Taken By Creed ✔[Fan-Fiction]

Chapter 6 | Persistance is My Middle Name

There's a special bench around Lake Hadley that I always sit in. Well, special to me. I buy a bag of nuts from Judah, the owner of the little stand at the opening of the park, and I sit on my bench and feed the squirrels and ducks. It has become such a tradition even the animals will be patiently gathered together to wait on me.  

When I sat on the bench, they came running – each taking their own little portion and patiently waiting for their next turn. I'd taken to buying two bags because of the large number of ducks and squirrels that visited me, but the bags are still empty a lot faster than I was expecting. So I opted to sit in the silence and read a book, but my mind was drawn to the people around me.

The same set of joggers passed me, raising their hands to wave as they pass. A woman and her baby stop by, say hello and finish off their bag of goodies for the ducks before heading off. An older man and his wife traipse by on their morning walk and offer me soft smiles before continuing on their way. I read 10 more pages in my book before I'm drawn by a new sound. Someone was running – jogging and they were alone.

I glanced up to see who exactly was passing and saw Donnie the boxer. I quickly dropped my gaze to my book and forced my body to relax against the bench, trying to attract as little attention to me as possible. Alas, lady luck was not on my side and he noticed me.

"Hey!"

I cleared my throat and looked up at him. It was disappointing that despite my better judgment; my tummy flipped and flopped when a smile came across his face. He looked positively delicious in his formfitting Under Armor shirt and basketball shorts, even his shoes were clean and looked moderately new.

"Hi." I muttered.

"What are you doing here?"

"Me?" I pointed to myself, looking around to see if there was anyone close by, and raised an eyebrow. "This is my park and my spot. I come here all the time."

"I've never seen you here before and I run here regularly."

"You run here regularly? I thought you just moved here." I shut my book and laid it on my lap, waiting for his response.

"Yes, since I moved here I've been running here regularly. But I guess since you don't have a boyfriend or you and your boyfriend, Eddie, seem to be on the outs I guess you have lots of time to do other things."

Oh! So he thought that Eddie was my boyfriend. I pushed that thought aside and decided to use it to my advantage.

"Look, I come here all the time. I read and feed the ducks." I motioned towards the team of ducks still restlessly padding around the bench. A duckling caught my eye as he made as way towards me to lean against my crossed legs.

"Okay, that makes sense." I heard rather than saw him take a seat next to me. "So, the rumors are true? Eddie is your boyfriend?"

I caught myself almost laughing out loud over that statement. Eddie? My boyfriend? Maybe before he made the decision to put his hands on me, but that discussion was tabled and no longer open to exploration. I crossed and uncrossed my arms, looking around the park.

"Why does it matter? Isn't Bianca your girlfriend?" He didn't hesitate.

"Yes, I love her very much."

"That's great to hear. You guys make a great couple." He flinched slightly and looked away; his jaw was working – clenching and unclenching before he responded.

"You ain't gon' to answer my question, butterfly?"

I spun towards him, "what did you just call me?"

"I called you butterfly. I heard the others call you that. I think it's very fitting." I scoffed and stood up from the bench, knocking the crumbs, dust and anything else off of my clothing before I answered.

"You don't get to call me butterfly. You don't know me well enough to call me that. Butterfly is reserved for my friends, not random strangers with girlfriends. So stop calling me that. And do me a favor, leave me alone from now on. Stop following me to my park! Get your own damn park!" I was shouting like a lunatic. He watched me from the bench with amused eyes.

"Do you know how beautiful you are when you get angry?" What the hell is this guy playing at? I just yelled at him and it didn't even faze him. He even cracked a smile.

"Leave. Me. Alone." I turned to stomp away, but made the mistake of turning around when he called after me.

"Oh, stormy, I'm not going anywhere and now that I know this is your favorite park, I'll be here every morning. Get used to seeing me."

I watched him place his earbuds back in his ears with my mouth hanging open. He was almost out of earshot before I worked up the courage to yell after him, "who is stormy?"

He stopped and turned towards me, removed one of his earbuds, sent me a heart stopping grin and answered, "you, stormy. For those stormy grey eyes of yours. I won't call you butterfly anymore, I think that's far more fitting.