soulmate [joe burrow]

three

September 25, 2023
Cincinnati, OH
Paycor Stadium

This trip to Ohio was perfect so far, but I was nervous. Five hours ago, Selena, Taylor, and I were at my house. Selena brought Taylor for backup and mentioned how we should go to the Bengals vs. Rams game today. We weren't supposed to be in Ohio for another week or two, so this was last minute. We hopped on a plane, and now we were sitting in section 110, right behind the Bengals players.

In Joe's senior year at LSU, he won the Heisman trophy. I heard of that while I was in Palm Springs filming, and I was entirely proud of him. Now, here he is in the NFL. He's accomplished everything we talked about. Proud was an understatement.

Back to the game that was right in front of me, I watched as Joe played. I might've heard about the last game and how he triggered his calf. It made me happy to see that he was playing well. The fourth quarter eventually came, and the Bengals were winning; Joe was ultimately back on the bench.

I heard loud cheering and looked at the screen. It was us, the trio on the screen. I looked down as the other two waved and cheered, too. I noticed some players turning to us, which I knew was my cue to leave, and there were only 3 minutes left.

I got up, and so did the girls. As we walked to the nearest stairs to exit, I felt a pair of eyes. I look over, and it's those blue eyes that once had me wrapped around. Joe stood there frozen as our eye contact still didn't leave one another. I broke eye contact and continued to walk.

On my way under the tunnel with our security, I got stopped by one of the Bengals staff members, "Joe asked if you could stay behind. He'd like to see you." She said softly, I looked back at Selena and Taylor, and they nodded, encouraging me to stay behind.

"Will he take long? I don't want to wait too long because he still has to do his press conference."I tell her, and she says she'll get back to me as she walks away.

"Do you want us to stick around? Can we return to the hotel and wait for you to head to dinner?" Taylor asked. I nodded yes.

"Good luck; remember to say everything you wanted to say ever since. We love you. Call us if anything; we'll be at the hotel." Taylor said, and they both hugged me before walking off with security.

The team member said, "He said he'd cancel his conference. He'll be here in about a couple of seconds." She says I roll my eyes, he won't cancel this press conference. What is he thinking?

I soon saw other team members taking pictures and walking quickly to keep up with a particular player, which ended up being Joe. He sees me and immediately comes to me.

"you're not canceling your press conference. go do your job first." I start the conversation. He looks at me, and I feel my knees weaken and my heartbeat speed up.

"Are you sure? What if you leave?" He says, and he touches my shoulder. I look at him, sweat dripping down and his face red.

"I won't leave Joey. I'll be there soon at your press conference." I smile. He nods and walks away to the locker.

The same team member, who reveals her name as Alyssa, walks me to where the press conferences occur. I sit in a seat towards the back. Minutes pass, and Joe is finally here, his eyes scattered all over the room until they find mine.

He sits and introduces him as they ask him questions.
"Joe, we know that although you guys won this game, there is still room for improvement for the team. How do you think you guys will achieve that for future games?" They ask. He ruffled his hair.

"Uh, definitely need room for improvement. Think when it comes to practice, there will be new routines made to better us for our other games," Joe says

"Joe, towards the last few minutes of the game, people noticed you were more boastful about how you finished tonight. Any reason?"They asked. He looked at me and chuckled. He was so cute.

"I just saw someone in the crowd who inspired me for the longest time and always believed in me. I couldn't let her down." He smiles cheekily as he answers a few more questions.

My phone buzzed. I excused myself and headed outside. I answered the phone without looking at the caller ID.

"You're wild! you know that?" The voice revealed to be Travis Kelce. He lets out a loud laugh.

"Shut up, Trav, What do I owe this call to?"I ask. Meanwhile, he's still laughing on the other side of the phone.

"Well, Jason & I wanted to know if you'd be down to come on our podcast. It'll be fun, and maybe you could ask Taylor If I could have her number." He says, now it's me laughing.

"I'm down. Just send me and my team the information. And Trav, if you want me to hook you up with Tay, all you have to do is ask, right?" I say

"Yeah, I know, but I want to win her without help. I'll keep your offer in mind, though girly. Also, have you talked to Joe yet?" He asks. I look around to see if the press conference is over.

"Not yet, waiting for him to finish up his interviews," I say

"Well, I hope everything turns out okay. Hopefully, Olivia isn't bothered that he's talking to his ex."He says, my eyes widened. What?

"What?" was all I could let out

"Fuck, I-I-I didn't know that you weren't aware. Joe was telling me about a girl named Olivia not too long ago. I'm sorry, Rosi, I didn't mean-." I cut him off by telling him it's okay. I click on him and see the people leaving the conference room. I head out before I can see Joe.

I walked as fast as I could. I see the car waiting for me in front of Paycor stadium. I get in; they take me to the Hotel. I walk to my shared room with the girls. I enter and toss my bag on the chair.

The girls noticed the state I was in. They come to me and hug me, knowing something didn't go right. I felt sadness, but I spent so much time crying over Joe that I had no more tears left in me.

I explain to them what had happened, and they're both shocked as they process this information. Taylor does some Instagram stalking on my behalf. She finds Olivia and shows us her profile.

I scroll. Olivia is so beautiful I couldn't even be mad. She's stunning. Taylor does more searching and reveals she was an Ohio State graduate. She was a year younger than both me and Joe.

I lay on the bed and ignored my surroundings. I was in no mood for anything. Selena and Taylor let me be alone, and I was glad they weren't bombarding me with questions. A part of me wishes I could've asked him about her, but then the other part of me wouldn't want to hear him explain to find out it was true. What would even happen from here on, then?

a/n
Guys, sorry I had to do you all like this.