Title: Lonely No More
A/N: Hallelujah - the weekend has arrived! I hope that you ladies have an awesome one! You all definitely deserve it for all the sweet reviews you ladies are leaving me ;D Enjoy!!!
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"You wanted to see me, Coach?" Tim asked, knocking lightly on Coach's office door after practice.
"Yeah, yeah." Coach muttered, waving Tim inside. "Have a seat."
Tim took a seat, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward as he waited for Coach to speak, wondering exactly what was going on.
Tim knew from experience that being called into Coach's office usually wasn't a good thing.
Eric looked at him for several seconds before finally speaking. "Naked mile." He said slowly, drawing each word out.
"Um…" Tim said, grinning slightly. "That's a Panther tradition, Coach."
All the freshman players had to partake in the tradition of running naked across the field and to the water tower.
Tim had done it his freshman year, just as every Panther freshman before and after him had done as well.
Except that this year, the seniors had made JD McCoy run to the field house, going a little further than just to the water tower. He was QB1 after all.
Tim knew that Coach had caught JD running around bare-ass naked in the locker room the other night. He just wasn't exactly sure what that had to do with him.
"Big game coming up and this team needs to focus. A team captain should know that." Eric said quietly.
Tim nodded slightly, knowing that Coach was referring to him.
"JD needs to know that this team is behind him."
"We are sir." Tim replied.
"Does he know that?" Eric asked.
"Yes sir."
"The guys on this team respect you. If you take JD in, they will too." Eric said seriously. "I need you to make this happen. Make JD a part of this team."
Tim nodded again, understanding the meaning of Coach's words. "Yes sir."
"Good." Eric stated, leaning back in his chair. "How're things goin' with you and Julie?"
Tim grinned, ducking his head slightly. "Uh, good sir." He muttered, not knowing what to say.
He couldn't very well say what he was really feeling - that things were damn near perfect and that for the past couple of weeks he'd walked around 24-7 waiting on the next chance he got to kiss her sweet lips.
Eric nodded, looking at Tim for several seconds. "Alright, get out of here."
Tim stood. "Thanks, Coach." He drawled, stepping out the office and walking toward his football locker.
It looked like he was going to be spending the afternoon with JD, whether he wanted to or not.
At least Julie was at work, and it wasn't cutting into their time.
Tim grinned, quickly coming up with a little plan to mix Coach's dirty work and seeing Julie at the same.
"Hey, McCoy." Tim said loudly, getting the freshman's attention. "You've had a tour of Dillon, right?"
"Yeah." JD said quickly, coming to stand beside Tim.
"Well, not my Dillon, my friend." He drawled. "Let's go."
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"Here you go, sir. Another sweet tea for you." Julie said, smiling at the man before turning and heading to the cash register.
She was tired. Applebee's was unusually crowded for a week night, and one of the other waitresses had called in, leaving them short-handed.
Julie had been working at the restaurant for a couple of weeks now, and she truly liked the job.
Except for the occasional rude customer, it was pretty easy. She also got to spend some extra time with Tyra, and she made good tips.
The only downfall was that she was losing some time with Tim, though it seemed like they were pretty much spending every possible waking moment they could together.
The stares and the whispers had pretty much died down with the students of Dillon High moving on to another gossip topic, much to Julie's delight.
She was still receiving some angry glares from the rally girls, and Lyla Garrity had been shooting daggers at her with her eyes at every opportunity.
She clearly didn't like the fact that Tim was with her. In fact, Julie was pretty sure that more than a few hearts had been broken at seeing that Tim was off the market.
Well, she assumed he was off the market. At least in her mind he was.
They hadn't officially talked about it, but Tim was hers whether he liked it or not.
Besides school, they hung out together after practice on the days she didn't have to work.
And he always picked her up from work at night, acting as her 'personal chauffeur' as her dad had once called him.
She was genuinely happy, as most people could tell from the smile that she'd had plastered on her face for the past couple of weeks.
"Hey, Taylor." Tyra said, popping her on the arm with a dish towel. "Snap out of it. You just got some new people in your section. From the looks of the long-haired one, it could be trouble." Tyra drawled.
Julie turned, looking toward her section of tables, surprised to see Tim and JD McCoy taking a seat in one of her booths.
Julie smiled brightly. "I wonder what they're doin' together?" She mumbled, not really caring.
She was just glad to see Tim.
"Who knows." Tyra said, shaking her head. "Well go on, already. You look like you're about to burst with happiness or something. It's really kind of sickening." Tyra muttered, giving Julie a small shove.
Julie laughed, brushing her hair out of her eyes as she approached Tim's table. "Hey guys." She said, beaming down at Tim as she placed two menus on the table.
"Jules." Tim drawled, giving her a grin.
Julie felt fluttering in her belly at the sight of that sexy grin.
It was just down right sad when all he had to do was look at her a certain way, and she was ready to melt into a puddle on the floor.
Or jump on him.
Either way it was embarrassing at her lack of self control.
"This is a nice surprise." She stated, lifting her eyebrows slightly.
Tim shrugged. "A man's gotta eat." He said casually, a smirk on his lips. "Jules, you know JD."
"Uh, hi Julie." JD said quickly, smiling nervously.
"Hey, JD." Julie replied, giving him a smile before turning back to Tim and giving him a curious look.
Julie knew that JD and Tim were on the team together, but they weren't exactly what you'd call buddies.
"I'm givin' JD a little tour of Dillon." Tim smirked, lifting his eyebrows playfully.
Julie put her hand on her hip, biting her lip as she looked at him thoughtfully. "A tour, huh? What exactly does this tour entail?"
"Just a few places that our young QB needs to know." Tim drawled.
Julie snorted. She could only imagine the places that Tim felt that JD needed to know.
They probably all revolved around women, beer, and football.
"Well, I'm pretty sure your QB doesn't need to tour the Landing Strip." Julie stated, giving Tim a look. "So, go ahead and take that one off of your list of stops." Julie said quickly.
Tim chuckled. "Yes ma'am."
Julie rolled her eyes playfully, turning toward JD. "What can I get for you to drink, JD?"
"Uh, just a water." JD answered quickly, giving her another nervous smile.
"Alright, be right back." Julie stated, turning to walk away.
"Hey!" Tim called out, bringing her to a stop. "What about me?"
Julie smiled. "I know what you want." She said simply. "You want a beer, but I can't serve you that. So you'll take a sweet tea instead. Right?"
"Right." Tim drawled, smiling as she turned and walked away, admiring the rear view of her as much as he admired the front.
"She's cute." JD stated, turning his gaze back toward Tim, as he too had watched Julie walking off.
"Yeah, she's that alright." Tim muttered.
All that and more, he thought to himself.
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Julie climbed into Tim's truck later that night, her long shift at work finally over.
"Long night?" Tim asked.
Julie sighed, sliding over to the middle of seat so that she sat right beside Tim, a spot that she had claimed as her own after their first kiss out at the lake.
"Yeah." She said tiredly. "We were so busy tonight. I earned a lot in tips, but I'm beat."
"Poor baby." Tim said playfully, dropping a quick kiss on her lips. "Well, let's get you home so you can get some rest." He drawled, pulling out of the parking lot.
"So, what were you doin' having dinner with JD McCoy tonight? I didn't think you guys were friends." Julie said moments later, glancing over at him.
"Your dad asked me to."
"My dad asked you to take him out to eat?" Julie asked, doubt evident in her voice.
Tim chuckled. "Well, not really. He told me to kind of take JD under my wing or something, to help him be accepted by the rest of the team."
"That makes sense." Julie said quietly. "The guys look up to you, and if you accept him they will too."
Tim shrugged. "I don't know if they look up to me as much as they're just scared of me."
Julie laughed softly. "Well, maybe a little bit of both." She said, leaning her head on his shoulder as they drove through town.
They rode along in silence, the cool night air filling the truck, making Julie thankful for Tim's warm body beside her.
It was a testament to their relationship how comfortable Julie now felt just being with Tim without the need to fill the silence with chatter.
She was a talker, and probably always would be. But she had learned to enjoy these quiet moments between the two of them, simply enjoying being with one another.
Much too soon, Tim pulled onto Julie's street, coming to a stop a few houses down from her home and killing the engine.
"You're going to make me walk?" She asked playfully, lifting her head from his shoulder.
"Nah." He drawled, stretching his arm out behind her on the seat. "I just wanted a proper goodnight kiss without Coach watching out the window."
Julie grinned. "You're a pretty smart guy, Tim Riggins."
"Just sneaky, Jules." He smirked. "And besides, I told you at the restaurant that I'd give you the rest of your tip later."
"Yeah, you did say that." She said slowly, a grin on her lips. "And I think I deserve it. I was a pretty good waitress, I thought."
"Damn good." He smirked. "And definitely the best lookin' one I've seen." He drawled, leaning in to brush his lips across hers.
Julie kissed him back for a few seconds, before pulling back, her gaze dropping to his lips.
Lord, but he had a truly kissable mouth. She could kiss that mouth for hours, but right now she needed to focus.
She dragged her eyes away from his lips, meeting his gaze as his face was just inches from hers.
"I need to ask you a question." She said quickly.
Tim playfully took a deep breath, as if he was preparing himself for something horrible. "Shoot." He drawled.
Julie grinned at his antics, placing her hand on his hard chest. "If someone asked you what I was, what would you say?"
Tim stared at her for a few seconds before speaking. "A girl." He said slowly, unable to hold back a grin.
"Tim." She said, slapping him on the chest as she tried not to laugh. "Seriously, like if they asked what I was to you, what would you say?"
He was quiet for a few moments as he held her gaze. "I guess I'd tell 'em that you're my gal." He stated, looking into her eyes. "Is that a better answer?"
Julie grinned, feeling butterflies in her stomach at his words and the intense way he was looking at her.
"Much better." She muttered, closing the space between them and capturing his lips, a possessiveness to her actions.
She was his.
And he was definitely hers.
And that made her just about as happy as a girl could be.
