recognize / b.simmons

29

"ben, how does it feel to be back in Philly?" a reporter asks, shoving a microphone in his face as he walks out of the airport, surrounded by paparazzi, security, and his fans.

"it feels good to be back, you know. philly is home," he says and the crowd of fans scream at his response. how they heard him over all of the noise, we'll never know.

another reporter pushes her way to the front. she's a red head with green eyes and is a well known NBA sportscaster; jodie long. "ben, what can we expect from the team this year?" jodie asks, the mic right in front of his mouth. surprisingly, the crowd keeps up with the fast pace of his legs.

ben mulls the question over in his mind, thinking to himself: we haven't even started practice yet, but doesn't say it. "we got some new guys on the team, so it'll be a new experience. but don't expect anything less than dubs," he says with a smirk as the approach his ride.

"ben-"

"NO MORE QUESTIONS!" his big security guard, Cj yells, making way for ben and opening his door for him. ben waves at the cameras before sliding into the car. his three security guards get into the other SUV that was parked behind bens.

"home?" his chauffeur, antonio asks, glancing at him through the rear view mirror.

"yessir," ben says, pulling out his phone and going on his instagram. he clicks on his story and takes a video of the people that surround his car and captions it 'good to be home' with a tag of his location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

ben was glad to be back, the love he received from the city was unmatched. everything about philly felt like home, the way australia used to. LA doesn't hit like that for him, it was purely a vacation spot, a place for him to relax his mind every summer.

this was one summer he wouldn't forget. it was fun and adventure packed. he got to have fun, he got to relax.

he got to meet amari.

amari, whom he hasn't formally spoken to in days. amari who texted him earlier today, whom he hasn't responded to. he wasn't ignoring her, per se, but he wasn't making it a priority to respond, no matter how bad he wanted to. he wanted—needed—to talk to her, to see her, to touch her.

ben goes to his messages and clicks on amaris name and scrolls through the texts he's ignored.

amari: did you make it?

amari: call me soon

amari: are you busy?

he licks his lips and sighs. she deserved at least a phone call. he taps through her contact before clicking on the call button and putting the phone up to his ear. he pressed a button in a car that prompts a partition to rise between bens part of the car and antonio's.

"hello?" amari says into the phone. ben licks his lips for the second time before answering her.

"wassup?" he asks, feeling awkward and nervous. he wishes the other day didn't happen and instead they were on better terms.

"did you make it?" she asks, spinning in her chair at work. she left for chicago three days ago and jumped right into work. chicago was so different from LA, and amari loved it. it was fast, yes, but it was so different. and she was closer to ben.

"mhm, i'm on my way home now," he says. amari nods even though he couldn't see her. ben knew she was in chicago and almost bought a flight there instead, but he decided against it. he wanted his homecoming to the east to be like the one he just received.

it's silent on the line as amari weighs her next response. "i... i miss you," she says quietly, even though there was nobody else in her office besides herself.