"Why do I feel kind of responsible that you guys lost?"
He can tell she's only partly joking, recognizing the shred of guilt in her voice, even through the handful of popcorn she'd just shoved into her mouth.
He's not as upset as he was about the game the previous day. Of course, they play to win and naturally, it was disappointing as fuck to not be able to pull it off, but they'd had quite a few factors that stacked the odds against them; Patrick not feeling great, the altitude, Denver having a strong offense. He also recognizes that going out on Friday night, flying to Texas for the game, probably hadn't been the wisest decision.
None of the reasons for losing included Taylor not being there and he was pissed that the media (the NFL, too) was playing into that being the explanation for their defeat. Joking or not, that type of talk was entirely unfair to her. He knew her well enough by now to get that she'd blame herself, even though she was well aware that from a logical standpoint, it was complete bullshit.
Her feet are tucked into him for warmth and she looks so cozy and cute, wearing one of his Chiefs t-shirts, a big bowl of popcorn perched on her lap that she'd dutifully promised she'd share, but so far, she's kept it.
Her face, free from any traces of make-up reflects the blue glow of the TV screen and sighing, he takes the bowl from her hands, settling it down on the coffee table.
"I know I told you you were my good luck charm. So, that's my fault. I didn't mean to put any pressure on you, Taylor. That isn't why I said it."
He'd definitely cursed himself for opening up his big mouth and sticking his big ass foot into it, something he thought he'd outgrew as a rookie, but clearly he hadn't. All he'd succeeded in doing was making his girlfriend feel shitty about circumstances that were way beyond her control and literally nothing to do with the undeniable fact they'd played like hot garbage.
"I know if you could've been there, you would've. But as much as Iove having you at the games, you know how the away games go...I wouldn't have even gotten to see you. Definitely unfair to you. And unfair to me, knowing you were there and not getting to kiss you afterwards."
He kisses her now, hoping to cheer her up. "We lost before you came to the games, Tay. It happens. We'll be back on top again."
Fortunately, they were two very strong, incredibly resilient individuals and most of the time, it wasn't difficult to ignore all the external shit, the stupid comments people made.
He had a suspicion that because it's directly related to his career, she feels badly about the situation; it's not so much that she puts any stock into really being "good luck," for the team, but moreso, she was concerned the ridiculous trolling would negatively impact him or The Chiefs in general.
Reaching for the remote, he pauses the movie, taking her face in his hands so that they're looking at each other.
"No one believes any of that shit, Taylor. Not one of the guys on the team and certainly not Coach Reid. They all love you. If anything, Pat was disappointed in himself. He was convinced he let us down and believe me, he'll make damn sure it doesn't happen again."
Travis pulls an arm around her, his lips going to graze her temple. "I love having you at the games because I love you. That's it, okay?"
"Thanks." He can tell from her reply she's pensive and he rubs his thumb over hers.
"You're welcome. For what?"
"Just for being you," she smiles. "Let's put the movie back on."
She snuggles against him, bending to reach the popcorn again.
