Friday Night Lights - "Upward Over The Mountain", Tim/Julie, R
Title: Upward Over The Mountain - 9/15
Author: lindentree
Rating: R
Character(s): Tim/Julie
Word Count: 3,842
Summary: AU after 3x13 "Tomorrow Blues", this story takes place in the summer of 2010 when Tim returns home from his first year away at college, Julie graduates from her last year of high school, and they find themselves meeting somewhere in the middle.
Thanks to ishie for taking time off her own fic to help me with mine. You're the very best, bb. ♥
“Jules, will you please come help me with this? Everyone’s gonna be here any minute.”
Julie stood up from her spot on the couch where she and Gracie had been reading a book. Walking into the kitchen, her mother handed her a tray loaded down with cutlery and serving spoons before directing her to take it all out onto the patio.
It was the Fourth of July, and her parents had chosen to torment their daughter by having half of Dillon over for a barbecue. They’d done it every summer since her father had been head coach of the Panthers and then the Lions, but in the past it hadn’t aggravated Julie as much because at least then she had Matt and Tyra. Everything was more bearable with friends close by. Julie wasn't so sure that Tim really counted, at this point.
While Julie was in the back yard putting the finishing touches on the buffet her mother had put together on the picnic table, she heard the doorbell ring as their guests started to arrive. Her father was at the barbecue, manfully keeping watch over the meat as it cooked.
“Hey,” he said, pointing a pair of barbecue tongs at her. “Be nice.”
“Be nice?”
“You know what I mean. Be friendly. These people are our neighbours.”
Julie rolled her eyes. “I know they’re our neighbours.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. Just, take a cue from your mother, all right? Smile. And go answer the door, she can’t do everything in there.”
Julie said nothing and went back into the house, refusing to give her father the satisfaction of seeing her stomp away, however much she may have wanted to do that and slam the patio door for good measure.
The doorbell rang again, and Julie went to answer it, dodging past the Streets and the Lions coaching staff, who had just arrived. Reaching the door, Julie pasted a smile on her face, like yes, she really was very excited to have a whole bunch of people over to eat grilled dead animal and talk about football.
She swung the door open to find Buddy Garrity standing on the front step, a case of beer in his hands. He grinned at her.
"Happy Fourth of July, Julie Taylor! Look who I brought with me!"
Standing next to Buddy and holding a plastic wrap-covered bowl of potato salad was Lyla.
If Julie's completely fake smile fell just a little bit, she could hardly be blamed.
"Lyla!" Julie exclaimed. "What -?"
"Her daddy flew her home for the long weekend, didn't he, baby?"
"He sure did," Lyla replied, shooting Julie a somewhat rueful look.
“Oh,” Julie said, her mind racing. Lyla’s here. Tim’s going to be here. Lyla’s here. Tim’s going to be here. Crap, crap, crap. “Come in,” she stammered finally, opening the door wide to let the Garritys in.
Buddy went ahead, his arrival greeted noisily down the hall by the other guests. Lyla followed, pausing in front of Julie and glancing awkwardly down at the potato salad in her hands.
“Um, my mom’s in the kitchen,” Julie said. “You can just give that to her.”
“Okay,” Lyla smiled. “Thanks.”
Julie closed the door and stood silently panicking in the foyer as Lyla disappeared into the house. Somewhat hysterically, she wondered if anyone would notice if she just hid in her closet for the duration of the evening.
She didn’t have time to consider any other escape plans, however, for the doorbell rang again, startling her. She opened the door to find the Riggins-Collette clan standing on the front doorstep.
Perhaps this is what her mother meant when she used that old adage about your chickens coming home to roost.
"Everyone's out back," Julie said, gesturing pointlessly towards the back yard. Billy, Mindy, and Angela headed back with Jordyn in tow, but Julie stepped in front of Tim before he could follow them.
"We brought fireworks," Tim said, lifting the cardboard box in his arms to show her.
"I need to talk to you," Julie hissed, shoving Tim into the den.
"What's up?"
"Lyla's here."
Tim blinked at her. "What?"
"Lyla's here. As in, she's sitting in my back yard drinking lemonade right now. Buddy brought her."
Tim frowned at her, then looked down, his brow creased in thought. Julie had gotten to know some of Tim's nonverbal expressions, and she knew what that meant. She cleared her throat.
"Anyway, just thought I'd give you a heads up. I'm sure you two have a lot of catching up to do." Disgusted with the entire situation but mostly with herself, Julie turned on her heel and practically stomped down the hall through the living room and out into the yard. Pretending not to see the look her mother gave her, she threw herself down in the farthest lawn chair and proceeded to ignore the party going on around her.
Nothing threw a bucket of ice cold water on your lust like being trapped at a family barbecue with the guy you’re kind of sleeping with, the love of his life, your parents, and half of your crappy one-horse town.
Gracie found her way over to Julie through the crowd and gratefully climbed up into her lap. Jordyn had been left to amuse herself on a picnic blanket on the lawn, and Gracie took the opportunity to cast smug glances over at the baby.
“Hey, Gracie Belle,” Julie said as her sister settled herself in her lap, sitting so that they were facing one another. Gracie looked down, playing with Julie’s belt buckle.
“Julie,” Gracie replied, although it came out more like “Joo-wee”. Julie grinned at her sister’s dark, bowed head. More neighbours and friends of her parents were arriving by the minute.
“Having fun yet, Gracie?”
Gracie looked around at the assembly in their backyard.
“Wiggins,” she stated, lifting her hand and pointing with one finger to the other side of the yard. She grinned at Julie.
“Traitor. I think I liked you better when you couldn’t talk,” Julie said. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Tim on the receiving end of Gracie’s gesture, standing next to Billy.
Julie managed to successfully fend off everyone but the under-5 set for quite a while, but eventually Tami wandered over under the guise of checking on Gracie.
"You're neglecting our guests," she said quietly, leaning over and lifting Gracie up out of Julie's lap. She nodded over at Lyla, who was sitting by herself, her father otherwise occupied with Coach, discussing a pair of junior high linebackers who Buddy was sure were going to blow the roof off the Lions' defense next year.
Julie barely resisted the urge to snipe that they weren't her guests, and remembered that she was actually friends with Lyla. She dragged herself up and went over, sitting down next to Lyla at the picnic table.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey Julie," Lyla greeted her. "Nice night. Thanks for having us."
"It's okay. It was really my parents' idea, anyway."
"Oh,” Lyla replied, wide-eyed. She cleared her throat. “So... Are you having a good summer? You're working at Applebee's, right?"
"Yeah."
"That's good. Do you make lots of tips?"
"Um, the tips are decent."
Lyla nodded, smiling. Silence fell between the two girls. Suddenly, Lyla looked down and laughed.
"What?" Julie asked, self-conscious. "What's funny?"
"No, I'm sorry," Lyla said, waving a hand. "It's not funny. I was just thinking that it's strange how you can talk about really personal stuff over email and then you see someone in person and it's all polite small talk."
"Yeah," Julie agreed, relaxing slightly. "Although it doesn't help that our dads are right over there, discussing plays and prospects."
Lyla shrugged. "I don't know about yours, but my dad was always pretty good at ignoring things he didn't want to hear about as long as he could focus on football. How do you think I got away with sneaking Jason into my room?"
"Did you really?"
"Sure. Jay used to climb up the rose trellis outside my bedroom and wait on the roof. Either that or I'd just let him in the front door once my parents were asleep."
"Wow. I think my parents must have superhuman senses or something. There's no way I'd ever get away with that," Julie replied. Laughing, she glanced over to see Tim standing next to the barbecue between her father and Buddy, watching her and Lyla with a frown on his face.
Julie blanched, and looked away. “So how’s New York?”
Lyla launched enthusiastically into telling Julie all about her job and what she’d been up to, while Julie nodded and smiled, hoping it seemed like she was really listening. She really did want to hear about life in New York, but it was hard to concentrate when she could feel Tim glowering at the two of them the entire time.
“Hey y’all,” Tami said above the noise of conversation, using her very best Principal Tami Taylor voice, “I understand from the head chef here that everything’s just about ready, so why don’t y’all grab another drink and then start lining up along. We’re gonna do this buffet style, so I hope you weren’t expecting anything too fancy.”
Everyone slowly moved their conversations over towards the picnic table and the barbecue, lining up to get their food. Julie hung back, letting the guests go ahead. She grabbed a plate from the stack on the table, and eyed Buddy Garrity’s potato salad, wondering how likely it was that it didn’t contain meat of some kind.
As she opted instead for Mrs. Street’s potato salad, she became aware that Tim had lined up right behind her and was standing very close to her.
"I gotta talk to you," he said in a low voice, obviously trying not to be heard by the others.
"Oh my god, just leave it," Julie hissed back, spooning some coleslaw onto her plate with perhaps a little too much force.
"Look, I'm just trying to-"
"Whatever, it doesn't even matter," Julie said, turning away from the table. She did the unthinkable and went to sit by Buddy and Lyla, hoping to use both of them as Tim-repellents. It worked; Tim glared after her for a moment, then turned and sat with Billy and Mindy on the other side of the patio.
The evening wore on, people drifting in and out of conversations as the sun dipped below the trees. While Tim and Billy and her father nearly set the garage roof on fire with the fireworks, Julie escaped by helping her mother clean up. She listened to Roman candles explode over the house from the safety of the kitchen, up to her elbows in dirty dishes.
Eventually she ran out of things to use to avoid the party and went back outside, where the festivities were slowly beginning to wind down. Her father, Buddy, Mr. Street, Billy, and the other coaches were gathered together heatedly discussing football, while nearby, Mindy grilled Tami about whether or not she should send Jordyn to the local Montessori school.
On the other side of the yard, Julie’s eyes fell on Tim and Lyla talking privately, their faces illuminated by her mother’s patio lanterns.
Julie watched them, unable to look away. She couldn’t hear anything they were saying, but the closeness of their bodies and the way Lyla looked up at Tim told her everything she really needed to know.
She sighed, suddenly feeling incredibly weary. Glancing across the patio, she saw Gracie curled up in one of the lawn chairs, fast asleep. She went over, crouching down so she was at her sister’s eye level.
“Gracie,” she said softly, reaching out and touching her shoulder. The toddler frowned deeply in her sleep before slowly opening her eyes, blinking at Julie.
“Ready for bed?”
Gracie nodded, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Julie smiled.
“Come on,” she said, holding out her arms and scooping her little sister up. “Lucky you, you’re still small enough to be carried to bed.”
Julie slipped between the guests into the house, sneaking away without anyone noticing her. She led Gracie through her bedtime routine, helping her choose between Dora the Explorer pyjamas and the pair covered with little roaring lions.
“What story do you want tonight?” Julie asked, perusing Gracie’s extensive collection of story books. Julie picked out three, and spread them out in front of Gracie on her bed. “Here, you pick. But just one, okay?”
Julie heard the sound of the front door, and then car and truck engines starting outside the house. She pressed her ear against Gracie’s closed bedroom door, listening as the guests began to leave. The Garritys and the Streets and the Rigginses said their goodbyes, as well as the Lions coaching staff. Julie thought that everyone was gone when she heard the sound of a familiar voice in the hallway.
“Hey, Mrs. Taylor, you seen Jules? I, uh, needed to talk to her.”
“No, Tim, I haven’t. I know she took Gracie Belle off to bed, so they’re probably back there having sister time.”
“Oh. Okay... I’ll just talk to her this week, I guess. Night, Mrs. Taylor. Thanks for having us all over.”
“You’re welcome, Tim. Goodnight.”
“Night, Mrs. Taylor.”
Julie listened as the front door closed and silence finally descended on the house. She heard her parents’ low voices as they talked in the kitchen. Heaving a deep sigh of relief, she stepped away from the door, and turned back to her sister.
“I think I’m kinda in over my head, Gracie Belle,” she said.
Gracie was reclined on her pillow, watching Julie contemplatively. She had chosen one of the books, the other two shoved to the end of her bed.
“Guess How Much I Love You? Again?” Julie asked, smiling. “Aren’t you tired of that one yet?”
Gracie shook her head.
“Guess How Much I Love You it is,” Julie said, picking up the book. Gracie scooted over, making room for her.
Julie opened the book, clearing her throat and turning to the first page.
“Little Nutbrown Hare, who was going to bed, held onto Big Nutbrown Hare’s very long ears...”
***
Tim put his truck into reverse and pulled out of Angela Collette’s driveway, flashing his lights once at her as she waved from behind the screen door. Tim had dropped Billy, Mindy, and a very cranky Jordyn off first, then drove out of Dillon to take Mrs. Collette home. Pulling out onto the highway, he thought of all the times in high school that he’d driven out to the Collette place to sneak in Tyra’s bedroom window, or to hammer on the door and demand that she talk to him after yet another breakup.
He drove down the highway, heading back towards the lights of Dillon. It seemed like he was doomed to spend his life in the dog house with one girl or another. Not that he’d really planned on being with anyone after things ended with Lyla; this whole thing with Jules was unexpected. After Lyla told him she wouldn’t be home for the summer, he’d figured on just spending time with his family, not seeing someone new.
Right now, Tim wished Lyla had made good and not come back to Dillon at all.
Their conversation at the barbecue had been brief and awkward, Lyla asking how things were going with Billy and Mindy and the baby and the garage before telling him that New York was great and Jason and Erin said to say hello. She then warily mentioned that she was dating a guy named Brett whom she had met through work. Tim wished her well and that was it; there wasn't really anything else for him to say.
Julie’s reaction to the whole thing had him worried. Jules knew it was over between him and Lyla, but in fairness to her, he couldn’t pretend he wouldn’t feel weird if Saracen suddenly landed back in town. Was she jealous, or had he done something to piss her off? He couldn't tell, and she hadn't even taken the time to yell at him like Tyra would have, dodging him the entire night.
Tim rolled the window down and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
He would understand if Jules called things off. Whatever “things” were between them, anyway. He hoped she didn’t, though. Truthfully, Julie was the best thing to happen to him in months.
***
At the sound of Tim’s truck pulling into his driveway, Julie sighed. She felt like she had been doing a lot of that lately. All the drama was a bit much for her, and she wished they could go back to how they’d been before they’d even kissed. It wasn’t that she was jealous of Lyla or didn’t want Tim talking to her because she was just so in love with him that she couldn't stand it. It wasn’t anything like that.
No, Julie was simply starting to feel like she couldn’t even have this one distraction, this one secret, without things getting all screwed up. She should have known better - Dillon was too small a place for anyone to get away with something like a summer fling without life becoming complicated. Everyone's lives intersected too much for you to keep something to yourself. She knew this, but something along the way had made her forget.
Tim came into the house, setting his keys down and looking over at her with some trepidation on his face.
“Hey,” Julie said, leaning back against the kitchen counter with her arms crossed over her chest.
"I'm sorry about Sunday," Tim said, without preamble.
"What are you sorry about?"
"Uh... I don't know. You seemed like you were mad at me."
"I'm not mad at you," Julie huffed.
"So you're jealous, then."
Julie raised an eyebrow at him. "I am not jealous. It was just awkward and weird and... depressing."
Tim nodded, scratching his head. "So does that mean we're done, or...?"
"What? No," Julie said, confused. Her frustration deflated suddenly and she felt self-conscious. "Unless you want it to be. I don't know."
They stood in the foyer staring at one another, neither one knowing what to say.
"Look,” Tim said finally, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “I don't know how you feel about it, but here’s what I think. We've got, what, six, seven weeks until we have to go back to college? I like you, Jules. If you just wanna be friends, we can be friends. I'm okay with friends. But the sex is pretty great and honestly, I don't see the point in not having great sex when you could be."
For once, Julie was at a loss for words. There was something sort of desperate and pathetic about what he had just said, but on the other hand, he made a compelling point. Both of them were leaving town at the end of the summer, and Lyla showing up was probably an anomaly. No one else would notice or care, as long as they were careful. It's not like they were going to go out on dates to Fran's like they were still in high school, after all. Maybe it could all be fine.
More than anything, Julie wanted to stop thinking and rethinking and overthinking everything.
“How long before Billy gets home?” Julie asked, hoping she sounded nonchalant.
“Maybe an hour,” Tim replied, looking at her slyly. "Why?"
Julie nodded. “Jordyn’s asleep.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
They stood staring at one another, each waiting for the other to make a move.
“So,” Tim said, exhaling a heavy breath, “bedroom?”
Julie blushed, as though that wasn’t exactly the question she had been hoping to hear. She nodded.
They went in and closed the door, Tim promising that he’d get up if Jordyn cried, all while pulling her t-shirt over her head, sending her hair flying in every direction.
Jordyn slept on, and they spent an hour in the dusty afternoon sunshine of Tim’s bedroom. The disapproving voice in the back of Julie’s head (which sounded a bit too much like her mother) never went away entirely. But sometimes, when Tim smiled at her from behind a curtain of messy hair, or when his breath ghosted across her bellybutton, she came very close to thinking about absolutely nothing at all.
Afterwards, they were lying facing each other on the very cusp of sleep when Jordyn began to fuss in the other room, bringing them both back to reality.
“Billy’s gonna be home soon,” Tim said, his voice reluctant.
“I should go,” Julie replied. She sat up and began pulling her clothes back on. Tim stretched and pulled his jeans on, leaving the room to check on Jordyn.
Julie was gathering her things in the living room when she heard a car door slam, and Billy walked in the front door. Tim came out of the master bedroom, shirtless and holding a cranky-looking Jordyn.
“Hey,” Billy greeted them, tossing his keys onto a table. His eyebrows drew together in confusion as he noticed Julie standing there. “What are you still doing here?”
“Uh,” Julie replied, her mouth hanging open.
“Car trouble,” Tim said easily. “I’m just gonna go have a look and then she should be good to go.” He handed Jordyn to Billy and walked out the front door without a backwards glance.
Billy and Julie stared at each other for a moment.
“Listen,” Billy said, his tone low and conspiratorial, “I’ve been meaning to say thanks for talking to Tim. He’s been way better. When I saw that Lyla was at y’all’s place, I thought for sure he was gonna be a mess for at least like, a week. But he was totally fine.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. So, whatever you did or said or whatever - thanks. It worked.”
Julie gulped, hoping her face didn’t look as red as it felt. “No problem.”
The front door opened again, and Tim stuck his head in. “All fixed,” he said, looking pointedly at Julie.
“Great! See you later, Billy,” Julie said, grabbing her things and rushing out the door.
“Later,” Billy called after her, sounding somewhat bewildered.
Tim walked her down to her car, which was parked in the street. Julie got in and Tim stood in the middle of the street, barefoot and shirtless, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He watched her silently as she buckled her seatbelt and started the car.
“Thanks for um, fixing my car,” Julie said, squinting up at him in the late afternoon light.
“Anytime,” he smiled, tilting his head. “So... We good?”
“Yeah,” Julie replied. “I think we’re good.”
“Good.”
Julie laughed, despite herself. “See you later, Tim.”
“You bet,” he said, still smiling at her.
Julie pressed on the gas and pulled away, and Tim turned to watch her go. Julie tried very hard not to glance back at him standing there in her rear view mirror.
It didn’t work. She smiled the whole way home.
Chapter 10
Author: lindentree
Rating: R
Character(s): Tim/Julie
Word Count: 3,842
Summary: AU after 3x13 "Tomorrow Blues", this story takes place in the summer of 2010 when Tim returns home from his first year away at college, Julie graduates from her last year of high school, and they find themselves meeting somewhere in the middle.
Thanks to ishie for taking time off her own fic to help me with mine. You're the very best, bb. ♥
“Jules, will you please come help me with this? Everyone’s gonna be here any minute.”
Julie stood up from her spot on the couch where she and Gracie had been reading a book. Walking into the kitchen, her mother handed her a tray loaded down with cutlery and serving spoons before directing her to take it all out onto the patio.
It was the Fourth of July, and her parents had chosen to torment their daughter by having half of Dillon over for a barbecue. They’d done it every summer since her father had been head coach of the Panthers and then the Lions, but in the past it hadn’t aggravated Julie as much because at least then she had Matt and Tyra. Everything was more bearable with friends close by. Julie wasn't so sure that Tim really counted, at this point.
While Julie was in the back yard putting the finishing touches on the buffet her mother had put together on the picnic table, she heard the doorbell ring as their guests started to arrive. Her father was at the barbecue, manfully keeping watch over the meat as it cooked.
“Hey,” he said, pointing a pair of barbecue tongs at her. “Be nice.”
“Be nice?”
“You know what I mean. Be friendly. These people are our neighbours.”
Julie rolled her eyes. “I know they’re our neighbours.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. Just, take a cue from your mother, all right? Smile. And go answer the door, she can’t do everything in there.”
Julie said nothing and went back into the house, refusing to give her father the satisfaction of seeing her stomp away, however much she may have wanted to do that and slam the patio door for good measure.
The doorbell rang again, and Julie went to answer it, dodging past the Streets and the Lions coaching staff, who had just arrived. Reaching the door, Julie pasted a smile on her face, like yes, she really was very excited to have a whole bunch of people over to eat grilled dead animal and talk about football.
She swung the door open to find Buddy Garrity standing on the front step, a case of beer in his hands. He grinned at her.
"Happy Fourth of July, Julie Taylor! Look who I brought with me!"
Standing next to Buddy and holding a plastic wrap-covered bowl of potato salad was Lyla.
If Julie's completely fake smile fell just a little bit, she could hardly be blamed.
"Lyla!" Julie exclaimed. "What -?"
"Her daddy flew her home for the long weekend, didn't he, baby?"
"He sure did," Lyla replied, shooting Julie a somewhat rueful look.
“Oh,” Julie said, her mind racing. Lyla’s here. Tim’s going to be here. Lyla’s here. Tim’s going to be here. Crap, crap, crap. “Come in,” she stammered finally, opening the door wide to let the Garritys in.
Buddy went ahead, his arrival greeted noisily down the hall by the other guests. Lyla followed, pausing in front of Julie and glancing awkwardly down at the potato salad in her hands.
“Um, my mom’s in the kitchen,” Julie said. “You can just give that to her.”
“Okay,” Lyla smiled. “Thanks.”
Julie closed the door and stood silently panicking in the foyer as Lyla disappeared into the house. Somewhat hysterically, she wondered if anyone would notice if she just hid in her closet for the duration of the evening.
She didn’t have time to consider any other escape plans, however, for the doorbell rang again, startling her. She opened the door to find the Riggins-Collette clan standing on the front doorstep.
Perhaps this is what her mother meant when she used that old adage about your chickens coming home to roost.
"Everyone's out back," Julie said, gesturing pointlessly towards the back yard. Billy, Mindy, and Angela headed back with Jordyn in tow, but Julie stepped in front of Tim before he could follow them.
"We brought fireworks," Tim said, lifting the cardboard box in his arms to show her.
"I need to talk to you," Julie hissed, shoving Tim into the den.
"What's up?"
"Lyla's here."
Tim blinked at her. "What?"
"Lyla's here. As in, she's sitting in my back yard drinking lemonade right now. Buddy brought her."
Tim frowned at her, then looked down, his brow creased in thought. Julie had gotten to know some of Tim's nonverbal expressions, and she knew what that meant. She cleared her throat.
"Anyway, just thought I'd give you a heads up. I'm sure you two have a lot of catching up to do." Disgusted with the entire situation but mostly with herself, Julie turned on her heel and practically stomped down the hall through the living room and out into the yard. Pretending not to see the look her mother gave her, she threw herself down in the farthest lawn chair and proceeded to ignore the party going on around her.
Nothing threw a bucket of ice cold water on your lust like being trapped at a family barbecue with the guy you’re kind of sleeping with, the love of his life, your parents, and half of your crappy one-horse town.
Gracie found her way over to Julie through the crowd and gratefully climbed up into her lap. Jordyn had been left to amuse herself on a picnic blanket on the lawn, and Gracie took the opportunity to cast smug glances over at the baby.
“Hey, Gracie Belle,” Julie said as her sister settled herself in her lap, sitting so that they were facing one another. Gracie looked down, playing with Julie’s belt buckle.
“Julie,” Gracie replied, although it came out more like “Joo-wee”. Julie grinned at her sister’s dark, bowed head. More neighbours and friends of her parents were arriving by the minute.
“Having fun yet, Gracie?”
Gracie looked around at the assembly in their backyard.
“Wiggins,” she stated, lifting her hand and pointing with one finger to the other side of the yard. She grinned at Julie.
“Traitor. I think I liked you better when you couldn’t talk,” Julie said. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Tim on the receiving end of Gracie’s gesture, standing next to Billy.
Julie managed to successfully fend off everyone but the under-5 set for quite a while, but eventually Tami wandered over under the guise of checking on Gracie.
"You're neglecting our guests," she said quietly, leaning over and lifting Gracie up out of Julie's lap. She nodded over at Lyla, who was sitting by herself, her father otherwise occupied with Coach, discussing a pair of junior high linebackers who Buddy was sure were going to blow the roof off the Lions' defense next year.
Julie barely resisted the urge to snipe that they weren't her guests, and remembered that she was actually friends with Lyla. She dragged herself up and went over, sitting down next to Lyla at the picnic table.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey Julie," Lyla greeted her. "Nice night. Thanks for having us."
"It's okay. It was really my parents' idea, anyway."
"Oh,” Lyla replied, wide-eyed. She cleared her throat. “So... Are you having a good summer? You're working at Applebee's, right?"
"Yeah."
"That's good. Do you make lots of tips?"
"Um, the tips are decent."
Lyla nodded, smiling. Silence fell between the two girls. Suddenly, Lyla looked down and laughed.
"What?" Julie asked, self-conscious. "What's funny?"
"No, I'm sorry," Lyla said, waving a hand. "It's not funny. I was just thinking that it's strange how you can talk about really personal stuff over email and then you see someone in person and it's all polite small talk."
"Yeah," Julie agreed, relaxing slightly. "Although it doesn't help that our dads are right over there, discussing plays and prospects."
Lyla shrugged. "I don't know about yours, but my dad was always pretty good at ignoring things he didn't want to hear about as long as he could focus on football. How do you think I got away with sneaking Jason into my room?"
"Did you really?"
"Sure. Jay used to climb up the rose trellis outside my bedroom and wait on the roof. Either that or I'd just let him in the front door once my parents were asleep."
"Wow. I think my parents must have superhuman senses or something. There's no way I'd ever get away with that," Julie replied. Laughing, she glanced over to see Tim standing next to the barbecue between her father and Buddy, watching her and Lyla with a frown on his face.
Julie blanched, and looked away. “So how’s New York?”
Lyla launched enthusiastically into telling Julie all about her job and what she’d been up to, while Julie nodded and smiled, hoping it seemed like she was really listening. She really did want to hear about life in New York, but it was hard to concentrate when she could feel Tim glowering at the two of them the entire time.
“Hey y’all,” Tami said above the noise of conversation, using her very best Principal Tami Taylor voice, “I understand from the head chef here that everything’s just about ready, so why don’t y’all grab another drink and then start lining up along. We’re gonna do this buffet style, so I hope you weren’t expecting anything too fancy.”
Everyone slowly moved their conversations over towards the picnic table and the barbecue, lining up to get their food. Julie hung back, letting the guests go ahead. She grabbed a plate from the stack on the table, and eyed Buddy Garrity’s potato salad, wondering how likely it was that it didn’t contain meat of some kind.
As she opted instead for Mrs. Street’s potato salad, she became aware that Tim had lined up right behind her and was standing very close to her.
"I gotta talk to you," he said in a low voice, obviously trying not to be heard by the others.
"Oh my god, just leave it," Julie hissed back, spooning some coleslaw onto her plate with perhaps a little too much force.
"Look, I'm just trying to-"
"Whatever, it doesn't even matter," Julie said, turning away from the table. She did the unthinkable and went to sit by Buddy and Lyla, hoping to use both of them as Tim-repellents. It worked; Tim glared after her for a moment, then turned and sat with Billy and Mindy on the other side of the patio.
The evening wore on, people drifting in and out of conversations as the sun dipped below the trees. While Tim and Billy and her father nearly set the garage roof on fire with the fireworks, Julie escaped by helping her mother clean up. She listened to Roman candles explode over the house from the safety of the kitchen, up to her elbows in dirty dishes.
Eventually she ran out of things to use to avoid the party and went back outside, where the festivities were slowly beginning to wind down. Her father, Buddy, Mr. Street, Billy, and the other coaches were gathered together heatedly discussing football, while nearby, Mindy grilled Tami about whether or not she should send Jordyn to the local Montessori school.
On the other side of the yard, Julie’s eyes fell on Tim and Lyla talking privately, their faces illuminated by her mother’s patio lanterns.
Julie watched them, unable to look away. She couldn’t hear anything they were saying, but the closeness of their bodies and the way Lyla looked up at Tim told her everything she really needed to know.
She sighed, suddenly feeling incredibly weary. Glancing across the patio, she saw Gracie curled up in one of the lawn chairs, fast asleep. She went over, crouching down so she was at her sister’s eye level.
“Gracie,” she said softly, reaching out and touching her shoulder. The toddler frowned deeply in her sleep before slowly opening her eyes, blinking at Julie.
“Ready for bed?”
Gracie nodded, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Julie smiled.
“Come on,” she said, holding out her arms and scooping her little sister up. “Lucky you, you’re still small enough to be carried to bed.”
Julie slipped between the guests into the house, sneaking away without anyone noticing her. She led Gracie through her bedtime routine, helping her choose between Dora the Explorer pyjamas and the pair covered with little roaring lions.
“What story do you want tonight?” Julie asked, perusing Gracie’s extensive collection of story books. Julie picked out three, and spread them out in front of Gracie on her bed. “Here, you pick. But just one, okay?”
Julie heard the sound of the front door, and then car and truck engines starting outside the house. She pressed her ear against Gracie’s closed bedroom door, listening as the guests began to leave. The Garritys and the Streets and the Rigginses said their goodbyes, as well as the Lions coaching staff. Julie thought that everyone was gone when she heard the sound of a familiar voice in the hallway.
“Hey, Mrs. Taylor, you seen Jules? I, uh, needed to talk to her.”
“No, Tim, I haven’t. I know she took Gracie Belle off to bed, so they’re probably back there having sister time.”
“Oh. Okay... I’ll just talk to her this week, I guess. Night, Mrs. Taylor. Thanks for having us all over.”
“You’re welcome, Tim. Goodnight.”
“Night, Mrs. Taylor.”
Julie listened as the front door closed and silence finally descended on the house. She heard her parents’ low voices as they talked in the kitchen. Heaving a deep sigh of relief, she stepped away from the door, and turned back to her sister.
“I think I’m kinda in over my head, Gracie Belle,” she said.
Gracie was reclined on her pillow, watching Julie contemplatively. She had chosen one of the books, the other two shoved to the end of her bed.
“Guess How Much I Love You? Again?” Julie asked, smiling. “Aren’t you tired of that one yet?”
Gracie shook her head.
“Guess How Much I Love You it is,” Julie said, picking up the book. Gracie scooted over, making room for her.
Julie opened the book, clearing her throat and turning to the first page.
“Little Nutbrown Hare, who was going to bed, held onto Big Nutbrown Hare’s very long ears...”
***
Tim put his truck into reverse and pulled out of Angela Collette’s driveway, flashing his lights once at her as she waved from behind the screen door. Tim had dropped Billy, Mindy, and a very cranky Jordyn off first, then drove out of Dillon to take Mrs. Collette home. Pulling out onto the highway, he thought of all the times in high school that he’d driven out to the Collette place to sneak in Tyra’s bedroom window, or to hammer on the door and demand that she talk to him after yet another breakup.
He drove down the highway, heading back towards the lights of Dillon. It seemed like he was doomed to spend his life in the dog house with one girl or another. Not that he’d really planned on being with anyone after things ended with Lyla; this whole thing with Jules was unexpected. After Lyla told him she wouldn’t be home for the summer, he’d figured on just spending time with his family, not seeing someone new.
Right now, Tim wished Lyla had made good and not come back to Dillon at all.
Their conversation at the barbecue had been brief and awkward, Lyla asking how things were going with Billy and Mindy and the baby and the garage before telling him that New York was great and Jason and Erin said to say hello. She then warily mentioned that she was dating a guy named Brett whom she had met through work. Tim wished her well and that was it; there wasn't really anything else for him to say.
Julie’s reaction to the whole thing had him worried. Jules knew it was over between him and Lyla, but in fairness to her, he couldn’t pretend he wouldn’t feel weird if Saracen suddenly landed back in town. Was she jealous, or had he done something to piss her off? He couldn't tell, and she hadn't even taken the time to yell at him like Tyra would have, dodging him the entire night.
Tim rolled the window down and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
He would understand if Jules called things off. Whatever “things” were between them, anyway. He hoped she didn’t, though. Truthfully, Julie was the best thing to happen to him in months.
***
At the sound of Tim’s truck pulling into his driveway, Julie sighed. She felt like she had been doing a lot of that lately. All the drama was a bit much for her, and she wished they could go back to how they’d been before they’d even kissed. It wasn’t that she was jealous of Lyla or didn’t want Tim talking to her because she was just so in love with him that she couldn't stand it. It wasn’t anything like that.
No, Julie was simply starting to feel like she couldn’t even have this one distraction, this one secret, without things getting all screwed up. She should have known better - Dillon was too small a place for anyone to get away with something like a summer fling without life becoming complicated. Everyone's lives intersected too much for you to keep something to yourself. She knew this, but something along the way had made her forget.
Tim came into the house, setting his keys down and looking over at her with some trepidation on his face.
“Hey,” Julie said, leaning back against the kitchen counter with her arms crossed over her chest.
"I'm sorry about Sunday," Tim said, without preamble.
"What are you sorry about?"
"Uh... I don't know. You seemed like you were mad at me."
"I'm not mad at you," Julie huffed.
"So you're jealous, then."
Julie raised an eyebrow at him. "I am not jealous. It was just awkward and weird and... depressing."
Tim nodded, scratching his head. "So does that mean we're done, or...?"
"What? No," Julie said, confused. Her frustration deflated suddenly and she felt self-conscious. "Unless you want it to be. I don't know."
They stood in the foyer staring at one another, neither one knowing what to say.
"Look,” Tim said finally, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “I don't know how you feel about it, but here’s what I think. We've got, what, six, seven weeks until we have to go back to college? I like you, Jules. If you just wanna be friends, we can be friends. I'm okay with friends. But the sex is pretty great and honestly, I don't see the point in not having great sex when you could be."
For once, Julie was at a loss for words. There was something sort of desperate and pathetic about what he had just said, but on the other hand, he made a compelling point. Both of them were leaving town at the end of the summer, and Lyla showing up was probably an anomaly. No one else would notice or care, as long as they were careful. It's not like they were going to go out on dates to Fran's like they were still in high school, after all. Maybe it could all be fine.
More than anything, Julie wanted to stop thinking and rethinking and overthinking everything.
“How long before Billy gets home?” Julie asked, hoping she sounded nonchalant.
“Maybe an hour,” Tim replied, looking at her slyly. "Why?"
Julie nodded. “Jordyn’s asleep.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
They stood staring at one another, each waiting for the other to make a move.
“So,” Tim said, exhaling a heavy breath, “bedroom?”
Julie blushed, as though that wasn’t exactly the question she had been hoping to hear. She nodded.
They went in and closed the door, Tim promising that he’d get up if Jordyn cried, all while pulling her t-shirt over her head, sending her hair flying in every direction.
Jordyn slept on, and they spent an hour in the dusty afternoon sunshine of Tim’s bedroom. The disapproving voice in the back of Julie’s head (which sounded a bit too much like her mother) never went away entirely. But sometimes, when Tim smiled at her from behind a curtain of messy hair, or when his breath ghosted across her bellybutton, she came very close to thinking about absolutely nothing at all.
Afterwards, they were lying facing each other on the very cusp of sleep when Jordyn began to fuss in the other room, bringing them both back to reality.
“Billy’s gonna be home soon,” Tim said, his voice reluctant.
“I should go,” Julie replied. She sat up and began pulling her clothes back on. Tim stretched and pulled his jeans on, leaving the room to check on Jordyn.
Julie was gathering her things in the living room when she heard a car door slam, and Billy walked in the front door. Tim came out of the master bedroom, shirtless and holding a cranky-looking Jordyn.
“Hey,” Billy greeted them, tossing his keys onto a table. His eyebrows drew together in confusion as he noticed Julie standing there. “What are you still doing here?”
“Uh,” Julie replied, her mouth hanging open.
“Car trouble,” Tim said easily. “I’m just gonna go have a look and then she should be good to go.” He handed Jordyn to Billy and walked out the front door without a backwards glance.
Billy and Julie stared at each other for a moment.
“Listen,” Billy said, his tone low and conspiratorial, “I’ve been meaning to say thanks for talking to Tim. He’s been way better. When I saw that Lyla was at y’all’s place, I thought for sure he was gonna be a mess for at least like, a week. But he was totally fine.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. So, whatever you did or said or whatever - thanks. It worked.”
Julie gulped, hoping her face didn’t look as red as it felt. “No problem.”
The front door opened again, and Tim stuck his head in. “All fixed,” he said, looking pointedly at Julie.
“Great! See you later, Billy,” Julie said, grabbing her things and rushing out the door.
“Later,” Billy called after her, sounding somewhat bewildered.
Tim walked her down to her car, which was parked in the street. Julie got in and Tim stood in the middle of the street, barefoot and shirtless, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He watched her silently as she buckled her seatbelt and started the car.
“Thanks for um, fixing my car,” Julie said, squinting up at him in the late afternoon light.
“Anytime,” he smiled, tilting his head. “So... We good?”
“Yeah,” Julie replied. “I think we’re good.”
“Good.”
Julie laughed, despite herself. “See you later, Tim.”
“You bet,” he said, still smiling at her.
Julie pressed on the gas and pulled away, and Tim turned to watch her go. Julie tried very hard not to glance back at him standing there in her rear view mirror.
It didn’t work. She smiled the whole way home.
Chapter 10