Tim wouldn't lie and say he had thought much about Julie Taylor before living with her. His thoughts about the girl had never gone beyond 'Coach's daughter' or 'Saracen's girl'. But she wasn't Saracen's girl anymore.

She was still Coach's daughter, though. That should have been enough to keep certain thoughts out of Tim's head.

Like how cute she looked at breakfast time on the weekends, her hair tousled and her face bare of makeup.

Or how easily he'd managed to memorize the pattern of freckles across her nose.

Or how when she read a book, she was oblivious to everything around her, and how much he liked watching her in her own world.

But even having Coach Taylor under the same roof, more often than not in the same room, had not been enough to keep the thoughts from sprouting in his head.

Not that Tim ever acted on them. He knew better than that, though that wasn't to say he didn't very much want to act on them.

But one night, Time walked passed a window in the Taylor household to see Julie laying in the backyard, her face turned skyward.

A bemused smile spread across Tim's face as he ducked out the back door.

"What are you doing out here, Taylor?" he asked. The sound of his voice startled Julie into sitting up.

"There's gonna be a meteor shower," Julie told him. Even in the dark, Tim could make out the excitement in her eyes.

"Have you ever seen one?" She asked, and Tim shook his head. Julie scooted over on the blanket she'd placed on the ground.

"Come watch with me."

Now, in all his life, Tim Riggins had never paid much attention to the stars in the sky. He would even go so far as to say he didn't give a damn about them under different circumstances. But nothing would have stopped him from looking at the stars with Julie Taylor that night.

"Alright," he'd said in his Texas drawl, flopping himself down beside her on the blanket.

"I love meteor showers," Julie told him. He liked the childlike excitement in her voice. "One of the only good things about living in Dillon is that there isn't a lot of light pollution."

Tim had never heard of light pollution before, but he nodded at her, happy enough to be laying on that blanket with her. There had been many times he'd imagined hanging out with Julie, but he never thought he actually would.

Julie Taylor wasn't like the girls he usually hung around, and they both knew that all too well. Tim had kept his distance from her for good reason, even though it went against what he wanted.

"You have no idea what that means, do you?" Julie asked him, turning her face from the sky to look at him.

Tim smiled sheepishly at her. "Not a damned clue."

She giggled, and an urge to kiss her swelled up inside Tim's chest, which he promptly suppressed. This was Julie Taylor. Not Tyra or Lyla or one of the countless rally girls.

This girl was too good for Tim. Or so he thought.

Too good or not, Julie and Tim kept looking at each other in silence. He could feel the tension between the two of them, but it was broken when a flash of light caught Julie's eye.

"Look!" She exclaimed, grabbing Tim's hand in one of hers and using the other to point to the sky. "It's starting."

Julie didn't let go of his hand, not even when they had both moved to look at the streaks of light moving across the sky. On impulse, Tim moved his hand inside hers, threading their fingers together.

For just a moment, Julie looked away from the sky to smile at him. She still didn't try to remove her hand from his.

Even though Tim watched the flash of meteors up above, he was really more focused on how soft and small Julie's hand was in his.

"Isn't it pretty?" Julie said in a reverent whisper. Her eyes were following the trails left by the meteors, so that she didn't notice Tim's gaze fixed on her. In Tim's opinion, Julie's excitement and wonder was a better view than the meteors themselves.

The meteor shower doesn't last long—ten minutes, tops—but neither make a move to get up when the last meteor fades from their sight. They stay laying on the blanket, hands intertwined.

"I never would have thought Tim Riggins would go stargazing," Julie teased, turning her head to look at Tim.

Tim shrugged. "Only if Julie Taylor asked him to."

Julie smiled wide at Tim, her nose crinkling. "Not even for Tyra or Lyla?"

"Neither of them would ever think to go stargazing."

"Or for one of the rally girls?"

This time, Tim chuckled. "Julie, you know those girls only think about doing one thing with the Dillon Panthers."

Julie laughed and sat up, making sure their hands were still connected as she looked down at him.

"You're not as tough as you look, you know. I've seen you play with Gracie Bell."

"Well, that's not fair. No one looks tough playing with a baby."

"I've also seen the way you bow your head and say 'Yes, ma'am' to my mom."

Tim laughed. "Hey, now. Mrs. Coach can be a scary lady."

"Just take my compliment," Julie said with an eye roll. "I meant it in a good way."

"Alright," Tim said with an easy smile. "So I'm not as tough as I look."

They were quiet for a few moments, Julie looking down at Tim where he lay on the blanket. Tim's thumb drew lazy circles along Julie's palm as they sat in an easy silence.

"You know, I'm really glad you came here to live with us," Julie told him. "I don't think I ever would have gotten to know the real Tim Riggins if you didn't. I like the real Tim Riggins."

"Oh, do you now?" Tim asked, his tone flirty enough to give Julie the courage to bend down to where he lay on the blanket.

Her lips were confident and sure, pressing against his. Tim reached up with his free hand to cup the back of her head, pulling her in just a little bit closer. He knew this kiss was different than any kiss he'd had with any other girl. This one wasn't going to lead to a fling or a bad decision.

This kiss was genuine. When Julie pulled away from him ever so slightly, she smiled and said, "Mhmm. I really do like the real Tim Riggins."