Crossing the Line

Season 1 – Episode #8

Disclaimer: This episode was created by Peter Berg, and amazingly written by Bridget Carpenter. Italics are hers but flashbacks are mine.

Stalyn70: I am so glad you look forward to the updates. It's nice to know, especially when I often look for updates and know the feeling.

ICanStopAnytime: I truly believe that because of his serious nature, his NFL failure must have been such a huge part of their history. Glad you are enjoying the flashbacks.

Naguabo: I do go back and re-watch the episodes to get the dialogue quoted perfected. I think the nature of Eric's job and his passion for it automatically qualifies him for competitive. I think a competitive person welcomes challenge.

Guests: Thank you for taking the time to review. I love to know that people are reading.

A/N: I fell in love with Eric and Tami during this episode. You get an awesome glimpse into their parenting styles and the scene in the garage is definitely one of my top ten favorite all time scenes over the entire series. Eric and Julie and even Eric and Matt scenes melt me! Again, my apologies for the delay. I was away on vacation for a week.

It was a busy week. The fall season was in full swing, and with over a month of school under their belt, the uncomfortableness that usually accompanied students with the fresh start of a school year began to dissipate. With a certain level of comfort came drama. It always followed. Students started to party more on the weekends, cliques were formed, new couples emerged and the drama of high school students' lives always ensued.

Eric was at practice when he saw Billy approach the field. On Friday, Tim had an amazing game. Eric knew the second he saw Billy, what he was about to ask. This was the part of his job he actually liked. He enjoyed paving a future for his boys. He wanted so desperately to see them succeed.

"He had a hell of game last week, didn't he?" Eric said, letting Billy know his thoughts. After Billy came out and asked what to do next, Eric thought for a second of how to proceed. How will it affect Tami? How he could fit it in? "I tell you what. You and Tim come out to dinner. I'll talk to Tami- get the time. Alright?"

He loved his wife. She deeply understood this part of his job and how important it was. In the beginning of his coaching career, it took some getting used to on her part. There were kids constantly in and out of her house. Her frustration with Eric was because of his lack of communication. He learned though. He learned to check with her first. She would never say no, but needed some time to pull it together. She ended up loving those kids just as much as Eric. That's what made her a good counselor. That is why those students would tell her things she didn't want to hear.

That afternoon was no different.

Tami had a sophomore student in her office, and although her behavior was a bit jittery, she tried to continue talking about her education. She missed the PSATs and Tami was trying to go over what that meant and how she could make sure she signed up for the next round.

When Tami realized how distracted she was, she asked. "Is everything okay, April?"

"A panther wants me to do a three-way." She said, clearly wanting to talk to someone about it.

Tami couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice: "Oh."

"Yeah and…."

Tami gets up to shut the door. This conversation did not need to be overheard.

April continued as Tami tried to mentally prepare for how to handle this. "He says that all the rally girls do it, and I know a ton who have. I just …I Just…haven't. But I really like him, and he says if I do it I will be his girlfriend. So…"

Tami tried to get the look of disgust off her face. Who the hell did these boys think they were? "April, I know you are feeling conflicted, but let me tell you something. You should never, ever do anything you are uncomfortable with doing." Tami sympathized with the girl. She could even empathize, remembering how she gave up her virginity.

"I feel like he is not going to like me if I don't do it."

"There's no guarantee either way, April. If you ask me, I think this boy has nerve to ask that of you." Tami thought she saw April roll her eyes, knowing that last statement might have lost her. She could tell April thought she was clueless in the teenage boy department. After April left her office, Tami's mind drifted to Eric. Did he have a clue what his boys were up to?

As the Taylors drove home from school that evening, Tami suggested picking something up on the way home for dinner. As they pulled up to the Alamo Freeze, Julie made some sort of a comment about keeping her social status intact. Eric and Tami stayed in the car, watching Julie through the windshield as she went inside to order their dinner.

As silence filled the car, Eric pulled out a newspaper, while Tami's mind drifted to April. "You know what happened to me today?"

"Hmmm?" Eric was half listening, half reading.

"This girl comes into my office and tells me she's contemplating having a three-way with a Dillon Panther."

Eric knew Tami and knew she was upset. He could tell by her tone. He knew better than to say anything, opting to stay quiet. Eric knew very well that these things went on with his boys. Hell, he was once one of these boys. He could remember all the locker room talk on a Monday, everyone revealing what happened over the weekend. Some things didn't change. His boys were always chatty on Mondays.

"She's a rally girl." Tami continued. "Apparently it was suggested to her that that might be part of her duties as a rally girl."

Eric put down the paper and began to rub his eyes.

Interaction.

He knew Tami being a counselor was not going to make his job any easier. He wanted to keep his boys in line, but what wasn't directly addressed to him, he pretended didn't exist. He could tell from Tami's inflection she was pissed at his boys.

Tami's gaze drifted to Julie inside talking to Matt. "The girl's a sophomore." She was hoping by adding in that last part, that Eric would understand her true underlying concern. When he didn't grasp what she was getting at she looked back and forth from Julie to Eric and back to Julie. When confusion still played on his features, she spoke. "You know what? Our daughter is a sophomore."

"Come on. Stop that!" Was she crazy?

"I mean she's in there…" Tami tried to explain herself.

Eric did not need for her to continue. "Stop that. Our daughter reads Melville. You know what she hates…."

Tami needed him to hear her. "You know who is behind that counter is Matt Saracen!"

"…more than football is football players. Stop that."

"I'm just saying."

Tami wasn't done though. She expected something more from him. He, of course, mentioned Julie, but what about his players. Wasn't he supposed to discipline them? "You know, your lack of words speaks volumes."

"Huh?" Now where was she going?

"Why are you not more surprised by this little revelation in my office?"

He rustled his newspaper, folding it closed. His voice was low, and she almost didn't hear him. "You were once young too."

But she did hear him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He looked through the windshield, checking on Julie. After he found her with his eyes seated at one of the tables, he knew it was safe to talk. "How could you forget the things you did? I'm not saying I want Julie to partake in any of those things, but don't you remember the way a teenage boy's mind worked?"

As Tami stared at him in disbelief, he knew she was questioning his words. He didn't want to fight with her. He hated when he fought with her. He explained further, turning the focus back to Julie "She's a good kid Tami, but boys are going to ask for things. They are going to ask and ask and ask."

"You asked for those things? In high school? From rally girls and the cheerleaders?" Tami started to shake her head.

He tried to lighten the conversation with a joke. "I never had to ask for much." That flew over like a lead balloon. Logic was his next play. "Besides, Mo worked on you for years for that. Why are you so surprised by it?"

She thought about his words and what he actually meant. She was going to ask what he meant, but the thoughts shuffled through her mind rapidly, like an experienced card dealer in Las Vegas. "I know you didn't just say that."

He gave her one of his 'don't try to play this innocent game with me' looks. He was just glad he was able to turn the table and take the focus off of himself.

"Mo never asked me to do that!" She defended. "Wait! All this time, did you think I did?"

"No. I never thought you went through with it. He just…you know him….he liked to talk. He swore you would give in."

"I did so many dumb things in high school, but I can promise you, that wasn't one of them. Mo always treated me well. I can't believe he would…."

"Yeah, so well." He said sarcastically. He didn't say that to hurt her. He said it because her words, even after all these years, stung him a bit.

"I just don't want these girls to feel like it's their job to do whatever your football players ask them to do."

"Let me tell you something. The girls that do those things, do those things because they want to do those things. They can be as aggressive as my boys. They can be in the wrong too." He glanced back into the Alamo Freeze, seeing that Julie was grabbing the two bags of food and walking toward the car. "Our daughter? She's not one of those girls. I know that and, deep down, you know that."

On the ride home, he thought about Mo. The car was silent now that Julie was present, but he could remember Mo's words in that locker room like it was yesterday. He remembered how he masturbated that night thinking of Tami being with him and another girl. He remembered it vividly, marking that as the first day he thought of Tami as more than a friend.

They were getting ready for practice, as he heard Mo's voice shout across the locker room. "Hey Taylor!"

Eric turned his head and gave a nod. He knew what this was about. He started putting on his cleats, breaking eye contact.

"I heard you let Brittany loose? What happened? Her legs locked at the knee?"

Eric never wanted to reveal too much, especially to Mo. He was right though. Eric spent six weeks working around the bases with her, but could just never get home. Plus, she started nagging him for more. More time, more tasks, more social events. He knew it was time. "Yeah, something like that."

"Back to Laura, huh? You won the rally girl lottery with that one."

Again, another true statement. Laura always seemed to be waiting in the wings. She was always available, playing it cool with him. She never expected much, but was always a sure thing. "Not sure what's next."

"Well, you're crazy man. I know for a fact that Laura is ready to do anything for you and with you."

Eric pretended to keep himself busy gathering his equipment so Mo didn't see the smirk that played on his lips. He couldn't help it. He knew Mo's words held some weight.

"And if you wait for it to come to you, I'm going to sneak in and grab those offers."

That got Eric's attention. Mo has been with Tami forever and although he saw Mo flirting with other girls, he wasn't aware that he was actually cheating on her.

"I've got Tami this close…" He said holding his thumb and index finger about an inch apart. "…to agreeing to a threesome with me and who knows…maybe Laura."

Eric was shocked. He never thought she would be into that. He felt a twinge in is pants as he thought of Tami sexually with another girl. He couldn't help but think how hot that was. He couldn't wait to get home to relieve himself with those thoughts.

After they had dinner and Julie was in the confines of her bedroom, Tami took a seat on the couch across from Eric's recliner which he was currently occupying. "When we were in high school, how many girls did you know did that?"

Damn. He thought he escaped. "Did what?"

She gave him a knowing look and when he didn't answer, she got up and started walking toward the fridge. She grabbed an open bottle of white, two wine glasses and returned to the living room. "You know what."

"I don't know, Tami. Why are we talking about this?"

"Because I'm curious." She feared the answer to her next question. "How many of the guys thought I did those things."

"Why does it matter to you? All of this happened twenty years ago."

"It matters."

"Everyone knew Mo was a talker. He never said you did it. He eluded." He hoped that answer satisfied her. When he saw that she was thinking about it more, he decided he was no longer playing in this conversation. He picked up the remote, turned off the television and turned to Tami. "I'm going to bed." He knew if he didn't, this conversation was not going to end well.

The drama continued the following day for Tami. She couldn't get away from it this week. She tried to catch up with Lyla to relay a message to her mom about not attending book club. She didn't expect Lyla, who seemed so confident and secure, to break down in front of her. She walked them to the side of the school and sat on the steps that led up to the bleachers.

Lyla told her the whole story. She told her about the mistake she made with Tim, how she ended it because she chose Jason and now, how Jason started asking questions, acting suspicious.

Tami felt bad for her, but knew Jason and the Street family for years. Her heart really broke for Jason. "Can I give you a little piece of advice? Jason Street has been hurt worse than he has in his whole life. Don't you hurt him more! You would not be telling him for him. You would be telling him for you. You let him heal. You move on with your life. You let him heal."

"So that's it? I just walk away?"

"You have to, Lyla. You can't tell him and then expect him to forgive you like it wasn't a big deal."

"I love him, though. And I made a mistake. People make mistakes sometimes. Haven't you've ever made a mistake?"

She thought about how to answer this. She made tons of mistakes. She made them with the way she lost her virginity. She made them with Mo. She made them with Eric. Of course, she had made mistakes. Sadly, she knew too well how it was to feel the weight of someone else's mistake. "Yes. Of course. Sadly, though, I know what it feels like to be cheated on. It crushing. It's damaging. It's deteriorating."

Lyla was surprised to hear her relate so closely to the subject. "Were you able to recover? Did things work out?" She wasn't sure if she was talking about Coach Taylor or not.

She lightly chuckled. "No. He wanted it too. He tried, but I knew I couldn't recover. I would never be able to trust him again."

"Oh."

"But remember this Lyla. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. My situation was not meant to be. Trust me. At the time, I didn't think I would be able to ever regain trust in myself again. Time heals. Let him heal."

Eric, Tami and Julie were all prepping dinner in the kitchen that night as Tami toyed with the idea of telling Eric about her conversation with Lyla. She knew Lyla told her in confidence and she wanted to respect that. Tami started to think about the opposing argument for Jason. She knew how tough this was going to be for him. She was barely paying attention to the conversation going on between Eric and Julie until she heard Julie say, "…and Matt Saracen asked me out on a date."

Eric dropped the large glass salad bowl on the countertop, breaking her out of her thoughts and processing what Julie just said.

Julie noticed the shock on her parents face. "Just putting it out there."

Tami looked at Eric nervously. He knew that look, knowing Tami was struggling to find the words as she was completely unprepared for this conversation. Say something. Say something! Her eyes pleaded with him. Eric found his voice and spoke. "What'd you say to him?"

"I told him I was considering."

"Oh." Eric replied, a little grateful his daughter was controlling the situation. But he also knew Matt and knew this kid didn't need any sort of rejection.

After they sat for dinner, unbeknownst to Julie, Tami and Eric had a full conversation with their eyes.

"We need to talk about this." Hers spoke.

"Not now. Not in front of her. United front." His replied.

Julie eventually excused herself, claiming she needed to complete a reading assignment. The truth was she needed to get away from the awkward situation that was dinner. Eric watched her walk down the hall, and once safe in the confines of her room, he whispered. "Is she even allowed to date?"

"Why are you asking me that? I have no idea." Tami tried to remember what it was like to be fifteen. She definitely didn't want Julie doing what she did at fifteen.

"It's Matt. He's harmless. Thank God." Eric said, more to himself than to Tami. He was trying to justify what was happening.

"No boy is harmless. You know that. God, you must hear them talk. You know that they are conniving."

"I know how they talk and that's how I know he's harmless."

Tami lowered her voice almost to a whisper. "I'm worried about her and her comfort level with all this. Does she even know what to do, how to act, what she wants, how to drive the date? Have we taught her that she is in control? Not him?" She couldn't keep the panic out of her voice.

"God, Tami if she takes after you, she'll be able to torture him for months." He said chuckling, thinking back to his own personal torture.

"Yeah, well, I knew what I wanted and I knew how to get it." She teased.

He wanted to kiss Tami in the worst way. The first time he thought about it was when she was in his truck and driving her home from the hospital when Mo got into that fight. He never thought much past that until Mo brought up the conversation about Tami considering doing a three-way with him. Then he thought about Tami in all sorts of inappropriate ways. Then it happened. Tami found out about Mo's cheating. He waited until after football season. He waited what felt like an eternity to see if she had any interest in him. He waited forever, each day passing by hoping the time would give him more of a chance she'd say yes.

The first time he asked her out on a date, they were at a party. She was with some of her friends and he made his way over, asking if she needed a refill on her drink. When she said no, he decided now was his chance.

"Can I take you out sometime?"

She had no idea what he meant. "Out where?"

"Out – out. Like on a date."

She'd never been asked out on a date like that before. He took her by surprise. "How much have you been drinking?" She countered. She wondered if he was drunk and it was the alcohol talking.

"Never mind." He said, feeling defeated.

The next time he asked her for something, it was not to go out on a date. They were at a mutual friend's house, and she was clearly drunk. He thought that maybe because he was buzzed the last time he asked, that she felt like she had to say no. Now, he was sober and thought this might be a good time.

"Hey." He said a little bit nervously. He saw Laura out of the corner of his eye watching him. He hated the lack of privacy he had at this moment.

"Hey!" he said a little louder than he expected. She recognized his surprise, and felt like she had to make an excuse. "Sorry. I had a little bit too much to drink."

He took the solo cup out of her hand. "Put that down." He said softly. "Let me go get you a water."

When he returned to her, she was sitting on the ground, observing what was going on around her. He took a seat next to her and handed her the water bottle. "What are you looking at?" He asked, following her eyes across the yard.

"Mo." She said sadly. Eric found Mo, talking to a group of three pretty girls.

"He's not worth it."

She laughed. "How would you know? You have probably never had to feel like this."

"I know because he's not worthy of you."

"Eric, you barely know me."

"I know enough." He stared deeply into her eyes, thinking about what it would be like to kiss her. She held his stare and Eric ever so slightly leaned in. When she didn't pull back, he moved his eyes quickly to her lips, and then back to her eyes. "Can I kiss you? I really want to kiss you, Tami."

"I can't kiss you." She said breaking their eye contact. She turned her head back toward Mo, watching his every move.

He wondered if she meant she didn't want to kiss him at all, or just not kiss there, with Mo watching. The truth was that Tami didn't want to kiss him because she knew he was such a player. She needed him to chase because never before had he ever had to chase.

The third time he asked her, he thought for sure she would say yes. They were at school, both sober, and more time passed by. He knew Mo broke her heart and needed time to heal. The truth was he didn't want to wait any more. Plus, he heard she was at a school dance with one of the guys from the baseball team. The fact that she was open to dating definitely made him feel more confident.

"How'd you do on your chemistry test?" He opened the conversation.

"How'd you know I had a chemistry test today?"

"I know a lot of things about you." He said, flashing his sexiest smile.

Tami closed her locker, wanting to walk away. She knew why he was there. She knew she wasn't going to be able to resist him forever. "Yeah? Like what?"

"I know you like chocolate chip cookies. I know the kind of music you like. I know you go to work after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I know you have a little sister." He could have gone on forever. He could have said he knew what her hair smelled like, that he knew all her different types of smiles, that he knew how smart she really was. He couldn't tell her any of that because he thought that would scare her away. He settled on telling her what she thought she might want to hear at this moment. "I know you didn't deserve what Mo did to you."

"Thanks." She said, feeling her walls crumble a little.

"Would you like to go out on a date with me? And before you ask what I mean by that, I was thinking dinner and maybe a walk around the lake?"

"That sounds nice Eric, but I can't." She wanted to say yes, but she knew better. She knew Eric had a million girls falling over him. She didn't need to get hurt again.

When she walked away from him, he stood there stunned. Why was this girl giving him such a hard time?

He thought about where he was going wrong? He figured maybe he didn't know her at all. Maybe she didn't know him at all either. Over the next two weeks, he decided that he needed to put in the time with her. He sought her ought in the halls at school, walking her to class. He spent the second half of his lunch period at her table. He drove her and two of her friends home from school almost every day. He stayed at the library later than he wanted to just talk to her a little more.

They were getting to know each other. Tami laughed with him, seemed to be enjoying spending time with him and Eric realized they had more in common than he expected. He figured he would ask one more time.

They were all hanging out at the Alamo Freeze after school, and Tami started to walk out when Mo walked in. He followed her into the parking lot, and offered her a ride home. They didn't talk about anything in particular, but Eric's mind was racing with how to approach her. He decided to be direct. He always was. He pulled up to her house and put the car in park. "Tami, I would really like to take you out. And before you say no again, I swear this is the last time I am going to ask. I can't keep bothering you about it and I can't keep making a fool of myself."

"Eric, I can't. I'm sorry." She started to gather her books, and opened the passenger door to his car. By the time she stepped out, Eric managed to meet her on the sidewalk standing in her way so she couldn't get away.

"Why? You know me. We're friends now. Is there something I'm missing here?"

Tami didn't want to hurt his feelings, but knew she couldn't keep doing this. "I just don't trust you Eric."

"You don't trust me? You don't even know me in that capacity."

"I know enough. I know how you have never really settled down with anyone. It's almost as if you are not capable."

"Give me a chance? One chance?" His eyes were pleading.

She wanted to just say yes. She was so attracted to him, but her head spoke louder than her heart. She wondered if she would ever again feel with her heart first. "If you can make it a few weeks without hooking up with anyone else, I will consider it."

He was not happy with that response and not because he wanted to be with anyone else. He was upset because she hadn't even noticed that he hasn't hooked up with anyone else in weeks. Even when Laura offered him a blowjob in the locker room after hours, he declined. He needed to take a little bit of control. He felt like Tami had him by the balls.

He leaned in and kissed her. When she didn't immediately pull back, he put his hand behind her head and pulled her a bit closer. He wanted to taste her, but didn't dare open his mouth. He knew not to push her too far.

When Eric pulled back, Tami was speechless. She never felt a kiss leave her speechless, powerless. She couldn't formulate a coherent thought and Eric's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "How many weeks is a few?" He really wanted to do that again and needed a timetable.

"One month." She said as she walked toward her house.

It was a torturous month for Eric. With the few weeks prior to that kiss and adding in another month, Eric thought he was going to die. Over the next two weeks he snuck in a few pecks here and there, always taking Tami by surprise. He wanted so much more. He needed more.

He didn't have to wait the full month to go on their first date. They were at a party on a random Saturday night and Eric was drunk. Tami stayed with her friends, but watch him like a hawk all night. She watched some cheerleader leaning in close to him, but Eric pushed her away. She watched as Laura whispered something in his ear, sending him into a fit of laughter. He shook his head, letting her know whatever she offered, he was not interested.

He was leaning against the banister railing, as she walked over to him. He watched her the whole way, wondering what she was thinking.

"Hi." She said, not daring to lean next to him. She had to keep her distance.

He gave her a smile that made her knees weak. He had an incredible smile. "Hey!" She half slurred, half sung.

"How's your night going?" She asked playfully.

"It could be going a lot better, but only you have the power to change that."

"Eric…" She started. She wanted to tell him this was hard for her too. She wanted to explain it was the only way she could judge if he was really serious about her or not.

"Shh…." He slurred. "I'm going to tell you a secret."

She laughed, realizing he was really drunk. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"That's wasn't the last time I would have asked. I'd wait for you to say yes forever." He pushed himself off the rail, wanting to be closer to her, but he stumbled a bit. He apologized for his misstep, but then continued. "I'd keep asking and asking and asking."

He was so cute and she just couldn't help herself. "Next weekend. "

Tami decided that she wanted to talk to Julie about Matt and exactly what her thought process was. Tami wanted to have an open conversation about it and be better than her own mother was with her. She laid on the bed next to Julie, trying to play it cool, but Julie called her out.

"You're just freaking out because I got asked out on a date."

"I'm not freaking out. Not freaking out. I think it's great. I think it's nice. I'm just …ummm…."

"Freaking out?"

"No. I mean I sit in that counselor's chair all day. I kind of get a sense of what goes on over there at that school." Three ways were the only things popping in her mind. "And I just want to make sure you are comfortable…"

"I haven't even told him yes yet."

"Okay good. I mean…oh." God, she needed to be better at this.

She thought about what to say next. She wanted to make sure it sounded right. "If and when you do say yes, whether it be to Matt or someone else, I need to tell you some things."

"I don't need the sex talk mom. It was humiliating enough the first time."

"I'm not giving you the sex talk. I want to give you the dating talk."

She laughed.

Tami was serious. "All I'm going to say is that you have to stay in charge of any situation you are in. That is your right as the girl. You make the decisions." She thought back to April and how that girl felt like she had to do what that football players asked of her. "You call the shots. Your father and I raised you to be independent and respectful. Don't give that up because some boys asks you too."

"It's one date mom." Julie didn't understand why her mom was coming down so hard on her about this.

"I know."

The next day, Tami was waiting for Eric to come home as she prepared dinner for Billy and Tim. When Eric walked through the door, he could tell Tami was in major panic mode.

"Hey come here. What's wrong?"

"She's on the phone with Matt Saracen."

Eric knew nothing he was going to say was going to calm her down, but figured he would try. "Look, you got to stop with this Matt Saracen bit. He's a good kid. Don't worry about it. Just relax, would you?"

Why didn't Eric understand her point? "You know what honey? He's a good kid now, but he's about to become the star quarterback of your football team where we know they just like to use these girls and throw them away."

"Wait a sec. Wait a second there. First of all, she's my daughter too. Second of all, I'm not the enemy. And don't start lumping all of us into this culture you've created. "

"What are you talking about? I'm not creating some kind of culture."

The doorbell rang, and Tami knew this conversation had to end. "All I'm saying is you can't do anything about them but you can talk to your daughter. It would make me feel real good if you talk to your daughter."

'I will talk to her. I'll talk to her. If you will relax, I'll talk to her. I'll have a talk with her tonight."

Tami starts to walk away, but he stops her. "Wait." He kisses her and hopes she will relax a bit. "You look beautiful."

The next day Eric decided to visit Jason. He missed him, plus he wanted to get a little background info on Tim. Whenever Eric reached out to help a kid, he needed to gather as much as he could about him. Eric sensed from Jason's one word answers about Tim that they weren't as close anymore.

Eric could tell he didn't want to talk about Tim anymore and changed the subject to quad rugby. He tried to explain to Eric how everyone keeps telling him that he's not ready. He didn't know what Coach was going to say to assure him, but he definitely didn't expect him to reveal this.

"Sixteen years ago I wasn't ready to be a father. I'll tell you that. I wasn't ready for responsibility. You cannot be prepared for something like that. Believe me. But you grab the bull by the horns and you move on. You? No seventeen year old kid should have to go through what you have to go through right now."

Jason looked away.

"No. Stop!" Jason turned back. "You're dealing with it. You're doing what you're supposed to do. You're being a man about it. Go with your heart."

"You think so Coach?"

"Play with your heart Jason. You always did – with a full heart. That's what made you great. Now deal with this. Make yourself great at this. I'm proud of you son."

On the drive home, Eric thought about that moment of total panic.

He was 22 years old and he and Tami were about to be married. They just graduated, and Tami's plan was to start graduate school right away while Eric secured a teaching job for the fall, while assistant coaching at a small school in College Station. He walked in from a coach's meeting and Tami was reading the course catalog.

She looked up at him and he immediately could tell something was off with Tami. He couldn't pinpoint it, but he thought Tami looked a little pale.

"How was your day?" He asked, as he threw his hat on the kitchen table.

"Good." She picked her head up to meet his lips for a kiss.

She put her head back down and continued to read. "Everything okay?" He asked.

"Sure."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She didn't have a clue on how to explain her fear.

"Did something happen with my dad? Is it about the wedding?" Eric's dad had been putting the pressure on them to marry in a church, but they decided they wanted to marry outside by an ordained minister.

"No. Nothing like that."

"So it's something." Eric could feel the heat rising in his chest, almost afraid to ask this next question. "Are you getting cold feet? Are you having second thoughts?" Eric thought for sure they were past this. They trusted each other whole heartedly. He desperately needed to hear her reassure him.

Tami smiled. "Oh, Eric. I love you. You know that right?"

"You're scaring me."

"I'm not going to lie. I'm scared myself. Can you please sit down?"

"I can stand. What is it?" A million thoughts were running through his head. Did she cheat on him? Was it a onetime thing? Was it his dad? Was he sick? Was she sick? Were they being evicted?

"Eric, please sit down." After he sat, she turned her body to face him. She folded her one leg under and pulled her knee to her chest hugging it. It was her defensive position. When Eric looked at her, she spoke. "I'm late."

"Late? Late? What do you mean late?" He knew exactly what she meant.

"I always get my period on the 29th day. I am like clockwork. I mark the calendar with an "X" and look when the "X" is."

Eric got up immediately and headed into the kitchen to look. It was four days ago. He walked back over, but didn't sit down. He started to pace. "Tami, it's only four days." He tried to reason.

"You are going to be teaching health. I think you know that 4 days is still considered late."

Eric tried to replay the past few weeks in his head. He was trying to pinpoint when this could have happened. They were usually so careful. Usually. Not always.

"Graduation night." She said as if she was reading his mind. "I know we were celebrating and drinking a lot that night. Remember, we didn't make it to the bedroom. We didn't seem to think we had time to grab a condom."

Eric continued to pace, his step becoming faster and his turns becoming sharper. "This can't be happening Tami. We are getting married in two weeks. You are going back to school. We rent a one-bedroom apartment."

Tami could feel the tears pooling against her eyelids. This is not how she imagined this moment in her life would be like. Eric stopped pacing and turned to face her. When he saw she was about to cry, he came back to the couch and sat down. "I'm sorry." He didn't realize how much his words were hurting her. "Let's just take a test. It's crazy to think about any of this until we confirm it."

He pulled her into a hug. She started to cry a little bit, but tried to hold it back. He rubbed a hand through her hair, trying to sooth her. "I'm so scared, Eric."

"Me too. But you know what? We can be scared together."

When he got home, he asked Julie to play ping pong. They had their best talks over that table. He promised Tami he would talk to her, so he thought this might be the best way.

"How's your dating situation going?"

"Good." Julie wasn't sure where he was going with this. She hit the ball off the table.

"I take it from your limited response that you don't think it's any of my business?" Eric asked as he chased it.

When Julie didn't answer, Eric put the paddle down after he chased yet another ball. He looked her straight in the eye so he could get his point across. Tami said she wasn't so successful with her own conversation with Julie so he needed to be direct and honest. "Alright, listen. I'm supposed to give you some fatherly and wise advice at this time in your life. Listen up. If you're wondering if a boy is thinking about you, he's not. He's thinking about sex or he's hungry. Those are the only two options."

"Are you trying to be funny?" That was a very different explanation of how a boy's mind works.

"No. I'm not finished. Boys think about sex every single minute of the day. That's what they do. That's why they lie. They're going to leave you waiting around for them to call, and they won't call. They're going to be cruel and they're going to be misleading. And your mother wanted me to add this… that by-in-large football players are the worst offenders, however I think it pretty much crosses all lines. "

"You done?"

"You are beautiful, you are sensitive, you are sweet and I don't want to see you get hurt." Eric knew that logically he couldn't prevent that from happening.

"I love you too dad."

"You're a lousy ping pong player."

He thought it was a good talk. He thought it went really well. Julie knew how much he loved her and as a father, that was more than he could have asked for. He didn't have to get into details about Matt or that they were both a little nervous about her starting to date. He just wanted to make her aware of what it looked like from the other side. He felt he got his point across.

Julie retreated to her room, as he put the paddles away. When he came back in the house Tami was sitting on the couch, and he could faintly hear Julie talking on the phone. He was feeling confident and if he knew one thing, his confidence was a huge turn on for Tami.

He sat down in his recliner as Tami was waiting to hear how it went.

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm very good communicating with the woman folk."

She hated when he was too confident. "Sweetheart? That's just ridiculous. Now tell me what happened."

"I'm telling you." He turned his head toward her. "You can rest easy that she has now received fatherly advice." He gave her a wink.

"Are you sure?" Tami wasn't feeling confident at all.

Just as he was about to answer, Julie came out of her room and down the hall. Tami's eyes were burning a hole through the side of Eric's head as Julie told them she decided to go on a date with Matt. What the hell did Eric say to her?

Julie went back down the hall to her bedroom and closed the door. Tami's eyes went from the television right back to Eric. She muted the television. "What did you say to her?"

Eric didn't want to admit it, but he had no idea how the conversation in the garage that should have scared her away from Matt Saracen ended up leading her right to him. "I told her how boys see her. I told her that all they think about is sex. I figured that would scare her away."

"Did you ever think that would intrigue her?"

"No. Intrigue her? I told her that they would be cruel and misleading."

"It's new to her, Eric. She's curious."

"Curious about having sex?" There was no way his little girl was thinking about having sex. That was his little girl.

"Yes! Do you realize I was already having sex at her age?"

"I don't like to think of you having sex, unless it's with me. I try to mentally block it out."

"Please!" she chortled. "You really need me to remind you of the parade of girls you slept with at her age? And God know what else you did, experimented with?"

"What does that mean?"

"You seriously are going to try and lie about the fact that three-ways weren't constantly thrown your way?"

"I never pressured anyone to do anything. I want Julie to know what these boys are thinking. And to be honest, I think Matt is a good kid. I think we are lucky."

The truth was that Eric was worried. He was worried about Julie and how she was going to handle herself in this situation. He was worried about Tami and how she was going to trust Julie to not follow in her footsteps. He was worried about Matt and how he was going to handle his Julie.

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