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When he sat up in bed at the hotel all players were mandated to stay at before games that morning, she was the first thing on his mind; she stayed there even as he drove home and as people started walking through his front door early that afternoon. It was still hard to believe that he had managed to get in touch with her in the first place, that she had agreed to go on several dates with him, and now she would be publicly attending one of his games. It was like one of those dreams that you couldn’t wake up from, where you couldn’t tell reality from your subconscious mind.
He knew that his life was about to change, though he could not anticipate the ways in which it would. The moment anyone caught wind of her being in the stadium, the little bubble they had meticulously formed around themselves would pop. They had done a relatively good job at keeping her two previous visits to Kansas City discreet, staying at his house or only going to a few places with private rooms.
Sometimes, it felt like all she did was simply breathe, and it made headlines. He only received a small portion of that vitriol after the podcast and the few times people brought up her name around him since. But it would become overwhelmingly apparent with her sitting in the suite that they were together, and it would be sure to generate a heavy amount of chatter, more than he could fathom. The thought alone was overwhelming, and she had expressed her concerns to him more than enough times.
“It will be a lot, you know? The way people will talk when they see us together for the first time.” She had just finished dinner and was sprawled across her couch when he called. It was still a little weird to see her in such an intimate way—lounging around in a faded t-shirt and pink fleece pants, her hair just a little bit frizzy around her hairline, and her face slightly pink from drinking a glass of wine—but he had been getting used to it, more comfortable with the idea that if everything continued to go along the same path, he would be seeing her like this more often. He sometimes found himself distracted by her, by these insignificant details, focusing on them so intensely that once he brought himself out of it, he was scared that she noticed him staring like a creep.
Reminding himself that they were in the middle of a rather important conversation, he said, “I’m sure I can handle it.” And he was confident that he could. He really couldn’t give less of a fuck of what other people had to say about his life, and now that he was with Taylor, his fucks to give become rather nonexistent. He knew how lucky he was to have her in his life, and she had expressed a very similar sentiment with him, so what anyone else said simply didn’t matter.
But her insecurities often outweighed his reassurances. “You say that, but you haven’t yet experienced the public trials and tribulations of being Taylor Swift’s boyfriend yet.”
“Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, huh?” It didn’t escape him that it was the first time she said that out loud. It was very clear that they were a couple and didn’t have to express that in such juvenile terms, but it made his heart skip a beat, nonetheless.
But if he thought that she would turn red at the realization of what she let slip, he was very wrong. She looked directly at him through the screen and asked flatly, “Well, aren’t you?” Tables turned, he blushed furiously and could see the beginnings of a smirk crossing her lips.
He nodded, his face set into a serious look despite his pink cheeks and declared cockily, “I am.”
She laughed, a noise that was quickly becoming one of his favorite sounds. But then her face sobered. “It’s not always a very pleasant experience, being in a relationship with me.”
It wasn’t the first time she had expressed something like that to him, and every time, it made him feel angry. He couldn’t imagine making her feel like being with her was anything but amazing and wonderful, and the fact that other people had made her feel that way disgusted him.
“I’m enjoying every part of it so far,” he was being honest, but heard her scoff in response. “I’m serious, Tay.”
She let out a heavy sigh, “Like I said, it’s still early.”
They may have been together for only a month, but his feelings didn’t deceive him. He was almost certain that he was already in love with her. He always had this idea of slowly falling in love, but with Taylor, it was more like free fall without a parachute. She was special, and he would be a fool not to recognize that.
“I hope you know that whatever happens won’t bother me. I like being with you. All that outside noise doesn’t matter.” He didn’t say it to her, and maybe he should have, but he just wanted to see her again, just to get her in his arms. The game was simply an excuse to get her out to Kansas City quicker. The fact that she would be cheering him on was just an added plus.
His words must have worked, because her demeanor shifted, and she grinned. “You’re just trying to butter me up, so I’ll make cookies for you again.”
He laughed in response, her quip throwing him off due to the sudden shift in conversation, though it did make everything a bit less intense. “Is it working?”
“You’re funny,” the tone went back down again, and she said, “Just tell me if it becomes too much. There’s not much I can really do once people know about us. But I can try my best.”
She was always so expressive, every emotion showing on her face as she spoke, and he could see the little glimpses of apprehension in her eyes. “Don’t worry about it. I promise, everything is going to be fine.”
“Then I’ll be there on Sunday.”
“I’ll let stadium security know that you’ll be coming. That way you can come in without anyone seeing you. There should be a private box I can get you, so no one will bother you during the game.”
She shook her head, eyes sharp and lips pressed into a flat line. “None of that is necessary.” He was a little taken aback by the strong statement but made sure not to let it show. “Travis, the point of me coming is to support you. But also, it’s a great opportunity for me to spend more time with your family and friends. I’ll go in with them and sit in the suite.”
He didn’t want to admit it, but her desire to support him, to be around the other people in his life that were important, was only making him fall even harder. “Are you sure?”
“Of course. I want the full experience.” He studied her face for any lingering fear and found none.
He smiled, “I’ll let them know you are coming.”
So, there he was, standing by the door to see when she pulled up with her security. His friends and family were all gathered in the living room, and though they had all tried to play it cool, he could tell all of them were just as anxious to see her show up as he was. Though Taylor had met a few of his friends and had briefly been introduced to his mother over the phone, it was the first time they would all get to spend time with her, and for the most part, Travis wouldn’t be around. He knew how great Taylor was, and now, everyone else would be able to find that out for themselves.
The blacked-out car her security team drove pulled into his driveway, and he felt the excitement of finally being able to see her in person again take over.
He walked outside, seeing her already jumping out of the car, her security guys coming out too and walking to the trunk to grab bags. He saw the exact moment she noticed him, and just managed to steady himself before she came crashing into his chest.
“Hey baby.” He squeezed her to him, her arms coming around him just as tight, holding each other in a vice-like grip and swaying.
“I missed you so much.” Her words were muffled from her face being pressed into chest, but he could still hear the sweetness in her voice.
He bent down to kiss her, finally getting a little taste of what he had been craving for a week now, and whispered, “Missed you too.”
They disconnected and she looked around to see the other cars parked nearby and peered over his shoulder towards the front door that was still open. “Is everyone here already?”
“Yeah, just about.” He glanced over her face. “Why, you nervous?” He was teasing, but was slightly curious.
She shook her head and smirked. “Never. Just seeing if I was going to be able to get you alone or if I had to wait.” She had a playful gleam in her eye, one that he was getting used to seeing.
His face flushed at what she was implying, and he went along with the bit. “I’m afraid you have to wait.”
Her lips fell into a very cute pout, “That’s too bad.”
He bent to kiss her again then pulled back to look over her face. It might have been weird to say, but he didn’t think he had ever seen someone with such beautiful features. He loved how bright her eyes were, how her lips were the perfect shape and always pillowy soft, her cheeks always an adorable shade of pink. If there was a perfect person, she was standing right in front of him.
She smiled, but her eyes were curious. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
He shook his head. He couldn’t recall ever being so enamored by someone. He kissed her again, then started to lead her into the house. “No reason. Let’s go in.”
He tried to keep the circle close for today, not wanting to overwhelm Taylor by having her meet so many people at once. But he should’ve known better. This was a woman who performed in front of 70,000 people, a living legend. She walked into the room and started chatting like she was hanging out with old friends instead of meeting practical strangers.
While she was distracted talking to his dad of all people, he turned to Ross and asked, “You see where my mom went?”
Ross nodded towards the kitchen, “I think I saw her go into the kitchen.”
He tapped Taylor on the shoulder, murmured into her ear, “Hey, Tay. I have someone I want you to meet.” He grabbed her hand, leading her into the kitchen.
He saw his mother standing near the refrigerator, grabbing water. Clearing his throat to get her attention, she turned in their direction and smiled. “Mom, this is Taylor. Tay, this is Mom.”
Taylor reached out to shake his mother's hand before forgoing that completely and going in for a hug.“It’s so nice to finally meet you in person. Travis talks about you all the time.”
“I was just about to say the same about you.”
The two women seemed to get along instantly, likely because Taylor could seemingly befriend anyone. He was convinced she could make conversation with a rock if she had to, she was just that amiable. He slipped away while they chatted, getting his hair trimmed and talking with his friends before it was nearly time for him to leave.
Just before he was about to head out the door, he pulled Taylor upstairs to his bedroom. He wanted one more moment, just for the two of them, before the rest of the world knew what was going on. He hugged her tightly, then, suddenly, he remembered the box hidden in the closet. “I have something for you.”
He was pulled the box from the shelf he stuck it on, hearing her voice from behind him. “It seems like every time we see each other, you have a present for me. You better stop or I’m going to start expecting something all the time now.”
Turning back towards her with the gift extended out in front of him, he replied honestly, “I like getting you things. But this is a little more self-serving to be honest.” She opened the top and pulled out the jacket, with Chiefs spelled across it. “I thought you should have some official merch. Let everyone know that you're a Chiefs girl now.”
She let her gaze slip from the jacket back towards him, a sly smile on her face. “I’m a Chiefs girl?”
“Well really just my girl, but I’m on the team, so yeah.” He was a bit sheepish about it, unsure of if she would appreciate the gesture or not.
She put the box down and walked towards him, wrapping her arms back around his middle. “Thanks Trav. I love it.” She backed away to start pushing her arms through the sleeves, and then doing a little spin. “What do you think?”
He pulled her back towards him, trailing kisses down her neck and along her collarbone, and murmuring, “I think you look good in red.”
She laughed, pushing at his shoulders. “You have a game soon.”
He groaned. “Don’t remind me. Haven’t seen you in forever.” He dropped more kisses on her head, feeling her relax into his hold.
“It’s only been like a week.” It was a joke of course, he could feel the longing in her touch.
“That’s too long.” He grabbed her face in both hands and asked, “Are you still comfortable with everything? I can still pull some strings at the last minute if you change your mind.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay, I swear. You need to focus on the game.” He rubbed his thumbs over her cheekbones, glancing all over her face again. He was certain that he had hearts in his eyes at this point, and he kept staring until she interrupted him. “You keep looking at me like that today.”
He sighed happily. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
She blushed and gave him a grin. “You’re already my boyfriend, you don’t have to try so hard to get into my pants anymore.”
“I didn’t say it to get in your pants, although I do want to. I said it because I mean it.” He kissed the tip of her nose, just to hear her sweet giggle.
“You gorgeous man.” She squeezed her arms around him one more time, before stepping back and declaring. “It’s going to be a good game.”
“Definitely will be with you there. Have to be the best for my girl.”
She pushed his chest, laughing. “Go or you’re going to be late. I’ll see you after.”
The entire way to the stadium, he allowed himself to think about her. But once he walked through the stadium entrance towards the locker room, he shifted his focus to the game. Normally, he didn’t have a hard time compartmentalizing, but it was proving to be rather difficult today. Nonetheless, as he started to warm up, he found himself thinking exclusively on plays.
His mind was stuck on the game. That was until he saw the suite. He tried to keep himself from looking up, but his eyes strayed and immediately caught sight of her blonde hair. She was talking to his mother, fitting in so naturally, though this was probably the last place that anyone thought she would be. When he was on the sidelines, he couldn’t help but continue to look at her, each time seeing her talking to someone different, and he would be lying if he said it didn’t warm his heart to see her being so friendly with his people. At one point, he saw her eyes tracking the field and could have sworn they made eye contact, but he looked away just as he saw her lips pull into a smile. He couldn’t let himself get sidetracked.
He let himself look around the stands, noticing then just how many people were turned towards the suite. It seemed that everyone’s attention was drawn to her, and for a brief second, he panicked. He didn’t want it to overwhelm her, didn’t want her to get scared by the fact that people appeared to be more interested in her than what was happening on the field. But he allowed himself to glance towards the suite one more time, seeing her laughing at something Ross said to her. She was fine, just like she said she would be. When he scored a touchdown, he glanced once more in her direction, seeing her jumping in excitement in the suite. He felt giddy, something he had very rarely felt before. The rest of the game passed in an almost blur, and he was riding the high of the win when he went up to the suite to meet her.
He was being relatively hesitant, not wanting to push any unknown boundaries given that there were still so many people around, so he settled on a very chaste hug. “How was it?”
She seemed to not care about the number of people around them, throwing her arms around his neck and squealing, “Oh my gosh Trav, it was so fun. I loved it!!”
“I knew you would.” He kissed her cheek once, leaning in to tell her, “I’m so happy you came.”
She responded with a squeeze of her arms around him, and then they were headed out of the suite. As they walked through the hallway towards the parking lot, he felt the urge to grab her hand in his but refrained. There were people with cameras lining the hall, and he didn’t know how she would react to a display of affection, even if it was rather mild.
Once they made it to his convertible, she started giggling. “This is so wild. I can’t believe we’re doing this.”
He looked over at her, the very light breeze making strands of hair fall into her eyes, and he was so tempted to reach over and brush it away. “Believe it, baby.”
“I still don’t know how you managed to swing this with me and my security.” It was no short feat. He had posed it to her first, after he told her about reserving the bar for a private night with the team and some friends. She had agreed, but then said she would need to talk to her security. He knew how tight her security team could be, after all, he was on the receiving end of their policies when he tried to give Taylor the friendship bracelet. So, he couldn’t hide his surprise when they relented and asked for the address to the bar, tacked on with what could only be described as a very protective warning that they would be following closely behind.
But he just shrugged, none of that was a big deal, nor was it a hassle, especially if it meant getting to see the happiness in her eyes. “It’s all part of the Kelce charm.”
She laughed loudly, throwing her head back and covering her face with her hands. “You’re right, that Kelce charm sure is something.”
As they pulled off, making a quick stop by the house so she could switch her clothes, and then heading towards the bar, he said, “It’ll just be the team and their families, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
She placed her hand over his, where it had drifted naturally over her thigh. “I’m not worried. I’m with you.”
He blushed, and twisted his hand over so they could intertwine their fingers, exactly what he had been wanting to do all day.
When they finally arrived, he made sure to keep her close, not wanting her to get lost in the sea of people that she didn’t know. He introduced her to a few people, and before he knew it, she was sending him off to get her a drink while she talked with a few of his teammates' wives. Sometime in the night, she ended up in his lap while they were talking to some of his friends. Somehow, everything felt so right, like they had done this a million times, not at all like it was her first time. He supposed that’s how everything felt with her, so simple and easy.
At some point, the exhaustion of the day began to catch up with him. She noticed quickly, downing her drink and standing up so they could begin to say their goodbyes. But the exhaustion all but went out the door once they made it back to the house. He barely made it through the door before she was all over him. She was up on her toes, straining to reach his lips before he took pity on her and lifted her up until they were at an even height, walking them towards the bedroom.
Once they made it to the bed, his lips still covering every open patch of skin he could find, he asked, “Did you have a good time?”
“The best time.” One her hands roamed down his chest, and she asked quietly, “Are you hurting anywhere?”
“Nowhere important.”
She guided one of his hands to the zipper of the denim dress she changed into earlier that night. “Then take this off me. Please?”
Pulling the zip down, he replied, “Anything for you.”
As he pressed his lips down her chest, feeling her hands over his back, he sent out silent words of gratitude to the universe for giving him the courage to call her out on the podcast. And though he was sore from the game, he ignored the pain in favor of feeling the warm heat of Taylor’s body and hearing soft whimpers come from between her lips. It was late by the time they had settled down, cuddled together in the sheets.
If he had to pick his favorite parts of being with Taylor, pillow talk would make the top three. Her voice always got raspy and tired, her eyes a little glossy, and their conversations usually nonsensical. But tonight was emotionally charged, which he picked up on when she stated, “I had so much fun. Seriously, more fun than I’ve had in a long time.”
He played with her hair, which always made her snuggle up closer to him. “I’m glad baby.”
She sat up slightly, propping her head on her hand. “I was nervous about today. Terrified, to be fully honest.”
Of course, he already knew this. They had enough conversations about the way she viewed herself to know that this would likely be anxiety inducing, which is why he went out of his way to simultaneously pull her out of her comfort zone and make sure that she wasn’t internally panicking. But he still asked, “What were you scared of?”
“I was worried that the attention might scare you away.” She was shy while she said it, like she was scared to admit the thoughts that she had previously kept to herself.
Furrowing his brows, he said honestly, “That would never happen.”
“You don’t realize what it means to me to hear you say that.”
He thought about the first time she came to Kansas City: hanging around his house, slipping in and out of back doors and private rooms at restaurants, and her constantly apologizing for it all, even after he insisted that she had nothing to apologize for.
“You know that I’m a massive people pleaser. People tend to scrutinize everything I do, and often that extends to the people I surround myself with. I wouldn’t blame anyone for not wanting me to be around.” She didn’t have to tell him that a big reason she felt that way was because of her previous relationship. He knew from the prior conversations they had exactly how she felt, how someone else made her feel. “I think of myself as a harbinger of bad things. Trouble just seems to follow me, and then it follows everyone around me.”
“That’s not true, Tay. None of that is your fault. And I hope you know that I would never make you feel that way about yourself.”
“It’s crazy, but I believe you. I didn’t think I would trust you so easily, not so soon anyway. You’re not untrustworthy, I’ve just been so guarded. I didn’t want to let those walls down, but you make it so easy.” She traced her fingers over his face, so delicately that he could feel her touch linger even after she had moved her hand. “You’re just so different.”
As much as she talks about how he has changed the way relationships look like for her, he can’t help but think about how much she has done the same for him. He hadn’t been in a relationship like this one before; to be fair, he hadn’t met a woman like her before either. She was different, in so many ways; ways that caught him pleasantly off guard. She was funnier than he thought she would be, possessing a perfect mix of sarcastic crassness and a goofy dorkiness that he found adorable. She was kind, and though he knew she would be from the many wonderful things he heard about her before they even spoke for the first time, it still surprised him just how sweet and genuine she was. Her honesty and openness compelled him to spill things to her that he had never told to another person. It was so easy to talk to her, and he never worried that she would judge, degrade, or invalidate him. In just the month or so that they had been together, she had not only become his partner, but also his close friend. Maybe that’s why he felt the pressure to not fuck up so badly. She possessed the exact traits he had been looking for in a person. He would be an idiot to jeopardize what they had with each other.
Looking at her now, huddled under sheets and blankets, body pressed fully against his own, he almost let the words come out. It would’ve been so easy to say them, especially given the way she looked curled into his side, skin warm and flushed and her hair a perfect mess. He wanted to say it, just to blurt it out and get it off his chest. But then he saw her biting her kiss-swollen lip, in the way she does when she is too far in her head and pushes the words down. It’s not the right time, and he doesn’t want to say anything too soon, not after the incredible day they had together.
The next day, when a picture of them at the bar leaked, he expected her to panic. But she just tossed her phone onto the table and pressed a flurry of kisses all over his face. They were both laughing when she half tackled him into the mattress, straddled his legs, and gave him a loud smacking kiss on the lips before whispering in his ear, “Thank you for reminding me what it feels like to be wanted.”
His heart thumped hard in his chest. While her words were so sweet, it made him sad to think that she felt like she had to thank him for wanting her. “Don’t thank me. I’ll always want you.”
And if he hadn’t been sure before then that he was in love with her, the smile she gave him would’ve been all the confirmation he needed.