In Love with The Rival

002

After the Game

The game was a hard-fought battle, and by the final whistle, both teams were exhausted. The Bengals had pulled off a narrow victory, and Joe Burrow, as always, was the center of attention. Cameras followed him as he shook hands with his teammates and opponents, his usual calm demeanor hiding any signs of the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

As the post-game celebrations died down, Joe headed toward the locker room, wiping the sweat from his brow. His mind wandered back to the girl he'd bumped into earlier that day. Something about her had stuck with him. She was different—not like the usual crowd around NFL players. Grounded, real. And for some reason, that short encounter left a mark.

As he passed through the tunnels, he glanced toward the Chiefs' family section, and that’s when he saw her again. She was laughing, standing with Travis Kelce, her arm casually draped around his shoulders. Joe's stomach dropped.

Kelce’s sister? His heart raced, but this time, not in the same easygoing way it had earlier. Suddenly, the realization hit him like a linebacker. She wasn’t just any fan. She was the sister of one of the star players of the rival team. The Kansas City Chiefs. The team he had just battled on the field.

For a moment, he hesitated, his instincts telling him to just walk away. NFL rivalries were no joke. Relationships across teams could get…complicated. His gaze lingered on her, though. She was still laughing with Travis, her eyes sparkling under the stadium lights. He felt that same flutter in his stomach again. Something about her was pulling him in.

But then the rational part of his brain kicked in. No, he thought. You can’t go there, not with the sister of a rival player. It was a recipe for trouble. The media would have a field day, and the locker room banter would be endless. Not to mention, Travis Kelce was the kind of guy you didn't want to tick off.

Joe took a deep breath and backed up slowly, deciding to slip away unnoticed. But as he turned to leave, his mind refused to let it go. Why did he feel like this about a girl he barely knew?

Later that evening

After the post-game press conferences and media obligations, Joe found himself back at the team hotel, but sleep wouldn’t come. He tossed and turned, replaying the game in his mind. His performance had been solid, but his thoughts kept drifting back to her. Emma. He didn’t even know her name at the time, but it didn’t matter. He knew now.

Scrolling mindlessly through his phone, Joe came across a picture from earlier in the day—Travis, Jason, and Emma, standing together in the Chiefs' colors. The caption read, Kelce family reunion at Arrowhead. His heart skipped a beat. There she was, smiling wide next to her brothers.

This is ridiculous, he thought, throwing his phone onto the nightstand. But deep down, he knew it wasn’t just the game that was getting to him. He hadn’t felt this way about anyone in a long time, and the fact that it had happened in the middle of a tense rivalry made it all the more complicated.