As Tim walked back to his truck, parked a few blocks away from the Taylor house, he ran a hand through his long hair. He'd just kissed Julie Taylor and it had been fan-fucking-tastic. Well worth the risk of potentially getting his ass kicked by Coach if he had been caught. Today had been one of those roller-coaster days that Tim doubted he'd ever forget.

He had been so irritated by the Dickey situation he just wanted to get fucked up. Thankfully Coach intervened and things took an upswing. When Tim saw Julie in her room before dinner he was instantly hard and thanks to a prime view of her bodacious rack throughout the meal he remained that way. When he got home he tried to go to bed, he did have a game tomorrow, but all he could think about was running his hands, mouth and tongue over every inch of that girl's lithe body. Those thoughts did nothing to help him get to sleep so he did what every guy does to catch some zzz's. Thirty minutes after spanking it he was still wide awake and knew unless he took the bull by the horns he would be all night. He just couldn't get Jules out of his head. Booze was out, so he hopped in his truck and drove over, he just wanted to see her.

Finding her light still on was a plus. He was worried he would have to wake her up and that might have had an adverse effect on his mission if Coach had woken up too. When she had leaned out of her window he got an eye full of her amazing breasts and knew he had made the right decision. She looked like an angel, her long blond hair falling gently over her shoulder. He had reached out for her on impulse and kissed her, fulfilling his desire and hers. She tasted like peppermint. As he took a breath in now he could still taste her on his tongue. Tim knew getting to sleep wouldn't be a problem any longer.

--/--/--/--/--/

It was late in the fourth quarter and Tim was standing in the huddle looking at Matt Saracen receive the play from the sidelines. Their opponent was on top by three and they needed a touchdown if they wanted to win. Matt looked at Smash and Riggins and called it, pitch left X3. Tim was going to have to block for Smash. Time to go hurt some people. The ball was snapped and Tim busted through the defense clearing the route for Smash. He led his running back down the field knocking defenders down the entire way. He heard the crowd go wild when they crossed the goal line.

"Oh, yeah, baby! Way to be, Rigs! That's how we do it in Dillon!" Smash yelled as he jumped on Tim's back.

Tim and Smash were mobbed by their teammates as they sauntered off the field. Tim looked up into the stands and found the face he was searching for. She was cheering loudly and looking right at him. He took his helmet off and gave her a knowing gaze. It felt good to have her here, knowing she was into him and having her see him make a play like that. He knew it was pretty caveman of him, but he didn't give a shit. As the last whistle blew the Dillon crowd went wild. Another win. Another step closer to the playoffs. Coach patted him on the head as they ran off the field.

"That's what I wanted, son. Right there. Good job."

"Thanks, Coach." Tim replied. Hell, that felt pretty good too.

As Riggins made his way to the locker room he could see a bunch of lights and cameras clamoring for position. Reporters were holding out their microphones and yelling to get Coach Taylor's attention. He heard one of the reporters call out his name.

"Tim! Any comment on the controversy with Coach Dickey?"

What the fuck? Tim looked at the guy with a fierce glare. "No, man. No comment."

Smash not being one to refuse the limelight and ran up to the scene. He started horsing around doing his thing and Riggins could tell he was trying to give him some space to get away. The exhausted fullback made his way into the locker room and sat in front of his locker. He threw his helmet down in anger. "Fuck!"

Smash came sauntering in a few minutes later and saw Riggins worked up. He walked over and looked at Tim.

"Hey, man! We just won the game. Don't let that mess bring you down."

Tim looked up at his co-captain and gave a small nod.

"That's right, baby! We just won the mutha-fuckin' game!" Smash sang out, running around the locker room trying to whip up some frenzy.

Coach Taylor came out, calmed down the scene and congratulated the players on a well played game. He walked over to where Tim sat.

"I want you to stay in here until I tell you to leave, alright?"

"Yeah, Coach."

--/--/--/--/--/

Tim took his shower and was hanging out in the weight room waiting for Coach to tell him it was cool to head out. He looked up from the bench he sat on to see Julie standing at the door.

"Hey, Tim." She smiled at him.

Without thinking he stood up and gathered her in a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. He buried his face in her hair and smelled the sweetness it had to offer. He turned her face up to his and kissed her with a hunger which she returned. His fists clenched her golden tresses as he probed her mouth with his tongue. Kissing her was like a salve, he needed her to take away his pain and anger.

She broke away from the embrace and quickly glanced around. They were alone, but she was still nervous who might see them. He understood and took a seat back on the bench.

"Hi, Jules." He said with a smirk.

"Are you alright?" She asked nervously.

In typical Riggins fashion, he brushed it off. "Yeah, it's just a pain in the ass, you know? What's going on out there."

"Dad cleared off the reporters. He's talking with Buddy Garrity and the mayor right now, so he asked me to come and tell you it's OK to leave."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Why wouldn't you want to?" She replied.

"Because if I leave that means I don't get to see you until Monday."

Her blushing smile was all the reward he needed.

"I'm serious," he added, "let's just stay in the weight room all weekend."

She laughed at his absurdity, but he kept going.

"It wouldn't be so bad. I mean, there are these comfy benches to sleep on, they're a little skinny, but I think we could manage." He said bouncing up and down slightly.

"You're a dork, you know that?" She shot at him with a grin.

"I'm a dork, huh? Well, if I'm a dork, what does that make Landry?"

"Oh, that's so mean!" She said laughing even harder.

Tim got up and grabbed his bag. He threw his arm around Julie and planted a quick kiss on her forehead as they headed toward the door. "Come on, Tutor. Let's get out of here."

They strolled out of the locker room, Tim was careful to remove his arm first, and he walked her to her dad's car. Coach was finishing up with Buddy and the mayor and signaled he'd be right there.

Tim looked into Julie's eyes and saw them glistening. "Have a good weekend, OK?" she said.

"Yeah, you too. Don't get into too much trouble." He kidded.

She let out a small laugh. "I'll try not to, although Gracie has been itching to take the car for a joy ride."

"Yeah, that kid has juvie written all over her."

They shared the laugh as Coach Taylor walked up. "What's so funny?" he inquired.

"Nothing, Dad. Just another one of Tim's terrible jokes." Julie covered.

Eric looked at him and nodded. "Son, jokes just aren't your thing."

"I guess not, Coach." Tim conceded with a grin.

"Alright, well I'll see you on Monday. Don't worry about that scene earlier. Just keep quiet and remember what I told you."

Tim nodded his understanding and said his goodbyes then watched as the father and daughter got in their car and drove away. He stood there a few more seconds before jumping into his truck and heading to the party. Tonight he was getting his drink on, no question about it.

--/--/--/--/--/

The party was loud and chaotic. He'd had a few beers and was enjoying hanging out with his teammates. For the most part people had left him alone, but he did have to shoe away a few rally girls. They kept getting bolder in their approaches. He looked at them with a different perspective now. Their makeup was a little too harsh, their voices a little too loud, their desperation was a total turn off. He was just thinking about heading out when he saw the tall blond enter the room, coming straight for him. He rolled his eyes as he knew the shit storm had just blown in.

"Hello, Timothy. Boys." She said greeting the table.

"Tyra." He said calmly.

"How are y'all doing this evening?" She asked sweetly, a little too sweetly for Tyra. He knew something was up.

"Well, Miss Collete, we're just fine. Thanks for asking."

"Care to take a walk outside real quick like? I'd like to have a little chat." She said with a raised eyebrow and a tight mouth.

"I'm sure you would, sweetheart, but I was just on my way home." The last thing Tim wanted right now was to deal with Tyra and one of her fits. Fuck her. He didn't owe her shit.

"Great, I'll walk you out." She wasn't going to give up.

They had a crowd watching them and those who knew them understood this was not going to be a happy conversation.

Tim stood up and drained his beer, shook hands with the players that he had been sitting with and headed for the door with Tyra hot on his heels. When they got to his truck he turned and looked at her.

"Just say what you're going to say, Tyra, quit the bullshit."

"Sure, Tim. Not a problem." She walked up to him and stuck a finger in his face. "I want to know what the fuck you think you're doing with Julie Taylor?"

"Studying, Tyra." He said flatly.

"Is that what you're calling it these days, 'studying'? Because in my day you called it 'messing around' and I'll be real honest with you Tim. Doing that with Julie Taylor will only get you one thing, trouble."

He looked at her with disdain in his eyes. "Why do you even care, Tyra? Last I heard you were 'messing around' with Landry Clarke."

"You think I'm jealous?! Tim, pull your head out of your ass, I'm Julie's friend. I care what happens to her and I know you like I know the back of my hand. You're going to crush that girl and by doing that you're going to ruin any chance you have of making it out of this place."

Tim stood for a minute looking down at his boots. When he looked up he had a calm reserve about himself. "You knew me, Tyra. Past tense."

He got in this truck, started it up and drove off leaving her standing in the street. He hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings, but he wasn't about to explain the way he felt about Jules to his ex-girlfriend. As he drove home with a ball of fire in his gut he knew the argument she put up was going to be one he met with at every turn. His past just wouldn't stay where it belonged. He was trash and Jules was a princess.

AN:This story is going somewhere, I promise, but I'm really enjoying the development of these two. Reviews are always appreciated!