Tim was at my doorstep Saturday morning with a large bag on his shoulder. I took in the sight and let him in. He set his bag down and followed me into the kitchen where I was still making breakfast. It was comfortably quiet.

I split my omelet and put half on a plate for Tim, kissing the side of his head. "What happened."

He looked at the countertop. "Don't be mad at me, okay?"

"Depends on what you did, Tim."

"Before State... I slept with my neighbor."

I nodded. "Billy said somethin' about it once, which was a dumb decision for both of you to make. But that's the past."

Tim scratched his head. "Yeah, well Billy's datin' her now. She's always over and I'm tired of it, so I left. I don't want anything to do with her or Billy."

I rubbed his back. "I'm sorry, Tim. I'm happy that you chose to walk away from what's upsetting you rather than fight with Billy. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need to, okay?"

"What about your parents?" Tim took a bite of the omelet.

"They don't get a say in this because they're not here right now." I kissed his cheek and started eating my breakfast. "Pantherama is next week."

"I don't think I'm goin' since I'm off the team."

I frowned. "I'm still sorry that happened. I wish I could do something to help you get Coach to change his mind."

"I'm workin' on it."

"And I know you'll use that brain of yours to find a way back onto the field. Or Coach is gonna realize he needs you."

Tim pulled me closer to his seat. I closed my eyes when he kissed my mouth slowly. We smiled at each other from a close distance. I was still floored Tim Riggins wanted me. I never could have predicted it.

My stomach flipped when he kissed me again before finishing his breakfast. My face was warm from the contact.

The day of Pantherama had Dillon High in a tizzy. Everyone walked around in their Dillon shirts with their faces painted. Even though Tim was off the team, I still had a 33 on my cheek.

Apparently, Tyra and Lyla put together the entertainment for the assembly and the word was the football team was the main event. I was a little bummed knowing Tim wasn't going to be a part of it.

He noticed my frown when I met him at his locker. "What's wrong?"

"You're gonna laugh at me."

He ran his hand through my hair and cradled the back of my head. "I won't laugh at you, Cat."

I played with the strap hanging down from his backpack. "I really wish Coach Taylor didn't kick you off the football team because I would love to see you doing whatever the team has planned for Pantherama. It's goofy, I know, but I like seein' you have fun."

Tim smiled. I could see him fighting back a laugh. "How about you tell me what they did when you get home and I'll do whatever it is for you."

I stood on my toes and left a quick kiss on his lips. "I'd like that a lot, Tim."

Tim kissed me back. "I'll see you tonight, Barton." His thumb ran across the paint on my face. "Thanks for supportin' me today."

"Of course. I don't care if you're on the team or not, I'm gonna be cheerin' you on."

He squeezed the back of my neck once before letting his hand fall away as he walked away. I watched him with a smile, leaning against his locker.

All things considering, Pantherama started off fun. I was enjoying myself and shouting with the rest of the school. When the football players came out, my fun was zapped out of embarrassment.

A sensual-sounding song started playing and everyone one of the football players stripped off their shirts. Girls screamed. My face turned bright red at the thought of Tim repeating their performance just for me. I had to sit down. I was thankful I did because the girls screamed again when they ripped their snap-off pants from their bodies. There was absolutely no way I could tell Tim about it. No way.

When I left the gym, I was in a daze. I barely managed to wave at Lyla and Tyra as I walked by. It didn't satisfy Tyra because she stopped me. She saw my face and asked what was wrong.

"I can't tell you."

Lyla touched my arm. "You look sick. Do you need to sit down?"

"No, no. I'll be fine."

Tyra crossed her arms. "What did Tim do? Is he pressurin' you to sleep with him? I'll kick his ass if he is."

I shook my head vigorously. "No. Tim is a perfect gentleman. I can't tell you what's going on because it'll spread around this school like wildfire."

Lyla took a chunk of my hair and draped it over my shoulder. "If you need to talk about it, I promise I won't tell a soul." She gazed at Tyra who eventually rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. I won't tell anyone either."

My eyes bored into Tyra. "I'm not kidding, Tyra. If anyone catches word, I'll get a lot of shit for it and Tim will get his own backlash from the football team... or he'll get praised for it – I'm not really sure. And I don't want you to go teasing Tim about it, okay?"

"Okay, okay! I won't tell anyone or bother your boyfriend."

I swallowed and hid my red cheeks under my hands. "I was a little bummed out Tim couldn't be a part of Pantherama because I wanted him to have some fun, ya know? Well, he promised me he'd do whatever the team had planned just for me. I didn't realize it was a fuckin' striptease!"

Tyra full-on cackled. 'Oh, you are in for a show tonight, Cat."

Lyla wrapped her arm around my shoulder, smiling reassuringly. "You can tell him something else happened, or ask him not to do it."

"Well, I'm not gonna lie to him, so I guess I have to tell him not to do it." I rubbed my face. "I still can't believe you had them do that."

"They couldn't do anything else we asked of them," Tyra said with a shrug. "Everyone else seemed to enjoy it."

"Yeah, because you had good-lookin' guys almost naked in front of them. I should be glad Tim wasn't here because half of that gym would have been trying to get to him."

Lyla laughed. "You think that highly of Tim?"

"I have seen him at the pool before and it's hard not to stare." I scratched my arm nervously. "I may not be sexually active, but Tim Riggins has a way of makin' me lose my shit with a single look."

"You've got it bad," Tyra said. "And how long have you been dating?"

"Since Mexico."

Lyla smiled a little at the memory of finding me the next morning asleep beside Tim. I vaguely remembered Tim's head against my chest and my arms cradling his head closer.

"That's not that long ago. Don't get yourself fallin' too quick. Riggins is unpredictable." Tyra ran her hand through her hair.

"It's what I like about him." My blush faded a little and my face softened.

"Go find Tim," Lyla said, rubbing my shoulder. "I'm sure he's wondering where you are right now."

I nodded and wished them a good evening before going to my car.

The TV was going from the living room when I got home. I normally would have walked in there and joined Tim on the couch, but I wasn't ready to tell him about Pantherama. Too bad he already heard the door shut and came over to me.

He pulled me into a kiss. "How was it?"

"Good." I put my backpack on the ground and scurried into the kitchen. Tim followed close behind.

"Are you okay?"

I looked at him. His eyes were filled with concern and a little fear. I quickly hugged him. "I'm okay, Tim. Don't worry. I'm just embarrassed."

"Why?"

"If I tell you about Pantherama, then I have to ask you not to do what the team did. I know you promised and I was kinda sad about you not being a part of it, but I don't think I can handle you keeping that promise right now."

"Just tell me what the guys did."

"Tyra and Lyla thought it would be a great idea to have the football team strip down to their boxers in front of the whole school."

"The school let them do that?"

"Mrs. Taylor looked like she was gonna kill Tyra and Lyla. At least they weren't naked."

Tim chuckled. "You sure you don't want me to fulfill my promise?"

"This once I'm beggin' you not to." I went over to the dishwasher to start loading it.

"Afraid you won't like it?" He was smirking when I glanced at him.

I dropped a plate into a slot and ran my fingers through my hair. "Definitely not, Tim. I'm just not ready to put that temptation in front of me when we're still new to this. You are very nice to look at."

Tim came over and rested his arms on my shoulders, toying with my hair. "All right. I won't do it, but don't hold breakin' my promise over me. I'm doin' what you asked."

"Thank you."

He kissed me a couple of times before helping me load the dishes.

Later, I joined him on the couch to watch some TV. I curled up in his lap and used his shoulder as my pillow. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"You sure you don't want me to entertain you?" The amusement was thick in his statement.

I looked up at him and gestured at his flannel shirt he had buttoned one button lower than most people would wear it. "This right here is enough to make me blush, Tim. I'll probably have a heart attack if you show off any more skin."

He pulled me into a slow kiss, cradling the back of my head. A satisfied grin settled on his face when he gazed at me. "You don't have a problem at the pool."

"'Cause that's a place everyone shows off a lot of skin." I grazed one finger against the little bit of skin I could see on his chest. "I had to keep my eyes focused when I got back from Italy because I missed you a lot more than I expected. And I felt a little bit of pride when you left those two girls floatin' in the water to greet me. The best lookin' guy at the pool wanted to see me, the art nerd, rather than the pretty rally girls."

"You're pretty."

"You say that because you're datin' me now."

Tim kissed me again. "I always thought you were, Barton."

I put my head on his shoulder again. "Thanks, Tim."

He took my hand and knitted his fingers with mine as he kissed my head. Tim hummed and wrapped me up in his arms. I felt unbelievably safe and loved.

So, I didn't forget about posting this. With a new puppy that we had to watch all the time, a long almost three-week trip across most of the country, and now packing up the house to move... I've been busy. I wanted to make sure to get this out though before I got too busy again.