𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖈𝖊𝖉 ➸ 𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖑𝖑 𝖜𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖇𝖗𝖔𝖔𝖐

02

June 11th, 2014

10:46 a.m.

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"Hello?" Russell whispered groggily into his phone. The shirtless young man was in his kitchen, fixing himself French toast, feeling more refreshed than ever before.

"Why does your voice sound like that? Did you wake up or something?" Kevin Durant, his teammate, asked him in shock. The two boys also had a good relationship, not only on the court but also off the court.

Russell smiled lightly, "Yeah, not too long ago. I'm fixing some French toast and probably going back and shooting some hoops. You?"

"You got her?" Kevin whispered, ignoring his friend's last statement. The twenty-eight-year-old knew that Russell was planning on getting Jessica.

Kevin Durant was helping his teammate out. He'd followed the older woman almost everywhere she went. Kevin would give Russell daily updates on where she was and what she was doing at that moment. Kevin's first reaction when Russell told him that he planned to kidnap the girl; had him looking at him in disbelief. He couldn't believe what came out of Russell's mouth that day; he was stunned and scared.

Kevin would've never thought that Russell would have that mindset in the years of knowing and being around the man.

Being the good friend he was, even though it was wrong, he helped him out. Kevin had witnessed Russell's heart being broken numerous times and all the things he's been through in the past years. He didn't know that he'd go this far to find someone.

"Yes, I do," Russell said after a little while.

"Good..." Kevin sighed, not sure what to say next. "How is she doing?"

Russell bit his lower lip and tapped his barefoot on the marbled floor beneath him. "Good...I guess. She's still asleep, though. She tried to leave, but she didn't go far."

"When are you going to let her go?" His friend wondered.

"When she's fallen in love with me, simple as that," Russell said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Kevin furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his phone in disbelief. "Look, man, I'll call you later. About to head to my momma's house."

His friend hung up the phone, which made Russell sigh heavily, and throws his phone on the countertop.

"Good morning." He thought a voice whispered down the hallway, but it was so faint that he thought he heard things.

"Jessica?" Russell called out. "Are you there?"

The young man listened closely to any sudden movements or sounds, but he didn't hear anything furthermore.

"Jessica, honey? Come in here, please and get something to eat." Russell sighed softly and placed the plate in front of him to his side. At the same time, he was pulling off a napkin from the rack.

He looked up when he heard her bare footsteps hit the tiles underneath them. Jessica stood on the opposite side of the counter, looking her the floor with her arms folded over her chest.

"Good morning, Doll." He greeted.

"Good morning." She whispered, looking up at him.

Russell smiled lightly and grabbed the empty plate next to him. "Are you hungry, Jessica? I'm making French toast, or I have cereal, wait, don't eat cereal. I have bananas and strawberries, waffles you could pu-"

"Cereal is fine." Jessica cut him off.

He seemed hesitant at first, but then he nodded, fetched a bowl from the cabinet, and grabbed the almond milk from the refrigerator. Then took out a spoon from one of the drawers.

He looked at Jessica before turning his head towards a clear cabinet and speaking. "Do you want Lucky Charms, Cheerios, Special K: Red Berri− what the? Damn you, Kevin." He mumbled the last part to him. "Which one do you want, sweetheart?"

Jessica mentally palmed herself, and she was still irritated over the fact that he kept calling her all these 'cute' nicknames; she didn't even know the young man who made it a lot worse!

"Lucky Charms." She replied, watching him get the box out and put it in front of her along with the bowl and spoon.

Russell watched in amusement as she fixed herself a bowl of cereal while he ate a piece of his French toast.

"How'd you sleep last night?" He asked, curious.

She didn't answer but continued to eat her cereal.

"Doll?"

Jessica huffed out and rolled her eyes, "Please don't call me that. I don't even know you; you don't know me. We are strangers to one another, and I don't want to be around you longer. I want to go home!"

Russell's face hardened with every word she said to him. He had to admit that it hurt slightly, but he didn't let her see it.

He bit his lower lip, "Your feisty Jessica. Do you know who else is feisty? Me. And you don't want to see my feisty side because you will not like it one bit, baby. I will call you whatever I want to when you're under my roof. We won't be strangers for long, though. You will learn to love me."

"You can't make me love you." Jessica spat, throwing the Cheerio box onto the ground. At this point, the older woman was fed up with Russell's mess and what he was saying to her. "There's no way you could make me do that. I will never love you."

The young man chuckled. Then his face turned serious. "Don't swallow your words too quickly, Doll."

She frowned at him.

"We're just getting started, Jessica." He smiled.