Blindside

Go Bulldogs!

Cleo

The parking lot was absolutely packed. As we parked the car, my phone vibrated with an incoming message.

Osiris: Hey, meet me at the west door. I have something for you.

“Hey, Osiris is asking me to meet him at the west entrance, that’s the one nearest the field right?” I asked Izzy.

“Yeah, let’s walk together, that way I won’t lose you while looking for a seat” she said.

“Okay, let’s get moving then”

As we made our way in the direction of the field, I could already feel the energy coming from the stands. The air was practically buzzing. Coming up to the building, I saw Osiris standing at the door waving in our direction to catch out attention. Picking up my pace, we made it to him quickly.

Walking up to him, he was standing there in his football pants, socks, and sandals. No shirt.

Holy Moses 

My mouth went dry. I have to admit, Osiris clearly took care of himself, because he was packing muscle on muscle.

Why in the hell has he been hiding THAT under baggy clothes? Probably because of girls like me with dirty thoughts, let me tell you the things he was making me think right now.

Giving my head a quick shake before I got caught staring, I could see he was holding something in his hand.

“Whatcha got there?” I asked.

“Uh, well I thought it would be a good idea for you to wear one of my jerseys. I promise it’s clean!” He answered, holding out one of his home jerseys.

Taking it from him, I held it up. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, for sure, I figured it would help emphasize the ‘girlfriend’ title even more if you wore it” he replied, grabbing at the back of his neck nervously.

Reaching up, I pulled his hand from his neck and gave it a squeeze. “Sure, I’ll wear it. If it will help you, I’ll wear it at the game” I said with a smile, which earned me a big one in return.

“Awesome. Here, let me help you, it’s a little big” he said, taking the jersey and helping me put it on. After slipping it over my head, he gently turned me around and bunched it up in the back.

“Do you happen to have a hair tie or something” he asked.

“Yep!” I answered, pulling one from my purse and handing it to him, which he then used to tie off the jersey and then tuck it back into itself.

“There. How about a spin for me” he said.

Laughing, I did a quickly twirl. “How do I look?”

“Like girlfriend material” he answered with a grin. “Okay, I gotta head back in before coach has my head. Cheer for me!” He said, leaning in and giving me a quick kiss on my forehead before taking off in the direction of the locker room.

“Oh my, boy is really trying to put on a show huh?” Izzy said from behind me.

“Umm, I guess so” was all I could come up with in response. “We should probably head down if we even hope to get a seat. This place is getting packed fast” I added, grabbing her hand and pulling her along to the stands.

“Fair, although we don’t have to rush all that much. Mya just texted me to let me know she grabbed us seats”

Climbing up into the stands, we spotted Mya a few rows up and made our way over to her.

“Well, well, well, so the rumours are true” she said, looking at me with a huge grin on her face. 

“What do you mean?” I asked like a total airhead.

“Girl, you’re wearing Osiris’ jersey. He has literally NEVER done that before, so this has to be serious”

“Ohh, yeah, that. Well, it’s recent, so don’t go feeling like you’ve been put in the dark or anything” I replied quickly. “Honestly, it’s not that-“ I began to add as I heard a loud shriek from behind me.

“WHAT! THE! F**K!?”

Turning around, I saw a very furious Amber and she was headed our way who looked like she was about to set someone or something on fire.

“What the f**k do you think you’re doing wearing that?” She yelled at me.

“What? This? It’s a jersey, calm down. Team spirit y’know? Go Bulldogs, yay?” I said while lifting my hands up in a fake cheer.

“That is NOT just any jersey, why the f**k do you have it?” She continued on.

“Because Osiris gave it to me. Can we get to the point? The game is about to start” I was pushing buttons and I knew it, but I was really getting tired of her attitude.

“No. No he didn’t, stop lying. You must have stolen it, that is the only possible reason for you to be wearing his jersey” she replied, clearly trying to come to some semblance of a ‘rational’ theory of why the jersey was in my possession.

“She didn’t steal the god damn jersey Amber, Osiris gave it to her. Here, I even have a video because it was so damn cute” I say said from beside me, pulling out her phone to show her. Sure enough, when she turned her phone screen around there was a video playing of Osiris and I talking as he held up his jersey to me, asking if I’d wear it. As the video played on, you could see the anger building on Ambers face as well as the hurt in her eyes.

“This is f**king bullshit. You’re not special, you just got to this f**king school. None of this adds up, he’s supposed to be mine, not yours!” She ranted.

“Amber, I don’t know what else to tell you. He gave me the jersey because we’re dating. It may be a bit hard for you to wrap your brain around, but you’re going to have to work a little harder because this right here-” I said, gesturing to her “I’m over it. I’ve been civil with your bullshit, but now I’m done. Figure it out, or we’re going to have some problems” I added, giving her my no nonsense look letting her know I was being dead serious.

“Whatever b***h. The only way you could have managed to snag him so fast is by being easy. Don’t think that you’re special, he’s clearly just testing out chocolate for the week. You’ll-“ she stuttered as I grabbed her by the front of her own Bulldogs jersey and pulled her in.

“Shut the f**k up before you push me too far. This is your last f**king warning Amber, I’m not f**king playing with you. Get the f**k out of my face” I said and shoved her away from me, causing her to stumble in the stands. As she righted herself, she looked at me with what I could only guess to be pure hatred in her eyes.

“We’ll see how this plays out b***h, because something isn’t adding up” she said in a surprisingly calm tone, far from the tantrum she’d been having up to this point, and then finally walked away.

“Damn Cleo” Izzy said from just behind me, clapping her hands.

“What?” I asked, slightly embassies by my own outburst.

“I just didn’t expect that, good for you. Amber needs to be put in her place more often, I honestly don’t think she expected it from you either. I think she’ll be more careful around you, either that or she’ll turn into a sneaky b***h” she answered with a proud look on her face.

“Thanks, I didn’t intend to lash back, but once she hit that race bullshit I couldn’t help but instinctively react”

“Hey, nobody is blaming you, I think you handled that well actually” Mya added. I totally forgot that she was even present, she was so quiet during the whole ordeal.

“Well as long as she keeps out of my business, everything will be fine” I said. Just then I felt the energy of the crowd start to shift. Turning to look out at the field, I noticed as the opposing team began to make their way out and some of the crowd let out cheers, clearly supporters of the other side.

“Ouuuu, it’s almost game time!” Izzy remarked, practically vibrating with excitement. I noticed myself that the stands were really starting to fill up, so we took our seats. Scanning the crowd, I caught sight of my parents and my aunt and uncle, so I waved for them to come sit with us.

“Hey honey” My mom said as they all sat down behind us, leaning forward for a quick hug.

“Hey mom, I’m glad you made it in time” I said with a warm smile. I know despite what he says, Cairo would have been disappointed if they had missed the game, regardless if he played or not.

“We wouldn’t miss it for anything” My dad added. 

I had to admit, I made a point to watch as many of Cairo’s games growing up and I loved it, even if they were just little tikes learning the game. Despite that, I hadn’t gone to many games at our last school, I just didn’t enjoy the vibe, but something told me this was going to be far different though.

Next thing we knew, the crowd got really silent as the last of the opposing team made it onto the field and to their bench, some of what I assumed to be starting players were warming up in the end zone. Everyone’s attention was then drawn to the gates as the drummers began to play an exciting beat, making us all aware of the home teams entrance. Admittedly, I was excited.

Yeah, because you get to see Osiris in those tights pants again, maybe even get a better look this time. Front and back.

Giving my head a quick shake before I let my thoughts get carried away, I focused back to the field for their entrance. Sure enough, the team came charging onto the field, causing the crowd to erupt in full cheers, shouting, and hollering, letting them know that the support was here.

It’s game time!

~~~

The game was tight.

Sitting in the bottom of the 4th quarter, we were leading 31-28 and the two minute warning on the quarter had been called. I was a nervous wreck, as was most of the crowd. Cairo was eventually put in after one of the defensive lineman was put out with a possible knee injury and he was doing well at holding his ground. The other team snaps the ball, and before my eyes were comprehending what was happening, my big ass baby brother was crushing the opposing quarterback, causing him to fumble the ball.

“YES CAIRO!!!” I yelled out to the field and surprisingly it must have been loud enough as he turned a gave a quick wave up into the stands.

“Holy s**t ball, he’s going to be playing more often after that!” Izzy said.

“I sure as hell hope so, that was incredible”

As the refs cleared the pile of players, they called the fumble in our favour as one of the players did a victory dance with the ball. With the offence back on the field, it was time to kill the clock. The team did a great job at manipulating the clock, something I learned  we were apparently known for, and moved down the field seamlessly. Now they’re sitting at the 20, 3rd down and 5 yards to the 1st, and they got shut down on the play, only gaining 1 yard.

“Stop being so anxious Cleo, they can’t lose at this point” Izzy said, trying to calm me down.

“I know, I know, but there’s always a chance for an interception. Anything can happen!”

“Girl, breathe. It will all be fine”

I nodded to her and then focused my attention back on the field. It’s now 4th down, they had no choice but to go for the field goal and hope that the defence could hold up again. As they took their places on the field, just before the snap, everyone shifted. What the hell? Corbin calls for the snap, but instead of lining up the kick, he stands and throws to the deep corner of the end zone, right into Osiris’ hands.

“HOLY s**t!!” Izzy and I yell at the same time, jumping up to cheer with the rest of the crowd. Holy Mack, what a play, and just like that, we locked in the win.

~~~

“Hey, what are you doing tonight” Izzy asked as we climbed into my car.

“Uhh, well-“

“Okay so nothing, you were going to do nothing. That’s great, now you have plans. Party tonight, let’s go get ready” she so kindly informed me. 

“Okaayyyy then, I guess we’re partying” I replied as I took off to go home.

Parking in the driveway, Izzy and I made our way inside and up to my room to get ready. After picking our outfits, I was finishing up my hair while Izzy touched up her makeup.

“Who’s driving?” I asked her.

“Corbin said he would come to pick us up. Let me double check when he’ll be here” she answered.

“HELLO!? Where my girls at?” we heard come from downstairs, followed by loud footsteps running up the stairs. Moments later there was a quick knock at my door, followed by Corbin poking his head in.

“Alright, alright, alright! Well aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes” he said as he looked us over. “Damn, Osiris is going to s**t when he sees you” he added.

“Oh shut up Corbin, this really isn’t much different from what I would wear to school. Don’t make it a big deal” I replied, trying to downplay my outfit.

“No no sweetheart, the boys will be picking up their tongues off the floor tonight” Izzy added.

Laughing at her response, I chose to ignore it and shake my head. Reaching for my clutch, I looked back to Izzy and asked “You ready to go?”

“You bet your ass. Let’s go!”

“Perfect, let’s get you girls in the Jeep. It’s time to celebrate!” Corbin said with excitement.

Oh yes, celebrate we shall