Chapter Three

"Daph, I need your help," Julie sighed as she collapsed into the chair opposite her friend's desk.

"Sure," Daphne shifted her attention from her desktop computer to Julie, "what's up?"

"I may or may not have agreed to have dinner with Tim Riggins to convince him to do the feature." As she spoke, her voice became more and more unsure. What had she gotten herself into?

Daphne's furrowed her eyebrows. "Isn't that, I don't know, bribing?"

"Not when you know the person," Julie explained in defense.

"Wait," Daphne held up her hand in protest, "you know Tim Riggins? Julie, why did you keep this valuable piece of information from me?"

Julie cringed, realizing that to people who hadn't grown up with the likes of Smash Williams, JD McCoy, and Tim Riggins in and out of their house on a daily basis, successful athletes were kind of a big deal. It had completely slipped her mind that guys like Tim were media magnets; she just chose to ignore all of the hoopla. To her, a good quarterback or receiver was on the same level as her hair stylist. It was simply a job, something they loved and could make money doing.

"Because, he played for my dad back home and it's not like we're technically friends by definition of the word. I mean, I'm pretty sure the most meaningful conversation we've had other than when I ran into him at the gala last night was when I was drunk and he saved me from make a huge mistake," Julie rationalized.

Daphne didn't catch on. "He lived with you? In your home?"

"It was only for a week," Julie really didn't see what the big deal was with this entire situation.

"Well, then the important question is who initiated the meal," Daphne said, getting back to the situation at hand.

"He did. It was like a condition to make him agree to do the article or something."

"Then it's totally a date." Julie reddened.

"Why do you say that? Maybe he just, I don't know, wanted to see a familiar face again."

"Jules," Daphne stressed her name before continuing, "guys like that don't ask out girls just because they want to see a familiar face. Look at him, all he has to do is smile and remind any girl in Manhattan that he's the new fullback for the Giants and he has them swooning. He chose you."

"Tim isn't like that," Julie tried to convince herself. Then, she remembered the rally girls and cheerleaders at his beck and call back in high school. Maybe he was.

Daphne must have noticed the realization settle onto Julie's face. "If I were you I'd consider myself flattered," she said with a shrug.

"He thinks I'm a rally girl," Julie mumbled to herself. "I mean, look at me, I'm blond, I work at freaking Cosmopolitan for crying out loud."

"Rally girl?" Daphne wasn't familiar with the term.

Julie ignored her question. "I, uh, I need to take the rest of the day off and prepare myself mentally for this," she said while standing from the chair and turning away.

"If that's you taking a pass on him, I'm always available," she heard Daphne shout from her desk.

Julie finally felt a little tension leave her shoulders. "Nice try, Daph," she giggled without turning around.

After logging off of her computer, she grabbed her purse from beneath her desk and made a swift exit from the Cosmopolitan offices and onto the busy streets of Manhattan in less than ten minutes. Mentally still trying to convince herself that the possibility that this was completely a business dinner and not a date, she flagged a cab and directed them to her apartment. Once inside, she stretched out on the couch, phone in hand.

Desperately wanting to call someone who wouldn't swoon over the fact that she was having dinner with the Tim Riggins, she flipped through her contacts. Mom, no; Lois, definitely not; Tyra, probably not the best option considering her past with him. All of her city friends were definitely a no, leaving her with no other options. Sighing loudly, she stood and padded to the bathroom. Maybe a bath would help settle her nerves.

By five 'till seven, Julie had somewhat calmed her fluttery stomach that had felt odd since she had agreed to dinner. With Tim set to arrive at her apartment in less than five minutes, though, her clothing was a different story. In fact, it looked like closet had caught a vicious case of the stomach flu and erupted onto her bed. She finally settled on a pair of dark skinny jeans, a flowy white tank top with navy embroidery around the neckline, and a pair of chunky wedges.

She heard a knock at her door just as she was tucking the buckle on her left shoe through the clasp. Jumping up from her still littered with clothes bed, she jogged through her apartment to greet Tim, a silent prayer being sent to the Heavens that she had somehow found an apartment with rent control and a doorman.

"Hi," she said breathlessly when she whipped open the door. She was stunned to see Tim standing there, a bouquet of daisies in his hand.

He grinned widely at her. "Hi yourself," he finally said. "Oh, these are for you," he held the flowers out to her.

"Thanks, I'll just put them in water," she blushed before rushing into the kitchen to deposit them in a vase, grabbing her purse on the way back to the door.

"You ready?" he asked when she arrived back in front of him. She nodded, taking in the crisp white button down he had worn with jeans and a pair of boots, trying to figure out where they were headed for the evening based by what he was wearing. His outfit, however, wasn't traditional city-wear so she was unable to form any conclusions.

"So, where are we headed?" she asked as they exited her building. He had sweetly tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and was guiding her down the sidewalk.

"You'll see," he answered vaguely.

Turning to him, she narrowed her eyes as if daring him to give her more details. He didn't fall for it, only laughing lightly and continuing on. "Just trust me," he drawled.

"Fine," she finally said. "We are having dinner, though, right?" she joked.

"Right."

As the walk continued, silence settled over them. It was nice, Julie realized, to not have to constantly attempt to keep up a conversation. Most dates, if that was what this was, she went on were filled with awkward small talk about work and family life. With Tim, those things didn't seem to be necessary. He talked when he had something important to say and that was it.

"We're here," he announced a few blocks down. They had stopped in front of what looked like a vacant, run down restaurant that Julie had never noticed before.

She turned to Tim, a million questions written on her face, the most important one seeming to ask, 'Where the hell are we?'

"Come on, I promise it's really good." He released her hand from the crook of his elbow where it had grown comfortable before allowing his to travel to the small of her back, gently urging her forward through the door he was holding open. Julie tried to ignore the tingles his warm hand sent up her spine.

"Six and Erin brought me here a few weeks back on one of my first nights in the city. It's a completely hidden gem," he explained to her as they made their way down a mostly dark hallway, lit only by a few elegant floor lamps every few feet.

Finally, they arrived at an ornate door surrounded by stained glass windows. Tim shifted forward and pulled open the door, revealing an oasis of greenery settled in the middle of the city. Julie's eyes widened at the beauty before her; shrubs and flowers and flourishing trees covered every open space that wasn't occupied with tables and chairs.

"This is...wow," she finally stuttered after taking everything in while Tim was requesting a table from the hostess.

"Not what you would expect to find in the middle of the city, huh?" he asked once they were seated at a small table, hidden from the rest of the patrons.

"Not quite," she agreed. How had Tim been privileged enough to witness this place in two weeks after living in the city while she had been here for three and half a years?

When a waitress arrived, Tim ordered a bottle of red wine to be shared along with an appetizer he had had while dining here with Jason and Erin that he swore she would enjoy. "No beer?" she joked when the waitress had disappeared back into the jungle of greenery.

"Not tonight."

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Dancing and wine, Tim Riggins dare I say you've become worldly," she joked, trying to avoid the hidden implication in his previous statement that might indicate the purpose of dinner was anything but business.

"And after dinner, we'll retire to the library with brandy and cigars," he went along with her joke, smirking slightly.

She giggled. "Are you enjoying the city?"

"I am," he nodded. "Especially now that I'm able to sleep through the night, the sounds from the traffic and everything were a bit to handle at first."

"Where have you settled?"

"I found a little place on the Upper East Side," he answered casually.

"So, the other night when you made sure I got home you went completely out of your way?"

She noticed a slight blush rise in his cheeks. "I might have just wanted to spend a little more time with you," he admitted with a shy smile.

Now, it was her turn to blush. "And tonight?"

"Tonight," he paused as if contemplating his thoughts, "well, today, you provided me with a great excuse to ask you out without having to gather the courage within myself."

"Please, you could go on a date with anyone in Manhattan if you wanted." Julie was having a hard time believing that he really did want to spent time with her.

"Probably," he admitted. "But I chose you."

Julie grinned at his comment that cleared up most of her reservations about the evening. Maybe Daphne had been right after all.

–

After dinner, Tim walked Julie home the same way they had come. This time, Julie was much more relaxed on their stroll. Much too soon for her liking, they arrived outside her building.

"Thanks again for dinner," she said as she turned her body to face his as they stood in front of her door. She was trying in vain to avoid an awkward end-of-the-date scenario.

He chuckled. "You're welcome," he said, inching his face closer to hers.

"I still can't believe that Jason and Erin found that place in the middle of the..." His lips gently tumbling onto hers cut her off. Apparently, she mused, Tim didn't have patience for her awkward small talk.

Overcoming the initial shock, she melted into the kiss as one of his hands traveled up to cup her cheek, the other settling on her hip. "Wait," she drew away reluctantly. Before she let this carry any further, she had one last reservation to clear up.

There wasn't anger in his eyes, but definitely some annoyance. "I'm not like, one of those things you have to get out of your system am I?"

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion so she continued. "You know, like, you have to sleep with the coaches daughter to get over some sort of old high school dream or bet or something crazy like that," she rambled, her right hand waving through the air nervously.

He laughed, freaking laughed, at her fears. "No," he assured her bluntly before attacking her lips again, this time as gently as before.

She pulled away yet again, causing him to groan. "Are you sure?" she looked up into his eyes, pleading with him to reassure her.

"Yes," he said with a sigh. She didn't seem convinced so he continued. "Which is why, as much as I don't want to, I'm going to kiss you one last time, let you unlock the door, and tell you goodnight. I can't make any promises concerning later dates, though."

"Later dates?" she asked hopefully. Well, that clears that question up.

He nodded slowly. "Definitely later dates," he assured her before initiating the kiss to end the evening.

--

A/N: Another quick update, but I have to warn everyone it might be sometime next week before I get a chance to update again because I'm going out of town to visit family. But, you never know so keep checking :)

Also, to my knowledge there is no such restaurant existing in Manhattan like the one I described Tim taking Julie to. In fact, I'm not from NYC, I've only visited a few times, so just go ahead and give me a freebie for any huge mistakes I make regarding places and things, please!

Thanks again for reading! I'll do my best to update soon! Reviews = love!