The Cheerleader // Rob Gronkowski

t w e n t y - o n e

"Rob! You need to leave, like, right now!" I yelled from my place on Rob's couch. It was game day, and I had gone over to his hotel room to have our usual pre-game breakfast. They were in Buffalo for an away game, and since the cheerleaders didn't travel during regular season. I had decided to rent a room at the same hotel and go to watch. Tom's wife Gisele was there too, so we were going to sit together.

Rob came running out of his room, pulling a t-shirt on. "I'll see you at the game babe, love you!" he called over his shoulder as he snatched up his bags and rushed out the door to join the team at the bus.

I laughed and shook my head. That boy was late to everything. Sighing, I checked the time again. I should probably start getting ready for the game. I took a quick shower in my own room's bathroom, then blowdried and curled my long brown hair. My makeup was quick and natural, and I finished it with a bright red lipstick. Then, I dressed myself in white skinny jeans and a jersey with Rob's number, and topped the whole thing off with a black leather jacket and black boots. Finally, I threw on the Patriots baseball cap I had stolen from Rob's room and headed out to meet up with Gisele.

I was fairly tall for a woman, being 5'8, but the Brazilian supermodel towered over me at 5'11. Gisele looked up from her iPhone and smiled as she saw me walking towards her, "Oi linda!" she called in her native Portuguese.

I smiled too, "Hey yourself! Great to see you."

"You too!" she wrapped me in a hug, "Now, let's go watch our boys kick some ass."

~

The energy in Ralph Wilson stadium was unreal. I had never been there before, but it ranked as one of my top stadiums in terms of noise. I looked at Gisele, "So, where exactly are we sitting?"

"We're in the visitors' box, with Bob and the Krafts," she answered, then handed me a lanyard. "You'll need this."

I put the lanyard on, and got ready to get out of the car as the driver pulled closer to the entrance.

"Where are you going?" Gisele asked.

I looked at her like she had three heads, "Um, to the game?"

She laughed, and her glossy, curled hair bounced, "Fala sério! We're not going in the general admission entrance. We're going around to the owner's entrance."

I sat back, slightly embarrassed, "That makes sense."

~

I followed Gisele into the Krafts' box, greeting everyone with a handshake or a hug. The box was amazing, of course, with a full-stocked bar, fridge, and a table loaded with snacks, but I preferred the sidelines. Nothing could beat the atmosphere and energy of being right in the middle of the action. Gisele and I took seats at the table up against the window and looked down on the field. I could see Rob warming up with Brian Hoyer in the end zone. He really was an amazing tight end, definitely deserving of the MVP award. ESPN had been discussing it this morning, saying Rob definitely had a shot. Really watching him warm-up from way up here, I believed them.

I felt a cool hand set down on top of my own, and looked over to see Gisele looking at me, a small smile on her face. "You really like him, don't you?"

I took a deep breath, "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

She patted my hand gently, "Just be careful. Rob hasn't been known to settle down. He likes his party bus, he likes to go out clubbing on his days off. I don't want either of you to be hurt in the end."

I nodded, giving her a small grateful smile as I continued to watch the action on the field, deep in thought. Gisele had voiced my deepest fear, that Rob didn't really have his heart in it. That I was just a fling, someone that could be tossed aside when he'd had his fun. Shaking my head, I tried to push those thoughts to the back and enjoy the game.

"Hanna Rose! Long time no see!" I turned around to see Mr. Kraft approaching. Smiling, I stood up and gave him a huge hug. It was impossible to not love Kraft.

"I hear you're dating Mr. Gronkowski now," he held me out at arm's length.

I laughed, "That seems to be a popular topic of conversation today."

He smiled, "Just make sure my star tight end is up to full strength. The last thing we need is him slowing down."

"Don't worry about a thing, Mr. Kraft," I grinned, and hugged him again.

Suddenly, an announcer's voice boomed over the crowd noise, "Hello Bills Mafia, and welcome to the matchup between the New England Patriots and your Buffalo Bills!!"

The game was starting.

~

"We won, we won!" I jumped up as the final whistle went off. The boys had blown out the Bills 52-7.

Gisele laughed at my giddiness, and held up her hand for a high-five, "Ready to head down to the locker room?"

"Let's go!" I adjusted my jersey and flipped my hair a little bit to make sure the curls stayed perfectly messy. Then, we said our goodbyes and headed out of the box.

Immediately, we were accosted by fans and paparazzi. Apparently, the location of the Krafts' box wasn't exactly a secret. We ducked our heads as security escorted us through the crowd, and finally, we were safely on an elevator heading down.

I took a breath, "Is it always like that?"

Gisele laughed, "Oh honey, that was nothing."

I smiled, slightly embarrassed. Of course the world-famous supermodel was used to that. She'd probably seen much, much worse. I, however, was not used to the attention. Dating a star tight end came with a price.

Finally, the elevator dinged, and we stepped out and into the waiting golf cart. As we zipped through the hallways under the stadium, people gasped and waved at the sight of Gisele. As for me, I just sat back and took it all in.

We arrived at the guest locker room with a sharp stop, and we quickly hopped out of the cart. "So, do we go in, or do we wait out here?" I asked, unsure of proper procedure.

"We wait out here. They should be quick after that win," she responded, taking a seat on a bench nearby. I sat down next to her, and we waited.

Finally, the door opened, and out stepped Rob and Danny, laughing, clearly in a very good mood.

Eventually, his eyes landed on me, "Babe!"

I stood up and pretended to be angry, "Only 52 points? What the hell is wrong with you people? We expect much more out of you."

Danny flexed his triceps jokingly, "Honestly, we could've dropped a hundred on them, but we figured there was probably an ethics issue with that."

I laughed, and went to hug Rob. "Nice jersey," he commented.

I twirled around, showing it off, "Hey, we should take a cute, couple-y picture. You know, for the fans."

"I couldn't agree more." With that, he bent over and put me on his shoulders. I got my balance, then held out my jersey, showing it off. Danny already had Rob's phone, and snapped several pictures. Then, Rob gently set me on the floor, and I turned around to kiss him.

As I pulled away, my phone dinged, and I looked down to see Danny Amendola had tagged me in a post on Instagram. I glared at him as I went to open the notification. He had posted a picture of me on Rob's shoulders, and us laughing as I tried to balance 6 and a half feet in the air.

I laughed, and looked up at Rob, who was already looking at me. "We are goals, aren't we?"