Title: Someone Like You
AN: Here's another chapter for you ladies! Lots of appreciation to you all for the kind words - you ladies really make my day :D This chapter was fun to write, so hopefully it'll be fun to read. Only a couple more chapters left in this fic, so please let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!!!
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As the Longhorns' bus travels down the interstate, Tim sits quietly watching the passing landscape as it rushes by the window. Friday afternoon had finally arrived, and the team was making the six hour drive to Tulsa for Saturday's big game against Oklahoma State.
Luckily Josh was taking a nap in the seat beside him, providing Tim with a little peace and quiet for at least part of the long ride.
Tim presses the small button on his music player, switching to the next song as he leans his head back on the seat, readjusting the small earphone in his ear.
The road games weren't his favorite. He had never been one for long trips, unless of course he was driving in his truck. He could ride around all day in it, preferably with his gal by his side.
He grins as he thinks of Julie, Liza, Tyra, and Landry making the long drive to Tulsa. Poor, poor Landry - stuck in the car with all those loud women.
Though if Tim was being honest with himself, he'd love to be right there with them. It was pretty much impossible not to be around his crazy group of friends and not find something to laugh about.
And of course being with Julie always rated pretty high on his list of favorite things – right up there with football and beer, he thinks with a smirk.
Over the past few weeks, Tim had come to the conclusion that he was pretty much crazy in love with Julie Taylor. The mere thought of such would have had him laughing out loud a few years ago, but now it was hard to imagine what he'd be doing without her in his life.
Most undoubtedly screwing around with random girls, staying drunk, and probably flunking out of school. Life definitely wouldn't be near as good as he had it right now.
The problem was he wasn't sure how to tell her he loved her. He'd only ever told one other girl that he loved them – Lyla. His first attempt at that had ended pretty badly.
He had planned a dinner complete with candles and everything. Hell, he even cooked real food – not frozen pizza or grilled cheese – but when he had said the words, she had pretty much laughed in his face and brushed him off.
While he felt pretty sure Julie wouldn't do that, he did want it to be special. Maybe he could take her to some fancy restaurant or something, as opposed to the little hole-in-the-wall diner that had become 'their spot' ever since their first date.
Then maybe a walk down by the river or something, he thinks to himself. Something a little romantic, though Tim was pretty sure he didn't know shit about being romantic.
Whatever he did, he knew it had to be special. Julie was pretty damn special herself, and he knew she deserved nothing less.
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"Why God, why?" Landry mutters softly, running his hand over his face as he drives down the interstate, with three loud females singing along with some chick music blaring from the speakers. "What did I do to deserve this?"
Julie laughs as she hears Landry 'praying' in the seat in front of her. "Landry, come on. It's not that bad. Most guys would love to be stuck in a vehicle with three highly attractive women."
"Why that is true, Julie, most guys would soon find out after riding with you all that it's a very nerve-racking experience." Landry says quickly. "I mean, seriously, when Liza was driving I honestly saw my life flash before my eyes a few times. And then, to top it off, we've been riding for a little over three hours and have already had to stop four times for y'all to take bathroom breaks." He finishes in a huff.
"Hey, I'm a good driver." Liza says with a chuckle, trying to defend herself.
"No you're not." Tyra says quickly, turning around and giving Liza a grin. "And Landry, we can't help it that we've all got small bladders, okay."
Landry laughs dryly. "Baby, it has nothing to do with that. It's the fact that every time we stop for a bathroom break, you ladies all buy another drink and bring it back to the car. Common sense says that by the time you finish that drink, it'll be time to make another stop."
"Landry, look at the bright side." Julie says quickly, leaning up to give him a quick pat on the shoulder.
Landry looks at her in the rear view mirror, waiting for her to finish. "Well? What's the bright side?"
"I don't really know, but I'm sure there is one." Julie says with a giggle, causing Landry to roll his eyes.
"We only got one hotel room for tonight, right?" Liza asks, changing the subject.
"Yep. One room with two double beds. One for the odd couple -" Julie says, motioning playfully toward Tyra and Landry. "And then I guess you and me will be bed buddies tonight, Liza." She says with a grin.
"Oh come on Jules, you're not gonna try and sneak up to Tim's room? Maybe do a little pre-game warm-up?" Liza says suggestively, making a rocking motion with her hips.
"I think I just threw up a little in my mouth." Landry says quietly, causing all the girls to laugh hysterically.
"No, no." Julie says between giggles. "One, he's in a room with three of his teammates. And two, I'm pretty sure the coaches do room checks from what he's told me in the past. I definitely wouldn't want him getting in trouble."
"Well, at least we'll all get to hang out some tonight at the hotel before the guys' curfew." Liza says quickly.
"That's if we get there before midnight." Landry says sarcastically, receiving a playful punch in the shoulder from Tyra.
"Relax." Tyra drawls. "Look, only 256 more miles to Tulsa." She says, reading a passing road sign.
Landry sighs. "That sounds like forever."
"Oh, turn the radio back up!" Julie says after a few seconds. "I love this song!"
The girls sing along to the radio as they continue down the road, with Liza interrupting a few minutes later.
"Hey guys, we need to stop at the next exit. I've really gotta pee." Liza says loudly, leaning over the front of the seat to make sure she's heard.
Landry drops his head back against the seat in a defeated gesture, sending the girls into another fit of laughter.
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After many long hours in the car, the group had finally arrived in Tulsa. After checking into their hotel room, the four of them had gone out to get a quick bite to eat before returning to the hotel.
By the time they returned to the hotel, Tim and Josh had finished their mandatory dinner with the rest of the team, leaving them a few hours to hang out with their friends before curfew.
The group had decided to walk over to a small park located across the street from the hotel. The girls were reverting to their childhood days by swinging on the swings, while the boys were sitting nearby on an old merry-go-round.
Josh had brought a football, and Julie was feeling pretty sure that she was going to get roped into playing before the night was through, but she was determined to enjoy swinging on the swings for as long as she could.
"Riggins, I'm serious – it was torture." Landry says dramatically. "I think we stopped at least seven or eight times, and I was forced to listen to girly music for the entire ride."
Tim shakes his head, laughing lightly at Landry's description of the long ride to Tulsa with the girls.
"Landry, it wasn't that bad." Julie says rolling her eyes playfully, giving Tim a grin as she does so.
"Yes Julie, it was." Landry says seriously.
"Well, you can always get a ride home with someone else tomorrow after the game." Liza says with a chuckle.
Landry sighs. "Yeah, I've been contemplating that." He says with a nod, causing everyone to laugh.
"Just think, Landry." Josh says with a smirk. "This time tomorrow you'll be on the road headed back to Austin, enjoying all that fun again."
"You laugh, Josh. Go ahead." Landry says quickly. "One day you will see what I mean."
"You boys gettin' nervous?" Tyra asks a few moments later as she brings her swing to a stop.
Tim shrugs. "Nah. Ready for tomorrow to get here and play, but not nervous."
"Yeah, more anxious than nervous." Josh says quickly, tossing the football from hand to hand. "We win this game, we stay undefeated, which is something we need to do if we wanna make it to the BCS championship game."
Tim nods, meeting Julie's gaze as they share a smile.
"You know what I think?" Josh asks loudly. "I think Riggins and I need a little practice." He says, tossing the ball to Tim. "How 'bout a game?"
"Ugh…" Julie groans. "I was waiting for this."
Tim smirks. "You scared, Taylor?"
"Ha!" Julie responds. "Of you? Tim, need I remind you that I've been playin' football since I could walk?" She says with a grin.
Tim stands, tilting his head to the side with a grin. "Let's see what yah got."
"I don't play football." Tyra drawls.
"Oh come on, Tyra." Josh says quickly. "Just a fun little game."
"Don't let Tyra fool you, Josh." Julie says with a grin as she stands up from her swing. "Tyra kicked some butt playin' powder puff in high school."
Tyra snorts. "Those were the days." She says sarcastically. "I'll play if we play tackle."
"I don't know…" Josh says slowly. "Tim and I don't need to get hurt. And I'll be honest Tyra, the thought of getting' tackled by you is kind of scary."
Julie laughs along with the rest of the group, taking a few steps to bring her to Tim's side, snatching the football out of his hands.
"What about teams?" Julie asks.
"Hmm…how 'bout Landry, Tim, and Liza against me, you, and Tyra." Josh says looking around the group. "That'll probably be the most even."
Tim grins. "You just want Collette on your team so you don't get knocked on your ass by a girl."
"Pretty much." Josh says with a grin, causing everyone to laugh.
"Good luck, Taylor." Tim says, giving Julie a pat on the butt as he walks by.
"Hey, watch it 33." Julie says with a grin, playfully narrowing her eyes at him.
They mark off endzones, and the game gets started. After just a couple of plays, Tim's team scores first with Tim receiving a pass from Landry in the endzone.
"Did yah see that, Taylor?" Tim asks with a smirk, sidling up beside her.
"Yeah. I saw it. Nice moves, I guess." Julie says casually. "Are those the best moves you got?" She challenges.
Tim smirks. "Jules, baby, I make my best moves in bed." He says, dropping his voice lower as he gives her a heated look.
Julie chuckles, feeling the blush come to her cheeks. "You're so full of yourself." She says with a laugh.
"You know it's true." He says with a chuckle, giving her a sexy wink as he walks back to join his team.
Julie shakes her head slightly, grinning to herself as she silently agrees with him – he definitely had some nice moves, both in and out of bed.
The game continues for a while, with a lot of laughs and a lot of good-natured trash talking from both sides.
It seemed to Julie that Tyra was thoroughly enjoying putting Landry on his butt every chance she got. Liza's short legs were no match for Josh's long ones, causing her to get tackled nearly every time her hands touched the ball.
And it seemed that every time Julie or Tim had the ball, the two of them ended up lying on the ground in a tangle of arms and legs, no matter who was trying to tackle whom. Julie definitely wasn't complaining though – there were a lot worse places to be than lying underneath Tim Riggins' sexy, muscled body.
In the end, they ended up having to call a halt to the game due to Tim and Josh's team curfew. They had stopped keeping score a while ago, but Julie was pretty sure that her team scored a few more touchdowns and would have had the win.
As she and Tim slowly walk hand in hand back to the hotel, she can't help but hope that the next day's game would be a win as well.
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Tim leans his head back against his seat, as the Longhorns' bus once again makes its way down the interstate, this time headed back toward Austin. He sighs as they pass a "Welcome to Austin" sign. Thank God, he thinks to himself.
The Longhorns had managed to pull off a win in overtime against the Cowboys. The game had been as rough and tough as Tim had expected, and he was glad for the extra practice and preparation that the coaches had pushed him and the team through during the week.
Tim had talked to Julie on his cell phone after he had boarded the bus. She and the rest of the group had actually managed to dodge some of the after-game traffic, and had been well on their way back to Austin when he had spoken to her.
Tim felt pretty sure that they would beat the team back. Well, unless the girls decided to make a dozen stops again like Landry predicted they would do. More than likely, she was already back at her dorm and sound asleep considering that it was nearing 1:00 in the morning.
"Curly, wake up." Tim says quietly, giving Josh a nudge as the bus pulls up to the athletic building and the players start to slowly trail off the bus.
"Huh?" Josh says, waking up slowly and glancing around. "We home?"
"Yeah." Tim drawls, gathering his things and following Josh off the bus.
While in high spirits from the win, Tim was beyond tired. He couldn't wait to get back to his apartment and crash into bed. He was pretty sure he would be asleep before his head hit the pillow.
Walking slowly toward the building, he looks up to see Julie standing on the athletic building steps. She was truly a sight for sore eyes, huddled in her jacket and looking like the sweetest thing he'd ever seen.
He grins, walking toward her and dropping his bag at his feet as he wraps his arms around her, crushing her against his chest. "What are you doin' here?" He mutters into her hair.
Tim feels her shrug as she pulls back, still smiling sweetly. "I thought I'd come welcome you back after your big win. I wouldn't be able to sleep without seein' you anyway." She says, reaching up to brush her lips across his slowly. "You look give out."
Tim nods slightly. "I'm beat."
"Well come on. Let's get you home." She says softly, wrapping her arm around his waist.
"You comin' home with me?" He asks hopefully, picking his bag up from the ground.
"I was planning on it. Unless you've got a problem with that." She says, biting her lip as she arches her perfectly shaped brow.
Tim smirks, throwing his arm across her shoulder. "No problem at all, Jules." He says quietly, dropping a quick kiss on the top of her head. "No problem at all."
Well, maybe I won't be doin' much sleeping tonight. At least not 'til we do a little celebrating on our own, Tim thinks to himself, giving Julie's shoulder a squeeze as they head home.