Timmy looked around the room. He was 26 and doing alright in his life. Well, as well as he could be expected to do. He had graduated from high school and gotten a full-ride to play soccer at Dimmsdale State. It had been a great opportunity and he had been good. They had won the conference in his first year and in his second they made the NCAA finals. He had been pulled hard by the MLS and even had a few European clubs come calling. He had been living the dream.

Sadly, not all dreams last. During a trip to hike the Grand Canyon with Chester and AJ the following summer, he had taken a nasty fall. He'd broken his ankle and torn his ACL in the process, which was followed by him missing the next season. The team slipped back down to about a 3 or 4 seed in the conference and missed the NCAA tournament. Timmy had pressed himself hard to get back into shape as he recovered, but nothing was ever the same. He was still good, but not the level of great that had brought teams to his doorstep before. He had become almost an afterthought.

Never one to let these sort of things get him down, Timmy had jumped into his studies and taken up coaching in a youth league. He had foregone his last season of eligibility, which worked out well because the coach had already been leaning toward benching him in favor of trying to get some experience for some new talent.

Studies-wise, Timmy had decided to try his hand in the classroom. He was pretty good with words and had started as an English Major, but as his soccer career fell apart and he fell in love with working with students, he decided that Secondary Education English was where he would focus his time. And he had taken to it like a monkey to climbing. He was still fit and attractive and had taken the reigns as coach for the soccer teams when he started his first job, now living in a small town in North Carolina. The pressures from his past and his memories had led to him really wanting to get away, so he had taken the job here. Life was slower paced, but work was rewarding. He had apparently been a really good coach. Having been there three years, he had led both the men's and women's teams to 3 straight conference championships, 2 state finals, and a state title each.

And now here he found himself staring at the room he was standing in. The quiet life had become anything but quiet over the past few years. He'd found a great roommate, which worked well even if they were at one another's throats most of the time. And Chester had decided to become a game and wildlife warden. He had found a job near Timmy about a year after Timmy had moved there. Then things had taken a crazy twist. Tootie had moved to NC as well, about a town over.

That was where Timmy found himself currently. He had gone out to dinner with Tootie for a function she was managing. Something to do with a non-profit she was running now. He had listened during dinner and knew it had something to do with childhood cancer, but as quickly as she talked, it was all he'd been able to catch. Dinner had been pleasant and she had invited him back to her place. She had just gone into the kitchen to get some "tea" for them. He was a bit concerned when she had put air-quotes around the word tea, but he shook it off to take advantage of the time to evaluate the space.

Tootie lived in a nice quiet two bedroom apartment. Apparently the job was treating her reasonably well, if stressful. He knew she had been very busy recently and this was, according to her, her first chance to sit down in weeks. He laughed a bit.

Tootie had given up her obsession over him in middle school, but they had stayed friends. And when she moved out here to NC last year, the two had grown close again, Chester right along with them. Timmy's roommate didn't get along too well with them, but that was to be expected.

He turned his attention back to her as she entered the room. They both moved to sit on the couch and talk. As Timmy sat there trying to take in her fast pace, he couldn't focus. His mind was somewhere else…with someone else…

After about an hour, Timmy sat his cup down. Their conversation had died down about 10 minutes before and they had both just been enjoying the peace and quiet when there was a crash of thunder. Tootie jumped at this, before looking over at him. She smiled, and moved closer to him. Timmy suddenly realized she did not look very happy.

"What's wrong Tootie?" She just stared off into space, till another crash made her slide closer to him once again.

"Scared of Thunderstorms?" She nodded at this. He offered his arm, and she slid into his embrace. She had grown up into a gorgeous woman, alongside her brilliance which had led to her being in the job she was in anyhow. He looked down and couldn't help but notice each and every gorgeous curve of her figure as she pressed against him. And he couldn't help himself…

…but he really wished she was someone else.

They sat there silently for a moment before Tootie felt the tension in the air.

"So…you don't really want to be here, do you?" She ventured, hesitantly. Timmy caught himself and snapped back to full awareness.

"W-What do you mean? I like being here with you." He almost jumped to say it.

"But there is someone else you'd rather be with?" He looked down, trying to gage what she was thinking. This date had been their idea and it seemed mutually exciting when it was proposed. But now, staring at her eyes, he knew the truth.

"Yes." He shook his head and looked down at his shoes, away from her.

"It's ok. Now that we're here, I think there is someone else I would rather have here too."

Timmy looked down at her in confusion. She just smiled back at him before sitting up and placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Go get her already." She pushed him to his feet. As he made his way out into the rain, she could hear him grumbling. She wasn't sure exactly what he said, but she knew it was going to be an interesting night. As he shut the door, she pulled out her own cell phone to text the someone she was missing.