AN: Thank you to everyone who left reviews or followed on the last installment. My most popular chapters! I do see the reviews and yes, I am too lazy to respond individually. :)

CHAPTER 17

Tim and Julie were sitting far away from the students working on group projects and the research lab filled with buzzing desktop computers.

The library's climate-controlled space and aroma of weathered paper helped Julie focus on her work.

The tapping sound made by Tim's pencil connecting with his textbook was proving difficult to block out.

"Have you finished reading?" She asked in a hushed voice. Tim smirked at her motherly concern, closing his textbook, and sliding his plastic chair closer to hers. "Landry told you to read those three chapters so you will be prepared tomorrow."

Tim shrugged with a gleam in his eyes, letting his hand edge up her thigh under the table.

Hypersensitive to his touch, Julie swatted his hand away. Her favourite nook in the library may be private, but it was still a public place.

"When are you going to tutor me?" Tim asked, not for the first time.

Her stomach fluttered, reminded of his eagerness to spend every waking moment together. "We'd never get any work done."

Tilting his body closer to hers, he let his hand linger on her knee. "Is that such a bad thing?" Julie tried to take no notice of that look in his eyes and the feeling of his touch. Teasingly, he walked his fingers up her thigh, trailing her skirt with them.

Her breath hitched as his green eyes blazed, hellbent on persuading her. Frequent naughty daydreams sprang to mind warming her cheeks. The moment his hand reached the side of her buttock she was ready to throw caution to the wind and primally explore her boyfriend's physique.

"JULIE! I f-o-u-n-d you…"

Her heart thumped wildly in her chest at the sound of another voice. She put distance between herself and Tim.

Michael, her lab partner, was not far from their table. The well-trodden library carpet had seemingly concealed his arrival. His short blonde spiked hair and three leather wrist bands were on display. Julie cursed the day she ever told him about her study spot.

"I take it back partner. You were right. It's quiet in here." Her mind shot to the worst-case scenario. What if Michael had seen everything and he was going to tell everyone? She would never see Tim again or the outside world.

As if sensing her discomfort Tim's upper arm brushed against hers. He rigidly angled his body in Michael's direction.

"The next time my sister has a temper tantrum, I'll stick around this place and study with you. I wouldn't want you to be all alone back here."

"I don't remember inviting you," Julie remarked. Michael studied Tim for a few seconds, Julie hoped he remembered her assurance that they were just friends. Tim did not need to gloat or try to one up the guy.

"Michael this is Tim, Tim this is Michael." Tim nodded with a pasted-on smile.

"Hey," Michael said.

Tim grumbled something indecipherable under his breath.

"Are you tutoring him?"

She was not tutoring Tim. A few moments ago, they were seconds away from tearing each other's clothes off.

With her mouth feeling dry, she glanced at Tim and a frown formed on his face for a split second. He eyed Michael."She's the best tutor in Dillon."

Tim moved his foot next to hers, safely hidden beneath the table. He had a stillness under pressure that she admired.

He wasn't worried so why was she? If her lab partner had suspected anything different, he would have said it she reasoned. Michael wasn't one to play coy. She unclasped her hands and sat a little taller. "Do you have my lab notes?"

Michael unzipped his bag and pulled out the notebook she'd lent him. "Germ free, I swear," he remarked holding his hands up after he gave them to her.

"I believe you. If I get sick, you'll have no shot at passing."

Michael chuckled, making her laugh too. "That's why you're my favourite lab partner. The best thing Mrs. Gee ever did was pair us up together. I intend to make it up to you sometime." Momentarily forgetting all else she watched Michael zip up his bag and hang it over his shoulder. He winked goodbye, "Catch you in class Julie Taylor."

As he strutted away, she could feel Tim's eyes boring into the side of her head. "Spit it out?"

He removed his foot so there was no physical contact between them. "How exactly is he going to make it up to you?... By taking you out on a date?"

Julie sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm not going on a date with him." She reached out and cupped his cheek to get his attention. "I have a boyfriend, remember? He looks a lot like you."

Tim put his hand over hers and removed it. He kept his eyes on a nearby trolley of books, uttering, "Maybe you should tell him that."

Hearing the bitter tone in his voice she intertwined their fingers. "I'm not lying… I thought we agreed to keep this low key?"

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Tim replied, giving her hand a quick squeeze in return.

"If you're having second thoughts-" His lips attacked hers, engulfing her in a passionate kiss. Every bone in her body wanted him, if his lips could talk, she bet they would be screaming the same thing.

In need of air, Tim rested his forehead against hers. Julie tilted her head to the right checking for any observers. Tim's hand caressed her cheek drawing her face back to him.

"No one saw us, I promise." All of her worries and anxieties dimmed. "Are you going to be able to handle the rally girls, cheerleaders and football fans?"

She'd been so focused on her parent's reaction; she hadn't thought about the girls desperate for his affection. People would suspect something was up if he rejected every advance sent his way. How were they going to make this work?

"Jules, I was joking, we'll be fine."

"I have to go find this book; one for class, I'll be back." With that lame excuse, she stood up from their table and entered an aisle of books. Tim was being so agreeable about keeping their relationship just between them. She wondered if she was making the right decision. She needed a moment to think.

That moment vanished the instant Tim's arms snaked around her waist. His lips settled on the base of her neck. "Do you hate me?" She whispered.

"What!? Of course not. How could I hate you?" She leant back against his broad chest, comforted by the embrace.

"My parents could barely handle my relationship with Matt and dad already told you to stay away from me. You can imagine how they will react… everyone in Dillon will have an opinion." Julie shifted around inside his arms to look him in the eye. "I want to keep seeing you."

"I want that too… but I don't like little punks thinking they can hit on my girl." Julie laughed pressing her hands to his chest.

"He's not going to get anywhere with me. I'm taken."

Tim pushed her back against the bookshelf wearing a devilish grin. "That's right, you're taken."

She grabbed his face prying his lips open to let her tongue explore his. He groaned and pressed himself tightly to her body. His hands ventured under the hem of her tank top tugging her hips into his. Her fingers curled through his hair just as zealous.

THUD.

Julie covered her mouth to contain a squeal as they pulled apart for the second time, feeling her heart race. Tim's hands remained on her lower back while they checked nobody was in sight.

"Tim, you can't do that!" Julie scolded.

"Do what?"

"Touch me like that, here."

"Why? You're my girl." He hoisted her up off the ground and she instinctively wrapped her legs around him. She giggled as he moved them to the back wall deeper into the aisle of books. "No one can see us."

"What if they do?"

"They won't."

"You're not thinking clearly." He wasn't the only one, her body was beginning to stir with each stroke of his hand over her bra clad chest.

"Yes, I am."

She had to be the rational one.

"It's impossible to think clearly, when we're like this." Tim lowered his hand from her chest and hung his head on her shoulder. He couldn't argue her point. "I know that it's hard."

"You have no idea how hard it is."

"I have… some idea." He lifted his head and raised an eyebrow in her direction suggestively. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Are you talking dirty to me Taylor?"

"No! She gasped shaking her head. Tim managed to confine his laugh to a snort. "No," she repeated. Actively ignoring his enjoyment at seeing her squirm, she clarified what she meant to say, "I can tell you like the time we spend together and I'm sure you are aware of the ways you can handle it on your own."

"Handle it on my own." He chuckled. "Do you handle it on your own after we hang out?"

"I'm not answering that." She loosened the grip of her legs around his waist. He gripped her thighs to keep her in place.

"If it's a yes…" He kissed her, tugging on her lower lip. "I can help you out anytime you want."

He bunched her skirt higher, slowly grinding his lower body against hers.

"Put-" It left her lips like a moan. "Put me down Tim," she whispered with a heavy breath. She was enjoying everything he was saying and doing but the tingling she felt between her legs was her problem to fix.

Tim lowered her feet to the ground with a smug look on his face. "Stop!"

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to. I can guess what's running through that head of yours."

"I doubt it, if you could, I wouldn't have blue balls."

"OH MY GOD!" She stalked away from him towards their table.

His laughter followed close behind. "My offer stands, Taylor. Call me any time, I'll be there."

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

Tim's day of classes had been relatively uneventful. Julie Taylor had been on his mind for most of the day. Her near admission that she touched herself while potentially thinking about him drove him wild. The fantasy of her naked body already filled his wet dreams but this new information would definitely aide him with his morning shower sessions.

Tim pulled his truck into his driveway and parked alongside Billy.

The neighbours across the street were on the front lawn screaming at each other as Tim exited his vehicle. If it were a one-time thing it would be alarming to a passer-by, but this occurred at least once a week.

A few more fence palings were on the ground. It was an endless job repairing the longstanding Riggins fence. Tim could see the mounting garbage through the gap where the fallen fence palings once were. Billy had forgotten to take the bins out last week and had started slinging bags over the gate instead of putting them inside the bins.

Tomorrow was pickup so Tim walked over to the side gate, slamming his shoulder against it until it budged open. The rotten meat and produce had attracted blow flies and the foul odour managed to turn his stomach. He tried not to gag while stuffing as many bags as he could in the trash cans. He dragged the bins over to the kerb and walked towards the house.

The fence could wait until the weekend.

Entering his house, he found Billy in the kitchen chugging his third beer. Tim wondered what his problem would be this time.

He entered the kitchen to grab a snack to take to his bedroom. In the pantry he found a packet of crisps and grabbed them. Closing the kitchen pantry with his snack in hand, he turned around and the sight before him formed a pit in his stomach.

"Timmy, hey!"

Tim left the kitchen and backed away as his worse for wear father stood up from the couch and staggered in his direction with open arms. Tim put out a hand in warning, to stop right there. They weren't going to hug. Tim's heart had been broken for the final time by this man. He'd given him far too many chances, far more than he deserved to prove he cared.

"So, that's how it's gonna be. You won't even give your old man a hug. I raised you better than that."

"You didn't raise anybody," Billy sarcastically scoffed. "We don't call getting drunk and smacking around your family raising them."

"You've poisoned him against me!" Billy's eyes darted to Tim.

If he was hoping for support, he wasn't going to get any. After Billy kicked Jules out, they'd been avoiding each other. Their father's arrival didn't erase the bad blood. This wasn't a movie; they weren't going to conveniently unite against a common enemy.

"He has, hasn't he Timmy?"

Tim turned to his father wishing he'd disappear. "What are you doing here?"

"Last time I visited, I messed up. I missed you son," he replied holding still with cautious hope. He was a gifted liar.

Tim had gone against Billy's advice previously and tracked him down. It was just another example that it always ended in heartache for him. "We're doing fine, you can go back to whatever motel you're staying at." His father scrubbed a hand over his face and groaned.

"I have a friend outside of town who has a good deal on a car. We can buy it cheap, fix it up and make a quick sale. What do ya say, it's easy money?"

"Easy money, is their such a thing?" Billy pointedly muttered.

"We could all chip in, the Riggins men and split it three ways?"

"You don't have the money to buy it yourself." Tim watched the frosty look Billy received from their father, waiting to see who would start yelling first.

They'd played out this scenario so many times before. Billy was right, their father only showed up in Dillon when he needed something.

This time Tim was unwilling to get sucked into one of his schemes. He'd accepted, regardless of how much it hurt, that he was never going to have a real father.

"I'm doing you two a favour! I came here with a great deal thinking my sons needed money."

"Why would we need money? Because you could never keep a job, you drove mum away in the middle of the night and then you split town, leaving me here trying to support your son!"

"I heard you're unemployed. You think it's hard now? Talk to me when you have two kids sucking the life out of you and an ungrateful wife!"

"DON'T GO THERE!" Tim interjected. His mother was not getting dragged into another argument.

"What about you Timmy?" He pivoted, placing his back to Billy and focusing on Tim. "We could cut him out? There'd be more profit for us. You've always been the brains when it comes to cars."

Flattery wasn't going to get him anywhere. "I'll pass."

His father's nostrils flared. "What Did You Say!?"

Tim squared his shoulders, standing taller to fiercely stare down his father. A familiar intoxicated laugh that used to keep them up at night escaped his dad's chest.

He staggered closer to Tim with narrowed eyes. "Say it again... I DARE YOU."

Tim cocked his head towards Billy and then back at his father. They were around the same height but Tim had more muscle on him. In the moment he could appreciate that the old man was a lot less menacing with age and a whole lot more pathetic.

"Tell someone who gives a shit." His father lunged forward; Tim shoved him hard causing him to comically fall backwards onto the couch in his drunken state.

"You'd turn your back on your own father? What kind of son are you?" He spat.

"The kind that abandons his family. Like father, like son."

"It's time you left." Billy hauled their father off the couch and manhandled him to the front door. "There's nothing here for you anymore. I was done years ago, and it looks like Tim is too."

Tim locked eyes with his father savouring the last time they would see each other. "I'm staying at the Flinders Motel if you change your mind. We could share a drink, for old times' sake."

Tim wanted to say yes, deep down he wanted to have a drink with his father. They could chat about life, about Jules. His heart longed for that type of connection, a male role model, but he was tired of expecting him to change.

"Get out!" Billy ordered, opening the door and shoving their father outside.

Tim entered his bedroom and rehung a tattered stained sheet over his window. It blocked out the sunlight landing on the television set. He sat on his bed, propped up by the wall and flicked on the TV. The front door slammed closed and he heard nearing footsteps not long after.

"Why'd you kick him out this time. You didn't even try to play house?" Billy questioned, standing in Tim's bedroom doorway.

"He's bad news. Isn't that what you say after every visit?" Tim replied keeping his eyes on the television set.

"They're not visits Tim. He only comes skulking around when he needs money. Half of the town is ready to lynch him for old debts. Why can't you see it?"

"Go away Billy!" He loved to pour salt on wounds.

"Answer me..."

Tim made eye contact with his older brother desperate to be heard. "Did you ever think I wanted him to change? Is that so bad? Living in this house with you isn't peaches n cream."

"After all the sacrifices I've made for you!"

"Here we go, tell me how I'm the reason your life sucks. I'm an unwanted burden, anything else? I've heard it all before." Billy couldn't listen to a differing point of view without flying off the handle. It was one of the reasons they never had meaningful conversations.

"When the real-world hits you in the face, it's going to be a rude awakening Tim."

Tim turned the TV off. "Really… When I'm gone, who are you going to blame then? You'll have to look in the mirror and take responsibility for your own shitty life!"

"Looks like someone's feeling bold and confident today. What's the source of your new found voice? Did she tell you to stand up to me too?"

"Watch it Billy!" Tim warned.

"You think Coach Taylor's little girl will stay by your side?" Tim schooled his features despite the pang in his chest. "Even you're not that naive. Let me paint a picture for you. She has good grades, goes to a good college, meets plenty of guys going places with picture perfect families her parents approve of. My guess is, she doesn't marry you and live happily ever after, the high school dropout without a future."

Tim jumped off his bed and shoulder barged Billy, passing without a word.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

Tim exited his house without looking back. He climbed into his truck and floored it out of the driveway in the direction of the safe haven of his childhood. It was a magical place where no one tore him apart with their barbs.

He parked kerbside in front of the beautiful brick home with a manicured lawn. Street's mother was wearing her favourite sun hat. She'd worn it as long as he'd known her every time she gardened.

He sat in his truck and watched her water the blooming flowers, mulling over the countless times his family disappointed him.

Even though Billy was an ass, his words were hard to ignore. Was he just another fool in love who couldn't see the writing on the wall?

His life experience told him to bail on his relationship with Taylor before he got too attached. His eyes welled thinking about it, telling her he was done. The look on her face, the feeling of not holding her again.

If it hurt now, how bad would it be later? In a few months or years?

A small part of him pondered the possibility of never having to say goodbye to her. The odds were stacked against the likelihood of that scenario. The waves of anger he'd felt dissipated the longer he sat outside Street's house taking deep breaths.

Streets mother turned off the garden hose and waved, encouraging him to come inside. Tim checked his face in the rear-view mirror, then stepped out of his truck and walked over to her.

"Timothy, it's so good to see you." She pulled him in for a warm hug.

"You too Mrs. Street. Is Jay inside?"

"He's in the lounge room, go on in. There are freshly baked cookies in the kitchen. Help yourself."

Tim walked inside the house, smelling a hint of cookies and lilies in the air. He entered the lounge room to find Street sitting on the couch.

"Did we have plans?" Jason asked furrowing his brow and pointing the remote at the television to mute it.

"Thought I'd take you to school tomorrow." Tim hated admitting he needed help. He rubbed the back of his neck as he fumbled out, "Can I… crash here tonight?"

"Sure, no problem. I'll get mum to bring the trundle bed out."

"No need, I can get it later. Is it still in the hall closet?"

"Yeah."

Spending the night at Street's meant waking up to a breakfast fit for a king. Mrs. Street loved to go all out when he visited, pancakes, fruit salad, bacon, eggs, sausages, bagels – you name it, she had it.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Good, because Jackie Chan is about to take on a room full of armed men and I love the man's kung fu moves."

Tim plonked himself down on the couch beside his best friend. Street was great about not prying or offering unsolicited advice. He was there without judgement every time Tim really needed somebody.

"Play the movie, Man."