CHAPTER 11

****A WEEK LATER****

There was a soft knock on his bedroom door. Santiago put down his Panther's playbook as Lyla Garrity entered his bedroom.

"Church is in mass tonight," her light pink cardigan was as sweet as her voice. Lyla visited often, she was the one-woman welcoming parade to town. Attending church once a week was more than enough, he didn't want to add a Saturday night session.

Santiago had only agreed to go because Buddy Garrity was providing a roof over his head. He'd learnt it was always better to have shelter, so he suffered through readings of scripture.

"I can't," he said gesturing towards the playbook beside him. "Your dad was pretty insistent I read and recite it." After Buddy's meltdown on the ride home from Thursday's practice, it was clear he'd be back on the streets if his gameplay didn't step up.

"My dad can be... he has high standards. Sorry, if he was hard on you. I'm sure I could talk him around for an evening at the church. You could meet some of the youth group."

Santiago had other ideas. He sat up straighter on the bed. "Some of the guys from school were talking about a lake party tonight. Do you know where it is?"

"The Lake..." she paused and her face softened, "Jason and I used to hang out there. It might sound strange to say, but that feels like another life to me."

Santiago had heard all about Lyla's downfall. He'd witnessed taunts directed at her from former cheer-leading teammates. She was going to need convincing to socialise with this crowd. "Hear me out; it's hard moving to a new place, especially Dillon. Everything's different here. This is the first time I've had a place to call home in a really long time. I want to make friends with my classmates even though I don't exactly fit in. I want to hang out with the team socially, so they feel comfortable around me." Lyla stepped back looking to exit his room. "Wait, please."

She paused, folding her arms across her chest as she leant against his doorframe. "I don't drink anymore and I don't party with people who don't appreciate me," she reiterated.

"You don't have to drink. You could invite Jason?" She vehemently shook her head, provoking ire in Santiago. "Maybe you could tell your dad we're going to church? Please, for me? I need to get out of this place," he begged pointing around his bedroom at the Dillon Panthers merchandise which adorned every wall.

Buddy Garrity was fanatical about the Dillon Panthers. Santiago could only assume his passion to control extended into his darling daughters' life.

"How about we stop by the church first? I'll invite a friend and then we can go to the lake."

He sprung to life leaping off the bed, fresh energy invigorating him. "You're a lifesaver." He grabbed a few clothes from the wardrobe and turned towards Lyla. "I'll go shower before we go." He brushed past her as he exited his bedroom.

"You do that." His excitement brought a smile to her face.

Santiago hadn't tasted a beer in months; Christmas was coming early this year.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A roaring bonfire, free drinks, and ladies a plenty, Santiago was going to like parties at the lake. His eyes were drawn to the mysterious blonde he'd seen around school.

Dillon High was blessed with a few walking and talking goddesses. After a three-month stint in a facility for young men, Santiago was craving female attention. Soft hair, silky skin, the scent of perfume, he missed it all.

He was grateful to finally be at the lake. Lyla had taken her sweet time mingling with the church youth group. She tried her best to involve him but they weren't the type of crowd he was used to, neither were these jerk-offs that currently surrounded him.

Santiago grunted and asked the odd question about professional football to his teammates. He found himself distracted by the nearby blonde and her denim cut-offs. The reflection of the flames made her tan legs shimmer.

Landry's girl had been with her all night. Tyra handed the blonde a beer, her fourth by his count and skipped away into the crowd to join Saracen and Landry.

Santiago excused himself from the mind-numbing conversation. Dillon Panthers sure loved to relive their glory plays. He walked over to the girl who'd caught his attention and took a seat beside her on the log. "Hey."

She gulped down a mouthful of beer staring into the distance. Her cold welcome did nothing to deter him. Her lips were in full pout as she fiddled with her hoop earring. "You don't look like you're having any fun?" Her face swiftly contorted in disgust. He followed her eye line hoping it wasn't in reaction to his words. She was looking at Lyla and Suzie who were barrelled over in laughter. "You don't like them," he stated.

"You do?" She glanced sideways, her eyes meeting his. The flecks in her eyes entranced him. His moment of hesitation didn't go unnoticed. "Why aren't you over there talking to them? Don't let me stop you."

Why was she so bothered by Lyla and her friend? The girls were pretty harmless. He didn't know Suzie but Lyla, he'd met her type before. She was vanilla flavoured ice-cream, a perfectly fine staple for some. He needed excitement, rainbow ice-cream with a flake and sprinkles on top, a fellow thrill seeker to get his engines revving. "I live with Lyla part-time so technically I have to like her. Buddy Garrity put me on the football team, I might be starting." This town seemed to be impressed by anything football related, why not throw it out there.

Her eyes darted back to her beer bottle and she peeled off the label, scrunching it into a ball. "Oh, you're the new player. That's where I've seen you."

His attempt to impress her with his football status had failed miserably. "Santiago is my name. You don't like football players?" She flicked the scrunched ball into the fire and laughed. "What's so funny?"

"I'm Julie."

Julie, the name made him pause. He'd heard some of his teammates talk about Julie Taylor. "Are you-"

"Yep, the coaches' daughter." She took another mouthful of her beer.

"Interesting. A coach's daughter who doesn't like football and a Dillon Panthers player who doesn't like football, sitting by a fire at the lake... you finish it." He elbowed her playfully eliciting a brief smirk. She laughed amused by his attempt to soften her up and sipped on her beer. "Do your parents know you're drinking?"

"Maybe," she challenged.

"Excellent, a secret I can use for my own gain," he joked.

"Where did you move from?" She asked not acknowledging the waggle of his eyebrows.

"I wasn't too far from here when Mr. Garrity took me in. I grew up in Mexico and then I moved around a lot when I was younger."

"Your parents like to travel, must be hard going to new schools."

"Something like that." He didn't know her well enough to tell her his drug-addicted parents had been MIA for most of his life. When his grandparents died, he looked after himself the best he could.

Julie sculled the last of her beer. "Can I get you another drink?"

"You better."

Santiago shot her a large grin and walked over to the cooler. He grabbed them each a beer cracking open hers on his return. He sat back down on the log so their thighs were touching. She took her drink and he opened his bottle savouring the first sip. "Do you come to the lake a lot?"

"It's pretty here."

"I was surprised to find you sitting all alone. I figured you'd have a boyfriend."

"Nope, no boyfriend anymore."

"Guys in this town are a little too interested in football if you ask me." Santiago noticed Saracen was looking their way, so he leant closer, whispering in her ear, "His loss, you're the most beautiful girl in Dillon." Her hand pressed against his chest preventing him from making a move. She turned her head and his gaze briefly drifted to her lips.

"I wanna go out on that boat," she demanded, pointing out across the lake.

There was no nice boat in sight only a rickety wooden dinghy tied to the pier. "Who owns it?"

"Who cares?" She dropped her hand from his chest and stood up, running her fingers through his hair. He looked up at her, taking a moment to think before he acted. He was trying to stay out of trouble with law enforcement and Mr. Garrity. "Are you scared?" She teased. "I can find someone else to take me out?"

The opportunity of getting her alone in a boat was too appealing to pass up. He put down his beer and scooped her over his shoulder. She dropped her beer bottle and squealed with childlike joy. He carried her to the little pier putting her down when they reached it. He untied the boat from the pillar, climbed in and held out his hand for her. She stumbled and clumsily fell onto his lap.

He helped her move to the other seat and picked up the oars. Santiago began to row them towards the middle of the lake as their knees knocked against each other. The sounds of everyone's voices softened the further they drifted from shore. "I'm learning all about you tonight. I know you lie to your parents, you can't handle your beer which tells me you don't drink often and you like to steal old boats."

"I only steal boats when strangers come to town," she snickered taking in the roaring fire at a distance. The soft breeze blew the wispy strands of her ponytail and hoop earrings onto her neck. She pulled her phone out of her hoodie pocket and groaned.

"Are you going to answer it?"

"No, he won't leave me alone."

Santiago saw the screen flashing and snatched the phone from her hand before she could put it away. He answered the call. "She doesn't want you to call her anymore dude. Take a hint."

"Who is this?" A deep male voice said.

"Hang it up!" Julie shouted, stumbling towards him to get her phone. He leant back on his seat and she smiled as the boat rocked. She purposefully began dancing about in what little space there was. The water made slapping sounds as it lapped against the outside of the boat.

"Take it easy, the water's cold tonight and I'm not looking to go for a swim," he joked. She giggled as he tried to stop her twirling around while the boat swayed.

"Stop, that tickles," she squealed knocking an oar out of the holder in her attempts to escape him. It plunged under water before Santiago could grab it. "Oops, I'm sorry."

"How are we going to get back now?" She shrugged her shoulders sheepishly.

"Put her on," the man on the phone ordered.

She whirled around again defiantly. "Julie, chill. Sit down and hold onto the oar. Your dad will have Mr. Garrity kick me out of this town in a heartbeat if anything happens to you." Santiago held the phone out for her. "Whoever it is, wants to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to Tim."

"Tim Riggins?" he asked putting the phone back to his ear.

"Santiago, is that you?"

"Shit." He wished he'd picked another girl to party with tonight, of course, Riggins was already chasing after her.

"How drunk is she?"

"She's not wasted."

"Hang up," Julie called and playfully splashed him with water.

"You don't want to start a war you can't win!" She splashed him again bursting into laughter.

"Don't let her swim, you hear me!" Tim's voice boomed.

Seconds later, Santiago heard nothing but a dial tone. He slipped her phone into his pocket and looked down at her smiling face. "He hung up."

"Finally," she grumbled, bringing her arms back inside the dinghy. The sight of her soaking wet sleeves made him laugh. She was having the time of her life - tipsy and carefree.

Authors Note: Hey guys - Yes, I'm alive. Hope you enjoyed the new chapters. I plan to have another two up before Christmas, just a little more tinkering to do :D