Forever

eighteen.

Green Bay, Wisconsin

"Pass Interference, on Defense, Number 24. 15 yard penalty, first down."

Aurora groaned lowly as the referee finished handing the 49ers their second PI call of the game and it was only the second quarter. She looked out on the field to see that DJ, the player who just got penalized, was throwing his hands up at the referee in frustration.

"He's gonna make it worse if he doesn't stop. He's probably already lost his spot on the roster." Aurora said to herself.

"Oh, he definitely has. He's playing to prove himself and is making too many mistakes in doing that. Poor kid." James, one of her coworkers said.

Aurora and James talked for a few more minutes before focusing on the game again. Since it was preseason, they didn't have much to do yet in terms of injuries. They were hoping for little to no injuries this season but their team had the worst luck.

"Hey, Aurora!" someone shouted on the sideline. Aurora turned to her left to see Jameer beckoning her over to him where he stood with his teammates. Aurora subtly shook her head at him which was met with a confused expression.

Jameer had been calling her all game as a joke but she felt that if he kept doing it, everyone else would suspect something. The very last thing Aurora needed was for their relationship to be outed and be out of a job as quick as she got it.

"You don't like JT?" James asked.

"It's not that, he's just been messing around with me all day. I wish he would stop." Ro let out a chuckle which James shared.

"Think he might start liking you?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Absolutely not. I am 100% taken." she said, holding her hand up to stop him from assuming anything else.

"That's good that you have a relationship outside the game. So many people come in and get involved with these players, it's ridiculous." he said, turning back to the field. Aurora didn't give any more commentary as she did the same.

Halftime came before they knew it and they were all rushed to the locker room where Ro stood next to Trent Williams, her good friend for years.

"Look at you getting slim. You're supposed to be bulking, sir." she said, slapping his tricep.

"I am Ro. I'm just eating better too. I'm not playing around this season, I'm tryna get that ring." he nodded his head. Aurora smiled at him before she heard Kyle shout in the middle of the locker room.

Aurora's mind wandered off to her brother as she thought about the games they've went to together and how much fun they used to have. The last game they went to the Niners won at home in a heart attack game and it's a memory Ro would never forget. Being in this locker room again and doing what she loved just made her cherish those moments so much more without him here.

"Let's go back out there and play like we've actually been practicing back home." Kyle said before swiftly heading out of the locker room.

Aurora took this chance to hurry to her bag and check her phone since she was waiting on a text from Darius. Darius texted her yesterday saying how he found the perfect ring for Erica and wanted to hear her opinion on it but she hadn't heard from him since. She wasn't worried at all because she knew if it was something serious, her parents or Erica would've texted her.