beautiful mistake - joe burrow

49

They lost the game narrowly 29-26, Joe played only three snaps as planned from the beginning, but all of them did not go really well. With the first snap T.B made just two yards, Joe's throw in the second snap ended because Ja'Marr couldn't hold the ball.

On top of that there was a penalty for unnecessary hardship against the Bengals and so Joe should have made 23 yards for a first down in the third snap. He had handed the ball off to Joe Mixon, who had failed to get it done after all, and Joe's first play had ended in short order.

It was already after nine when Elle left the facility. The ATs and she had had to clean everything up and disinfect every room where staff or players from each team had been today.

before she left, she quickly texted her parents that she was on her way to her apartment now, noting that Joe had texted her.

Hey, didn't see you at all today after the game. My parents are still with me right now, but do you want me to come to your place when they're gone?

She quickly replied to him that she was just finishing up and her parents were still there too. She would get back to him when her parents had left.

When she arrived at her apartment, her parents were sitting on the couch and seemed to have been waiting for her, because there were three big pizza boxes on the table in front of them.

"We thought we'd celebrate the day today by inviting you for pizza. I hope this doesn't mess up any plans of yours. We're just incredibly proud of you" her mother pulled her into her arms.

Elle had to smile. "You don't. I was planning to spend the evening with you guys and pizza is always good" she sat down next to her father who handed her one of the pizza boxes.

"Pizza Magaritha with arugula and parmesan, the way you like it best" he grinned at her while Elle's stomach started to growl hungrily at the sight and smell of the pizza. "You guys are the best" she sighed happily before taking a slice and biting off.

It was after twelve when her parents said goodbye to Elle, but promised to come back sometime soon. Her father was sure it wouldn't be the last time he'd see a Bengals game at the stadium this season and assumed Eric and Easton would come along next time, too.

Elle got ready for bed before setting her alarm and texting Joe.

Sorry, my parents were there until just now. But I'll see you tomorrow, okay?

She put her phone away, flipped off the light, and snuggled against her pillow.

The next two weeks became more relaxed. Training camp was officially over after the final roster cut on Tuesday, which meant less work for Elle and the ATs as they returned to their normal 12-hour workdays and there were no more night shifts. It also meant that Joe no longer had to bring Elle coffee every morning, which Elle really missed.

She decided to start her workday at 6 a.m., thereby being ready to go again by 6p.m. After work she used the free time to finally go to the gym again, which she hadn't been able to do at all during the last weeks and wasn't allowed to do because of her injury.

Her fitness had suffered quite a bit, but Elle was sure that regular training would quickly bring her back to her old level.

After two hours of training, she usually had a date with Joe. Now that she was allowed to drive again, they took turns meeting at his or her place, and soon it was commonplace for Elle to have dinner with Joe.

Only once in a while did she make exceptions, meeting up with Celine, accepting the invitation to dinner at the Taylors', and once taking over babysitting at their house so that Zac and Sarah could have one more evening together before the season.

Although it was becoming such a normality for Elle now, the two still didn't sleep next to each other. First, it just felt a little too early for Elle, second, she had to get up over an hour earlier than Joe and didn't want to wake him up in the morning if she had to go to work.

At work, more and more people seemed to notice that Elle and Joe were pretty close, because in addition to Ja'Marr's quiet comments when the two were talking, Elle was also getting more and more questioning looks from Zac when Joe was just looking in her direction.

It was Sunday and today would be the first real game of the season against the Vikinigs at home in Paul Brown Stadium. Elle had been looking forward to it all week, that the season would finally get started and they would kick it off with a home game.

Seeing the Jungle almost sold out and packed with fans was sure to be an insane experience and Elle couldn't wait to finally get on the field after the meeting.

She was right. The whole game was just incredible, the Bengals won in overtime on a field goal by Evan and the whole stadium cheered. Elle was totally overwhelmed by all the impressions when she walked off the field after the game.

Slowly the ATs got into a routine and so they finished faster than they did at the game against the Dolphins. Elle sat down in her car and first texted Joe, whom she hadn't seen since the final whistle of the game.

Hey, want to come over and celebrate the win a little?

She received his reply just as she was unlocking the apartment door.

My parents are still there, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay?

A little disappointed, Elle pocketed her cell phone and entered her apartment. She totally understood Joe, after all two weeks ago she had been the one to stand him up because of her parents and after today's game Joe's parents must have been very proud of their son and wanted to celebrate that with him too.

Then she would just make herself comfortable on the sofa, Elle decided, before she quickly got into the shower, then looked for something to eat in the refrigerator and sat down on the sofa.

No sooner had she made herself comfortable than her cell phone suddenly rang. She immediately reached for it and realized how disappointed she was when she read Nick's name on her screen instead of Joes.

"What is it, Nick?" she asked as she answered the call. "Am I interrupting? Is Joe with you?" Nick asked. "No, his parents are there" Elle explained.

"Oh, ok. Well, I kind of didn't get a chance to talk to you alone today. I just wanted to tell you that you're doing a really good job on the sidelines and throughout the game day and you're a real asset to our team. We are all lucky to have you, Elle."

Elle smiled. "Thank you, Nick. That's very sweet of you. But I'm sure you're not just calling to tell me how great I am, are you?" Nick sighed. "No, Elle, I'm not" Elle suddenly tensed. Nick's sigh had sounded like it was about something worse.

"Zac asked me today if I also felt that there was something going on between Joe and you" "what...what did you answer?" Elle asked in a panic. "Don't worry, I didn't tell him about you guys. I meant that I'm sure he's just imagining it because he feels like he has to protect you from everything. He just nodded in agreement and left" Elle exhaled in relief. "Thanks, Nick"

"Elle, you guys need to pay more attention if you don't want this to come out soon. Or you'll have to decide to tell" Elle sighed "I know, Nick. It's just...not easy" "I know that, Elle. But I don't know how much longer I can protect you guys. It can't be this secretive forever"

"I'll talk to Joe about it, ok?" "you do that. Have a good evening, I'll see you at work tomorrow, ok?" "have a nice evening, see you tomorrow Nick" Elle ended the call and sighed as she spotted her shaking hand.

Thank you so much for all the comments! I decided to continue this story even if it will get more than 100 chapters!

Question: what's your zodiac sign and do you believe in astrology?

My answer: I'm a leo and tbh I don't know much about astrology and all those things but I think it's really interesting!

Comment your answer and leave a like!

WHO-DEY🧡