A/N: So here it is - Chapter 3 of Sleeping Habits. Thanks to everyone for reviewing the previous chapter, they were much appreciated! It's great to hear that so many of you are enjoying it :)
Enjoy!
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Dinner at the Taylor household was a quiet affair that evening, he'd never felt the need to talk for the sake of talking. Julie was obviously still tired and half asleep at the table, while Coach Taylor was stuck deep in thought. As a result of her husbands silence, Tami had followed suit while Shelly was out for dinner with a few friends she'd made.
As soon as cleanup was done, Tim took himself off to hang out with his team mates, returning to the Taylor household at a reasonable time to ensure he wouldn't piss off Coach and disturb the rest of the family when he got in.
Practice had been called in the morning, and he'd found since moving in with the Taylor's that it was a lot less painful when he wasn't hung-over.
Street hadn't been kidding when he'd told him that.
He met up with some of his team mates and the usual girls that hung about them, but he had felt more out of place among them than ever before.
He didn't know what had brought the change about, but something had.
So he'd acted his usual remote and relaxed self and then left at the first opportunity, heading back to the Taylors for lack of anything else to do, or anyone that he wanted to hang out with.
Street was busy, and things were still strained after their stint in Mexico.
Tyra was either probably working or out with Landry. He was as clueless as the rest of Dillon about how that came about.
Lyla was off acting her reformed self, preaching to the masses. Perhaps Julie was right and he wasn't the only one to blame for their involvement. This new obsession she had with church, about forgiveness and understanding, about being free of sin, maybe that was just her way of dealing with her guilt.
She certainly wasn't one to drink her problems away like he'd done.
But then again, maybe he was just being foolish and optimistic.
And Billy…well, no doubt his older brother was playing happy family with Jackie and Bo.
As stupid as it was to admit it, Tim couldn't help but feel jealous of how Billy treated the little boy.
Obviously he was just trying to impress Jackie, but still, Billy wanted the kid around, did things with him.
His childhood memories pretty much consisted of scrapping with his older brother (that still happened now), and being run off by Billy when he happened to interrupt some time between his brother and which ever girl he was in the process of hooking up with (that still happened now).
Sure there were some good times, but they were few and far between and usually ended up in them fighting. There was odd memory of his Mom, but not much more than that and the only ones he had of his father were bad ones as much as he didn't want to admit it.
Tim knew Billy looked out for him, but sometimes he got the sense it was because his older brother didn't want to have to deal with the fall out. Hadn't he been warned by his older brother about his involvement with Lyla and Jackie, and even Tyra too?
Trudging up the front door of the Taylor's, Tim pushed it open and made his way inside.
The house was surprisingly quiet. The lights were on in the living room, along with the tv which was turned on quietly, it's sole occupant watching some crappy show that he didn't even want to know the name for.
"Hey." He said lowly, dropping down on the opposite end of the couch.
"Hey Tim," Julie said in surprise. "You're home early."
"Yeah, well…"
"Was there a program you wanted to watch or something?" Julie asked politely. After the serious talk they shared earlier that day, which was followed by the casual lunch she'd come over all shy when he'd followed her Dad in after practice that evening.
How was she supposed to act towards him now?
She knew Tim never talked about his feelings the way they had that afternoon, and she herself definitely didn't expose her dark, painful secrets and humiliation to just anyone.
Because before he'd moved in with them, Tim Riggins and Julie Taylor did not move in the same circles, they did not have anything in common and they absolutely did not confide in one another.
They'd gotten to know each other a lot better since then, but they were still a long way off from being best, or even close friends.
Not that Tim Riggins would ever want someone like her for a friend.
She was sure that there were far more interesting people out there that didn't happen to be Coach Taylor's daughter.
Not only that, but her Mom has mentioned how she'd fallen asleep on the couch with him the night before. It hadn't actually occurred to her before then how she'd gotten back to bed when her last memory was how she'd been straining to stay away in front of the tv.
"Nah," Tim responded, "I'm gonna go and have a quick shower." He walked over to his bag and pulled out clean underwear and a pair of shorts and a fresh t-shirt. He'd long been used to sleeping in his boxers or nothing at all back home, but he couldn't exactly do the same thing at the Taylor household. Coach might just kill him if he tried it.
Julie smiled slightly at him, "Oh, well, Dad's in with Gracie while Mom takes a bath. In their bathroom." She added. "There should be plenty of hot water."
Making his way down the hallway and into the bathroom, he took a quick shower, washing the different types of perfume from his skin that had been brushed over him all evening.
Stepping out the shower he towelled himself off roughly, and got dressed, not bothered when he pulled his t-shirt on that his chest was still slightly damp.
Raking his hair back from his face with his hand, he dropped his dirtied clothes in the laundry basket along with the towel and went back out to join Julie on the couch.
He slouched down into the thick cushions, letting them support his body as he tried to ignore how tense Julie had become since he'd entered the room once again.
For the first time he didn't think it had something to do with the fact that he'd emerged from the shower still damp.
Julie was uncomfortable with him.
The easy atmosphere that has existed between them earlier that day when they had shared lunch had gone.
He cursed as the conversation ran through his head. Why had he said what he'd said? Hell, he didn't even have the excuse of being drunk, no, he had to be stone cold sober which made his humiliation that much more complete. He remembered all of it.
The out of place feeling he'd experienced earlier that evening didn't even compare with what he was feeling now.
"Do you want a drink or anything?" Julie asked nervously licking her lips as she stood up and headed towards the kitchen avoiding Tim's eye and chucking the remote at him as she went. "There's not too much on…"
Reflectively catching the tv remote that was hurtling towards him, Tim started channel surfing as he replied to Julie's question. "Nah, I'm good."
"Sure thing." Julie responded opening the fridge and staring blankly at the contents inside. How was she supposed to deal with this? What was she supposed to say?
Just act normally. She told herself. Just act normally.
Picking a can of soda out of the fridge, Julie slowly made her way back towards the couch and sat down stiffly in the corner she'd occupied before.
Her index finger began skating around the rim of the can as if it had a mind of it's own, while her eyes fastened onto the motion.
"I uh -" breaking off to clear her throat, Julie started again. "Mom told me about, uh, about, uh, me…y'know…falling asleep, on the couch last night.." Her finger started playing the with key pull of her soda can as she tried to wedge enough of her finger beneath the metal pull to open the drink. She couldn't stand the thought of doing it with her fingernail as some people did. She'd always been paranoid that in doing so she'd rip her nail off her finger. Where she got that idea from she didn't know, after all it wasn't as though that had ever happened to anyone she knew.
Pulling herself away from her thoughts, but keeping her eyes fastened on her hand Julie said, "I just wanted to say sorry, and thanks, for last night."
Watching as Julie shifted on the couch next to him, Tim felt the tension drain out of his body. She wasn't embarrassed by the things that they'd spoken about earlier that afternoon. She wasn't judging him by what he told her, she didn't see him differently, she was embarrassed over the fact that she'd fallen asleep on the couch next to him and he'd got up to put her back to bed.
Sitting up from his slouched position, Tim reached over towards Julie and plucked the can of soda out of her hands and opened it before passing it back. "No worries Jules." He said, relaxing back against the comfortable cushions.
Before he could think the better of it he swung his legs up on the couch to join his body as well, deliberately placing his feet in Julie's lap.
As she'd done the night before, one of her hands settled at the bottom of his shin, resting there lightly as her thumb occasionally stroked back and forth over his ankle.
Pausing in his channel surfing, Tim flicked back a couple of channels and set the remote down.
"What are we watching?" Julie asked curiously as part of the program came to an end and a commercial started.
"Blue Collar Comedy Tour, the movie."
"What's it about?"
"Nothing really." Tim replied. "It's funny though. Ron White cracks me up."
--
Sitting in bed next to his wife while he studied game stats, Eric looked up as the sound of laughter once again floated in from the living room.
His eyes flickered across to the bedside table and settled on the clock there. It was gone eleven.
Noticing his preoccupation, Tami glanced over at the clock as well. A fresh bout of laughter echoed down the hall. "Are you going to get up and say something to them or do you want me to?"
"I will." Eric replied to his wife already in the process of sliding out of bed.
It was nice to hear Julie laughing again. A genuine laugh that wasn't made up of bitterness or mockery. It had been too long since he'd heard the sound, but right now it was late at night and if the pair of them weren't careful they were going to wake Gracie.
Over their laughter he could hear the sound of the tv in the background.
"They squared off with me in the parking lot and I backed down from the fight because I don't know how many of them it would have taken to whip my ass…but I knew how many they were gonna use."
There was a pause that was filled with laughter and whistling. "That's a handy little piece of information to have right there. They called the police because we broke a chair on the way out the door and I refused to pay for it because we broke it over my thigh."
Eric came to a stop behind the couch, but neither one of the two teenagers noticed his presence at their attention remained fixed in the tv.
"The cops showed up," the comedian continued, "and at that point I had the right to remain silent but I didn't have the ability."
As another pause sounded, Eric cleared his throat and watched at both Julie and Tim snapped round to face him. "Guys, I know it's a Friday night, but Julie you missed school today because you weren't sleeping, and Tim you have practice tomorrow morning."
Julie opened her mouth to protest, but stopped seeing the look on her Dad's face. And though she was loathe to admit it, he did have a point. She had had the day off from school because she hadn't been sleeping.
"Yes Sir." Tim responded in a tone of voice that she hadn't ever heard before. He sat up, lifting his feet from her lap where she'd been clutching at them in laughter at the antic's of Larry the Cable Guy, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Ron White.
He reached over for the remote and turned off the tv before unravelling the sleeping bag that had been put out for him on one of the chairs along with a pillow by her Mom earlier that evening.
"Night Tim."
"Night Jules." He responded, his lips twitching into a brief smile.
Stopping in front of her father, Julie leant up to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Night Dad."
"Goodnight honey." Eric replied as Julie stepped back out of his grasp and down the hall towards her room. "I'll see you in the morning Riggins. Get a good night's sleep, it's going to be a hard practice tomorrow."
Tim set the sleeping bag down on the couch along with his pillow and gave nod towards Eric. "Sure thing Coach."
"See you in the morning." Turning off the light's Eric made his way back towards his own bedroom.
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Tim came too blearily, his mind desperately trying to catch up to the situation he was in as he felt some climb across his body and settle down next to him.
He tried to open his eyes, but he still saw nothing but darkness, the curtains keeping out even a ray of moonlight that might have shed some light on the mystery person.
An arm wrapped itself around his waist while a face buried itself against the side of his neck where he could feel soft puffs of air as the girl breathed.
Was this some kind of booty call?
A few seconds later his mind actually caught up.
No it wasn't.
He was at the Taylor's.
He wasn't in his own bed at home where any number of girls might have climbed in next to him to boast of a night spent with Tim Riggins.
He swallowed, his body tense as the body next to him gave a small sigh and snuggled a little closer, some of her hair falling across his chest and brushing beneath her chin.
He breathed in the scent of coconut, and immediately knew who had joined him on the couch. Jules.
Her shampoo and conditioner was the coconut smelling bottles he saw each time he took a shower at the Taylor household.
Coconut, fabric softener, and just a hint of baby powder from where she'd held Gracie earlier that evening.
He couldn't imagine that Jules would climb on to the couch with him to cuddle if she was awake, so that probably meant that she was sleepwalking or something.
"Jules?" He whispered.
Receiving no response from the blonde fast asleep in his arms, Tim began to shuffle out from underneath her.
If Couch caught him and Julie on the couch at this time in the night, and knowing his luck, he would, and he was making no effort to move away from his daughter, he'd get his ass handed to him.
Julie gave a sound of discontent, her arm tightening on him and Tim paused and waited for her to relax against him once again before continuing to extract himself from her clutches.
Tim froze feeling one of her bare legs brush against his, holding his breath as he waited for the moment to pass.
Standing, he cautiously felt his way to the far side of the room without managing to knock into anything and switched on the little side light that Mrs Coach had dotted around the house.
Only women ever brought side lights. Men just made do with those hanging from the ceiling or on the wall.
He blinked as the light came on and his pupils adjusted to the change of brightness, but the small click that had sounded so loud in the quiet of the room, and the soft glow that the light cast off didn't disturb Julie.
The sleeping bag was only partly covering her, one leg peeking out from beneath while the top half had been pushed down about her waist exposing the vest top that she had worn to bed.
Scratching at the back of his head as he tried to work up the courage to go and wake Coach, Tim put off the inevitable a little longer by making sure that the cover was pulled up around Julie's neck and covering any hint of exposed skin.
Hopefully as far as Coach was concerned he'd have seen nothing that Julie had to offer.
Satisfied that she was sufficiently concealed beneath the open sleeping bag, he walked down the hall to Mr and Mrs Coach's room.
Raising a hand, he knocked softly on the door and waited as he hear the shuffling of bed covers and the low murmur of voices.
The door opened and Eric appeared, his hair tousled and his eyes still half asleep. "Riggins?" He rasped out.
"Julie's asleep on the couch."
Tim stared back at Coach Taylor as the older man rubbed at his eyes, and then mumbled in confusion, "What?"
Shifting uncomfortably on his feet, Tim rubbed at the back of his neck and then motioned towards the living room from where he'd come and Julie was. "Julie is asleep in the couch."
"What's she doing asleep out there?" Eric hissed at his Fullback, suddenly coming awake within an instant.
Tim shrugged helplessly knowing that he had to explain himself. "I don't know. I only woke up when she climbed over me."
"Why didn't you tell her to get off?" Eric asked incredulously as he brushed past Tim who quickly followed him down the hall despite leaving a health gap between them.
"She was asleep."
Heaving a heavy sigh, Eric towered over his daughter who was still fast asleep curled up the in sleeping bag. Bending down he peeled back the fabric and lifted her into his arms. "I've got it from here." He told Tim.
"Yes Sir." Tim replied as Coach carried Julie back down to her room.
Switching back off the side light, he lay back down on the couch and tried to get comfortable, the scent of coconuts still lingering on the sleeping bag.
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A/N: The next chapter is almost completed, so hopefully you won't have to wait as long for the next update!
The italic sentances do not belong to me! They are from Ron White's Drunk in Public routinue and it's well worth checking out on Youtube if you haven't seen it!