It was just another night spent like any other, at the bar. He sat at the counter, hunched over nursing his beer. Smitty's Bar was like any other, dance floor in the middle with tables placed around it. Having it be a Saturday night there were kids shaking their hips dancing and others sitting at tables talking to friends. Tim wasn't interested in anything; as long as he got to quietly drink his beer he would be satisfied.

Tim sat at the bar undisturbed, he often gotten shoved the odd time from a kid pushing in to order a drink. He felt old being here, yet he was only twenty-four and he could have perfectly fit in with the other patrons if he wanted to. He wasn't in the mood, after a rough week at work Tim just wanted to unwind, have a drink or five.

Turning around on the bar stool he sipped on his beer as he studied the crowd. Living in Dillon, Texas had its perks yet also had its downfall. Dillon was this average size town and was located on the outskirts of Austin, it took a twenty minute drive to get downtown without traffic. There were a few high schools, the town was big enough that you didn't know everyone yet small enough that you couldn't go anywhere without seeing someone you knew. Smitty's was the only bar in town which was where everyone went to on a weekend. As he looked over the crowds Tim noticed a few people he knew, although many of his friends had left after high school there were few that remained.

Tim stayed put after he graduated from school; he suffered through a semester of college in Austin but dropped out. School wasn't his thing; he barely attended classes for he hated travelling into the city every day. He took a few months off after that, collecting his thoughts and deciding where he wanted to go from there. Eventually he settled on construction and had happily been working with the company for the past five years. Tim was happy with his life; he had his own apartment and truck which was all he needed.

"Hey, buddy!" Tim heard someone shout over the music. He t6urned around and saw his best friend, Jason Street, walking over towards him.

"Street!" Tim yelled as he hopped off his stool and met up with him. "What are you doing here, this isn't your thing." He was confused at seeing his friend in this kind of place; it was small, crowded and smelt of pickles. Jason wasn't a fan of bars; he would rather stay at home watching a sports game with a beer.

"Just dropping by, couldn't miss having a beer with you." Jason replied.

"How nice of you." Tim said. He finished his beer and turned back towards the bar to get two more beers. The order was placed with the bartender and a few minutes later two beers were handed to him. Turning back around he handed out one beer. "Cheers." Their glasses clinked and each one took a long swig from their bottle. They went back to sitting at the bar and talked about all sorts of things.

Jason still lived in town but worked in Austin and because he was a sports agent he was always out of town on business trips. Tim secretly envied his best friend, getting to travel across the country and scope out great athletes. They had been best friends since they were six when they started playing football together. Growing up together and going to the same high school while playing on the same team only made them stronger. But when college came around, Jason decided on moving away for school, not even thinking twice of staying at home. From then on their bond had weakened but now that they were back in the same town they were growing close again.

"So what have you been up to?" Tim asked his friend.

"I'm heading to New York tomorrow for a Monday morning meeting, we're trying to recruit some hockey player to sign on with us but of course he's putting up a fight. Those hockey players are high maintenance." Jason joked. He got caught up in a fit of laughter and once he calmed down he began to go into some story about a baseball player from California.

Tim downed his beer as he nodded along, half listening to whatever his friend was talking about. He raised his hand, signaling to the bartender for another one. A cold bottle was placed in front of him and he chugged half of it right away. He loved Jason and all but he wasn't interested in hearing stories about his job, he was more interested in getting drunk. "What are you up to, Timmy?" Jason finally asked breaking Tim out of his own head.

"The same old." He replied. Tim downed the rest of his beer and slammed it back down on the counter and signaled again for another beer. Once the beer was shoved in front of him he chugged it, not bothering acknowledging his friend who was staring at him now. "What?" He asked turning towards Jason.

"Nothing, just wasn't expecting you to go at it pretty hard tonight." Jason said.

Tim shrugged. "Rough week."

Half an hour later he was already on his sixth beer and he was feeling better, looser, and relaxed. "I better head out, long day tomorrow and then I'm flying out tomorrow night. Have fun, Timmy." Jason said as he clapped Tim on the shoulder. He just responded with a simple salute and returned to the new beer that was placed in front of him.


Lyla was new to town; actually, she was new to Texas all together. She was from the Mid-West, Michigan a place where they had four seasons and had extremely cold winters. It was only April and so far she had experienced extreme heat in Texas, where at home it was constant rain storms this time of year. She definitely knew that she would adjust rather easily to this climate. She had settled nicely into her new home, already had every piece of furniture that arrived yesterday in place. It was Saturday night and she didn't want to stay at home, also it didn't help that the cable or internet wasn't set up yet.

Lyla slipped out the front door of her house. She stepped back to examine her proud new purchase. It was a small one story, two bedroom, and one bath house. It was white with black shutters; there was a garden that outlined the path that led from the driveway to her door. She was proud of her purchase and was excited to finally get settled into the house and town life. It was a smaller town than she was used to but she didn't mind, she knew she wasn't meant for city life.

The reason she was miles from home was her job just picked her up and tossed her to Texas, this was where they needed her so this was where she was going. It wasn't a big deal, she loved her job. Lyla worked for a private company that had branches across the country. She got a raise and practically everything paid for so she really didn't mind picking up her life and moving. It was good to change things up every once in a while. After living in Michigan her whole life of twenty four years, she had grown tired of the state and was desperate to leave.

Lyla decide to walk around and get the lay of the land. It was a pretty big place but she lived close enough to the centre that she could walk to the heart of the town. It was dark and fairly late but she easily navigated her way around. There was a commotion up ahead and when she finally reached the outside of the store she realized it was a bar. Smitty's it read. She shrugged; there wasn't much else to do so maybe she'll meet some friends.

As soon as she walked in she was hit with the smell of pickles. She found it strange of a bar to smell so bad but she guessed if a person was drunk enough that they wouldn't notice. It was small and compact, having many tables and a dance floor. Once she found the bar she walked over to the nearest empty stool and took a seat.

"What can I get you?" The bartender asked. She looked up shocked, the bar was crowded and she didn't expect to be served right away.

"Pink Lemonade Shooter, please." Lyla replied. She patted down her black sundress and pulled her denim jacket closed; she was nervous and began to fiddle with her hands. The bartender returned a few minutes later with her drink. Picking it up she downed it immediately, not flinching as she felt the hints of alcohol slide down her throat. The shot barely calmed her nerves so when the bartender returned she asked for another.

The drink was placed in front of her and she downed it instantly, calming the nerves a little bit. After the fourth shot she began to feel better, although the cloudiness was beginning to affect her.

"Slow down there." Lyla herd from beside her. She turned and saw a man watching her. He had green eyes hidden under straggly bangs. He was slumped over his drink but had his head turned, clearly he had been watching her.

"Excuse me?" She asked. "Who are you?"

"Tim Riggins." He said as he gave her half a smile. He returned back to his beer and chugged the rest of it. She watched as he ordered another, the bartender seemed to know him and he seemed oddly at home.

"You come here often?" She questioned. Under normal circumstances she never would have tried to make conversation with a stranger but he seemed safe. It also helped that he was incredibly attractive, even if he was wearing plaid and a faded pair of ripped jeans.

"You could say that" Tim suggested. "Want another?"

"Sure." Lyla replied. A moment later another pink shooter was placed in front of her and a bottle of beer was placed in front of Tim. She held out her shot for him. "Cheers" She said as they clinked glasses. They both threw back their heads and swallowed their drinks.

"You new here?" Tim questioned as he looked her up and down.

Lyla smiled as her cheeks went red. "How'd you know?"

"Not many pretty girls in this town." Tim replied and winked at her.

The two sat at the bar for another half hour, she had downed one more shot while Tim had finished another beer. They talked about everything and got to know each other. Lyla knew if she hadn't had some liquid courage she never would have had the nerve to talk to him, and she was glad that she was getting to know him. There was something inside her that made her giggle and flirt with him, something that just drew her to him.

"Want to get out of here?" She asked. As soon as it came out of her mouth she regretted it, she never meant to be so forward. Her hand flew to her mouth and she covered it as she turned around on the bar stool, not being able to look him in the eye.


Tim had spent the past hour drinking and talking with this beautiful girl and he had no idea where she came from. He was taken a bit off guard when she asked him to get out of there. Tim wanted nothing more than to take her home with him, there was something about this girl that drew him to her.

"Sure." Tim said as he got up off the stool and downed his beer. He reached out and grabbed her hand and gently pulled her out of the bar. The two laughed as they stumbled along the way and parted when they reached outside. He looked at her under the neon lights of the bars sign and took her all in.

She was beautiful, and it wasn't the alcohol talking. She had rich chocolate brown eyes and her brown hair cascaded in curls down her back. This girl had on blue jeans and a grey cardigan, not really party attire but she still looked gorgeous. He stared at her and when he was finally done giving her the once over he noticed she was blushing. Tim couldn't recall her name, he wasn't even sure if she gave him her name but he didn't care.

Tim reached out and pulled her with him as he walked to the side of the building and into the alley. He gently pushed her up against the wall and leaned into her getting close enough so he could smell her lavender shampoo. Putting one hand on the wall beside her head and the other on her hip, he swooped down slowly and captured her lips with his. It was a light kiss that lasted for a few seconds, when he pulled away he felt the electricity in the air. He never noticed it in the bar for they barely touched but now he just wanted to kiss her and never let her go. There was something between there, they may be strangers, but there was definitely chemistry.

She reached up around his neck and gently pulled him back towards her and kissed him with a little bit more intensity. Her one hand was intertwined with his hair while the other on his back, pulling him closer to her. He pulled back and heard her gasping for air and he smiled to himself as he ran kisses along her jaw and eventually her neck. Tim trailed kisses from her neck to collar bone and was making his way to the middle of her chest when he felt her pushing him away.

Tim looked up at her confused but shrugged it off and dived back in for another kiss, pushing himself into her, trying to get as close as possible to her. He couldn't get over the feeling of how right it felt and he was running on pure instinct. He felt her push him away again, this time he stopped and frowned at her.

"We should go somewhere a little more private." She said shyly as she looked away, not wanting to see him reject her.

Tim leaned in again and gave her a soft kiss on her lips then moved closer to her ear and kissed just below it. "Want to come back to my place?" He whispered seductively into her ear. He felt her nod and he faced her and gave her another hard, long kiss. He pulled away and gave her a sly smile. "Let's go then." Tim said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction of his apartment which was thankfully only a few blocks away.


A/N: Back with another Tim/Lyla story and I'm so excited for you guys to read it! This story will be slightly AU and OOC, i may link a few details back to the show and the characters will have somewhat similar personalities. When I wrote this chapter, I had Blake Shelton's Sure Be Cool If you Did song playing on repeat, which is where I came up with Lyla's drink of lemonade shooter. Also couldn't think of a good title for this story either, so i based it off Zac Brown Band's song Keep Me In Mind. Listen to the song if you want spoilers;)

Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. Please review, I love hearing your opinions and suggestions!

P.s. for those who don't know, AU=Alternate Universe, OOC=Out of Character