Git 'Er Done
Season 1 – Episode #5
Disclaimer: Created by Peter Berg and beautifully written by Patrick Massett and John Zinman. All italics are theirs and flashbacks are mine. I own nothing, but if I did, I would have forced Kyle Chandler into making a movie!
ICanStopAnytime – Thank you for your lengthy review. I always appreciate your words. I tend to agree with you about Tami & Eric's past. I just don't have as much fun writing it as I do with Eric being a playboy. From how Tami raises Julie, I like to imagine in my head that Tami made that one mistake with that popular guy, then went to Mo and then went to Eric. I just have a hard time believing someone of Eric's character would be with a total loose cannon like the show portrays Tami to be. Each take is fun to consider, but I enjoy writing it this way for some reason. I should also probably say keeping track of my flashbacks is such a challengerfor me sometimes. I could be as inconsistent as the darn show!
Naguabo – Thank you for the kind words.
"Guests" – to all of you, I appreciate the reviews. They mean a lot and I am happy you are continuing forward. Please keep them coming.
A/N: This episode was another favorite of mine in season one. We got a lot of Tami and Eric and we can see the respect once again they have for each other just from that office conversation. Also, we see a flirty Tami which I love too! We don't see her too often.
It still amazed her. She wouldn't exactly call him famous, but in this town, everyone knew who he was. Everyone was constantly talking about him. Everyone wanted to know the inner workings of his mind. She would never get used to that. When you're a quarterback coach or a JV coach, you are totally in the shadows.
Not anymore.
She had the luxury of knowing exactly how his mind worked. She knew he would always take the risk for a reward that paid well. She didn't understand the intricate details of the game he analyzed, but she could read his mind better than anyone else.
So it shouldn't have surprised her that when Eric started the car, the first thing they heard on the radio was Sammy Meade's voice talking about Eric. The same debate over who Eric was going to start was spanning into a second week. Tami never tired of hearing how people made assumptions about her husband, but Julie did.
"I found this national website listing of all these open high school coaching jobs."
Tami turned around to look at Julie to gauge if she was telling the truth. "You did not?"
"There's one in Miami, there's another school in New York, there's even a head coaching job in Seattle, and it comes with a house on Puget Sound." She thought she pronounced it right, but her father quickly corrected her.
"Puget Sound." He knew the letter "U" was long.
"Puget Sound." She repeated, knowing she really didn't know what she was talking about. In fact, she was wondering how her father knew how to pronounce it.
"Know what I heard once? I heard that a daughter is supposed to be a comfort and a blessing to her father." Eric continued, letting her know he was annoyed. What was with her not wanting to be here in Texas? She was born here. She should love it here.
"Texas isn't even a state." Julie defended. "Technically, it's a republic. It would be nice to live somewhere that's actually a part of this planet."
"Do y'all think that they actually have football in Seattle?" Tami interjected.
"Not the same thing." Eric knew Texas football was where it was at. If he wanted to coach college, he was in the right state. Fortunately, he was with the right team.
As they pulled into the school parking lot, Julie hurried out of the backseat. She didn't want to get into a deep conversation with her parents right now as she was walking into school. As Eric got out of the truck, he turned his head toward Julie's form walking away from him. His eyes then focused on Tami, across the hood of the car, watching her gather her work bag and to-go coffee mug. When Tami didn't seem fazed by Julie's comments, he spoke up. "Why is she looking at those websites?"
Without looking up, she tried to make a joke. "Because she hates us?"
"I'm serious. Since when does she hate living here? Since when does she hate Texas so much?"
Tami took in Eric's concerned look, shut her passenger side door and walked in front of the car, stopping by the driver's side mirror. Eric stepped away, opening the back door on his side to gather his briefcase. She waited for him to start walking toward the school. "She's a teenager."
More annoyed at that comment, he walked past her and headed toward the back door of the school. They always parked there because it was closest entrance to his office. He started to open the door, but heard her call his name. He turned around, waiting for her to speak.
"She is pushing us Eric. She wants to call the shots. She's feeling us out. She needs to be heard, not dismissed."
"I didn't dismiss her." How did his little girl, who used to love everything about her life and had a smile that lit up an entire galaxy, turn into this cynical, challenging person? "I just don't understand how she suddenly is a different person."
"She's growing up and…" She thought about how to say the next part without driving him mad. "…..and hormonal. This is what's going to happen now."
"From here on out? She's going to have an attitude at every pass?"
Tami shrugged her shoulders. "Get used to it."
Eric frustration only grew when he spoke to VooDoo in his office later that day. He wanted to do the right thing and formulate some sort of working relationship with this kid. He always had the ability to break a kid down to trust him, but this seemed to be a lost cause. The conversation ended with a slap of disrespect right in his face. He needed to figure out a way to start Saracen because starting VooDoo would be condoning his behavior.
He left his office with Julie a little bit early, needing a change of scenery. As they waited for Tami to meet them at Applebee's for dinner, he started to use napkins as certain plays were coming to his mind. As he used his marker, the black ink seeping ideas onto the beige canvas, Julie's eyes were glued into her book. He didn't see Tami walk in or the admirer's eyes that followed her to where he was sitting. He took a bite of an appetizer he and Julie agreed on, as he heard her voice.
"Oh boy, you're drawing up plays." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. Without a care in the world, she started to gather them with hand, thumbing them into her grip. "Thank you. Thank you."
"Uh-Uh." He looks at her incredulously, as he chewed his food.
"We're having dinner." She took the napkins, folded them in half and placed them down the front of her shirt. She tucked them underneath the front clip of her bra. That front clip provided the cleavage she loved to tease him with. She loved to tease him with her words as well. "You can forage for them later."
He was stunned as his mouth fell open as she started to shove the napkins in one of his favorite places. Her words caused him to feel a twinge in his pants and he couldn't keep the smirk off his face. He would have said something back, their playful words always a big part of their relationship, but Julie was sitting right across from him. He noticed she was half paying attention when Tami shoved the napkins down her shirt and she looked up from her book. He figured he would spare her the humiliation and not draw attention to the fact that her parents had a very healthy sex life.
During dinner Julie saw her friend Lois across the dining room and asked her parents to be excused so she can go talk to her. Once she got up from the table, Tami asked him how his day was and he told her about what went on in his office with VooDoo. As much as he was trying to focus on something else, his mind was on those napkins, and not because of the plays drawn on them.
Julie came back over and asked if she can go out with Lois' family for ice cream. Tami was uncertain to let her daughter go with people she just met, but Eric made the decision for the both of them. Partially, Eric wanted Julie to make a friend so she wouldn't hate Texas anymore, but his decision was made for much more selfish reasons.
Tami compromised, met Lois's family and did a quick screening to make sure her daughter was in good hands. She made a mental note to look up Lois' file when she got to work in the morning.
When she got back to the table, Eric had gotten the bill and was signing the credit card receipt. Instead of lifting his eyes to meet hers, he tried to search for those napkins.
"Eyes up here." She scolded.
"I need those plays." He said, trying to use football to get what he desperately wanted. "I'm working hard over here trying to formulate a plan for Friday."
"We are having dinner."
"We finished dinner." His eyes quickly danced lower before coming back up.
"I'm not giving them up so easily, ya know?" She said with a teasing smile.
He couldn't help but smile back, thinking back to when they were just finishing high school and going to college in the fall. "You never did."
They started dating right before high school ended, but nobody knew it. Tami wanted it that way. She didn't feel comfortable having everyone gossip about her dating another football player after getting out of a two-year relationship with Mo. It ended poorly and Tami was devastated and humiliated. Tami's mother made sure she gave her the "I told you so" lecture at least once a week as she wallowed in self-pity. She felt like the rug had been pulled from beneath her.
Tami prided herself of being smart – street smart at the very least. The actual cheating didn't bother her as much as that she didn't figure it out immediately. She was so blinded. That is what got to her more. Somebody played her for the fool and she thought she would never get over that.
She resolved to be better, smarter and stronger once she pulled herself out of the hole she dug herself into for months. Eric was there for her but she didn't trust him right away. His track record of the amount of girls he hooked up with was enough of a reason to be wary. To be burned just months earlier by Mo was enough to want to keep her new relationship a secret. Besides, they were leaving for college in a few short months so who knew what was going to happen.
That summer was the best of her life. She was falling for Eric, and daily she was becoming more and more confident he was falling for her too. She refused to have sex with him, fearful that he would humiliate her the way Mo did. Better, smarter, stronger, she kept telling herself. So she made him wait.
And he did. But he always had to try. He would often remove articles of clothing from her and she would let him undress her top half, but rarely her bottom half. She always helped him to release, but she was very protective of her most intimate of areas. She thought about giving in before they went their separate ways embarking on their collegiate adventure, but she knew she would be giving in more than wanting to.
Eric was headed Texas A & M to play for the Aggies. His full scholarship, plus the exposure that school had to the NFL made Eric's decision easy. Tami struggled. She wanted to be close to Eric, but knew she couldn't make a life decision based on him. She decided to compromise. She chose Texas Southern in Houston because it had a good education and psychology program and it was only 90 minutes from Eric.
It was her second visit to A&M, when she finally decided it was time. They seemed to have figured out how to do the long distance thing, she let all her walls down and trusted him whole-heartedly and she really wanted to share this with him. She was ready.
It was Sunday morning and Tami had to drive back to Houston. She came on Friday, watched him play Saturday and was planning on leaving at some point on Sunday. It was his suggestion to go to the lake. Eric chose it because it was secluded and he wanted the privacy to say goodbye to her. After her first visit, he felt his eyes water a little in a parking lot where students were walking to and from the dorm. He didn't want anyone to see him like that. Anyone, but Tami.
They laid in the bed of his pick-up truck, holding one another and trying to say goodbye. Their kisses became deeper and their hands roamed each other, their forms feeling more and more familiar to one another. Eric made sure they were completely alone as he started to kiss her neck and move his lips downward. His fingers played with the hem of her shirt, before lifting it completely over her head. He loved her chest.
She moaned into his ear, spurring him to push his hardened groin into her so she could feel him. She pulled his face up from her breasts and kissed him deeply, their tongues dueling a familiar dance they perfected over the past 5 months. She reached for his crotch, loving that she had that effect on him. As she stroked him over his jeans, he moaned audibly.
She felt his warm breath on her ear, a sensitive spot she wasn't even aware she had until that moment. She raised her butt off the blanket so her groin can touch his, craving to feel that hardness once again. When he pushed into her again, the friction of their clothes getting in the way, she was the one to moan this time. She reached between them, founded the button and zipper and undid both. She reached her right hand beneath the elastic of his boxers and found what she was looking for. She moved her hand up and down, circling her thumb around his tip. "Oh God, Tami…" It was all he could get out.
He knew she had limits but he would always try. He unbuttoned her jeans, and she didn't stop him. She'd let him in there with his hands a few times in the past and his mouth twice. He slid the zipper all the way down, the sound rasping through the breezy air on that fall day. She didn't stop him. He pushed her jeans all the way down from her hips and dipped his hand in the matching panties that accompanied her bra. He inserted two fingers, watching her arch her back, pushing her breasts toward him. She took her free hand and placed it behind his head pulling him closer to her. She needed to kiss him. As he pulsated his fingers in and out of her, she didn't stop him.
He decided what his next move was and it did not involve stopping. He expected her to do that for him. He knew she wanted to wait. She thanked him constantly for being so patient. He removed his fingers from her, and decided to take a chance. He moved his hand to the very thin, very lacy elastic and slowly tugged downward. She didn't stop him. He shifted his body for second so he could reach the jeans and now panties pooling at her ankles and slowly started to remove them from her completely. She had her eyes closed, enjoying how it felt to be undressed, letting him see her fully in the daylight for the first time.
Once she was lying there in nothing but her bra, she opened her eyes to find him looking at her questioningly. When she didn't stop him, he finally spoke up. "I play offense. You play defense. That's the game we usually play."
She smiled, loving that he was hesitant. "This isn't a game, Eric."
He took a deep breath trying to maintain some sort of composure. "I don't know how to play defense, Tami. Not with you."
"Ok." She said, taking her hands, cupping his face and pulling him toward her. She kissed him deeply, as her hands started to push down his jeans and boxers.
He thought he was in a dream and was going to wake up any second. He pulled back away from her to make sure this was real. "Okay?" He asked.
"You're the quarterback. Call the play."
He leaned back down and she felt his bare dick against her, and it suddenly became real. She was about to say something about protection, but Eric stopped what he was doing reaching for his wallet in his jeans. As he tore open the square wrapper he carried in his wallet, sheathed himself and he leaned back down against her. She once again felt his tip at her entrance. He needed to tell her what he was thinking. "This is what I'm calling. I call that no one has ever made me as happy as you make me. I call that I never knew I could be with someone in so many other ways without having sex. I call that I think about you every hour of every day. I call that I was so damn scared that we were going to be apart and this wasn't going to work out. I call that I need you Tami in so many ways, not just this one."
He pushed into her slowly, looking into her eyes as he went deeper and deeper. Once he was all the way in, he asked her if she was alright. He waited for her to adjust to him.
"I'm great." She never knew sex could be like this. She never knew it could be this emotional. She nodded, giving him the cue to start.
He set their rhythm and it wasn't too fast but it wasn't painfully slow either. She loved watching him lose control completely, his expressions reserved just for her. "God,Tami…" He got out in between breaths. "…you have no idea what you do to me." After he released, he rolled off of her, but didn't want this moment to end. After removing the condom and pulling his boxers back on, he held her in his arms. "Now, you are going to get up and leave me, aren't ya?"
She laughed. "You know I have to get back."
"Are you okay? I don't want you to leave and not be okay." He knew she would be worth the wait, but he had concerns. He knew this wasn't his best performance. "I know it could have been better, longer." He started to struggle with the words. "You just took me by surprise. You make me lose all sorts of control."
Tami couldn't believe this side of him. "Eric, don't lose your confidence now. It's your sexiest trait."
They drove home separately and all Eric could think about was how sexy she was. He waited for her in the hallway, and as she opened the front door, he met her in the foyer with lightning speed. She stepped inside closing the door behind her. He placed a hand behind her head pulling her toward him, devouring her mouth into his. He rushed her backwards, her back slamming against their front door, his swollen groin crushing into her pubic bone.
"Call your play." She said teasingly, as she broke the kiss.
He smirked. "I can't. I don't have them."
"Come and get them, sugar." She said. He moved his lips to her chest, digging for his plays. The shirt she was wearing was not cooperating. She laughed out loud while he struggled a bit.
He pulled back, keeping his eyes focused on hers as he undid his buckle, button and zipper. "I don't need those plays." He kept a straight face and he slid down his pants and boxers just enough to expose himself to her. She arched an eyebrow as he started to slide her skirt upwards. "I call that you are going to get it right here against this door."
Before she could protest, his lips were back on hers while his hands worked on pulling her panties down just enough. He plunged into her hard, a moan escaping both their mouths. As their hips met each other's, he spoke between the heavy breathing. "Get loud Tami. We're alone." They rarely had the house to themselves and Eric intended to take full advantage of that.
Afterwards, Tami relented and gave Eric the napkins. "You don't really deserve those, you know?"
The next few days proved challenging to Eric. He always barked at his players, the young boys he was trying to mold into men of strong character. He rarely argued with his colleagues. When he was a JV coach, he never disrespected the head coach, his boss. Today, he had words with Mac and he hated it. He wasn't going to let this guy walk all over him, but he still hated it.
He wasn't rotating Matt in with the first team. Mac pretended he heard Eric was going to start VooDoo. He knew that he never said that, because deep down, he still had no idea what he was going to do. He wasn't going to let Mac get away with that. "I think you said that and I said 'thanks for the opinion coach'". Hopefully Mac would get the hint. He was the head coach. He was making the decisions for the team.
Tami's day wasn't much easier. She met with Lyla in her office to talk to her about her future. A straight-A student with so many options and she had not even thought about herself. She was planning her entire life around Jason. She wasn't going to even fully enroll in college full time until Jason got settled at Notre Dame. What was she thinking?
Tami knew what she was thinking because she remembers being in a very similar situation. Lyla was in love with Jason and was planning her whole life around him. It wasn't in their plans for Jason to get hurt. Now, Lyla had no plan for herself and Tami wanted to make her understand that she needed to start thinking about it.
At Lyla's age Tami was much more independent. Yes, her grades weren't the greatest, but her friendship with Eric helped pull herself out of the academic hole she dug. Eric believed in her and, in-turn, she started believing in herself. When Tami was deciding on where to attend college in the fall, Eric made it clear what he expected.
"I want you close to me."
"Eric, I can't get into A & M. You know that."
"What about Blinn? What about Remington?"
"What about my wants and needs, Eric?" Up until this point Tami was thinking Austin, San Antonio or Dallas. She wanted to be in a big city. She started to consider Houston when Eric signed with the Aggies.
"I want to be your wants and needs." He stated. He thought she wanted the same.
"I am considering Houston. Texas Southern has a good program and I've been accepted there."
"That's still too far. We won't be able to see each other during the week, or most weekends when I am playing." He wanted this to work with Tami, but he was afraid. He was never in a long-term committed relationship before, and now that he was, she wanted to throw 90 miles in the middle of it. He had serious concerns.
She felt sympathetic, but knew the reality of the situation. "I don't know how else to say this, so I am just going to say it." She took a moment to process her thoughts so she can say what she wanted without hurting in him. She wanted him to believe in her, believe in them. "If I go to Texas Southern, that's close enough for us to maintain this. It's not going to be easy, I know that. But if we are committed to each this, really committed to it, then it will work. I can't base my entire life on you right now. I need to make some decisions for myself." She knew if it wasn't for Mo and the way he hurt her, she would never have had the strength to stand up for herself.
"It's not going to easy. It's going to be really hard." He said, giving in, a little bit.
"I know, but I believe if things are meant to be, then those things have a way of coming back around. Besides, I have a strange feeling I am going to be following you for the rest of our lives once you get drafted." It was the first time either of them brought up a possible long-term future together. "Let me follow my own dream now, Eric."
She needed to get her point across to Lyla that she needed to follow her own dreams.
Later that evening, she found Eric in his office with his shoeless feet up on the desk, his socks starch white. She knew he changed his socks. He had a thing about his socks. After practice, he always changed out of his practice sneakers and put on a clean pair of socks. She knew him too well sometimes.
Eric was pissed. He had words again with Mac. The truth seeped out of Mac's mouth and slapped him right in his face. It was a truth he knew and was trying to bury since Jason got hurt. He didn't deserve this job. "The way I see it, you're sitting in my chair." Mac was supposed to get the head coaching job if it weren't for the Streets and their influence with the boosters. "You pull it together."
Tami was annoyed. Seeing her husband with his feet up watching game tape, his personal stuff scattered all around his desk, she knew there was no way he was close to coming home. He hadn't been home for the past two nights – not since that night against the front door.
She knocked lightly to get his attention. When his eyes didn't move from the television that brought her level of anger to an even higher level. She started to chew her gum a little harder so maybe he would hear it and actually turn around. "Just wanted to know if you were coming home for dinner tonight?" She leaned her body against the frame of his office door.
"I don't think I'm going to be home for dinner tonight." Again, his eyes were still focusing on the television.
"Your daughter was asking for a picture of you and so I thought you'd like to weigh in…" She knew bringing up Julie and his lack of presence in her life would hurt him.
"Don't do that. That's not funny. Don't do that." He hated when she took digs at him. That was a cheap shot.
Tami suddenly felt bad. She could hear the regret in his voice. He wanted to see his daughter and spend time with the both of them. This was another time when she realized she knew him well. She walked in and took a seat across from him, putting her bag on the floor and binders on his desk. "I'd sure would love to see ya."
Eric softened at her comment. He didn't want to fight with her too. He didn't have the strength right now. "How was your day today?" He finally looked at her.
"Alright."
"Yeah?"
"How was yours?"
His eyes focused back to the television. "If you listen to the TV or the radio, I'm the coach who can't get the decision made. Can't make a decision." He started to sway his feet back and forth in frustration.
"Can I help you make the decision?"
"Sure, go ahead. Make the decision, hon. What's your decision? You make the call." How the hell was she supposed to help him with this? His voice was filled with a mix of annoyance and sarcasm.
"Start Saracen." It was simple and direct.
"Start Saracen? I cannot start Matt Saracen." Eric knew Matt would struggle to play to the ability of their opponent.
"Start VooDoo." Tami gave him the only other option. It seemed simple to her.
"I don't want to start VooDoo." He hated that kid. She knew that.
"Start me." She said, trying to get him to smile. She just wanted to take the edge off.
He laughed, a real genuine laugh. God, he loved her. "I would love to start you. I'd love to start you." He looked in her eyes, thanking her without words for the joke he so desperately needed. His mind started to drift in the ways he'd like to start her, but Tami pulled him back to his dilemma.
"Well, you know, it seems to me here that, at this point, there's not going to be a decision that's going to feel good. So the good news is, you can make the decision, and come on home and have dinner with your family. See your kid."
He paused the game tape, throwing the remote on his desk. He threw his head back, closed his eyes, and rested his hands on top of his head. "Problem is, I just got a little slight problem being that one, Matt Saracen is what's good for the team. The team will play for Matt Saracen. There's no doubt about that. He's done everything I've asked him to do. He's left it all on that field. No problem. I trust the kid, he trusts me." Tami nodded, as Eric continued. "This kid VooDoo, I don't like the kid one. Two, I don't trust the kid, but three I believe he can get it done for us. I believe he can win this game for us. That's it, that's it right there."
"Sounds to me like you made your decision coach."
"How the hell am I going to break this kid's heart?" Eric thought out loud, hoping Tami had the answer.
"You have to be honest with him. The truth hurts sometimes, but wouldn't you rather know it than not?" She knew Eric was a straight shooter. He would always pick honesty.
"I'm going to lose all the trust I built with this kid."
"Not if you're honest, Eric. You have to do what feels right. You have to go with your gut."
"My father always used to say that."
"I know."
"He always would yell it. 'Eric, stop thinking out there. Go with your gut.'" Eric's father taught him a lot of life lessons, but this one always stuck.
"You said it too, a few times." She said with a smile, remembering a time when Eric tried to get her to come back to him.
After they broke up, it took Tami awhile to pull herself together and gain some sort of semblance of her life. It was the first time she was grateful that she was in Houston and he was in College Station. It was easier this way. There were no run-ins on campus or out at parties or in bars downtown. She didn't want to see him. She couldn't face him so the distance was a good thing.
She thought he was being stupid, selfish and immature. He was injured and although she understood how that was going to drastically change their future, she still wanted a future with him. He couldn't accept it and move forward with her. He wanted to figure out how to move in a different direction without her. She was blind-sided, but she would always remember from her break-up with Mo to be better, smarter and stronger.
It took a few months. She would be lying if she said she wasn't devastated. She drowned herself in school work, but she also partied. She figured if she worked hard, she could party hard. Her bi-monthly visits to College Station weren't eating up her weekends anymore, so she had time to go to parties, meet new people and date other guys.
Eric took the complete opposite approach. He drowned himself in sorrow and self-pity. It wasn't until he had a conversation with his father that helped him realize he needed to get his life back on track. It wouldn't be the professional life he dreamed of, but he could still have the personal life he dreamed of with Tami.
"Son, it's over. I get that. Nobody feels sorrier about that than me. I know you're hurting, but you still have a life to live."
"What's point, dad? I'm going to graduate and do what? Teach? You and I both know I wasn't planning on doing anything with my degree."
"Football can always be a part of your life, Eric. You can go to the NFL someday, but it just won't be as a player."
"And setltle?" He asked, not believing his father was going to be okay with that.
"Not settle. Find a new dream. Professionally, most people alter their dreams. Professionally is not the part of your life I am worried about." When Eric didn't respond, his father continued. "Have you spoken to Tami?"
"Dad, I don't want to get into this with you. I said some things I can't take back. It's over." He was devastated and his father knew it.
"Everyone says things they regret at one time or another. You can always fix it. You can always try."
Eric thought about it for a second, and then dismissed it. "You know Tami, Dad. She is not likely going to forgive me."
"You're not going to get what you want professionally Eric. That part of your life has to be shifted, but personally?" He asked, "What do you dream of?"
"I dream of her." He admitted, a little embarrassed in front of his hard-ass father. This was longest Eric had gone without sex. It had been 4 months of nothing. He hooked up with girls to pass the time, but he couldn't bring himself to have sex with anyone else. In the back of his mind, he knew if he did, all bets with Tami would be completely off. He would never gain that trust back.
"Then go get her!"
Eric thought his Dad was crazy. "What? Just show up and ask her to take me back?"
"Yes! It's what you do. You go with your gut and follow it, see where it takes you. You just have to trust yourself. You'd be surprised how far you get."
So he took his father's advice, and did exactly that. It took weeks, but to him, felt like a lifetime. When she finally caved, he used those words to her. "I'm going with my gut Tami, and I'm asking you to come along for the ride. My head and my heart are all in right now and not going to waver, never again. My gut is telling me that you can't resist it either. The life we planned, with or without the NFL, is going to be a great life. I want you to be a part of that life."
He did exactly that. He listened to Tami and talked to Matt. He spoke at the pep rally letting everyone know how important the fourth quarter was to him. He hoped he would get Matt in the game by then with a solid lead. As Tami met him by the bus after the rally, she gave him a quick peck on the lips. She drew him in close and whispered in his ear to remind him of their conversation. "Make sure you do what feels right in here." She touched left side of his chest. "Never go against your gut."
During the game, Tami watched her husband closely while the clock on the scoreboard ticked away. She saw the frustration playing in Eric's mind. The team was not playing for VooDoo as he suspected. They were pissed he started him over Matt. VooDoo completely lost his temper on the sidelines, knocking over water coolers and throwing his helmet. On his field, Eric would not allow this. It would have to wait for halftime.
Eric's frustration grew to a new level when Tami heard him yelling from the sidelines. "Hit him. Hit him! He's wide open, hit him!" She can see the confusion all over Eric's face and quickly realized that VooDoo was calling his own plays. After a few more minutes, VooDoo just walks away from Eric as he's yelling once again. Eric starts to pace down the sideline, and she knows he is pissed. The look of anger, mixed with frustration plays on his features as he laughs out loud at himself for the stadium to see because he's been fooled. He's been fooled by this punk and Buddy Garrity.
Go with your gut.
He thought he near damn lost his mind in that locker room. He threw VooDoo out and turned the ball over to Matt.
Matt held his own out there and they were now in the fourth quarter. "Listen to me. We are going to run this team ragged. You can lead this team. Lead them now. Bring it home." Eric believed in Matt. He trusted Matt would work his hardest.
The game was within one point and he could have gone for an easy tie and walk away from this nightmare. Things never did come easily, so he called Matt back over to him. "Turn around son. What do you see out there?"
"We got them right where we want them."
"We're gonna go for two. What do you think?" In that moment Eric knew they were going to work out well together. If Matt just used his instincts, what he lacked in raw talent would be made up in pressure decisions.
In the end they won the game and Tami ran to him with opened arms. She could see the relief wash over him. As they walked off the field together, she whispered, "Good call, Coach. You went with your gut." He kissed the top of her head, as they made their way toward the school.
As he was about to enter the building, they said their goodbyes. "I have post game chat and interviews. See you when I get home."
When he did arrive home, she was already in bed. The house was dark, but a light filtered from their bedroom. When he pushed the door open, he found her sitting up against the pillows, reading in bed.
He pulled his polo shirt over his head as he continued to walk in their bedroom. He kicked off his shoes and started unbuckling his belt, his eyes focused on her. When she didn't look up at him, he threw his shirt at her, hitting the book just right to cover her pages. She moved the shirt, her eyes not daring to look at him.
Shirtless, he put his hands on his hips, waiting for her to acknowledge his presence. When she wouldn't give him the satisfaction, he spoke. "My gut is telling me to come over there."
"My gut is telling me you better take a shower first."
He smiled, loving where this night was headed. "My gut is telling me we're going for two tonight."
Surprised by his boldness, her eyes met his and she gave him a true genuine laugh this time.
They didn't "go for two" as Eric referred to it. They rarely did. They gave in to exhaustion after a playful round of love making. When Tami woke up in the morning she made her way to the kitchen, letting Eric sleep in a little.
Julie was sitting at the kitchen counter listening to her mother talk as Eric waltzed in with a little skip in his step. Today, he woke up a winner and this town was going to love him for that. Today, was going to be a good day. "Hey, you know what I like about me?"
Tami laughed at his words as she poured him a cup of coffee. "That you're married to someone as fantastic as me?" She felt his arms circle her waist.
"That is what I like. Hey, good morning." He kissed the side of her head.
Tami knew his good mood was not only because of his win last night. Men are such simple creatures. "Good morning cheerful!" She joked.
"Thank you for doing that." He was referring to the coffee.
"You're welcome."
He moved his head to the other side, lowering his voice to a seductive tone. "Tonight, what do ya say we go grab some dinner…"
"'Uh- huh. I like that." She said as she walked toward the counter to retrieve the lid for him. He kept his arms around her waist, walking with her.
"…then we'll go catch a movie…"
Julie looks up disgustedly, their close proximity to each other, causing alarm.
"Okay."
"Then we'll…" He lowers his voice and suggestively says, "…do a little dance."
"Oh really?" She put down the mug on the counter. She instinctively raised her left hand to stroke the side of his face as he gently nuzzles his nose in her hair. She tilts her face up, his lips catching hers.
Julie stands quickly, to stop what's happening in front her. She holds her arm out, trying to stop them, clearly not the first time this has happened to her. "Okay. Okay! Wait! Wait!" She holds her pointer finger in the air, like an elementary school teacher. "Inappropriate. Inappropriate."
Eric started swaying his hips, bring Tami's along with his, continuing to speak seductively in her ear. Now, it's done more to get Julie riled up. "Get down tonight. Get down tonight"
"I'm eating breakfast. Inappropriate."
Tami feigns shock, acting as if his behavior is no fault of her own. "We're gonna get down tonight." Eric goes on.
Julie gets up from her seat and leaves the kitchen, not wanting to see this anymore.
He kisses her ear, as she giggles. "That's what I'm talking about. Get down tonight."
He pulls away and mentions that he will see her later after the meeting. He gives her one more peck, tells her he loves her, and starts to walk away.
He stops, and makes his way back to the kitchen, quickly glancing down the hall to make sure Julie is out of earshot. "I'm not finished with you. We didn't win our game last night. We didn't go for two." He kissed her again. She loved his playful mood because it was reserved for her. "Tonight, I'm scoring that extra point." He kissed her once again, before leaving.
His happiness lasted a total of thirty minutes. This town was in love with him. Handshakes at the gas station and pats on the back as he arrived at the school only lasted a short time. His frustration came back full-force as Buddy introduces him to two gentleman from District Executive Committee with some questions regarding VooDoo's eligibility.
The meeting with VooDoo in that motel room with Buddy came flooding back from his memory into the forefront of his brain. He didn't want to lie to these men. He didn't want to lie to anyone. That's not who he was. It was always something when he was involved with Buddy Garrity.
Go with your gut, he remembers.
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