Chapter 4
Saturday morning dawned and the bright sunlight streamed into their room through the drapes they had forgotten to close. Tyra lay draped over Tim. She stretched and sleepily opened her eyes to find Tim grinning up at her. As her mind cleared, her eyes flew to her left hand to make sure she hadn't dreamed the whole proposal last night. Sure enough, the stunning emerald ring was on her finger. "Morning, beautiful" Tim muttered. Tyra kissed him and whispered "morning." "Are we really getting married?" Tyra asked Tim. "Well, I asked you last night, and judging by the ring on your finger, you said yes, so…yeah, I guess we are." Tyra and Tim decided not to let anyone know about their engagement yet. They didn't want to overshadow Matt and Julie's special moment. There would be time to make their announcement after the Saracen-Taylor wedding. Tonight, they would be attending the bachelor/bachelorette parties. The plan was for the guys and girls to do their own thing until midnight, when the two groups would meet up at the hotel bar. Tyra had no doubt the bachelor party would involve lots of beer and semi-naked women. She wrinkled her nose at the thought. For their part, the ladies were going to have dinner at an upscale Chicago restaurant and then hit the dance clubs. No male strippers for this group, which was good, since Tami Taylor was attending.
At seven pm, Tim and Tyra left their room and headed to their respective destinations. Tyra left her ring in the hotel room safe. They shared a cab to Matt and Julie's apartment. When they arrived, the pre-party was in full swing. Everyone was already there. Tyra was so excited to see Tami, she ran to her and hugged her tightly. Next up, Tyra spotted Landry sitting on the couch. She started towards him, and he stood when he saw her. They met halfway across the room. "Hi!" Tyra said softly. "Hi yourself, stranger" Landry replied. "How have you been?" they both said at the same time. As they quickly caught up, Tyra learned that Landry was graduating a year early from Rice University with his degree in engineering and already had a job in place with a big firm in San Antonio. Tyra told Landry about her job offer in Dillon and her political dreams. He wished her well. "There's something else going on with you," said Landry. Tyra blushed and stammered, "no, there's not…nothing else new and exciting happened." I will let it go for now, but you're not being completely truthful with me, Tyra." They hugged and parted ways. Everyone was ready to leave. Tyra made her way to Tim. "Tim Riggins, you better behave yourself, you're a spoken-for man now," she whispered in his ear and then gave it a little tug with her teeth. "Yeah, yeah, Collette, engaged for less than 24 hours and you're already ordering me around…thought that wasn't supposed to happen until I put the OTHER ring on your finger," said Tim, but her was grinning like a fool when he said it.
The ladies all got in the limo bus that would take them to the restaurant. The champagne flowed and everyone was talking and laughing. Tami made her way to sit next to Tyra. "Can you believe my baby girl is getting married next weekend?" "I know, Mrs. T…hard to believe, but Matt and Julie just make sense together. Seems like neither one of them really ever =knew what to do without the other," Tyra said. Tami told Tyra how right she was, her daughter's life really had no direction when she wasn't with Matt. "What about you, hon? Seems like you and Tim are doing well. Are you two planning on making it work when you're done school? Can you find a way to make it work and not give up all those dreams you have?" Tyra thought about it for a minute before she spoke. "I love that man more than I should. I always have, even when we weren't together, I still loved him. I know it won't be easy, but yeah, I think we can make it work, and no, I don't think I will have to sacrifice my dreams for that to happen." Tami smiled at Tyra, "I'm so glad to hear that. I think what you said about Matt and Julie being lost without each other…well…I think you recognize that in them because it's the same for you with Tim." Tyra smiled back and said, "You always were smart, Mrs. T."
Dinner was finished, and the ladies were headed to the first of two dance clubs. Julie was beaming. Tyra had never seen her happier. Everyone had a blast celebrating Julie's last weekend as a single lady, not that she had really been single since she met Matt. Their love was a rarity in this day and age. Not many people met their soul mate in high school, but that's exactly what had happened for them. The people attending the bachelorette party had an amazing time drinking champagne and dancing until their legs were ready to fall off. They all made their way back to the limo bus, some stumbling a little bit. Julie had had a little too much champagne and was being helped to the bus by her mother and Tyra. Julie kept telling them how much she loved them. Tyra and Tami shared a grin over Julie's head.
When they got back to the hotel bar, the guys were already there. The two groups mingled together at the bar. Matt and Julie were so cute sitting together, both more than a little tipsy. Tyra was sitting with some of Julie's Chicago friends, talking about the wedding and how they all couldn't wait, it was going to be so much fun. As she talked, Tyra's eyes kept drifting to Tim. He looked so good, in his version of being dressed up, with his "good" jeans on and a button down shirt that WASN'T plaid. He even had new boots on, because you could take the man out of Texas, but you couldn't take Texas out of the man. About the fifth time she found her eyes on him, Tim looked up at her and smiled. He'd caught her staring, and it was beginning to be obvious to the people around them. Tim made his excuses to Landry and Smash, who he had been sitting with, and made his way over to Tyra. Matt and Julie had managed to find their way onto the dance floor by now, and Tim held out a hand to Tyra. "May I have this dance?" Tim led Tyra to the dance floor. They swayed together to the music, Tyra's head resting on Tim's shoulder, reminding them both of the last time they had danced like this. That day had broken both their hearts a little bit, as Tyra turned him away so she could return to school and finish meeting the goals she had set for herself. I'm so happy this time I can change that outcome. That we made it through these two years and now we will be together, thought Tyra. She could tell that Tim was feeling the same way. Tim felt a tap on his shoulder. Landry was standing there. "May I cut in?" Tim reluctantly let go of Tyra and Landry took his place. "So, you and Riggins again? Tyra, I thought you had more respect for yourself than to go back to being his plaything," Landry said when Tim was out of earshot. "Landry, you don't know what you're talking about. Yes, Tim and I are together right now. It's not like it was in high school anymore. Tim's changed. You don't know because you haven't been here, but he's so different from that careless boy that broke my heart, so different." "Well, I did notice he was one of the few people at the bachelor party that didn't drink too much, which I thought was odd. I'm sorry, Tyra, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, I know you know what you're doing. I just care about you and don't want you to get hurt is all." "I know, thank you, Landry, I care about you too." Tyra and Landry parted ways on the dance floor. By this time, the parties were really winding down. Tyra said he goodbyes to all the ladies and guys from both parties. She hugged Julie and Tami and left the bar, making her way to her room.
Tyra was just finishing removing her makeup, she had already changed into an old number 33 Panthers t-shirt and shorts when Tim came into their room. Tim took one look at her shirt and grinned. "Why, Tyra Collette, I had no idea you kept one of my Panthers shirts." "Shut up, Tim Riggins, I only kept it cause it's so comfy," she lied. "You're such a pretty little liar, Tyra, you know you kept cause deep down, we both knew it wasn't over for us." Tyra thought this over. "Ok, ok, MAYBE you're right, MAYBE." Tim sat down on the side of the bed and pulled off his boots. His pants came next, and before she knew it, he was stripped down to his boxer briefs. Tyra drank in the sight of him, he was so beautiful, and he was hers. FINALLY. "Seems I'm overdressed, I wonder if you could help me fix that?" Tim stood and scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. He playfully tossed her onto the bed, sat her up, and peeled his t-shirt off of her. "Cute as you looked wearing my number, I like you better out of your clothes," he growled. Tyra giggled, "Tim Riggins, you're a bad influence." "Only with you, from now until forever. Hey, put your ring on, would you? I know we're not telling anyone yet, but I want to see you wearing my ring and nothing else, Collette." Tyra looked at Tim as she retrieved the ring and slipped it on, "How can I say no to that? But, I might need a little help getting rid of the rest of these clothes." Tim grinned again and got up to playfully tackle Tyra to the bed. He quickly pulled her shorts and panties off her, leaving her naked, save for his ring. Tyra opened her arms, and Tim happily settled into them, lying beside Tyra on the bed. Tyra playfully nibbled at Tim's neck and ear, while he caressed every inch of her, paying extra attention to her breasts. Tyra's breath caught as Tim continued to touch her, making her yearn for him inside her. When she couldn't take anymore, Tyra used all her strength, and she had never been a weak girl, to roll herself on top of Tim and take control. She guided him into her and rode him rigorously until they finished within seconds of each other, each calling out the other's name before Tyra collapse onto Tim, breathing hard and just lying there motionless for several minutes. Tim waited until he caught his breath again before he nudged Tyra and she slipped off of him into his arms. They lay there for quite some time before either one spoke. Tyra finally broke the silence. "Well, you and I never did have any problems in THAT department, so glad we still don't. I don't think I've ever felt this way when I was with anyone else." "I don't want to think about you with anyone else," said Tim. With a sly look at her ring, Tyra said, "Well, it's a good thing you made sure I won't ever be with anyone but you from now on then." "Damn right," said Tim. Tyra snuggled into Tim and they fell asleep.
Please review.
