Tim stands on the field, his head spinning. His dad is here. He wishes there was a way he could tell Rae and hear her opinion. But instead he looks up and sees her, hands in front of her mouth nervously. Suddenly he raises his hand, fingers crossed, towards her. She beams and mirrors him. Then he bows his head and gets to playing his game.
At the end of the game, they storm the field, as is customary. Rae makes her way over to him, beaming.
"You almost make me like football." She teases. He grins, grabs her face, and pulls her into him, kissing her with no hesitation. It's the kind of kiss from a man who's blood is pumping full of adrenaline, who feels powerful and unstoppable. It's totally unexpected and Rae's mind goes completely blank in shock. A low whistle breaks them apart.
"Damn Timmy, I didn't think it was acceptable to kiss a girl like that in public." A man's voice teases. Rae looks at an older version of Tim, still too stunned to say anything.
"Dad, this is Rae. She's my tutor." He says proudly.
"Yeah? And what does she tutor you in?" Billy teases, chuckling.
"Hi, Mr. Riggins." Rae says, dazed.
"We'll wait for ya by the locker rooms, Timmy." He says, eyes twinkling, grabbing Billy's arm and pulling him away.
"You didn't tell me your dad was gonna be here!" She hisses once they're out of earshot, having regained most of her senses.
"I didn't know." He says, beaming.
"I'm glad you're happy. You deserve it." She says, smiling. He grins and kisses her again, the kind of hot kisses that makes her knees weak and head spin with some sort of deep desire.
"I will see you tomorrow, Rae." He says, grinning, jogging away. All Rae can do is wave.
"I'm glad that happened, cause now you can distract me from Matt by explaining why it did." Julie says from behind her. Rae just touches her lips gently, not sure what just happened. Julie glances up and sees Matt. Tears threaten in her eyes and even though her heart is still pounding, Rae wraps the younger girl in a tight hug, walking with her off the field.
"I can't study today, I have powder puff practice." Tim says, walking next to her in the halls. She jumps at his sudden appearance.
"Can you not scare me every day?" She demands, glaring. He grins, patting her head like it's a reminder that she's shorter than him.
"No. But I'll see ya when this whole thing is done, k?" With that, he's off again and Rae sighs. They still haven't talked about the kiss. She shuts her locker and sets off, trying her best not to notice how the rally girls split in two around her, then join back up, giggling.
Julie sits down at lunch the next day with a slam of her lunch tray.
"My mom's making me and Tyra play in that stupid powder puff game. She knows I hate football and everything about it. Matt chose me for powder puff and Tim chose Lyla. That's what you missed today in the sad life of Julie Taylor." She snaps. "Oh, and he chose me third."
"Who'd he choose before you?" She demands, with the right amount of outrage, but all of her thoughts are on Tim and Lyla. When schools out, she hurries to catch Tim before practice.
"Tim. Tim!" She says loudly, catching his attention. He frowns, walking over to her, glancing around.
"Rae, I told you I couldn't study, it's powder puff, but if I need help I'll come over." He says lowly. Rae holds her arms.
"Or you could ask Lyla for help. I'm sure it'd be easier, since you did pick her for your powder puff team." She accuses then storms away. He stares after her then runs a hand through his hair, unsure of what to do.
He walks into Rae's house, face cloudy.
"Oh shit." Carden says, glancing at his sister, scrambling for cover. Rae strides out from the kitchen, face equally as pissed off.
"Listen Rae, the powder puff thing is whatever. It's not a big deal at all. Lyla can play, that's all. She's done it before and her dad's taught her everything there is to know about the game. She is an asset and I want to win." He informs her, before she can kick him out.
"I don't give a shit about that Tim." Rae says flatly. "What I care about is that you kiss me like I'm the only girl you're gonna be kissing that night, then you go off and choose the girl you've slept with to play for you. Granted, you've fucked pretty much all of the rally girls, but just a little thought on your part would be nice. I meant it when I told Mrs. Taylor I wouldn't have sex with you, because I am your tutor. But god, for a couple seconds there you let me think about it." She accuses. Carden covers his ears and runs at this point.
"You thought about having sex with me?" He asks, totally sidetracked. She throws her hands up.
"I did, before I realized I clearly meant nothing to you. If I'm just your tutor, fine. But don't kiss me, not talk to me about what it meant, and then be a jackass about it." She commands.
"There's so much shit going around the team with this whole racist thing, I don't need this from you too." He tells her, peeved. She cocks her head, any light from her eyes gone.
"Funny, Tim, because I don't need you, period. Get out of my house." She orders, deadly calm. Tim does as told, slamming the door on his way out. Carden emerges from his bedroom.
"You two are pretty fun to watch fight when you're both really pissed off." He comments.
"Shut up." Rae says halfheartedly, tired.
Tim glances into the stand during the powder puff game and is surprised to see Rae, sitting with some dance girls. She watches the entire game halfheartedly, never once looking his way. At the end, he walks up to her when she's leaning against the rails of the bleachers.
"I didn't come to watch you." She says instantly. "I'm waiting for Julie so we can go to dance together."
"Well there wasn't much to watch anyways." He mutters, shaking his head. She reaches down and pulls his sunglasses off.
"I like seeing you lose. It's a new side of you." She says, trying them on. He's too amused to be offended. "And I swear I came to watch Julie, not you." She repeats firmly.
"And yet here you are." He points out. She sighs, pushing his sunglass on to the top of her head.
"Here I am." She says quietly, glancing around. Then she looks down at him. "I don't care if you pick Lyla for your team. I just hate that you kissed me and left. I don't know how you feel because you never said a word to me about it." She informs him. He runs a hand through his hair.
"I'm not good with words." He reminds her. "And this whole stuff with the team and my dad being back… I guess things just got crazy." He says helplessly. Rae shakes her head, pulling the glasses off her head and handing them back to him, mouth a thin line.
"Things got crazy, so you kissed me and it was a mistake. Got it." She says bitterly, walking away.
"Rae, wait!" He protests, jogging to catch up. He grabs her wrist and tugs her to a stop. "That's not how it is. What I meant was… Things are crazy but that doesn't mean I don't want you to stop wearing my number." He says, desperately trying to get her to understand. She looks down at him. "And I still need your help with that Gatsby final, cause you know I hated that book from start to finish." He begs quietly. She tries to hide her smile.
"Grab your books. Meet you at my house after this." She orders, biting her lip, but her eyes are twinkling.
"Rae, wait." He says, tugging on her wrist. She bends over the railing, curious. He grabs her face and kisses her, then grabs her under the armpits and pulls her over railing, making her squeal in surprise. He picks her up, laughing at her protests, carrying her towards the parking lot. Both Tyra and Lyla watch them go, both wondering what has possessed Tim Riggins to carry a giggling girl, who is neither a cheerleader nor a rally girl, home.
AN: Review and give me thoughts, comments, questions, concerns, and dislikes or likes. I would love feedback!