Rating: R
Characters: Julie Taylor and Tim Riggins
Summary: He smells like smoke and beer when he takes a step forward, stepping her back until she hits the wall.
Authors Note: Mostly for koalathebear, my one time venture into this wee fandom!
She runs into Tim Riggins at her first real college party at the University of Texas. He's in the corner, tall and brooding like she remembers from high school right down to the red plastic cup in his hand. He's got a few girls huddled around him, a lazy smile on his face and Julie thinks he looks older, leaner then she remembers. Then he grins, the corner of his mouth pulling upward as his hair falls over his face and suddenly he's three years younger and Dillon comes rushing back. She stares, thinks about Matt and Tyra, that ache inside her heart but Tim doesn't notice her, too caught up with the other boys, probably football players too, she thinks from their size and the way they hold themselves.
When she turns around her roommate Mary's already gone, left Julie standing awkwardly by the door as she falls over the fraternity boys who invited her to come. Julie isn't alone for long though, she has her mother's beauty, the full body and blonde hair that bring the frat boys all drunk and wanting. She brushes them away easily, knows by now from years of friendship with Tyra how to put them off.
She gets bored an hour into the party, hair and clothes smelling of smoke and sweat. She got over the excitement of alcohol in high school and she has no desire to revisit that time or get smashed with complete strangers anymore despite what her parents think. By the time she's searching for her coat she's forgotten all about Tim Riggins and Dillon, mad at her roommate and herself as she tries to think about how the hell she's supposed to get home.
She's down the hall by the door when she feels hands slide around the swell of her hip. It's only Tim's voice, the whispered "Hey little Julie," against the crown of her head that keeps her from stepping back into him and dropping him to the floor like her father taught her. He's on the bigger side then the kind of boys her father had her practice on before she left for school but Tim's a little drunk and a lot unprepared.
"Riggins." Her voice is flat and she uses that same annoyed tone she remembers Tyra having. He blinks in surprise and she twists her hips, falls easily out of his grasp. When she turns to face him he's grinning, mouth a little lax. He smells like smoke and beer when he takes a step forward, stepping her back until she hits the wall.
He curls an arm above her head, leans in a little as she folds her arms across her chest. She keeps her face even and calm like her father does when he's in a game.
"Does your father know you're here?" he asks.
"No."
He laughs, something low and throaty and when he leans in, lips warm and wet on her own, it's surprise that keeps her from reacting at first. He tangles his hand in her hair, holds her head against him and it's when he pushes his tongue inside her mouth that she snaps out of it, remembers who he is and knees him, hard. He drops to the floor, sputtering a fuck out of the gasp of pain.
"Was just," he pants, "just playin," and Julie's face is bright red when she makes for the door, coat forgotten on the floor.
---
He's waiting for her on Monday when she gets out of freshman bio, pink little jacket tucked under his arm. She doesn't know how he found her but she lets him lead her down the hall a little and outside into the crisp, cold Texas morning. Students are rushing past them, backpacks and arms full of books and no one spares them a glance.
"I'm-" Tim starts, falters a little and scrubs a hand through his stringy hair.
"Can I have my coat?" Julie asks, hand out stretched.
"Look, about Saturday night," he tries again and fuck he thinks because that night was the first time in a long time that he'd let himself get that drunk. He'd been excited over their win last week, reckless and then she'd been there, all grown up like he didn't remember. She'd been a handful for Matt Saracen at the time, shy but bold when it suited her and she'd grown out of that awkward kid body.
"Whatever," Julie interrupts. "I'm glad to see you haven't changed."
She grabs her jacket out of his hand and disappears into the crowd of people before he has the chance to apologize.
---
It's two weeks later, right before fall break when she runs into Tim again. She's at the library, buried deep in the stacks with her roommate. "Julie," Mary whispers, nudges her arm with an annoyingly bright smile. "Like oh my god, don't freak out or anything but I totally think that one of the football players is eyeing you. He's totally hot!"
Julie turns to see Riggins standing few feet away, looking wildly out of place in the library. She's got two huge finals and a stat class she needs to ace with absolutely no time for him but she knows ignoring him won't do any good. He's probably dumb (or patient) enough to stand there the rest of the night so she gets up. Her walk is quick and angry and Riggins is smart enough to take a step back when she gets closer.
"What?" She hisses at him.
"I wanted to apologize for Saturday. I didn't mean…what happened," he tells her awkwardly, hefting his backpack a little higher up on his shoulder.
"Yeah well great, apology noted."
"Look, I haven't been like that in a while and-"
"You don't have to explain yourself to me," Julie says.
"You know, I think I do. It's not like I go around molesting the coach's daughter every night!"
"Is that what you're worried about?" she asked, face twisting up unpleasantly. "That I'll tell my father. He isn't even your coach anymore."
"What? No, I just, god damn woman," Riggins says, voice rising enough to merit a few glares from people trying to study. "I'm not like that anymore. Hell you and Tyra talk and shit, I'm better about…that stuff. I got into college didn't I?"
"Uh-huh." She doesn't sound impressed.
"Come get a drink- get coffee with me," he amends at her look.
"Fine," Julie says and tells herself it's only because she wants him gone, wants people to stop looking at them because Tim Riggins wouldn't know what a church whisper was if it slapped him in the face.
---
"You're late," is the first thing Julie says to him as she slides across the seat of his black truck. She's wearing sweatpants and a ratty old t-shirt with her hair pulled back messily in a clip.
"Makin a statement?" he asks her and she shrugs, fingers dancing across her legs. She seems jittery, nervous but she meets his gaze unflinching, daring even. When they get to Starbucks she orders some frilly complicated drink and he gets a water, he doesn't really get coffee and the stuff they serve here.
It's fucking awkward at first because he doesn't really know her beyond her being the coach's daughter and it becomes pretty clear that she isn't interesting in talking football or about how her daddy's coaching job is doing. He remembers, mostly because her shirt says dance is a way of life across it in bright green letters with little figurines, that she liked that artsy shit.
He asks her about dance here and it then it's pretty easy to sit back and listen to her talk. He doesn't really get why she likes it but he makes comments at the right times, keeps his face looking interested until she makes him take her home. She hops out of the car, like she's afraid he might do something and that right there makes him think that he needs to forget about her, he doesn't need the hassle of trying to explain to her he's changed. Billy and Tyra know and that was all Tim really cared about. Julie Taylor was barely part of his past and he'd done all he could here, with her to apologize. He was pretty sure she wasn't too interested in dealing with him either, the move had been hard on her and Saracen's relationship he knew. He was probably just a reminder of a bad past.
So he's a little surprised when she turns, mouth turning upward uncertainly at him and she says, "You can take me out for lunch after my bio test Wednesday," and he agrees.