Russell

Bottoms Up

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Sam

It wasn't long until we got to the restaurant Russell's sponsor had invited us to. We parked the car and made our way inside. It was Saturday night, and the place was pretty busy.

People were sitting everywhere, with loud music going off; waiters and waitresses going from one place to the other holding either tray of food or drinks.

The bar in the middle of the restaurant was also packed, playing the football game before the big Rose Bowl game to kick off the new year. Everyone at the bar was attentive to the game as they chugged down on beers and ate appetizers.

Russell placed his hand on the small of my back, leading me toward the hostess. It was a young girl with blonde hair done in a nest bun, and pretty makeup was done naturally on her fair-skinned face, with long lashes masked in mascara. She wore the restaurant's shirt with black fitted jeans.

She smiles seeing Russell and I near, placing her pen down. "Hi there, welcome to the patio at Rudy's how many are with your party?" she asks, with a big smile.

"Actually, they're with me," Andrew adds from behind us, making us turn.

He wore a navy blue plaid suit, with a matching blue shirt and tie. His hair was combed nicely back, just like Russell's. I couldn't help but feel like they looked so much like each other in some way. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought they were related.

The young hostess that looked no older than my age smiles, earning a wink from him. "Glad you guys can make it. Please, right this way," he says, pointing towards the back of him, leading us to a table far away from the bar and all the noise.

The two shake hands, and then Andrew takes my hand, placing a gentle kiss on the back of my hand. I can't help but feel awkward, looking at Russell who obviously got a bit jealous by his act. He clenches his jaw, tightening his hand around my waist and clearing his throat.

Russell pulls out the chair for me, making me blush as I take a seat, and then sits beside me. "I can't tell you how happy I was to see that you got back so soon. We can start training right away. We'll need to leave at least two days before the match to get you settled into your hotel room and take you to see the arena you'll be fighting in." he says excitedly, fixing the hem of his coat as he sits across from us.

"Now, we'll need to go over a few things, but nothing too big. Sam, that is your name, right?" he asks, gesturing toward me. "Uh, yes, that's me."

"I hope you don't mind if I take him away for a few days. Russell has told me so much about you. Gosh, you weren't kidding when you said she was pretty." he says chuckling, getting Russell to look at me and then away as he became blushed.

"I...uh, thank you."

"Anyway, as I was saying,"

"Hope we're not too late to join you guys. I hit a bit of traffic on my way over here, but we made it." uncle Fred says as he comes to our table, holding Phoebe's hand and a big smile plastered on his face.

Andrew's face goes pale for some reason, and his eyes widen in surprise. "Andrew, I hope you don't mind. I apologize, I should have told you my uncle was in town. We were supposed to have dinner with them, but it completely slipped my mind."

"N- no. Of course not. It's... It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." he says, getting a dominant look from uncle Fred.

"Yesh, I'm sure you are, son. Excuse me, young man, can I get two extra seats here?" he waves down a busboy, getting him to add two chairs to our table.

I can't help but notice the way uncle Fred is giving Andrew a murderous look. I can't blame him though. Russell is like a son to him. I'm sure he's just looking after him and wants to make sure Russell is not being taken advantage of by the Knights Enterprise.

"I... Uhm... W-2 where were we? Oh, right. The match. Russell, you'll be in the second match of the night. Your opponent is a kid your age, but he's very skilled. You'll have to give it your all. If all goes well, you'll be winning a lot of money from this fight, and as promised, we will be rewarding you with a big bonus." Andrew said, enthusiastic about the fight.

"Good evening. Welcome to The Patio at Rudy's. My name is Raine, I will be your server this evening. Can I start you guys off with a drink and appetizers?" the young girl with black hair and beautiful tanned skin, full lips, and hourglass body features says, holding menus and handing the, out to us.

"Yes, can I have a glass of Chardonnay?" Phoebe says. "I'll have a beer." uncle Fred orders.

"Me too." Andrew follows. "Actually, can you bring a pitcher of Samuel Adams black larger if you have it, for us, the glass of Chardonnay, and Sam," uncle Fred says, making me turn.

"Yes?" I ask, feeling dumbfounded.

"Sweety, would you like a beer as well or chardonnay like Phoebe?" I was decisive. I'm not much of a chardonnay drinker.

"She'll have a glass of rose, please," Russell says, making me smile. He always knows how to take care of me, so well.

Phoebe sits beside me, looping her arm around mine as she sees me feeling uneasy. "I just hate being stuck in manly conversations, don't you? So tell me? Was your dorm still I'm tact when you guys got in? I'm sorry we didn't reach out earlier, I was dying to shop. Lakeview is beautiful as you can tell, but there's nothing like the Cali malls." she says, making me smile.

I look up and see Russell looking at me, and we both smile at the same time. It was then that I began feeling worried about the fight. I hated seeing him hurt the first time I found out he does this for a living. I remember the way he grunted when I tried to help him heal his broken ribs. What if he gets badly hurt again?

I can't stand the thought of seeing him hurt.

"Actually. Funny thing about that." I said, trying to not think of the fight anymore. The fight wasn't for a few more days, but I didn't want to think about it anymore. I just hoped that he would be ok and he'd come back to me unharmed.

The young waitress came back with a guy holding a tray with our drinks. She handed Phoebe the glass of chardonnay and placed my glass of rose in front of me. They went around serving the guys their beer, leaving two pitchers full of Samuel Adams black lager in front of them.

They all took their drinks in hand and held them up toward the middle of the table, "Bottoms up. Cheers... To a good match, and an early victory to my nephew, who I love like my son, Russell." he says, giving a deadly stare toward Andrew and took a big swig of his drink.

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