “It’s just that I’ve never really... You know.”
Tim looked into her wide brown eyes, her pupils huge in the dim light. “I thought you and Saracen... You never...?”
Julie looked flustered. “No, we didn’t.”
“Oh,” he replied, suddenly feeling more apprehensive in this situation than he had in a very long time. He pulled back slightly, and watched as Julie’s face turned an even darker shade of rose.
“You don’t have to - it’s fine,” she stammered. “I mean, I don’t want to do that right now, but you don’t have to stop what you’re doing. You know?”
Tim blew out a tense breath. He tucked one hand up under Julie’s head, burying it in her hair, before running the other down her bare arm. Watching her face closely, he shifted his hips and thrust against her again.
She gasped again, her legs sliding up to grip his hips. Tim moaned at the close contact, his head dropping to her shoulder.
“This okay?” he asked, his lips brushing her ear. He thrust against her yet again, his hips finding a slow, shallow rhythm.
“Uh huh,” she replied on another gasp, her fingernails digging into his shoulders.
Tim kissed his way across her chest, finding his way back to the spot he’d been concentrating on before.
“That’s not fair,” Julie mumbled, wiggling away from him to find a spot of her own to mark. Her teeth scraped across his collarbone, and Tim jolted.
“What are you doin’, now?” he rumbled.
“Paying you back,” she said, her breath hot against his skin. “Seeing as it’s sort of impractical to tattoo ‘RALLY GIRLS - NO TRESPASSING’ on your forehead.”
Tim laughed, rolling them both and relaxing against his pillows so that Julie was half sprawled across his chest. “I ain’t gonna stop you,” he said, running an idle hand through her long, silky hair.
They stayed that way for a while, kissing and quietly exploring each other. Tim was just pondering getting Julie’s bra out of their way when she sighed and pulled away.
“I’d better go,” she said. “Can’t risk getting caught sneaking out, at this point.”
“Think your dad’s gonna be okay with it?” Tim asked gruffly, putting a bit of space between them.
“Yeah, I mean, he’s not over the moon about it,” Julie said, settling on her side to look at him. “But he’ll come around once he remembers that you’re, you know... You.”
Tim tried not to let it show, how much that comment pleased him, but it didn’t work. Julie grinned at him before reaching over and gently brushing the hair out of his eyes. Tim decided he’d never cut his hair short, not ever, if it meant she wouldn’t be able to do that anymore.
“Come over tomorrow afternoon, okay?” she said.
“You sure? Thought you were grounded.”
“I am, but that doesn’t mean I can’t see my... boyfriend,” she said quietly, as though she was testing the new term, like dipping her toes into a swimming pool.
“Boyfriend,” Tim repeated, doing the same.
Julie smiled at him again. “It’s late - I’ve really gotta go. Don’t want to fan the flames.”
“I’ll give you a ride,” Tim said. He sat up, grabbing his shirt and sloppily buttoning it. Behind him, he could hear Julie rustling about, retrieving her own clothes, and was surprised at the thrill it gave him.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I found a shortcut.” She pulled her t-shirt and her hoodie back over her head, then quickly leaned up to kiss him. “Besides, I’m pretty sure my dad’s developing a sixth sense for the sound of your truck within a three block radius.”
She left the same way she arrived, climbing out of his bedroom window and standing between a couple of dead dogwoods planted next to the house. She poked her head back in the window.
“Goodnight,” she said, smiling at him.
“Night,” he said, coming over to the window and watching as she turned and disappeared into the darkness. He stood there for several minutes after she’d gone, just staring out the window.
Finally, he turned and collapsed face-first on his bed, heaving a deep, contented sigh. He breathed in the smell of his sheets; they smelled like their familiar bed smell, but now with liberal overtones of sweat and Julie.
He thought about the way she’d moved against him only minutes ago, the way she moaned and the way he responded to her. Remembering the sweet sensation of her body pressed up tightly against his, he groaned.
Sleep was going to be a long way off tonight.
***
“Honey, you tear those lettuce leaves any more roughly and we’re gonna be having mulch, not salad.”
“Sorry,” Julie mumbled, frowning down at the mangled leaves sitting in the colander in front of her. It was Sunday afternoon, and Tim was due to come over any minute now. For the last hour, she’d been growing steadily more tense, pleased that her parents were trying for her sake, but worried that Tim would be too nervous, and get all weird and avoidant like he sometimes did.
“Relax,” her mother said softly to her, carrying a small stack of plates and bowls out to the table.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Julie yelped, tearing out of the kitchen to beat her parents to the door. She slid to a stop in the foyer, and opened the door to find Tim standing on the doorstep.
“You’re here,” she said, smiling. She cocked her head at him. “Did you comb your hair?”
“Yeah,” he replied, reaching up to touch his hair self-consciously. “Billy said I should.”
“You look nice,” she said.
“You too,” he replied, his eyes landing on the long-sleeved t-shirt she’d put on to cover the extremely obvious hickey on her collarbone. He smirked at her.
Julie looked away shyly.
“Tim, you have any dinner yet?” Tami called from the kitchen.
“No, ma’am,” he replied, lingering in the foyer.
“We’re having chili,” Coach’s voice piped up. “Come on in here and set the table.”
Julie smiled at him, her expression encouraging.
“Come on,” she said, holding out her hand to him. “Don’t be nervous.”
Tim closed the door, and came into the house.
-end-