Driving down the road cuddled into Tim's side, Julie allowed the worry and doubt about their relationship that she had bottled up before now to float away. Finally, she felt at peace. She knew, without a second thought, that she was exactly where she was supposed to be with exactly the person she was supposed to be with.
As the truck rumbled down the stretch of road Tim had turned onto, a comfortable silence settled between them, the only sound interrupting the roar of the engine was the quiet country music playing through the radio.
"You know what your dad told earlier?" Tim asked, breaking the soft silence.
Julie shook her head into his shoulder. "What did he tell you?" she mumbled into it.
"That he's proud to have me as his daughter's boyfriend," he said. Julie could hear the pride in his voice.
"Wow," Julie said, "you know that's, like, a huge deal for him right?"
Tim nodded. "I know, that's why I couldn't really believe it," he admitted.
"You know what else?" Julie asked, allowing her hand to travel from her lap to his thigh, which she started to rub gently.
Tim's silence urged her on. "I'm pretty proud to call you my boyfriend, too," she whispered.
He turned to her and grinned, placing a quick peck on her lips before shifting his attention back on the road.
--
"Jules, we're here," Tim said about ten minutes later, gently shaking Julie to wake her. Somewhere between her house and their destination she had dozed off.
Julie sat up and rubbed her eyes. Even though it had been a short little catnap, she had slept soundly. Probably, she assumed, the relaxed feel of the ride had allowed her to completely fall asleep.
Looking around, all she could see was that they had come down a long dirt road and were surrounded by empty land. "I have no clue where we are," she admitted.
Tim grinned. "Come on, I'll show you," he said, quickly jumping out of the truck and circling around the front to get the door for her. Helping her down, he sat her on her feet before grabbing her hand and dragging her along behind him.
"Wait here," he said before running back to the truck. Perplexed, Julie stood where he had left her.
Seconds later, he returned with a blanket in his hands. "Forgot this," he muttered as he approached her.
Reaching again for her hand, Tim pulled her farther away from the truck. Coming to a stop in the middle of the empty land, he released her hand and spread out the blanket before sitting down in the middle of it. Julie followed suit, sitting next to him with her legs sprawled in front of her.
She turned to him, her eyes begging for an explanation.
"This morning, while I was driving around and trying to think of the best way to break the news about us to your dad, I drove by this land and it made my mind start wandering about things. I got to thinking about my life and how I wanted it to be years from now, what I wanted to look back on and say I was proud of," Tim began to explain, moving from a sitting position onto his back, his gaze shifting to the clearly visible stars above them.
"You know what I realized?" he asked.
Julie lay down beside him, propping herself up on an elbow so that she could see him. She shook her head no.
"I realized that last night, when I was on the sidelines with the team and helping Coach call the plays, that I was happier in that moment that I have been in the past four months with the team in New York. I was more proud of calling that one play that won the game than I am of cashing in my paycheck from the Giants," he paused to gauge her reaction.
Julie nodded, urging him to continue. "Jules, I'm not going to be playing ball for years and years. I don't wanna be that forty year old getting knee replacement surgery. This," he gestured to the land around him, his arms floating above him, "is where I want to be one day. In Texas, on a big stretch of land, raising a family."
"Back before Six had his accident, we had this big master plan that he would play pro ball for a few years, come back to Dillon, and then we would open up a huntin' ranch together. I guess, in a way, I still want some of that. The land part anyway, I'm kind of over the ranch idea." When he was finished, he propped himself up on an elbow, turning his body to face Julie's and mirror her position.
"Tim," she asked, "why are you tellin' me all this?"
"Because, I'm really starting to develop just a bit of a soft spot for you and you're the only person I wanted to share this crazy dream with," he admitted. His mouth slowly swept into a smirk.
Julie smiled wide, scooting closer to Tim. "I don't think it's crazy," she whispered.
"You don't?" Tim asked, uneasiness in his voice.
She shook her head, smirking. "I can tell you're kind of going crazy in Manhattan."
"It's not that bad," he said. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was her. "You're there," he added.
"But you're right, I don't want to be there forever," he admitted.
"You know what? Neither do I," Julie said. It was the first time she had said it out loud.
Before this trip home, she had never imagined that she would return to Dillon permanently. Austin or Dallas or even San Antonio maybe, but never back to the small town of Dillon. But this weekend, being so close to her family and seeing how much Gracie Belle had grown in just the few months since she had seen her last, a longing had settled inside of her for the place she had grown up.
Tim's face had 'I'm shocked' written all over it. "You love living in the city, Jules," he said.
"I do," she nodded, agreeing with him. "But you know what else I love? My family being in the same town as me and that it only takes ten minutes to get the grocery store. Seeing Gracie Belle grow practically before my eyes. And the stars, Tim, look at the stars. I can't remember the last time I looked at the stars," she waved her arms above her, pointing to the twinkles above them.
"When I took off to New York for school, I had every intention of staying there forever, settling down and getting a great job somewhere like The New York Times. But then, I came home this weekend and all of that changed. I think I had to get away before I could appreciate this place," she explained further.
Tim chuckled at the irony of it all, rolling over before reaching across the space between them to wrap his arm around Julie's waist and pull her closer. Adjusting to his movements, Julie curled into his side, tossing her leg across his while teasingly tracing her fingers from his chest the top of his pants.
"You are completely full of surprises tonight, Jules," he murmured into her hair.
"So are you," she whispered into his shoulder. Feeling bold, she inched closer to him, allowing her legs to straddle his waist as she climbed on top of him. Glancing at his face, she saw that his eyes had widened in surprise.
Julie smirked before moving closer and meeting his lips with hers. As their kisses became more frenzied and intense, a random thought floating through her mind reminded her that they were completely alone, no distractions or alarms to break them apart this time. Suddenly, a feeling of déjà vu overcame her. This, a blanket and kisses and traveling hands under the Texas stars, had happened to her before. With Matt.
Tim, sensing the hesitation in her kisses, pulled away. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Julie nodded, this time attaching her lips to his neck. She stopped suddenly. "No," she groaned. As much as she wanted to be okay, she wasn't. She didn't want to simply replay her time with Matt with Tim. He meant more to her than that.
"It's just, I've done this before," she explained.
"Yeah, me too," he joked, his fingers skimming along the soft skin of her back.
Julie deadpanned. "No, I mean, this," she gestured to Tim then their surroundings. "With Matt," she explained.
"Oh," said Tim.
"I'm sorry," Julie said, biting her lip nervously. "I just, God I feel like a teenager with all these damn interruptions, but I just want it to be special with you, different. I really don't want to replay another time," she explained.
Tim nodded. "It's okay, Jules. I understand," he assured her. "Probably I should get you home anyway, don't wanna be removed from Coach's good side on the second day they know we're dating," he said.
Julie rolled off of him. "Are you sure?"
"Jules," he sat up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear, "I told you once and I'll tell you a thousand times more. With you, it's different. I'm not in a big rush. Though, if you keep climbin' on top of me like that, I don't know how much longer I'm gonna be able to wait."
The tension she didn't realize she had been holding between her eyebrows was released when she chuckled at his comment. "Thank you," she said with a grin.
"You know that isn't why I brought you out here, right?" he asked.
"I know," she assured him with a nod.
"Come on, let's you get you home." Tim stood then extended a hand to Julie to help her from the ground. Wrapping a strong arm around her waist, they practically floated back to the truck.
Note: The end is starting to be in sight for this story (I think so anyway)...so, I'm looking for input: do you guys want a sequel of some sort to this story when I'm done, or an entirely different story? Either review with your opinion, or if you don't feel comfortable reviewing, send me a PM. Thanks!
Also, to the anonymous reviewer who has an issue with the way I spell 'ya'll,'...um, ouch! Sorry it is such a pet peeve for you, but does it really affect the story that much? I mean, I guess I'll try to work on that but I'm honestly not going to let it be my main focus. Regardless, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and hope that you continue to do so.
Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!