Remember the Time || Bruno Mars

[22] little athletes

"Daddy, I've got a swimming competition on Saturday," Anelah told me whilst tugging the hem of my flannel shirt. She grinned, "It'll be my first time swimming for my new school."

I inwardly groaned, knowing I scheduled the entire week – including the weekends – as rehearsals for the second leg of the European tour on that day. Forcing a smile, I crouched down to her level. "Really baby? Well what time will it start?"

"My coach said it's a whole day thing," she said in her adorable baby voice, fiddling with her small fingers.

"By the way dad," Aaron jumped into the scene out of nowhere, as if he just appeared from thin air. "I've got a football match this Friday after school."

I closed my eyes tightly and prayed Brandon would allow these two days be off for a while so I could fulfill my daddy duties. "Awesome! Well, what preparations do I need to do for my little athletes?"

"We could go to the store for chocolate and Gatorade," Aaron beamed, probably at the thought of sweets and goods.

"And those are for...?" I left my sentence linger a little longer in hopes they could justify their answer.

"Duh dad," Anelah answered sassily with a small giggle whilst wrapping her small arms around my neck. "For energy. Like what you eat and drink before your shows."

"Ah," I laughed in realization, hoisting my little girl from the ground and carrying her in my arms. "I knew that."

.

"Okay, son, you got this, okay?" I gave Aaron a little pep talk while he tied his shoelaces, getting ready for the actual game. "Just listen to whatever the coach says, be alert at all times, do it for the team and know that no matter what happens—"

"Dad," he jerked his head up to meet mine, a playful smile playing on his lips. "Chill. I've been playing since last year. And did you see us during the warm-up? We were in good condition."

"I'm sorry, son," I apologized with a laugh and a shake of my head. "It's my first time seeing you play and I'm just excited for you."

"Don't worry, dad," he smugly assured me. "We'll win this."

A shrill toot of the whistle cut through the entire field, bringing everyone's attention to the source of the sound. I caught sight of Aaron's middle-aged coach as he motioned for his players to come down. "Alright, go ahead buddy."

"See you later, dad," he smirked and ran towards the field.

"Daddy!" I whipped my head towards Anelah who was making her way towards me as Elise held her hand.

"Hey sweetheart!" I greeted her back as she sat on the seat I reserved to my left and received the corndog I asked her to get for me. "You're just in time! The game's about to start."

Elise took a seat on my right and I gave her a kiss on the cheek, making a cute shade of red taint her cheeks. "Hello, beautiful."

Before she could answer me, another whistle echoed around the open space and all of our undivided attention was directed towards the match. It began with the traditional coin toss to see which team gets the ball first and by my observation, Aaron's team got it first.

A red-haired boy kicked it towards a blonde kid of the same red jersey and the ball was passed on to different teammates across. Damn, these kids are good for their age. And as they neared the goal on the other team's side, the ball was kicked towards Aaron and in a matter of 0.2 seconds, the ball was sent flying to the net.

The audience roared in response and I yelled along, even getting on my feet as I hollered and cheered for Aaron's remarkable skills. "THAT'S MY SON!!! FUCK YEAH BITCHES!!!"