Serendipitous [Joe Burrow]

Chapter 15

December 2020

It had been 25 days since Joe tore his ACL and 14 days since he'd had surgery. They had just gotten back to Cincinnati after being in LA for two weeks. They had to travel there for Joe's surgery. After the doctors confirmed that Joe had torn his ACL, MCL, and part of his meniscus they found him the best doctor for the job. Now he was looking at 8-9 months of recovery to get ready for next season. There was no guarantee that he'd even be able to play in the first game of the season.

Chandler walked into the kitchen looking around. It was still early so Joe was still asleep. She really should be sleeping but pregnancy sleep was nothing but restless. She looked down at her phone, 5:30 am December 17th. A gasp left her mouth as she realized the date. She'd missed Joe's birthday. With everything going on it was the last thing that was on her mind. All she'd been focused on the past two weeks was Joe's recovery so they could go back home.

She walked into the kitchen looking in all of the cabinets. When she saw the pancake mix a smile came to her face. The first time they ate breakfast together Joe had made her chocolate chip pancakes, one of her favorites. He also mentioned how they were one of his favorites but he didn't eat them often. She imagined with it being football season he hadn't had them in a while. Joe had been in pretty good spirits about his knee but she could tell that he was still down about it. Maybe chocolate chip pancakes were what he needed to cheer him up.

It was a little after 6 am when she finished making the pancakes and cleaning up the mess. Joe would most likely be up soon. Even though he wasn't playing football right now he was still on his early wakeup sleep schedule. She'd found a tray under one of the cabinets to place the breakfast on. She dug through one of the cabinets hoping to find one last thing for a finishing touch. She smiled when she opened the last drawer and there it was. Carefully Chandler walked back toward Joe's room. She didn't want to spill either of the milk glasses that were on the tray.

Chandler had been staying at Joe's house since they got back. She hadn't even had a chance to go home. They had been talking and texting but she hadn't seen Katie in over two weeks. She would need to go home soon to get some more clothes, plus she needed to see Katie. Her friend had been acting weird while she was gone. Chandler couldn't put her finger on it but Katie was hiding something from her.

She pushed Joe's door open to see he was awake on his phone. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Joe said sitting up, "I thought you were still sleeping."

"No I've been up since like 5 am," Chandler said, "Pregnancy sleep isn't very restful."

"You could have woken me up," Joe said.

"No. You needed to rest," Chandler said, "Plus I was busy making breakfast." She placed the tray down so that it was beside Joe. She didn't want to accidentally hit his leg.

"You made me chocolate chip pancakes?" Joe asked.

"I know they're your favorite," Chandler said, "Plus I feel bad that we missed your birthday."

"Well I don't think I can eat both of these plates by myself," Joe said patting the bed beside him. Chandler walked over to the other side of the bed. She sat crisscrossed next to the tray. "These look delicious."

"Wait. I have one more thing," Chandler said. She pulled the single candle and a lighter she'd found in one of Joe's cabinets from the waistband of her shorts. Joe started laughing as she held them up. "What? It's not your birthday unless you blow out a candle and make a wish."

"I can't believe you even found a candle," Joe said.

"Me too. I just found this single one in your drawer," Chandler said. She stuck the candle into the larger stack of pancakes and lit it with the lighter. "Now, make a wish." Joe smiled over at the girl. He leaned over closing his eyes and making a wish.

"Yay!" Chandler cheered as she clapped her hands together, "Now you can eat."

"Don't you want to hear what I wished for?" Joe asked.

"You can't tell me what you wished for!" Chandler said.

"Why not?" Joe asked.

"Because then it won't come true," Chandler said, "There's nothing sadder than a birthday wish that doesn't come true." Joe laughed at the girl again as he cut into his pancakes.

"You're pretty play by the rules aren't you?" Joe asked.

"What? No, I break the rules on occasion," Chandler said.

"Like what?" Joe asked.

"I cheated on a test one time in high school," Chandler said as she moved to where her back was leaning up against the headboard. Her and Joe's shoulders were only inches apart.

"You cheated on a test in high school?" Joe laughed.

"Why is that funny?" Chandler asked, "It was a big thing for me." Joe just continued to laugh at the girl. "All right laugh at me all you want. But I don't think there's anything wrong with following the rules."

"No, no, you're right," Joe said, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, yeah," Chandler said taking a bite of her pancakes.

"These are really delicious," Joe said.

"Thank you," Chandler said, "Do you have physical therapy today?"

"Yeah but not until later," Joe said.

"Are you excited to get back to the stadium?" Chandler asked.

"Yeah. I'm excited to get to see everyone," Joe said.

"I think I'm gonna go back to the apartment while you're at therapy," Chandler said, "Get some more clothes. Hopefully, see Katie. This has been the longest I've gone without seeing her in like 5 years."

"Really?" Joe asked.

"Yeah," Chandler said, "After we both moved here we got an apartment together and pretty much spent every day together. Even when she started dating Miles we'd still see each other daily."

"So you've known Katie for a long time?" Joe asked.

"Yeah I've known her my whole life," Chandler said, "We haven't always been friends. In fact, we used to hate each other. One day things just changed and we've been best friends ever since."

"So what made you guys decide to move to move to Cincinnati?" Joe asked.

"Well I knew as soon as I graduated that I wanted to get out of Toledo," Chandler said, "Thankfully Katie felt the same and wanted to move with me. We both knew we wanted to stay in Ohio though, Cincinnati was the farthest place away where we could still go to good colleges."

"I'm glad you two had each other," Joe said.

"Yeah, me too," Chandler said, "I don't know what I would have done without her." Chandler looked over at Joe who was staring at her. His eyes moved from her's down to her lips. Her heart rate quickened, was he going to try and kiss her?

"You got a little chocolate," Joe said. Embarrassed Chandler turned her face wiping at the sides of her mouth.

"Did I get it?" she asked turning back to Joe.

"No. Let me help." Joe reached his hand up to her face. He rubbed his thumb across her lip trying to get the chocolate off. "Got it." They both sat there, Joe's hand still on her face. She stared into his eyes. She'd never noticed how blue they were. Joe's eyes once again looked down at her lips. He started to lean forward but Chandler turned her head. Joe cleared his throat trying to diffuse the awkwardness.

"I'm gonna go shower and get ready for the day," Chandler said, "Um do you need anything?"

"Uh no," Joe said, "I'm just gonna finish up breakfast."

"Okay." She sat her plate down and quickly walked out of the room. Joe threw his head back with a groan.

"Seriously Joe," he whispered to himself, "Why did you try and kiss her?! Stupid!"