The Cheerleader // Rob Gronkowski

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"Seats for 2 at the bar, please," I told the hostess, who snapped her gum and told me to follow her. I sat in the tall seat at the bar and opened a menu. Wahlburgers' was a restaurant owned by the Wahlberg family, and it was a personal favorite of mine whenever I was in Boston. I had always been a huge fan of Mark, but as a superstar actor, he was almost never at the restaurant.

"Is this seat taken?" a familiar voice asked behind me.

I twirled around in my chair, "Sorry, I save this seat for famous NFL players," I joked.

Rob sat his huge, muscular frame in the tiny chair, "Then it must be your lucky day."

"Have you eaten here before? The burgers are to die for," I tossed him his menu and resumed looking at mine.

"You a fan of Mark Wahlberg?" Rob asked me, not even bothering to open his menu.

I raised an eyebrow, "Random much? And yes, I am. Why?"

Gronk made a strange gesture, and I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around again, I saw a face I never thought I would see in real life. "Mark Wahlberg?" I asked in amazement.

He held out his hands, "The one and only."

I blushed, "I'm a huge fan of your work."

Gronk stood up behind me, "Mark, my man! What's up?"

They did a strange handshake, and Mark replied, "Not much brother. It's good to see you."

I held up my hands, "Woah woah woah. You two know each other?" They nodded, and I whirled around to look at Rob, "And you didn't tell me this?!"

He laughed, "I thought it would be a good second date." His face immediately dropped, "Not date. Well, unless you wanna call it that. Which is good. I'd like that. But not if you don't want-"

Smacking him on the shoulder, I scrunched my nose in mock anger, "Advanced warning would have been nice. And I like the word date."

Rob tapped me on the nose, "You're cute when you're mad."

We spent the rest of our meal chatting with our movie star guest about life and work and everything in between. As the lunch ended, Rob got up to pay the check, ignoring Mark's insistence that our meal was on the house. As I watched him make his way to the hostess stand, Mark gently grabbed my hand, "I've never seen him like this before. You must be one special girl to make Rob Gronkowski trip over his words."

I blushed and looked down, "He's a special guy. And wherever this may go, I'm just happy to be along for the ride."

He smiled and patted my hand reassuringly, "From what I'm seeing, that may be a very long ride."

Rob returned, and we said goodbye to Mark as my towering date walked me out to my car. We stopped and stood facing each other. "I had a really great time today. Thank you," I told him in all sincerity.

"Anything for you," Rob grinned. Then, he did something unusual. He wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me in close. He leaned down, and I closed my eyes, tilting my head, almost without thinking. I felt his lips, soft and warm, on mine, and butterflies erupted in my stomach, the kind that you feel when you set eyes on someone you are very much in love with. It was not at all what I expected from the notorious party boy.

We both pulled away, and I looked into his eyes, my mouth subconsciously turning itself into a small smile. "See you tomorrow," Rob simply said, walking away, leaving me standing there, wanting more.