I'm So Into You

Echoes

Brett was definitely running late and was already feeling embarrassed about her existence when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirrored windows on the outside of the practice facility. Her black Nike unitard under the black canvas parka and her most pristine pair of black Air Force 1s made her look like she was dressed up in some kind of Sporty Spice costume. She hoped that she'd just blend into the background — as was her intention when she had been getting dressed this morning — and that neither Josiah or anyone else kicking around that morning's workout would think she looked as ridiculous as she felt.

She walked up to the speaker at the locked entrance and hit the 'call' button with her elbow, making sure not to spill out of the cup she clutched in her right hand.

"Hi, this is Marin. How can I help you?" came the voice through the speaker.

"Hi! It's Brett West here with Swish. I'm shadowing Josiah Smythe's workout today."

"Oh, perfect, let me buzz you in."

Grateful that the door gently glided open and did not require her to balance both of the cups she was juggling, Brett slipped inside the building. She'd made it no more than three steps before she was greeted by the voice — and the person behind it — from the speaker. Marin's wavy caramel hair, kissed by blonde at the ends, cascaded like a waterfall from its deep side part. She wore a loose, modern blazer rolled up at the sleeves over a white t-shirt, and leather pencil skirt. Brett felt way underdressed and both intimidated and appreciative of Marin's style. The Roshe Ones on her feet really brought together the whole cool-girl corporate look and Brett immediately knew she was the kind of woman who got shit done and was not to be fucked with.

"Hi Brett," Marin said with a warm smile. "I'm Marin, the press coordinator here at the Knicks and we're going to be working closely together the next couple of weeks, I hear!" She reached out for a handshake before noticing both of Brett's occupied hands.

"Hey. Sorry," Brett said shrugging and holding out one of the cups to Marin. "I figured that there's no such thing as too much coffee around this time of year, so this is for you — a Blue Bottle flat white with oat milk." Marin's eyes grew wide. "No pressure to take it if you're not a caffeine drinker or anything!" Brett quickly offered but before she could even finish getting the words out, Marin was snatching it from her hand and giving Brett a quick, but firm, hug.

"You're right," said Marin, chugging down her first, satisfying sip. "There's no such thing as too much coffee in March."

Brett was used to getting her own scoops and procuring her own access. She'd had to be scrappy and knew that making friends with the gatekeepers was key to getting the interview or access to the presser she needed to do her job. Her two main weapons were kindness and coffee — both almost always in short supply in PR. The drive out had taken an hour and the coffee was cool by now, but she knew that wouldn't matter to Marin, already a few hours into what was very likely a 14-hour work day. Marin turned on her heel and motioned for Brett to follow her.

She dropped her voice and said, "I know journos usually like to stay undetected as long as possible to be able to get a passive observer's view of the undertakings. I'm going to deposit you in a nice quiet spot in the shadow of the equipment lockers and you can say 'hey' to Josiah when he rests, okay?"

As they walked the blue-carpeted hallways towards the gym, the sound of sneakers squeaking and balls hitting the backboard got louder and she could hear the trainers barking orders. They passed by huge glass windows showing the tubs where other players were sitting in ice-cold recovery tubs or rooms filled with massage beds where they lounged on the floor with their foam rollers, rolling them under their hamstrings while texting and making jokes with each other. Brett wondered if this is where Josiah had texted her from the night before. Just thinking about him texting her send a flush to her cheeks and a jolt of energy to her lower stomach. He just about took the wind out of her and Marin noticed her suspended breathing.

"I know this is your first time in this," Marin gesticulated to their surroundings "...whole world. But everyone's gonna be nice to you and if they're not, they're gonna answer to me. I promise. No need to be nervous, Brett," she said reassuringly as she swung the door open gently and rested an arm on the top of Brett's shoulder while quickly adding "I just Airdropped my contact to you, so if you need anything at all please give me a text or a call. I have a press conference in an hour or so, so I might be a bit swamped for a bit but I'll be looking out for you."

And just like that, Marin had vanished and Brett was in the corner of the gym, her eyes fixated on Josiah as he ran drills with a basketball in each hand. He was concentrating so hard on bouncing them with precision and keeping his handle that his tongue was stuck slightly out  and you could have yelled anything in that gym and it would not have phased him.  He was dialed in.

Brett heard the door behind her creak open and turned to glance out of the corner of her eye at whoever it was that was arriving. It was the team's most infamous player, Remi Aboya. All seven feet of his silly, showboating, sweet, swaggering self. He turned to Brett and smiled at her.

"You waiting for him?" Remi asked, gesturing to Josiah.

"Kind of. Just watching right now, I'm not in a rush," Brett whispered, not wanting to break the spell cast over Josiah by the ball in each of his hands in that moment.

"You don't have to whisper! This is a gym, not a library. That fool's concentration wouldn't be broken if I stripped down to my boxers and started a conga line across the gym. Wanna try?" he grinned in a way that was mischievous and little brother-like instead of feeling lecherous, like it so easily could have. Brett immediately loved Remi and threw back her head to laugh at his suggestion.

It was the sound of Brett's laughter echoing across the gym that snapped Josiah's head up and made both of the balls tumble from his hands and bounce across the floor in two different directions. Seeing her there, on his turf, laughing with his teammate made something in him ache. Knowing she was there for him — looking cute as hell in her jumpsuit, nonetheless — kind of felt like having Eve back for a second. She looked perfect here at the practice facility, in the gym, waiting for him.

Brett's cheeks swelled with a huge smile as Remi entertained her and loose golden tendrils spilled from the bun on top of her head and brushing the back of her neck. Josiah wanted to brush them away and kiss her right there, softly on the nape of her neck. He wondered what her shampoo smelled like and if she wore perfume there. It was just at that moment that she sensed his eyes on her and glanced over, catching his eyes with that smile still lingering on her lips. He couldn't help but smile back as he started to slowly jog over.