Unbalanced - Chapter 3

Tim was experiencing a serious case of anticipation. There had been a Julie lull, like she was building up to something bigger. It was enough to make him run for the hills. He would run if the view wasn't so sweet. Julie would hang around the house in her pj's and he would covertly examine (innocently of course) her long legs. The ripple of her leg muscles contracting turning out to be quite an inspiring sight. He was surrounded by huge muscles all the time but he found it almost funny that his would get hold his attention. Playing ping-pong with her and Coach was fun but seeing her run around, hair flying, her cheeks reddened and her breathing sped up, it was a massive turn on. In fact he had to leave the garage on several occasions to avoid having his uncomfortable state detected. But he was distracting himself, there was a lull, the storm was coming and he wasn't sure if he wanted to batten down the hatches.

The calm continued on and Tim was still worried but he was beginning to realise that though it concerned him, it wasn't a bad concern. The thrill of anticipation was kind of exciting in increasingly the likelihood of being homeless again and having his ass kicked by the Coach. Real thrilling.

Avoid and deflect was working to a small degree and he would stick with that plan. However he needed a Plan B. A plan for when his self-control was minimal and he needed intervention. He was not one who could naturally reject his baser instincts. Didn't she know better? Hadn't she heard of reputation? Cheating with his best friend's gal, sleeping with older women, cool room interludes and a drunken lout taboot? And it was all true. A good girl like Julie, with a scary father like the Coach, should know better.

Plan B – use Gracie as a barricade between Julie and himself. That baby would be a human shield. Gracie was absolutely no help when it came to the morning shower encounter. He couldn't avoid them. He started getting up early, he'd get into the shower last but she was his shadow. In the end he decided that he would just have to do his own thing and suffer the consequences.

That day was different though. He swore he could hear muffled movement when he went to the bathroom. He enjoyed the silence and relief of being alone in the shower. Although it was hard to not think of saucy things when he was surrounded by items that smelled like Julie. He swallowed hard and decided to get the hell out of there. This was becoming impossible. As he reached for the towel he stumbled and knocked all the bottles over. He quickly picked them up, cursing his clumsiness. As he walked out of the room, towel around his waist, she was there with the kid. This was not good.

She was surprised to see him. Obviously. She was taking care of Gracie duties. She wasn't stalking him again. He looked at her face again. Or was she?

"Mornin' Tim," she greeted him as she swept passed him. Tim was momentarily confused; she hadn't stopped or really said anything at all. Gracie smiled at him over her sister's shoulder. He smiled back, she was pretty nice. Then Gracie gurgled. Like a baby's hello he thought, or was he reading too much into it. Upon hearing the gurgle Julie swung around and faced him. This was not good.

"Looks like a certain lady wants to say good morning to you Tim" she said to him and his body reacted to her voice. Apparently it was no longer her body that did the trick. Great! He wasn't sure if this was such a crash hot idea but it did fit within his Plan B. Gracie was there holding her arms out and waving them around at him. She had a huge smile on her face and her dimples were deepened by her obvious joy in seeing him. Who was he kidding, Muffin had him whipped. He leaned forward and brushed his forefinger gently back and forth under her chin. It amazed him that her skin was that soft and that such a simple movement could make her so happy.

He couldn't help himself, "Do you think...I could have a hold?" Tim asked Julie waiting for the inevitable no. The baby's movements were getting wildly erratic obviously contemplating jumping from her sister to her new beau.

"Well sure Tim. She seems to really like you," he felt immediately guilty. Here was Julie helping her parents out and her sister obviously preferred his presence to hers. He hoped she wasn't too mad at him. He leaned into Julie, smelling her to an increasing degree with every inch he got closer. She smelled like strawberries and watermelon and summer. He placed his hands under the babe, brushing her chest and securing his hold on the baby. As soon as she was pressed up against his chest, Muffin's smile widened and she calmed down.

"You think?" he knew Gracie liked him to a degree but he didn't think anyone had ever liked him as much as this baby. Perhaps because she didn't expect anything from him other than an occasional tickle and a hug. He looked at Julie, then the baby, he contemplated the joy rushing through him. He was getting rather attached to the Taylor's, how soon until he ruined it? Muffin grabbed his hand and started chewing on his pointer finger. She was intent on her mission and soon his hand was covered in copious amounts of baby slobber. He didn't mind, the feeling of a baby gnawing on your hand was curious to be sure but not painful.

"You're kidding me right? She's your number one fan," Julie answered. He could tell from her expression that she was being sincere and it made him feel good. Maybe he could do something right. He smiled - something he was doing more frequently of late, and may have even flushed a little. Julie looked at him with shock.

He decided he should try and downplay the whole thing. "It's kind of new for me. Babies I mean. This is the first one I've known," he explained. Julie was obviously distracted. She was staring at her sister, lost in thought. Maybe he should hand Muffin back. He was surprised when she responded with a question-

"I guess you are the youngest in your family right? Makes sense that your baby experience would be pretty limited," Tim was a little shocked. She obviously knew more abut him than he thought. Had she been asking questions?

"My family experience is pretty limited," he felt insanely uncomfortable. There was no way anyone could refer to his home life as family. His experience wasn't just limited, it was non-existent. He'd been living in a bachelor pad for years with his brother. Family? Not really.

"Well that's not your fault. You've been here what? Four weeks? You've picked it up pretty quick if you ask me, in fact you are making me look bad,' she stated. Was she trying to make him feel better about his lousy excuse for a family unit? Tim was rocked by this. No one had really ever spoken to him like he'd fit in. Julie Taylor was trying to make him feel better. The thought stunned him. He liked it, she'd even pointed out that he was doing a better job that she. Not surprising as he'd been doing chores a month and enjoyed it, she'd been doing them forever and was well and truly over it. This was not good. He felt happy. This was really not good.

Tim realised held have to say something to get things back on track. He liked this family; he wanted to stay a part of it. Even if that meant living in perpetual horniness around Julie. He needed to say something to deflate the situation. What would do that? He drew on years of being an ass to women and said

"Yeah I guess – the whole mom, dad and two baby sisters' deal".

Tim watched as Julie's mouth screwed up. He knew this look. The Coach looked exactly the same. Julie Taylor was majorly pissed off. Thank God.