Friday Night Lights - "Let The Dust Settle In", Tim/Julie, M
Title: Let The Dust Settle In - 5/?
Author: lindentree
Rating: M
Character(s): Tim/Julie
Word Count: 6,618
Summary: After getting together in If This One Could Be With You, Tim and Julie face a greater challenge: staying together. This story and the one preceding it are basically AU after 2x11 "Jumping the Gun."
This one's a long one, which hopefully somewhat makes up for the lag between updates. Sorry, y'all. Let's call it a midwinter slump. That my brain has been overtaken by True Grit doesn't help matters.
Thanks to ishie for being ishie. ♥
Julie was asleep. She was dreaming that she and Gracie were walking through a field, picking wildflowers. The sun was shining, birds were singing; everything around them was warm and peaceful. Unfortunately, the peace was disturbed by an insistent tapping sound, almost like the tapping of a woodpecker. Julie frowned, looking around her, trying to find the source of the noise. Gracie’s sweet baby face was just as puzzled. Julie became aware that someone was whispering her name.
“Jules, let me in.”
Julie sat upright in bed. It was the middle of the night, and her room was lit only by the moonlight which poured through a gap in her curtains.
The tapping resumed, and Julie’s head snapped towards the window. There, through the curtains, she could see a face. She barely stopped herself from screaming in time to realise it was Tim.
Scrambling out of bed, she ran to the window and threw aside the curtain, staring at him disbelievingly through the glass.
“Let me in,” he mouthed, pointing to the window.
Julie unlatched the window and slid it open, and much more quietly and gracefully than she would have expected for the tall fullback, he climbed into her bedroom.
“Tim!” she hissed. “You scared the crap out of me! What are you doing here?”
“You said you wanted me,” he breathed. “Here I am.”
Before Julie could say another word, Tim was crowding her towards the bed, kissing the breath out of her. Her hands came up to his shoulders to steady herself, but his grip lifted her right off her feet, and he pushed her back onto the bed.
She landed on her pillows with a soft “oof,” thrilled and scared. If they got caught, they would both be dead.
She didn’t have time to complain, though, because Tim was on top of her, pressing himself against her, his weight making it difficult to breathe. He swallowed her gasps, kissing her so hard Julie felt sure her lips would be bruised the next day. Without hesitating, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close.
Somewhat roughly, he ran a hand down her body and slid it under the waistband of her pyjama shorts and into her underwear, brushing his fingers against her. He pulled his mouth away from hers and leaned back to watch her face.
“Tim!” she squeaked, as he boldly dragged a finger over her clit and curled it inside her.
“Sssh,” he breathed, covering her mouth with his free hand.
Julie nodded frantically against his hand as he began to stroke her, his hand doing incredible things to her, things she could never quite get her own hands to do.
“You like this?” he whispered, his face flushed as he watched her.
Julie nodded again, struggling not to cry out.
“Yeah, you do,” he said, glancing down her body. When he looked back up at her, his eyes and his smile gleamed with anticipation, almost predatory. Removing his hand from her mouth, he pushed her tank top up to expose her bare chest. He ran his thumb over one nipple before leaning in to take the other one in his mouth, scraping his teeth against her.
Julie blushed, sweat breaking out along her skin as the sensations grew more intense. She bit her lip, desperate not to let any sound escape which might wake her parents. He’d never been like this with her before, not ever.
“I kinda like it when you blush like that,” he whispered, lifting his head and breathing the words right into her ear. That’s what did it - his voice rumbling against her ear. She came abruptly, gasping frantically and gripping his forearm with both hands, her nails leaving marks in his skin.
It took Julie a minute to compose herself, gratefully gulping down air once she remembered how to breathe. She glanced up to find Tim staring at her, breathing heavily.
“Better?” he asked. “You happy now?”
Not taking her eyes from his face, Julie slid her hands down and began tugging at his belt buckle.
“No,” he said, sitting up and pushing her hands away. “You said you wanted more action, and you got it.” He sat on the edge of the bed, facing away from her.
Julie sat up against her headboard, recoiling from his cold tone. She pulled her tank top down to cover herself. “That’s not what I meant.”
He turned and glared at her, but his face softened a little at what must have been the crestfallen expression on her face.
“W-why are you being mean?” she asked shakily, still reeling from what had just happened.
“Sorry,” he replied, turning away again.
Julie pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I’m confused,” she said softly, after a long pause. “I don’t understand... Don’t you want to be with me?”
“I do want to be with you -” he began, but Julie stopped him.
“I know, you’ve said that. But we haven’t gotten there yet, and I guess I just... When everyone found out about us, all anyone talked about was this big reputation of yours, and how I’d better be prepared. So I tried to prepare myself, but it’s been months now and nothing’s really happened until tonight. I’m...”
“Disappointed?”
“No, Tim... I’m just confused.”
“Jules, you know... People exaggerate,” Tim said, frowning. He sounded exasperated.
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
“I’m 17. Do you seriously think I’ve slept with half the girls in town, or even half the girls at school?”
“Oh. Well, um. No, I guess that’s probably an exaggeration.”
“No kidding,” Tim scoffed. “You wanna know the truth?”
“Tim, you don’t have to-”
“No, I think I do have to. Don’t want you stomping around feeling bad about yourself and pissed off at me over something that ain’t even true.”
Julie gulped, preparing herself. “Okay.”
“I had sex for the first time with a senior rally girl when I made varsity. I slept with Tyra. I slept with Lyla Garrity. I slept with my neighbour, Jackie. I fooled around with some girls at parties and stuff, sure, but that’s it. I swear.”
Julie looked down at her lap. Four wasn’t zero, but it certainly wasn’t as many as local legend would have a person believe. “How come your reputation’s so... different?”
Tim shrugged. “I guess people believe what they want to believe.”
“Why do you let them?”
“It’s just easier,” he said, glancing over at her. His acceptance astonished and saddened her.
“You shouldn’t let them,” she said, shaking her head. “You know Tyra once told me basically the same thing? She said she knew everyone expected her to be the town tramp when she’d really barely even kissed a boy, so she just went with it because she figured that’s what everyone already believed anyway. But it doesn’t have to be that way.”
“Yeah,” he said gruffly, looking away. “That’s why I’ve been trying to, you know... be better.”
“You mean all this, with us? With my parents and everything?” Julie asked, gesturing at the space separating them.
“I just wanted to... I wanted to show you I could be a real boyfriend, a good one.”
“You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone. Especially not me. I don't want you trying to be someone else. I liked you when I thought you’d been with lots of girls, and I like you even though that’s not true. I just like you. I want you.”
Tim stared at the floor between his feet, saying nothing. Julie watched him carefully through the curtain of hair which shadowed his face. She frowned.
“Tim, do you... Do you think I’m just in this to get laid? That that’s what this is about for me?”
He didn’t respond, just shrugged.
“No, Tim, no,” she stammered, sitting up on her knees and grabbing him by the shoulders, forcing him to look at her. “Tim, I just want to be close to you because I like you, you’re one of my very best friends, and you make me crazy and lightheaded and all that stuff, and I think... I think that maybe I love you.”
Tim looked at her closely, searching her face. “Yeah?”
Julie gulped. She hadn’t exactly planned on saying that, but there it was. There was no taking it back, even if she had wanted to. She didn’t want to.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “I love you, Tim.”
A small smile quirked at the very corner of his mouth, and his eyes shone in the dim light.
“Have you ever been with someone who loved you?” Julie asked, leaning in closer.
“I don’t know... I don’t think so,” he breathed, and their lips met.
They kissed that way for a while, perched tentatively on the edge of her bed, before Julie tugged Tim towards her, stretching out on the bed, so they were facing one another in the dim light.
“Can I?” she asked, reaching again for his belt buckle. “Just this, tonight?”
“Ugh, please,” Tim breathed, his voice eager.
Julie stifled a laugh. “I guess we should have had this talk a while ago.”
“Yeah,” Tim groaned, as Julie got his fly open and eased a hand inside.
Julie wrapped her hand around his erection, glancing up curiously to watch his face when he hissed between his teeth. His eyes were tightly closed, and a blush stained his cheeks. Smirking, Julie squeezed her grip a little harder, leaning in and pressing a kiss against his neck.
“Tim?”
“Mm-hmm?” he grunted, frowning as Julie began to kiss her way down his chest.
“Open your eyes,” she said, getting up on her knees and pulling his jeans down over his hips. She couldn’t believe how bold she felt; she had no idea where this was coming from. Probably the months of sexual frustration, she thought wryly. Leaning down, she took him in her hands and experimentally ran her tongue over the head of his dick.
“Jules,” he choked, one of his hands coming and gripping her shoulder.
“Mmm?” she replied, relishing the sound of his harsh breathing. She took him into her mouth, giving a tentative suck. She wasn’t totally sure what she was doing, but judging by Tim’s reaction, it seemed to be working.
“I can’t, I don’t,” he began to babble, interrupting himself with a loud groan.
“Quiet,” she hissed, pulling away and glaring up at him.
Tim moaned pitifully as Julie began licking and sucking him in earnest. She was suddenly thankful for all those frank, late-night talks with Tyra. Glancing up at his flushed face, Julie felt a little thrill at the idea of having Tim Riggins laid out on her own bed, whimpering and sighing like she was tormenting him, totally at her mercy.
She explored him, testing what made him squirm and what made him groan, and what made him squeeze her shoulder in an almost bruising grip.
“Jules, I’m gonna, I’m gonna...” he panted, and Julie lifted her head and sat back, watching his face as he came with a low groan, his jeans catching most of the mess.
Tim collapsed against her pillows, breathing hard, an arm flung over his eyes.
“Tyra warned me that you like to, you know, announce yourself,” Julie smirked, watching him. Tim lifted his arm and glared at her for a moment before pulling her down beside him.
“Sorry,” she said, suppressing a giggle when he turned and pinned her underneath him, burying his face in her neck, where he began kissing and sucking her collarbone. He let his whole weight rest on her, his body pressed tight against hers.
“Oof,” she groaned. “You weigh a ton; what have you been eating?”
Tim didn’t answer, continuing to work away at the little spot on her neck that always made her shiver. She frowned. “Are you giving me another hickey?”
“No,” he replied, sitting up a little and looking at her. His voice was low, his eyes sleepy and satisfied. “I gave you another hickey.”
“Ugh, Tim!” she complained, slapping a hand over her neck as though a mosquito were bothering it.
“What?”
“That’s so - so - so juvenile.”
“We are juvenile,” he replied, smiling down at her.
“No, you’re just possessive. As if this isn’t Dillon, and everyone doesn’t already know we’re together.”
Tim shrugged, unapologetic.
“You’d probably pee on me if you could,” she grumbled.
“I wouldn’t pee on you,” Tim protested, frowning at her like he was concerned for her sanity.
“You know, like a dog marking its - oh, never mind.”
“I’d better go,” Tim said, collapsing back on top of her with a sigh. He shifted down, pressing his face into her stomach. “You make a good pillow.”
“Thanks,” she replied. “You should sleep on me more often.”
“Sleep, huh?”
“Yeah, you know, that thing I hear people usually do after this kind of thing.”
“Are you inviting me for a slumber party, Jules?”
“Sadly, no. What with my parents down the hall and all.”
“Come on,” he urged, poking her gently in the side with a finger.
“No tickling,” she whispered, stifling a giggle. “And, you know, that’s really great - you barely come near me for months and now it’s all, ‘Can I sleep over and use you as a pillow, can I, can I?’”
“I know, I gotta go,” he sighed. “Tell you what - you wanna come over to my place Friday night? We can get pizza and a movie or something.”
“Sounds good to me,” Julie replied, idly running her hands through his hair.
“Mmm,” he groaned, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing.
“You’re like a big... python. A python who drives a truck, plays football, and listens to too much southern rock,” she said, extricating herself from his embrace. “It’s very cute, but you’ve gotta go. Sorry.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, slowly rolling off of her and pulling his pants back up, making the awkward act of dressing look obnoxiously graceful. Julie wanted to hurl a pillow at him, but refrained. She sat on the edge of her bed as he dressed, pulling her pyjamas back into place and trying to feign some composure.
Tim paused in the middle of her room, keys in hand, and looked at her. A faint smile spread across his face, growing wider, before he took a step forward and bent down, pressing a kiss to her lips.
“Night, Jules.”
“Go,” she sighed, smiling back at him. He went reluctantly, climbing out her window the way he came in. She followed him as far as the window, giving him one last wave as he turned back before disappearing into the night.
Julie practically floated back to her bed and collapsed there, lifting a leaden arm to turn off her lamp. She sighed and rolled over, burying her face in her pillows and inhaling the lovely, familiar smell of Tim on her sheets. A thrill ran through her as she closed her eyes and tried to force herself to go back to sleep.
He wanted her. He wanted her, just her, after all.
***
Tim drove home in a haze of pleasure, smiling out at the dark streets of Dillon like they were his best friends. If anyone saw him right now, their suspicions that he was an idiot would be absolutely confirmed by the brainless expression on his face.
He didn’t care one bit.
After talking to Julie on the phone that afternoon, he had been so angry and confused he barely knew what to do with himself. He had considered heading to Smitty’s to blow off some steam, but luckily Billy had come home from work with a twelve pack and a pizza just in time. Before he knew it, Tim was venting the whole situation to Billy, who listened in silence, contemplatively chewing a slice of double pepperoni. When Tim had finished, Billy nodded sagely and said, “So, whatever it is you wanna do with her that you think you shouldn’t because you wanna impress her and her parents? Go over to her place and do that.”
Tim blinked. “What?”
“Get her in your truck, go somewhere private, and start rounding some bases. I can’t believe I have to explain this to you, Tim.”
Tim had gaped at his brother in appalled silence for several beats before realising that Billy was absolutely right. He was. After all, basically every fight they’d had in the last few weeks had started when Tim rebuffed Julie’s affection. Obviously his plan to be the best boyfriend had a flaw.
Grimly, Tim did as Billy suggested, waiting until he was confident the Taylors were asleep before parking his truck down the block and finding his way to Julie’s window in the dark. The drive over was spent simmering in his frustration, and when Julie let him in, the way she looked - wide-eyed and sleep-warmed - almost undid him altogether. Aggravated as he was, there still was not a square inch of that girl he did not love with a certainty which was totally foreign to him. He had never felt this way about anyone before, not even Lyla.
Once he felt her smooth skin under his hands, her hot gasping breaths against his cheek, there was no going back. Even better was the naked honesty in her eyes when she told him she loved him.
Never mind that she touched him with a kind of fearless curiosity that had him forgetting why it was he ever wanted to wait.
Still smiling to himself, Tim pulled into his driveway and parked. He walked up to the house with what he could have sworn was a damn spring in his step. Closing and locking the front door behind him, he found Billy still up, nursing a beer and staring vacantly at the TV. At the sound of his entry, Billy turned, flipping down the footrest on the La-Z-Boy.
“Well?” he asked, looking at Tim expectantly.
“Well what?”
“How did it go?”
“It went... good. I think we’re okay.”
“Great. And?”
“And what?”
“Come on, Tim! All this angst and carrying on and now you’re not even gonna give me any details?”
Tim glared at his brother. “I don’t ask you what you do with Mindy.”
“If you did, I wouldn’t care. Look, I am more than happy to tell you she does this thing with her -”
“Billy!” Tim barked, “Jesus. I appreciate your advice, but I’m not gonna kiss and tell, so you can forget about hearing any crotch... stuff.”
“Crotch stuff? There was crotch stuff? Nice, little bro!”
Rolling his eyes, Tim gave his brother a wave and headed into his bedroom. He was suddenly bone-tired, his limbs heavy and yearning for bed. He began shucking his clothes off, kicking his jeans and boots aside. As he pulled his shirt over his head, he caught a whiff of Julie - a mixture of girly shampoo and body wash, of laundry detergent and faint fruity perfume, and the salty-sweet scent of her skin. He held his shirt to his face for a moment, and then tossed it in the direction of his laundry basket before flopping down face-first to go to sleep.
The only thing that could have made the night more perfect would be to still be stretched out in Julie’s bed, her warm body wrapped up in his.
***
Sunday was utter torture. Julie’s parents were aware that she had a lot of homework that weekend, and insisted on ensuring it was all completed before she was allowed to go anywhere. By the time Julie finished everything, it was time for Sunday dinner, which meant an extended evening of family togetherness, and no time to entice Tim to come over for Scrabble or ping-pong or some other thinly veiled excuse to torment herself with his nearness.
Julie picked at the mashed potatoes and vegetables on her plate - having decided to forego her mother’s pot roast - and thought about the way Tim’s thigh muscles felt under her hands when she ran her tongue up the hot, hard length of him. Glancing warily at both of her parents, she hoped her face didn’t look as flushed as it felt.
Monday was worse. Julie wondered if Tim hadn’t been onto something, with the whole abstinence thing. What had been a bothersome feeling of dissatisfaction was now an ache that refused to be eased. Saturday night had only added fuel to her fire. Julie couldn’t figure out how anyone had ever sat through a calculus class if they had a boyfriend they could be making out with.
Julie didn’t see Tim until the end of the day, when she found him at his locker, dumping his books on his way to practice.
“Hey,” she greeted him somewhat shyly, coming to a stop in front of his locker and fiddling with the strap of her messenger bag.
He turned, and his eyes lit up when he saw her. Some quality in his eyes burnished and glowed, and the corner of his mouth lifted up in a smirk. “Hey,” he replied, his voice low. Julie bit her lip, goose bumps breaking out all over her skin.
Oh, she was in trouble all right. They both were.
She cleared her throat, trying to regain her balance. “Um, I was wondering, did you want to grab something to eat after practice? I got off pretty easy today, homework-wise.”
“Got off, huh?” he asked idly, tossing a textbook towards the back of his locker.
Julie nearly choked. This was totally unfair. He was standing there smirking at her like they were playing a game, and he had just won. Glancing quickly around them to find the hallway empty except for a few straggling freshmen, Julie stepped into Tim’s space and dropped her hands to his belt buckle. She tipped her face up to meet his, smiling. Hidden by their bodies, she let her hand stray a little lower, her fingers brushing against the rough denim of his jeans. She smiled wider at the sound of his sharp inhalation.
“Do you want to go out after practice, or not? If you have something better to do, I’m sure I do, too,” she said, just barely resisting the urge to bat her eyelashes at him.
Tim grinned and leaned down, meeting her lips for a kiss. Julie sighed, pressing against him. He pushed back, groaning when Julie brushed her tongue against his bottom lip.
“Get a room!”
Julie pulled away abruptly, banging her head against the metal locker behind her. She winced, watching in wry amusement as Tim glared after the person who had interrupted them.
“Jerk,” he muttered, turning back to her. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she giggled, reaching up to rub the back of her head. “It’s just a minor concussion, I’m sure I’ll live.”
“I’d better get to practice. Meet me at the fieldhouse, okay?”
“Okay. Where do you want to go to eat?”
“I don’t care. You?”
“I don’t really care, either,” Julie laughed. She gave his chest a gentle shove, adjusting her bag on her shoulder and stepping away from him. “Go. If you’re late, my dad’s just gonna make you run suicides, and we’ll never get out of here.”
Tim grinned at her, shouldering his duffle bag and closing his locker door. “See you soon.”
“See you,” she replied, leaning a shoulder against the bank of lockers as he turned and walked down the hallway. She sighed, attempting to smother the goofy smile on her face as she turned away and trudged off to the library.
Before doing any of her schoolwork for the day, she was going to have to look up whether it was possible for another person to make your heart explode just by looking at you.
***
Two hours later, Julie gathered up her books in the library and made her way down to the fieldhouse. She had spent her time in the library studying, or rather, daydreaming and pretending to study. Stifling a yawn, she rounded the corner of the low brick building to find Tim’s truck idling in the spot where she usually waited for him, Tim in the driver’s seat.
Trying to suppress a smile, Julie jogged over and hopped in. “Okay, I think this should go down in the history books,” she said. “Today was the first day ever that you were out of the locker room before I even had time to get down here and meet you. Were you the first one out, or what?”
“Yep,” Tim replied smugly, putting the truck into gear and gunning the engine. He pulled out of the parking lot and glanced over at her. He hadn’t even skipped his shower or anything - his freshly washed hair was slowly drying in the cool evening air.
“Wow. I’m extremely impressed. So where are we headed?”
“I was thinking Fran’s,” Tim replied, taking the turn to steer them in that direction. Julie merely wrinkled her nose in response, and Tim smiled. “For take-out, I mean. Not really up for the guys and all the rally girls tonight, you know? How about the cliffs?”
“That sounds perfect, actually,” Julie said, smiling at him. He glanced over at her and grinned, pressing a little more firmly on the gas pedal.
Food (two double cheeseburgers for Tim, a spicy chicken sandwich for Julie) and drinks obtained, Tim drove them out to the west side of town. They got out and Tim unhitched the tailgate, as it was just warm enough for them to sit in the bed of the truck and eat while watching the sun set over the flat, colourless plains, unmoving oil rigs silhouetted against the orangey-pink sky.
They sat in silence for a long time, content to enjoy each other’s company. Julie sighed and moved a little closer to him, so happy to have finally aired everything out.
“You cold?” Tim asked.
“Maybe a little.”
Tim hopped off the tailgate and held his hands out to help her down. They got back into the cab and Tim started the engine to get the heater and the radio working. Julie held her hands against the vent on the dashboard, sighing when the warm air began to thaw her fingers.
“I didn’t think I was that cold,” she said softly. “I could have sat there forever.”
“Me too,” Tim replied. He was quiet for a moment, and then cleared his throat. Julie glanced over at him. “Listen, Jules... I gotta ask you something and I want you to be honest, okay?
“Okay,” Julie said, somewhat wary.
“Did you really think I didn’t care about you?”
Settling back against the seat and tucking her hands under her thighs to keep them warm, Julie contemplated the question. “You want to know what I really thought?”
“What?”
“That you were using me.”
Tim frowned at her, shaking his head. “But -”
“No, not like you’re thinking. Not for sex. I thought you were using me because I’m the coach’s daughter and if you could win my family over, you’d be in everyone’s good books. I started to think that maybe... I don’t know, that maybe just me, on my own, that I wasn’t what you wanted.”
Tim looked away, staring silently out the windshield.
“I’m sorry,” Julie whispered. “I didn’t want to believe it was true, but I was so confused and I couldn’t figure out why you didn’t want to... you know.”
Tim didn’t reply, still staring straight ahead. Julie felt cold anxiety begin to knot in the pit of her stomach.
“Tim... Please say something. Anything.”
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, turning to look at her. The expression in his eyes was miserable. “I never meant to... I shouldn’t have let you think that.”
“You didn’t let me,” she insisted. “I’m the doofus who couldn’t just talk to you about it weeks ago.”
“I wanted to spend time with your parents so they would know I was serious,” he explained. “I don’t give a shit about anyone else, I just didn’t want to be that guy who shows up in their driveway to take their little girl away, you know?”
“I know. And they know it, too, I promise. They really like you, Tim.”
“Yeah?” he asked, looking at her dubiously.
“Are you kidding? You’ve won them over in the biggest way. My mom spends more time worrying about your schoolwork than she does about mine. My dad’s always Tim this and Tim that, when’s Tim coming over to play ping-pong with me, tell Tim he’s welcome over here anytime, blah blah blah,” she laughed, rolling her eyes. “You know what he said to me the other day?”
“What?”
“He said, ‘Riggins is around this house so much, he’s getting to be like the son God never saw fit to bless me with,’” she repeated, doing an eerily perfect imitation of her father’s tone.
Tim blinked at her. After a beat, he cleared his throat and looked away. “That’s...”
“I know,” Julie said, sliding her hand into his, where it rested on the seat between them. “Don’t get freaked out; no one’s expecting a proposal. Anyway, I’m pretty sure if we ever broke up, they’d expect you to keep coming over for dinner on Wednesdays, whether I liked it or not.”
Tim smiled at her. “You Taylors are pretty great, you know that?”
“Oh, we know. Believe me.”
Tim leaned across the cab and kissed her, cupping the back of her neck in one hand to pull her closer. Julie kissed him back, smiling against his mouth as one of his hands dropped to her knee and began idly skimming the hem of her denim skirt. They kissed that way for several minutes until Julie was half in his lap, her jacket and shirt thrown aside, goose bumps breaking out across her skin as Tim’s hand slid up her thigh to brush the band of her underwear.
Julie shivered and pressed herself closer to him, easing a hand down to press her palm against the front of his jeans. He grunted, pushing back against her.
“Jules,” he sighed, and she wasn’t sure whether he was asking her to stop or keep going. She opted to keep going, and he groaned, pushing her insistently until she was pinned beneath him on the seat.
“Hey,” he said, propping himself up on his elbows to see her better.
“Hey,” Julie replied, smiling up at him and parting her legs to let him settle between them. It was by no means comfortable, crammed into the cab of his truck as they were, but she hardly cared, too distracted by the press of Tim’s body against hers.
Tim leaned in and kissed her again, one hand travelling down and under her skirt once again. She shivered in anticipation and Tim grinned against her cheek.
“Excited?” he asked softly.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Julie replied lightly, softening her words with a gentle tug on his hair.
Tim exhaled a soft laugh and focused his attention on her bare collarbone, sucking gently. Julie was so lost in the sensation of his hot breath against her neck that she jumped when she felt his thumb brush against her through the fabric of her underwear.
“You okay?” he asked, lifting his head.
“Mmm-hmm,” she hummed, as he bent his wrist and eased his hand inside to touch her. She gripped his hair harder as he curled a finger inside her and pressed his thumb to her clit. Her moan was cut off by his lips meeting hers in a hard kiss.
“Unh,” she gasped against his mouth. He twisted his fingers, his thumb still circling her clit. Tim shifted, his lips leaving hers but his fingers still working inside of her, until he was crammed back in the other end of the cab. He got one of her legs up over his shoulder and glanced up at her.
“Move back a bit,” he said softly. Wordlessly, Julie propped herself back against the passenger side door, half sitting and ignoring the cramp she was getting in her shoulders. One foot rested on the dashboard above the steering wheel, and the other was crammed up along the back of the seats. It was not comfortable, but Julie barely noticed, so riveted was she by Tim’s every movement.
“Remember that time we were on your couch reading, back when you were tutoring me,” he said contemplatively as he pushed her skirt up, exposing her, “and you looked so cute I was kinda forced to tickle you?”
Julie nodded mutely. His eyes were dark, and even in the dim light she could see the flush staining his cheeks. He slowly hooked two fingers under the fabric at her hips and tugged, pulling her underwear down her thighs and shoving it aside before rearranging her legs. She gulped, feeling like she was peering over the edge of some high cliff.
“Know what I was thinking about, that whole time?”
She shook her head, unable to speak.
“This,” he said, bending down and pressing a kiss right on her aching clit.
“Tim!” Julie yelped.
“Mmm-hmm,” he replied, his voice muffled as he began to roughly lick her, gripping her thighs tightly in his hands.
“Oh my god,” she choked, her fingers digging painfully into the truck’s upholstery.
Tim began doing things to her with his mouth and his hands that Julie didn’t even have words for, and her heart was pounding so hard she thought she might be having a heart attack. He was relentless, completely ignoring the ridiculous noises she was helplessly making in favour of rolling his tongue against her clit.
Julie’s stomach flipped with sensations; the intensity was almost too much to bear. She felt sweat break out along her skin, which prickled like it was on fire. She gasped, her throat dry, as Tim flicked her clit with the point of his tongue.
“Oh my god,” she sighed again, her voice hoarse. She looked down, her breath catching at the sight of his head buried between her thighs, his hair tickling her sensitive skin. She’d never seen anything so thrillingly dirty in her whole life. He looked up, catching her gaze. He paused, smiling wickedly at her.
“You like this?” he asked. His mouth had paused, but his fingers still worked, stroking her in a way that was rapidly pushing her towards an orgasm.
“Yeah,” Julie moaned, barely able to force the word out.
“Mmm,” he hummed, his breath brushing over her sensitive flesh in a way that made her squirm, “I’ve been wanting to do this for a while.”
“I could kill you,” she panted. “You’ve been keeping this from me this whole time?”
Tim just laughed before lowering his head to her once again.
Julie didn’t want this incredible torture to end - she would have been overjoyed to have Tim keep this up forever - but almost before she knew what was happening, her whole body was tightening with tension as an orgasm with the force of a wave overtook her.
She was saying something - shouting it, really - and gripping Tim’s hair in her hands, but all other awareness washed away completely. She felt Tim sit up a little and pull her skirt back down as she struggled to slow her hammering heart.
“W-where’d you learn to do that?” Julie asked finally, her voice as hazy and bewildered as she felt. Off Tim’s look, she shook her head. “Never mind.”
Julie sat up, pushing him so he was sitting back in the driver’s seat. She sidled up right next to him, looking him in the eye. She leaned in and kissed him once, chastely, before sliding a hand down to drag her fingers across the erection straining against his jeans. He didn’t say anything or take his eyes off her, waiting to see what she would do.
Julie tugged on his belt, managing to pull it loose with one hand while the other came up to run through his messy hair. Tim’s hands came to rest on hers, and he mutely helped her get his fly open. Julie wrapped her hand around him and squeezed, marvelling at the sensation of his pulse and hers in her hand. Tim groaned softly as Julie made a gentle fist around him and began moving her hand back and forth along his hard flesh.
“Jules,” he sighed. “You can - harder.”
“Like this?” she asked, watching his tense face as she tightened her grip. He didn’t answer, shuddering hard and nodding tightly. She barely had time to stroke him more than a few times before he stiffened and gripped her wrist, moaning as he came on their joined hands. He panted harshly as Julie reached over and fished a few napkins out of the glove box. Gingerly, she cleaned them both off as best she could. Tim cleared his throat and pushed her hands away so he could zip himself up.
“It’s getting late,” he said, sounding like he would rather have eaten glass than point that out.
“Yeah,” Julie replied. She leaned forward and rummaged around on the floor, retrieving her clothes and grudgingly putting them back on. “Drive me home?” she asked, sitting up and brushing her messy hair out of her eyes.
Tim just smiled, watching her with an inscrutable look on his face. “I love you, Jules. Did I tell you that yet? I shoulda.”
“I love you, too,” she replied seriously. Tim smiled at her - beamed, really - and settled back into the driver’s seat, fastening his seatbelt and starting the engine. Julie scooted back into her seat and did up her own belt, but soon found herself straining against it as she leaned across the seat, cuddling up against Tim’s side as he drove them back into Dillon. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her close.
They drove in silence for several minutes, both lost in their thoughts. Julie snuggled closer, burying her face in his chest and inhaling the scent of him. He was like a drug - the more of him she had, the more she wanted.
“I used to think that girls who went around clinging to their boyfriends all the time like this were lame, you know? Like, get over it, we all know he’s your boyfriend. But now I think I kinda get it,” she said.
“If you don’t mind it, I definitely don’t. You’re my gal,” Tim replied, his fingers tangling idly in the long, loose strands of her hair.
“You’re a cuddler?” Julie asked, her voice teasing.
“Guess so,” he said, turning to press a kiss to the top of her head.
All too soon, he pulled into the Taylors’ driveway. Sighing, Julie pulled away and looked at him. They regarded one another in silence for a moment before Tim smiled and leaned across the cab, pressing a kiss to her lips. They lingered after they broke the kiss, their foreheads still touching.
“Billy and Mindy are going out of town again this weekend, off to Abilene to see a friend of his. You still wanna come over on Friday?” Tim asked.
“I do,” she replied softly.
Eventually they forced themselves to say goodnight and Julie went into the house, pausing on the door step to wave to Tim as he backed out of the driveway and drove away.
Later, after she had talked to her parents and gone to bed, she lay staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling and realised that, although Tim didn’t know it yet, Friday was going to be her last day as a virgin.
Smiling, she rolled over and fell fast asleep.
Chapter 6
Author: lindentree
Rating: M
Character(s): Tim/Julie
Word Count: 6,618
Summary: After getting together in If This One Could Be With You, Tim and Julie face a greater challenge: staying together. This story and the one preceding it are basically AU after 2x11 "Jumping the Gun."
This one's a long one, which hopefully somewhat makes up for the lag between updates. Sorry, y'all. Let's call it a midwinter slump. That my brain has been overtaken by True Grit doesn't help matters.
Thanks to ishie for being ishie. ♥
Julie was asleep. She was dreaming that she and Gracie were walking through a field, picking wildflowers. The sun was shining, birds were singing; everything around them was warm and peaceful. Unfortunately, the peace was disturbed by an insistent tapping sound, almost like the tapping of a woodpecker. Julie frowned, looking around her, trying to find the source of the noise. Gracie’s sweet baby face was just as puzzled. Julie became aware that someone was whispering her name.
“Jules, let me in.”
Julie sat upright in bed. It was the middle of the night, and her room was lit only by the moonlight which poured through a gap in her curtains.
The tapping resumed, and Julie’s head snapped towards the window. There, through the curtains, she could see a face. She barely stopped herself from screaming in time to realise it was Tim.
Scrambling out of bed, she ran to the window and threw aside the curtain, staring at him disbelievingly through the glass.
“Let me in,” he mouthed, pointing to the window.
Julie unlatched the window and slid it open, and much more quietly and gracefully than she would have expected for the tall fullback, he climbed into her bedroom.
“Tim!” she hissed. “You scared the crap out of me! What are you doing here?”
“You said you wanted me,” he breathed. “Here I am.”
Before Julie could say another word, Tim was crowding her towards the bed, kissing the breath out of her. Her hands came up to his shoulders to steady herself, but his grip lifted her right off her feet, and he pushed her back onto the bed.
She landed on her pillows with a soft “oof,” thrilled and scared. If they got caught, they would both be dead.
She didn’t have time to complain, though, because Tim was on top of her, pressing himself against her, his weight making it difficult to breathe. He swallowed her gasps, kissing her so hard Julie felt sure her lips would be bruised the next day. Without hesitating, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close.
Somewhat roughly, he ran a hand down her body and slid it under the waistband of her pyjama shorts and into her underwear, brushing his fingers against her. He pulled his mouth away from hers and leaned back to watch her face.
“Tim!” she squeaked, as he boldly dragged a finger over her clit and curled it inside her.
“Sssh,” he breathed, covering her mouth with his free hand.
Julie nodded frantically against his hand as he began to stroke her, his hand doing incredible things to her, things she could never quite get her own hands to do.
“You like this?” he whispered, his face flushed as he watched her.
Julie nodded again, struggling not to cry out.
“Yeah, you do,” he said, glancing down her body. When he looked back up at her, his eyes and his smile gleamed with anticipation, almost predatory. Removing his hand from her mouth, he pushed her tank top up to expose her bare chest. He ran his thumb over one nipple before leaning in to take the other one in his mouth, scraping his teeth against her.
Julie blushed, sweat breaking out along her skin as the sensations grew more intense. She bit her lip, desperate not to let any sound escape which might wake her parents. He’d never been like this with her before, not ever.
“I kinda like it when you blush like that,” he whispered, lifting his head and breathing the words right into her ear. That’s what did it - his voice rumbling against her ear. She came abruptly, gasping frantically and gripping his forearm with both hands, her nails leaving marks in his skin.
It took Julie a minute to compose herself, gratefully gulping down air once she remembered how to breathe. She glanced up to find Tim staring at her, breathing heavily.
“Better?” he asked. “You happy now?”
Not taking her eyes from his face, Julie slid her hands down and began tugging at his belt buckle.
“No,” he said, sitting up and pushing her hands away. “You said you wanted more action, and you got it.” He sat on the edge of the bed, facing away from her.
Julie sat up against her headboard, recoiling from his cold tone. She pulled her tank top down to cover herself. “That’s not what I meant.”
He turned and glared at her, but his face softened a little at what must have been the crestfallen expression on her face.
“W-why are you being mean?” she asked shakily, still reeling from what had just happened.
“Sorry,” he replied, turning away again.
Julie pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I’m confused,” she said softly, after a long pause. “I don’t understand... Don’t you want to be with me?”
“I do want to be with you -” he began, but Julie stopped him.
“I know, you’ve said that. But we haven’t gotten there yet, and I guess I just... When everyone found out about us, all anyone talked about was this big reputation of yours, and how I’d better be prepared. So I tried to prepare myself, but it’s been months now and nothing’s really happened until tonight. I’m...”
“Disappointed?”
“No, Tim... I’m just confused.”
“Jules, you know... People exaggerate,” Tim said, frowning. He sounded exasperated.
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
“I’m 17. Do you seriously think I’ve slept with half the girls in town, or even half the girls at school?”
“Oh. Well, um. No, I guess that’s probably an exaggeration.”
“No kidding,” Tim scoffed. “You wanna know the truth?”
“Tim, you don’t have to-”
“No, I think I do have to. Don’t want you stomping around feeling bad about yourself and pissed off at me over something that ain’t even true.”
Julie gulped, preparing herself. “Okay.”
“I had sex for the first time with a senior rally girl when I made varsity. I slept with Tyra. I slept with Lyla Garrity. I slept with my neighbour, Jackie. I fooled around with some girls at parties and stuff, sure, but that’s it. I swear.”
Julie looked down at her lap. Four wasn’t zero, but it certainly wasn’t as many as local legend would have a person believe. “How come your reputation’s so... different?”
Tim shrugged. “I guess people believe what they want to believe.”
“Why do you let them?”
“It’s just easier,” he said, glancing over at her. His acceptance astonished and saddened her.
“You shouldn’t let them,” she said, shaking her head. “You know Tyra once told me basically the same thing? She said she knew everyone expected her to be the town tramp when she’d really barely even kissed a boy, so she just went with it because she figured that’s what everyone already believed anyway. But it doesn’t have to be that way.”
“Yeah,” he said gruffly, looking away. “That’s why I’ve been trying to, you know... be better.”
“You mean all this, with us? With my parents and everything?” Julie asked, gesturing at the space separating them.
“I just wanted to... I wanted to show you I could be a real boyfriend, a good one.”
“You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone. Especially not me. I don't want you trying to be someone else. I liked you when I thought you’d been with lots of girls, and I like you even though that’s not true. I just like you. I want you.”
Tim stared at the floor between his feet, saying nothing. Julie watched him carefully through the curtain of hair which shadowed his face. She frowned.
“Tim, do you... Do you think I’m just in this to get laid? That that’s what this is about for me?”
He didn’t respond, just shrugged.
“No, Tim, no,” she stammered, sitting up on her knees and grabbing him by the shoulders, forcing him to look at her. “Tim, I just want to be close to you because I like you, you’re one of my very best friends, and you make me crazy and lightheaded and all that stuff, and I think... I think that maybe I love you.”
Tim looked at her closely, searching her face. “Yeah?”
Julie gulped. She hadn’t exactly planned on saying that, but there it was. There was no taking it back, even if she had wanted to. She didn’t want to.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “I love you, Tim.”
A small smile quirked at the very corner of his mouth, and his eyes shone in the dim light.
“Have you ever been with someone who loved you?” Julie asked, leaning in closer.
“I don’t know... I don’t think so,” he breathed, and their lips met.
They kissed that way for a while, perched tentatively on the edge of her bed, before Julie tugged Tim towards her, stretching out on the bed, so they were facing one another in the dim light.
“Can I?” she asked, reaching again for his belt buckle. “Just this, tonight?”
“Ugh, please,” Tim breathed, his voice eager.
Julie stifled a laugh. “I guess we should have had this talk a while ago.”
“Yeah,” Tim groaned, as Julie got his fly open and eased a hand inside.
Julie wrapped her hand around his erection, glancing up curiously to watch his face when he hissed between his teeth. His eyes were tightly closed, and a blush stained his cheeks. Smirking, Julie squeezed her grip a little harder, leaning in and pressing a kiss against his neck.
“Tim?”
“Mm-hmm?” he grunted, frowning as Julie began to kiss her way down his chest.
“Open your eyes,” she said, getting up on her knees and pulling his jeans down over his hips. She couldn’t believe how bold she felt; she had no idea where this was coming from. Probably the months of sexual frustration, she thought wryly. Leaning down, she took him in her hands and experimentally ran her tongue over the head of his dick.
“Jules,” he choked, one of his hands coming and gripping her shoulder.
“Mmm?” she replied, relishing the sound of his harsh breathing. She took him into her mouth, giving a tentative suck. She wasn’t totally sure what she was doing, but judging by Tim’s reaction, it seemed to be working.
“I can’t, I don’t,” he began to babble, interrupting himself with a loud groan.
“Quiet,” she hissed, pulling away and glaring up at him.
Tim moaned pitifully as Julie began licking and sucking him in earnest. She was suddenly thankful for all those frank, late-night talks with Tyra. Glancing up at his flushed face, Julie felt a little thrill at the idea of having Tim Riggins laid out on her own bed, whimpering and sighing like she was tormenting him, totally at her mercy.
She explored him, testing what made him squirm and what made him groan, and what made him squeeze her shoulder in an almost bruising grip.
“Jules, I’m gonna, I’m gonna...” he panted, and Julie lifted her head and sat back, watching his face as he came with a low groan, his jeans catching most of the mess.
Tim collapsed against her pillows, breathing hard, an arm flung over his eyes.
“Tyra warned me that you like to, you know, announce yourself,” Julie smirked, watching him. Tim lifted his arm and glared at her for a moment before pulling her down beside him.
“Sorry,” she said, suppressing a giggle when he turned and pinned her underneath him, burying his face in her neck, where he began kissing and sucking her collarbone. He let his whole weight rest on her, his body pressed tight against hers.
“Oof,” she groaned. “You weigh a ton; what have you been eating?”
Tim didn’t answer, continuing to work away at the little spot on her neck that always made her shiver. She frowned. “Are you giving me another hickey?”
“No,” he replied, sitting up a little and looking at her. His voice was low, his eyes sleepy and satisfied. “I gave you another hickey.”
“Ugh, Tim!” she complained, slapping a hand over her neck as though a mosquito were bothering it.
“What?”
“That’s so - so - so juvenile.”
“We are juvenile,” he replied, smiling down at her.
“No, you’re just possessive. As if this isn’t Dillon, and everyone doesn’t already know we’re together.”
Tim shrugged, unapologetic.
“You’d probably pee on me if you could,” she grumbled.
“I wouldn’t pee on you,” Tim protested, frowning at her like he was concerned for her sanity.
“You know, like a dog marking its - oh, never mind.”
“I’d better go,” Tim said, collapsing back on top of her with a sigh. He shifted down, pressing his face into her stomach. “You make a good pillow.”
“Thanks,” she replied. “You should sleep on me more often.”
“Sleep, huh?”
“Yeah, you know, that thing I hear people usually do after this kind of thing.”
“Are you inviting me for a slumber party, Jules?”
“Sadly, no. What with my parents down the hall and all.”
“Come on,” he urged, poking her gently in the side with a finger.
“No tickling,” she whispered, stifling a giggle. “And, you know, that’s really great - you barely come near me for months and now it’s all, ‘Can I sleep over and use you as a pillow, can I, can I?’”
“I know, I gotta go,” he sighed. “Tell you what - you wanna come over to my place Friday night? We can get pizza and a movie or something.”
“Sounds good to me,” Julie replied, idly running her hands through his hair.
“Mmm,” he groaned, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing.
“You’re like a big... python. A python who drives a truck, plays football, and listens to too much southern rock,” she said, extricating herself from his embrace. “It’s very cute, but you’ve gotta go. Sorry.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, slowly rolling off of her and pulling his pants back up, making the awkward act of dressing look obnoxiously graceful. Julie wanted to hurl a pillow at him, but refrained. She sat on the edge of her bed as he dressed, pulling her pyjamas back into place and trying to feign some composure.
Tim paused in the middle of her room, keys in hand, and looked at her. A faint smile spread across his face, growing wider, before he took a step forward and bent down, pressing a kiss to her lips.
“Night, Jules.”
“Go,” she sighed, smiling back at him. He went reluctantly, climbing out her window the way he came in. She followed him as far as the window, giving him one last wave as he turned back before disappearing into the night.
Julie practically floated back to her bed and collapsed there, lifting a leaden arm to turn off her lamp. She sighed and rolled over, burying her face in her pillows and inhaling the lovely, familiar smell of Tim on her sheets. A thrill ran through her as she closed her eyes and tried to force herself to go back to sleep.
He wanted her. He wanted her, just her, after all.
***
Tim drove home in a haze of pleasure, smiling out at the dark streets of Dillon like they were his best friends. If anyone saw him right now, their suspicions that he was an idiot would be absolutely confirmed by the brainless expression on his face.
He didn’t care one bit.
After talking to Julie on the phone that afternoon, he had been so angry and confused he barely knew what to do with himself. He had considered heading to Smitty’s to blow off some steam, but luckily Billy had come home from work with a twelve pack and a pizza just in time. Before he knew it, Tim was venting the whole situation to Billy, who listened in silence, contemplatively chewing a slice of double pepperoni. When Tim had finished, Billy nodded sagely and said, “So, whatever it is you wanna do with her that you think you shouldn’t because you wanna impress her and her parents? Go over to her place and do that.”
Tim blinked. “What?”
“Get her in your truck, go somewhere private, and start rounding some bases. I can’t believe I have to explain this to you, Tim.”
Tim had gaped at his brother in appalled silence for several beats before realising that Billy was absolutely right. He was. After all, basically every fight they’d had in the last few weeks had started when Tim rebuffed Julie’s affection. Obviously his plan to be the best boyfriend had a flaw.
Grimly, Tim did as Billy suggested, waiting until he was confident the Taylors were asleep before parking his truck down the block and finding his way to Julie’s window in the dark. The drive over was spent simmering in his frustration, and when Julie let him in, the way she looked - wide-eyed and sleep-warmed - almost undid him altogether. Aggravated as he was, there still was not a square inch of that girl he did not love with a certainty which was totally foreign to him. He had never felt this way about anyone before, not even Lyla.
Once he felt her smooth skin under his hands, her hot gasping breaths against his cheek, there was no going back. Even better was the naked honesty in her eyes when she told him she loved him.
Never mind that she touched him with a kind of fearless curiosity that had him forgetting why it was he ever wanted to wait.
Still smiling to himself, Tim pulled into his driveway and parked. He walked up to the house with what he could have sworn was a damn spring in his step. Closing and locking the front door behind him, he found Billy still up, nursing a beer and staring vacantly at the TV. At the sound of his entry, Billy turned, flipping down the footrest on the La-Z-Boy.
“Well?” he asked, looking at Tim expectantly.
“Well what?”
“How did it go?”
“It went... good. I think we’re okay.”
“Great. And?”
“And what?”
“Come on, Tim! All this angst and carrying on and now you’re not even gonna give me any details?”
Tim glared at his brother. “I don’t ask you what you do with Mindy.”
“If you did, I wouldn’t care. Look, I am more than happy to tell you she does this thing with her -”
“Billy!” Tim barked, “Jesus. I appreciate your advice, but I’m not gonna kiss and tell, so you can forget about hearing any crotch... stuff.”
“Crotch stuff? There was crotch stuff? Nice, little bro!”
Rolling his eyes, Tim gave his brother a wave and headed into his bedroom. He was suddenly bone-tired, his limbs heavy and yearning for bed. He began shucking his clothes off, kicking his jeans and boots aside. As he pulled his shirt over his head, he caught a whiff of Julie - a mixture of girly shampoo and body wash, of laundry detergent and faint fruity perfume, and the salty-sweet scent of her skin. He held his shirt to his face for a moment, and then tossed it in the direction of his laundry basket before flopping down face-first to go to sleep.
The only thing that could have made the night more perfect would be to still be stretched out in Julie’s bed, her warm body wrapped up in his.
***
Sunday was utter torture. Julie’s parents were aware that she had a lot of homework that weekend, and insisted on ensuring it was all completed before she was allowed to go anywhere. By the time Julie finished everything, it was time for Sunday dinner, which meant an extended evening of family togetherness, and no time to entice Tim to come over for Scrabble or ping-pong or some other thinly veiled excuse to torment herself with his nearness.
Julie picked at the mashed potatoes and vegetables on her plate - having decided to forego her mother’s pot roast - and thought about the way Tim’s thigh muscles felt under her hands when she ran her tongue up the hot, hard length of him. Glancing warily at both of her parents, she hoped her face didn’t look as flushed as it felt.
Monday was worse. Julie wondered if Tim hadn’t been onto something, with the whole abstinence thing. What had been a bothersome feeling of dissatisfaction was now an ache that refused to be eased. Saturday night had only added fuel to her fire. Julie couldn’t figure out how anyone had ever sat through a calculus class if they had a boyfriend they could be making out with.
Julie didn’t see Tim until the end of the day, when she found him at his locker, dumping his books on his way to practice.
“Hey,” she greeted him somewhat shyly, coming to a stop in front of his locker and fiddling with the strap of her messenger bag.
He turned, and his eyes lit up when he saw her. Some quality in his eyes burnished and glowed, and the corner of his mouth lifted up in a smirk. “Hey,” he replied, his voice low. Julie bit her lip, goose bumps breaking out all over her skin.
Oh, she was in trouble all right. They both were.
She cleared her throat, trying to regain her balance. “Um, I was wondering, did you want to grab something to eat after practice? I got off pretty easy today, homework-wise.”
“Got off, huh?” he asked idly, tossing a textbook towards the back of his locker.
Julie nearly choked. This was totally unfair. He was standing there smirking at her like they were playing a game, and he had just won. Glancing quickly around them to find the hallway empty except for a few straggling freshmen, Julie stepped into Tim’s space and dropped her hands to his belt buckle. She tipped her face up to meet his, smiling. Hidden by their bodies, she let her hand stray a little lower, her fingers brushing against the rough denim of his jeans. She smiled wider at the sound of his sharp inhalation.
“Do you want to go out after practice, or not? If you have something better to do, I’m sure I do, too,” she said, just barely resisting the urge to bat her eyelashes at him.
Tim grinned and leaned down, meeting her lips for a kiss. Julie sighed, pressing against him. He pushed back, groaning when Julie brushed her tongue against his bottom lip.
“Get a room!”
Julie pulled away abruptly, banging her head against the metal locker behind her. She winced, watching in wry amusement as Tim glared after the person who had interrupted them.
“Jerk,” he muttered, turning back to her. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she giggled, reaching up to rub the back of her head. “It’s just a minor concussion, I’m sure I’ll live.”
“I’d better get to practice. Meet me at the fieldhouse, okay?”
“Okay. Where do you want to go to eat?”
“I don’t care. You?”
“I don’t really care, either,” Julie laughed. She gave his chest a gentle shove, adjusting her bag on her shoulder and stepping away from him. “Go. If you’re late, my dad’s just gonna make you run suicides, and we’ll never get out of here.”
Tim grinned at her, shouldering his duffle bag and closing his locker door. “See you soon.”
“See you,” she replied, leaning a shoulder against the bank of lockers as he turned and walked down the hallway. She sighed, attempting to smother the goofy smile on her face as she turned away and trudged off to the library.
Before doing any of her schoolwork for the day, she was going to have to look up whether it was possible for another person to make your heart explode just by looking at you.
***
Two hours later, Julie gathered up her books in the library and made her way down to the fieldhouse. She had spent her time in the library studying, or rather, daydreaming and pretending to study. Stifling a yawn, she rounded the corner of the low brick building to find Tim’s truck idling in the spot where she usually waited for him, Tim in the driver’s seat.
Trying to suppress a smile, Julie jogged over and hopped in. “Okay, I think this should go down in the history books,” she said. “Today was the first day ever that you were out of the locker room before I even had time to get down here and meet you. Were you the first one out, or what?”
“Yep,” Tim replied smugly, putting the truck into gear and gunning the engine. He pulled out of the parking lot and glanced over at her. He hadn’t even skipped his shower or anything - his freshly washed hair was slowly drying in the cool evening air.
“Wow. I’m extremely impressed. So where are we headed?”
“I was thinking Fran’s,” Tim replied, taking the turn to steer them in that direction. Julie merely wrinkled her nose in response, and Tim smiled. “For take-out, I mean. Not really up for the guys and all the rally girls tonight, you know? How about the cliffs?”
“That sounds perfect, actually,” Julie said, smiling at him. He glanced over at her and grinned, pressing a little more firmly on the gas pedal.
Food (two double cheeseburgers for Tim, a spicy chicken sandwich for Julie) and drinks obtained, Tim drove them out to the west side of town. They got out and Tim unhitched the tailgate, as it was just warm enough for them to sit in the bed of the truck and eat while watching the sun set over the flat, colourless plains, unmoving oil rigs silhouetted against the orangey-pink sky.
They sat in silence for a long time, content to enjoy each other’s company. Julie sighed and moved a little closer to him, so happy to have finally aired everything out.
“You cold?” Tim asked.
“Maybe a little.”
Tim hopped off the tailgate and held his hands out to help her down. They got back into the cab and Tim started the engine to get the heater and the radio working. Julie held her hands against the vent on the dashboard, sighing when the warm air began to thaw her fingers.
“I didn’t think I was that cold,” she said softly. “I could have sat there forever.”
“Me too,” Tim replied. He was quiet for a moment, and then cleared his throat. Julie glanced over at him. “Listen, Jules... I gotta ask you something and I want you to be honest, okay?
“Okay,” Julie said, somewhat wary.
“Did you really think I didn’t care about you?”
Settling back against the seat and tucking her hands under her thighs to keep them warm, Julie contemplated the question. “You want to know what I really thought?”
“What?”
“That you were using me.”
Tim frowned at her, shaking his head. “But -”
“No, not like you’re thinking. Not for sex. I thought you were using me because I’m the coach’s daughter and if you could win my family over, you’d be in everyone’s good books. I started to think that maybe... I don’t know, that maybe just me, on my own, that I wasn’t what you wanted.”
Tim looked away, staring silently out the windshield.
“I’m sorry,” Julie whispered. “I didn’t want to believe it was true, but I was so confused and I couldn’t figure out why you didn’t want to... you know.”
Tim didn’t reply, still staring straight ahead. Julie felt cold anxiety begin to knot in the pit of her stomach.
“Tim... Please say something. Anything.”
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, turning to look at her. The expression in his eyes was miserable. “I never meant to... I shouldn’t have let you think that.”
“You didn’t let me,” she insisted. “I’m the doofus who couldn’t just talk to you about it weeks ago.”
“I wanted to spend time with your parents so they would know I was serious,” he explained. “I don’t give a shit about anyone else, I just didn’t want to be that guy who shows up in their driveway to take their little girl away, you know?”
“I know. And they know it, too, I promise. They really like you, Tim.”
“Yeah?” he asked, looking at her dubiously.
“Are you kidding? You’ve won them over in the biggest way. My mom spends more time worrying about your schoolwork than she does about mine. My dad’s always Tim this and Tim that, when’s Tim coming over to play ping-pong with me, tell Tim he’s welcome over here anytime, blah blah blah,” she laughed, rolling her eyes. “You know what he said to me the other day?”
“What?”
“He said, ‘Riggins is around this house so much, he’s getting to be like the son God never saw fit to bless me with,’” she repeated, doing an eerily perfect imitation of her father’s tone.
Tim blinked at her. After a beat, he cleared his throat and looked away. “That’s...”
“I know,” Julie said, sliding her hand into his, where it rested on the seat between them. “Don’t get freaked out; no one’s expecting a proposal. Anyway, I’m pretty sure if we ever broke up, they’d expect you to keep coming over for dinner on Wednesdays, whether I liked it or not.”
Tim smiled at her. “You Taylors are pretty great, you know that?”
“Oh, we know. Believe me.”
Tim leaned across the cab and kissed her, cupping the back of her neck in one hand to pull her closer. Julie kissed him back, smiling against his mouth as one of his hands dropped to her knee and began idly skimming the hem of her denim skirt. They kissed that way for several minutes until Julie was half in his lap, her jacket and shirt thrown aside, goose bumps breaking out across her skin as Tim’s hand slid up her thigh to brush the band of her underwear.
Julie shivered and pressed herself closer to him, easing a hand down to press her palm against the front of his jeans. He grunted, pushing back against her.
“Jules,” he sighed, and she wasn’t sure whether he was asking her to stop or keep going. She opted to keep going, and he groaned, pushing her insistently until she was pinned beneath him on the seat.
“Hey,” he said, propping himself up on his elbows to see her better.
“Hey,” Julie replied, smiling up at him and parting her legs to let him settle between them. It was by no means comfortable, crammed into the cab of his truck as they were, but she hardly cared, too distracted by the press of Tim’s body against hers.
Tim leaned in and kissed her again, one hand travelling down and under her skirt once again. She shivered in anticipation and Tim grinned against her cheek.
“Excited?” he asked softly.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Julie replied lightly, softening her words with a gentle tug on his hair.
Tim exhaled a soft laugh and focused his attention on her bare collarbone, sucking gently. Julie was so lost in the sensation of his hot breath against her neck that she jumped when she felt his thumb brush against her through the fabric of her underwear.
“You okay?” he asked, lifting his head.
“Mmm-hmm,” she hummed, as he bent his wrist and eased his hand inside to touch her. She gripped his hair harder as he curled a finger inside her and pressed his thumb to her clit. Her moan was cut off by his lips meeting hers in a hard kiss.
“Unh,” she gasped against his mouth. He twisted his fingers, his thumb still circling her clit. Tim shifted, his lips leaving hers but his fingers still working inside of her, until he was crammed back in the other end of the cab. He got one of her legs up over his shoulder and glanced up at her.
“Move back a bit,” he said softly. Wordlessly, Julie propped herself back against the passenger side door, half sitting and ignoring the cramp she was getting in her shoulders. One foot rested on the dashboard above the steering wheel, and the other was crammed up along the back of the seats. It was not comfortable, but Julie barely noticed, so riveted was she by Tim’s every movement.
“Remember that time we were on your couch reading, back when you were tutoring me,” he said contemplatively as he pushed her skirt up, exposing her, “and you looked so cute I was kinda forced to tickle you?”
Julie nodded mutely. His eyes were dark, and even in the dim light she could see the flush staining his cheeks. He slowly hooked two fingers under the fabric at her hips and tugged, pulling her underwear down her thighs and shoving it aside before rearranging her legs. She gulped, feeling like she was peering over the edge of some high cliff.
“Know what I was thinking about, that whole time?”
She shook her head, unable to speak.
“This,” he said, bending down and pressing a kiss right on her aching clit.
“Tim!” Julie yelped.
“Mmm-hmm,” he replied, his voice muffled as he began to roughly lick her, gripping her thighs tightly in his hands.
“Oh my god,” she choked, her fingers digging painfully into the truck’s upholstery.
Tim began doing things to her with his mouth and his hands that Julie didn’t even have words for, and her heart was pounding so hard she thought she might be having a heart attack. He was relentless, completely ignoring the ridiculous noises she was helplessly making in favour of rolling his tongue against her clit.
Julie’s stomach flipped with sensations; the intensity was almost too much to bear. She felt sweat break out along her skin, which prickled like it was on fire. She gasped, her throat dry, as Tim flicked her clit with the point of his tongue.
“Oh my god,” she sighed again, her voice hoarse. She looked down, her breath catching at the sight of his head buried between her thighs, his hair tickling her sensitive skin. She’d never seen anything so thrillingly dirty in her whole life. He looked up, catching her gaze. He paused, smiling wickedly at her.
“You like this?” he asked. His mouth had paused, but his fingers still worked, stroking her in a way that was rapidly pushing her towards an orgasm.
“Yeah,” Julie moaned, barely able to force the word out.
“Mmm,” he hummed, his breath brushing over her sensitive flesh in a way that made her squirm, “I’ve been wanting to do this for a while.”
“I could kill you,” she panted. “You’ve been keeping this from me this whole time?”
Tim just laughed before lowering his head to her once again.
Julie didn’t want this incredible torture to end - she would have been overjoyed to have Tim keep this up forever - but almost before she knew what was happening, her whole body was tightening with tension as an orgasm with the force of a wave overtook her.
She was saying something - shouting it, really - and gripping Tim’s hair in her hands, but all other awareness washed away completely. She felt Tim sit up a little and pull her skirt back down as she struggled to slow her hammering heart.
“W-where’d you learn to do that?” Julie asked finally, her voice as hazy and bewildered as she felt. Off Tim’s look, she shook her head. “Never mind.”
Julie sat up, pushing him so he was sitting back in the driver’s seat. She sidled up right next to him, looking him in the eye. She leaned in and kissed him once, chastely, before sliding a hand down to drag her fingers across the erection straining against his jeans. He didn’t say anything or take his eyes off her, waiting to see what she would do.
Julie tugged on his belt, managing to pull it loose with one hand while the other came up to run through his messy hair. Tim’s hands came to rest on hers, and he mutely helped her get his fly open. Julie wrapped her hand around him and squeezed, marvelling at the sensation of his pulse and hers in her hand. Tim groaned softly as Julie made a gentle fist around him and began moving her hand back and forth along his hard flesh.
“Jules,” he sighed. “You can - harder.”
“Like this?” she asked, watching his tense face as she tightened her grip. He didn’t answer, shuddering hard and nodding tightly. She barely had time to stroke him more than a few times before he stiffened and gripped her wrist, moaning as he came on their joined hands. He panted harshly as Julie reached over and fished a few napkins out of the glove box. Gingerly, she cleaned them both off as best she could. Tim cleared his throat and pushed her hands away so he could zip himself up.
“It’s getting late,” he said, sounding like he would rather have eaten glass than point that out.
“Yeah,” Julie replied. She leaned forward and rummaged around on the floor, retrieving her clothes and grudgingly putting them back on. “Drive me home?” she asked, sitting up and brushing her messy hair out of her eyes.
Tim just smiled, watching her with an inscrutable look on his face. “I love you, Jules. Did I tell you that yet? I shoulda.”
“I love you, too,” she replied seriously. Tim smiled at her - beamed, really - and settled back into the driver’s seat, fastening his seatbelt and starting the engine. Julie scooted back into her seat and did up her own belt, but soon found herself straining against it as she leaned across the seat, cuddling up against Tim’s side as he drove them back into Dillon. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her close.
They drove in silence for several minutes, both lost in their thoughts. Julie snuggled closer, burying her face in his chest and inhaling the scent of him. He was like a drug - the more of him she had, the more she wanted.
“I used to think that girls who went around clinging to their boyfriends all the time like this were lame, you know? Like, get over it, we all know he’s your boyfriend. But now I think I kinda get it,” she said.
“If you don’t mind it, I definitely don’t. You’re my gal,” Tim replied, his fingers tangling idly in the long, loose strands of her hair.
“You’re a cuddler?” Julie asked, her voice teasing.
“Guess so,” he said, turning to press a kiss to the top of her head.
All too soon, he pulled into the Taylors’ driveway. Sighing, Julie pulled away and looked at him. They regarded one another in silence for a moment before Tim smiled and leaned across the cab, pressing a kiss to her lips. They lingered after they broke the kiss, their foreheads still touching.
“Billy and Mindy are going out of town again this weekend, off to Abilene to see a friend of his. You still wanna come over on Friday?” Tim asked.
“I do,” she replied softly.
Eventually they forced themselves to say goodnight and Julie went into the house, pausing on the door step to wave to Tim as he backed out of the driveway and drove away.
Later, after she had talked to her parents and gone to bed, she lay staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling and realised that, although Tim didn’t know it yet, Friday was going to be her last day as a virgin.
Smiling, she rolled over and fell fast asleep.
Chapter 6