𝗘 𝗞𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗥𝗔𝗪𝗔 𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗛𝗘 • 𝖩𝖮𝖱𝖣𝖠𝖭 𝖱𝖨𝖪𝖨

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗘

Game day, Kai had given Jordan the heads up about Desirée being present this round. As much as the second rower reminded himself not to let his nerves get the best of him, he was a mess. They were playing against South Sydney with the expectation to win. He had to focus on the game and leave his worries aside. "Calm down," Patty reassured, adressing his nervousness with a smile. "I am calm," he chuckled lightly, raising his eyebrows. "Okay, well, we have 5 minutes till we run out," Jordan nodded at his mate. He looked around the shed, watching each of the players doing their pre-game rituals. The second rower locked eyes with Kai, who gave him a comforting smile.

The two guys had a somewhat fixed relationship since they last spoke. "Alright boys, we're gonna run out soon, so get ready," one of the coaches announced. 18 big frames lining up, Jordan felt an arm pull him back before he could go to his place. "Kaua e whakapouri," Kai reassured, giving him a light smile, which Jordan didn't hesitate to return. "Tena Koe." The players ran out, the crowd roaring at their presence, giving him some confidence about the game. He looked around the crowd, trying to find the familiar face, hoping that it would improve his performance. It didn't take him long before the second rower noticed her beautiful face, locking eyes with her. It felt like time stopped, and it was just the two of them existing.

She broke eye contact, pulling him back to reality. No improvement in his nerves, the same feeling had increased. A terrible feeling was leeching onto him. Something bad was going to happen."Look, Aunty, it's Uncle Kai and Uncle Tones," Desirée's 4 year old nephew Alex pointed out. "Yeah, baby," she replied, smiling at how fixated he was on the game. After weeks of convincing, Kai had persuaded Desirée to come to a game. That way, it was easier to keep tabs on her if anything happened. They were  20 minutes into the game, Desirée tried to ignore the previous eye contact she had made with Jordan and focus on the game instead. Then again, the keyword was tried. Broncos had gained possession of the ball. All they needed to do was find an opening and run it. The ball was passed down the line of men, careful that the opposing team doesn't intercept. Before the ball could touch the hands of the winger, Rabbitohs intercept, gaining a couple metres with the ball into their territory.

The players fled to the other side of the field, passing the ball along. Just when Jordan thought he had his focus on the right player, he throws the ball to the next person. The second rower goes crashing into the rabbitohs prop doing a dangerous tackle, arms around his neck, and both heads clashing. Desirée watches as the all group up pulling each others collars mouthing each other off. The boys pulled away, and the ref stood between the second rower and prop. The brown eyed girl watched the replay on the screen and saw the high tackle that previously happened. Jordan was given a red card and sent off for the next hour of the game. "Aunty, isn't that Uncle Jordan?" The 4 year old questions as she hums in response. "Why is he walking off," he questioned the curiosity, never leaving his tone.

"Because he didn't play properly," Desirée explained, looking at him as he dangled his legs from his seat. "No, Uncle Jordan always plays properly. That man's a shit head," he blurted out as they all widened their eyes, trying not to laugh. The three women turned their attention towards him. "Alex, don't say that. That's a bad word, okay? Who taught you that?" Tiana, Vaitiare's older sister warns, trying not to burst out into a fit of laughter. "I heard daddy saying it," he shrugged. "No more saying bad words, okay?" The boy nodded to his mother. The two others giggle at their older cousin as she shakes her head already done with her sons antics.

After some time had passed, Desirée was back in her comfort zone, relaxing in bed. Rugby news was filled with reports of her exes' dangerous tackle, sitting out for two games. The same moment replayed in her head from before the game. 'He was probably looking for someone else,' she thinks to herself. Kai had forced her to sit down. She wasn't complaining about Kai's overprotectiveness on her pregnancy. This meant she could send him to do whatever she wanted. Kai had joined her on the couch hogging the TV remote. As much as she loved her crime show, she wanted to re-watch her chick flicks. "Kai, can we watch something else please," she looked over at him as he shook his head. She whined at his response. "Your nice wants to watch clueless," she pleaded, smiling. "No, she likes crime documentaries," he argued.