A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry this update took so long. College has been crazy. Hello to midterms! As a freshman, it's all sort of new. But thankfully, I've had some free time today so I got the new chapter up just for all of you. And without further ado, the date
FRIDAY
I had spent most of my night tossing and turning, unable to get what Lyla had told me out of my head.
I could tell that Tim liked me, I mean, we had a date tonight; I just didn't know how much he still liked Lyla. One thing I never wanted was play second to any other girl.
As I got ready that morning and packed my overnight bag for Julie's, I decided that I wouldn't bring up my conversation with Lyla until I knew exactly where Tim and I stood.
When Jesse pulled the truck into the school, I checked myself in the mirror. I wanted this day to go perfectly so that my date wouldn't be ruined. Once I got out of the truck and was following Jesse up the steps, I noticed Tim standing next to the front doors.
Jesse turned around to give me a look, but I just glared at him and shooed him inside. Tim and I stood outside the doors, watching a few of our classmates mill around before the bell rang.
"So," I said, causing both Tim and I to laugh. I smiled when I heard his deep, throaty laughter. It was great to hear that sound come from his brooding lips. I found myself wondering what other sounds he could make with that beautiful, deep voice.
Just as quickly as the thought was there, I was shaking it out of my head. Right now was definitely not the time to be thinking about Tim Riggins and sex. We barely knew each other.
"You ready for tonight?" Tim asked slyly, obviously hoping I hadn't changed my mind. I grinned and leaned in towards him.
"The question is," I whispered close to his ear. "Are you?" The bell rang and I left a very happy looking Tim Riggins standing outside the school.
By second period, I was wishing the day was already over. It felt like I had been at school for days when it had barely been two hours. I blamed the time slow on my date with Tim. The universe seemed to be against me actually getting to my date before I shriveled up and died.
Julie was getting really tired with my griping. By the time lunch rolled around, I could tell it was hard for her to just be around me because I was complaining so much.
"Finally," She breathed out when we sat down next to Matt and Landry. I nodded and looked down at my plate, knowing I had kind of annoyed her this morning.
She and Matt shared a light kiss and three of them started a conversation about some kind of video game. Well, it was mostly Matt and Landry…well, mostly Landry, but Julie sometimes got to stick her opinion in.
When I felt Tim sit down next to me, I smiled and looked up at him. He grinned back, looking undeniably sexy in his plaid shirt and messy hair. I leaned towards him and he put his arm over the back of my chair.
"So, what are we doing tonight?" I asked, looking up at him shyly. He smiled and shook his head, refusing to tell me. Crossing my arms over my chest, I huffed and started eating my fries. Tim chuckled lowly beside me and leaned in to steal one of my fries.
"I think you can live until tonight to know." Smirking, he sat back and rubbed my shoulder blade with his thumb. I relented and sighed, enjoying the treatment. So I'll pick you up at the Alamo Freeze? Right?"
I nodded and finished off my fries before leaning my head onto the table and deciding to nap until lunch was over.
That afternoon, us girls got to endure cheerleading practice and watch the guys endure their football practice. Throughout most of it, I had a hard time keeping myself focused. My mind kept wondering to Tim and what Lyla had said about him.
While Miss Durr went on about the coming week and what we would be doing, I was trying to convince myself that Tim was going out with me because he liked me, not to throw something in Lyla's face.
About halfway through practice, I realized that I was being an idiot. I needed to stop thinking so hard and just go with this. Besides, if Tim were using Jason, Jesse, my father and me would all have something to say about it.
With my newfound thought process, I waited outside the locker room, hoping to get to Julie's ASAP and talk to her about all of this. When Jesse walked out of the room next to Tim, they were both laughing and Jesse clapped Tim on the shoulder and said goodbye. I gave Jesse a look and he reluctantly left the two of us alone.
Tim and I just stood there for a moment before he reached up and brushed back a piece of my hair. "I'll see you soon." I nodded and he walked off towards his truck. I hurried over to Jesse, who was watching the scene suspiciously.
"Do I want to know?" He questioned, glaring at Tim's truck leaving the lot.
I shrugged and pushed past him and into the truck. "If you did, you wouldn't have to ask that."
Jesse glared, but dropped it and got into the truck.
Ten minutes later, we pulled up in front of the Taylor household and I got out to grab my bag from the back.
Jesse came around and told me to be careful, giving me a kiss on the forehead before leaving. I stared after his truck and realized that I couldn't keep anything from my brother. For a football player, he was kind of a genius.
Once inside, Julie and I disappeared into her room to get ready. We were trying our hardest to not get too dolled up. Coach and Mrs. Taylor just thought she and Matt and I were going to a movie. I didn't want to see how Coach would react if he knew that I was really going on a date with the infamous Tim Riggins.
At 6:20, Matt and Julie dropped me off at the Alamo Freeze. They had wanted to stay and keep an eye on me, but I wasn't worried. It was Friday night. The Alamo was packed and I knew no one would want to mess with Jesse's little sister.
Tim's truck pulled into the lot at 6:30. He stepped out and looked just as hot as the first moment I had seen him. Faded jeans that hugged his muscled thighs and frayed out over his cowboy boots, button down flannel that was practically painted on to his chest.
I blushed and looked away when he spotted me. Tim definitely didn't need anyone boosting his already huge ego when it came to girls.
We met outside the door, both shuffling a bit with awkward 'first date' tension. Tim smiled and reached out to grab my hand, lightly pulling me towards his truck.
"Where are we going?" I asked, realizing that he had never told me what exactly was going to happen on this date. Tim smirked and opened the truck door for me, boosting me inside.
"I was thinking we'd go bowling, if that's alright with you?" Looking over at him, I nodded and leaned back in my seat, determined to not make this awkward.
As Tim drove, I attempted to keep my eyes glued to anything but him. The radio was playing softly in the background and Tim's foot was tapping along to the country song playing. I could see my hands shaking and pressed them firmly into my lap. It had been way too long since I'd been on a date.
I listened to the soft radio and smiled when I recognized the song playing.
"…is the slamin' screen door. Sneaking out late, tapping on your window, when we're on the phone…" I sang quietly, trying to calm my nerves. I was so out of it, that I didn't notice Tim reach over to turn the radio up some more. I jumped a little and stopped singing.
"Keep going," Tim said, resting his arm over the back of the seat. "It was good. I didn't know you could sing."
I laughed and shook my head, my eyes returning to my lap. "I'm just singing along with the radio. It's not like it's that great." Tim chuckled, but didn't say more. I smiled and hummed quietly, noting how his mouth quirked at the corners.
We pulled into the parking lot of the bowling ally and I was thankful that it didn't look nearly as crowded, as I would have thought for a Friday night.
Tim helped me out of his truck and we made our way inside. Tim paid for two games and grabbed our shoes when the pimple-faced attendant laid them on the counter. I followed him to a lane further down and away from the kids' parties and other teenagers.
Once we had chosen our balls and Tim had entered our names into the system, he was first up.
I watched appreciatively when he lined up his shot and threw the ball, noting how his muscles worked and moved with him. The pins dropped and I looked down the lane to see that only one pin was left.
"That's how it's done, Little Jackson," He commented, smirking over at me. I smiled up at him, pretending to be amazed. Tim picked up the ball and took a second shot, missing the remaining pin by just a few inches.
I got up and picked up my ball, struggling slightly to make a show of not knowing much about bowling. Tim continued to sit and smirk, thinking he'd already won. I lined up my shot and took a breath. Sweeping my arm forward, I let the ball go and watched it roll down the lane.
When the ball reached the pins, all of them went down and I jumped up excitedly and turned to face Tim, who was scowling at me. "How exactly is it done, Riggins?"
After our first game (which I had won, much to the dismay of Tim), Tim dragged me to the counter and we picked out some food and sat at the table by our lane to eat.
"So," Tim drawled, looking up at me through his hair. "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about being beat by a girl." I scoffed and continued to eat my pizza. We sat in silence, but I found it was comforting instead of awkward.
"Are you prepared to get beat again?" I questioned smugly, making Tim glare at me. "It's not my fault you're not that great at bowling, Tim."
I realized my mistake when Tim stood up and walked around to my side of the table. Getting up quickly, I ran to the other side of the lane, close to the thing where you can get your balls back. Tim followed, slowly, almost cat-like. He was determined to get to me and I knew he could if he wanted. I took a chance and ran off, towards the girls' bathroom.
"Oh, no, no. You're not pulling that on me again." I shrieked when he picked me and laughed as he carried me fireman style back to our lane.
"Tim! Put me down!" I knew we were creating a scene, but neither of us cared. Tim set me in the chair in front of the scoring screen and pushed down on my shoulders when I tried to get back up. "I don't like you." I pouted and looked away from him.
Tim snorted and dropped down in front of me. "Oh stop being a baby." I glared at his boots and knew he was smiling. "Come on." He took my hands and rubbed circles on them with his thumbs. "I'm just going to show you how much better I am than you at bowling."
With that, he moved to the end of the lane and we started bowling again.
"I just," I laughed loudly, looking over at Tim as we sat in his truck. "I can't picture you in a cheerleading skirt." Tim smiled over at me, and then turned back to the road. I giggled quietly and snorted, making me giggle even more.
"It wasn't that funny," Tim said, sounding slightly embarrassed. It seemed I couldn't talk, so I nodded and kept giggling until I needed to breathe again. Glancing at the clock, I noticed that it was only 9. Julie and Matt's movie still had at least an hour left. "So, we've got some time. What do you want to do?"
I looked over at him and shrugged, suddenly feeling my nerves act up again. "What do you want to do?" Tim shrugged as well and kept driving. "We could, go…talk somewhere." My voice was shaky, but I tried to sound as confident as possible.
Tim looked over at me and nodded before turning off on a dirt road. I shivered and watched my hands shake. Clasping them tightly in front of me, I focused on my breathing in order to relax myself. I didn't want to come off nervous and look like a little girl.
Tim stopped the truck, but left it running. Despite the fact that it was still August, I was shivering. We sat there for a second, me taking in the scenery on the dirt road and over the cliff.
"You good?" I looked over at Tim and nodded before looking down again. "What do you want to talk about?" My eyes shot to Tim's. I'd figured he'd just reach over and pull me to him and just start going at it. "Come on, Belle. I've got more class than to just start making out with you when you look so nervous."
I blushed and nodded, feeling foolish for thinking thoughts like that. "I know. But, I wouldn't have too much of an issue with it." Tim smiled sweetly at me, something I didn't really know he could do, and reached over to take my hand. He pulled me to him and tucked me under his arm. My shivering slowed as we just sat there and I felt my self-drifting off to sleep in the comfort of Tim's arms.
A/N: All right! Kind of a cliffy. I shall give you no clues for the next chapter. I am sorry this took so long and I'm gong to post the new chapter ASAP. Thanks so much guys for all the love. I hope you enjoyed.
