Jumpman Imagines➳NBA Only {CLOSED}

The Glo Up➳Andre Drummond

Kayla collapsed in her comfy office chair that was stationed behind her desk in complete shock. She couldn't believe that her crush from high school was actually here, in her restaurant. She adored this man, who at the time was nothing but an adult-sized boy who was better than everyone in the state of Connecticut at basketball.

Well, she might as well be honest. Kayla had more than a crush. Kayla was in love. And five years later, she hadn't just been in love with the star basketball player from her high school. She was in love with Andre Drummond, future top-five center in the NBA. Her relationship with him had been quite circumstantial since she was a tutor for the athletes. Yes, she met with Andre regularly, sometimes even in his home, but it was only to tutor.

No one ever thought of Kayla in a romantic way while she was in high school, and she was convinced it was because of her weight and penchant for nerdy things. She loved to read and had always been a great student because she was determined to be something. Kayla had also always struggled with her weight. She never seemed to get rid of her baby weight and always wore clothes that covered her slightly pudgy stomach and voluptuous hips.

So in high school, she wasn't what you would call popular. Yes, she had plenty of friends, and many of the athletes loved her because she helped them so much with their schoolwork. But, she always wished for the eyes of one to focus on her for more than just her ability to get him an A or B. And that one was currently sitting in El Asador, one of the most popular Mexican steakhouses in Detroit, Michigan that she happened to be the manager of.

Kayla had not seriously thought about Andre since he was drafted by Detroit. She couldn't lie and say her heart didn't race when she watched him walk across the stage and put on his Pistons hat. She thought maybe, just maybe, fate had them living in the same city, but after a few months of never crossing paths, she gave up that idea and continued to focus on her ambitions.

But now, she was being forced to deal with the fact that butterflies immediately began to flit in her stomach when Andre came into her peripheral vision. She'd been making her rounds to each table, introducing herself and ensuring that all of her customers were having the experience they paid for when she spotted him. Laughing and talking with two men.

In that moment she froze. Andre didn't see her, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't recognize her. But she recognized him and was having an internal struggle about whether to do her normal managerial duties and check on him like she'd done everyone else, or to just disappear into her office to calm down and hope that he was gone by the time she returned to the floor.

He was just so fine! And looking much better than he had back in high school. So much so that she doubted that complete sentences would come out of her mouth when she approached him and his friends. Kayla remembered him as being the typical gangly and lanky basketball player in high school who was too tall for his age, but at least had some lean muscle from all of his workouts. He never had a full-grown beard, and he sure as hell didn't have any style when it came to his baggy t-shirts, sweatpants, and Jordans that he constantly wore.

But now...he wore a long, fashion white tee that stretched across his broad chest with a blue hooded jacket that fit snugly, and black jeans and a black toboggan. And then his beard! Kayla loved his full, well-groomed and shaped up beard and mustache. It gave him a grown man look that had her thinking about the grown man things he was capable of...

"Kayla!" her assistant manager, Kelly, almost shouted her name.

Yanked from her reverie, Kayla shot up in her seat with wide eyes, not believing that she'd zoned out daydreaming about Andre Drummond. He probably doesn't even remember that she exists!

"What's got you so spooked? You look like you've seen a ghost," Kelly asked, raising her eyebrow at her boss and best friend.

Although Kayla and Kelly had been friends ever since Kayla started working at El Asador, she was still embarrassed about this unrealistic crush that clearly hadn't gone anywhere in five years. So, she hesitated before answering. Should she voice this crush and allow it to be real again? Before she could, her best server, Tyla, busted into her office.