Kindred Spirits | Juan Toscano-Anderson

51 x Ball in Beantown

"Cynatra, how you doing?" Jaylen asked going in for a hug. "Jay I'm doing good. How are you?"

Cynatra and Jaylen Brown were familiar with the one another, he would pass through the gym whenever the team and or his family were in town.

"I won't complain. Just know your team is gonna lose today."

Sharing a laugh wouldn't go unnoticed by Juan. He knew of Jaylen in reference to Round 1. It didn't strike him as an issue for now.

"So that's really you?" He asked motioning to Juan. "Why do y'all keep asking me that?"

"Cyn, we can see it. You'd be blind not to. But that's good for you. You fuck it up, I'm on your ass. You've done that in the past."

Cynatra rolled her eyes before feeling some discomfort in her abdominal area. Jaylen could see something was wrong, "You need anything?"

"Where's y'all bathroom?" Jaylen waved over an attendant who showed her to the nearest bathroom. Little baby was pushing on her bladder and it was huge hinderance.

As she handled her business, she heard a group of women in the bathroom. They were pretty girls, all dressed up. Clearly getting ready to pick and choose who and what they were doing tonight after the game.

"I swear I'm going home with a Warrior tonight. They're in town until tomorrow." One said.

"Girl, I promise you I'll get on my knees for Klay. That man is so fine."

"I heard Jordan gotta girlfriend, I ain't into wrecking homes so I'll go for Moses. He's cute as hell." Another said.

"Fuck what y'all talking about, I do ruin homes and I swear if Steph wasn't a man of God, I would give him something to praise."

That one made Cynatra laugh. But only a little.

"Nope, I'm definitely with fucking Kuminga. Y'all heard that nickname?"

"What?"

"They call him Kumbucket. And I would like to see that in real time."

They laughed with one another, feeling free in their banter. Cynatra was awaiting something to happen, but she just couldn't pee.

"Nah, I want JTA, the things that I would do to him. And those tattoos?"

"That man has a girlfriend, you can't tell?"

"Well which one? Cause he been in the blogs this week with some weak bitch, that girl ain't his girlfriend." The woman scoffed.

"No, I just think they're chatting. I mean, I really think him and Cynatra Monët are a thing."

There was a pause between the women. "Like how much?"

"Real bad."

"Fuck it, it's other niggas on the team. I ain't getting in that shit. I heard she got a case open. No thanks, not getting shot over no nigga."

Cynatra awaited until the bathroom was clear to leave the stall. The jokes wrote themselves because she planned to leave the bathroom until they mentioned her by name. In the hallway back to the court, Juan waited for her.

"You good?" He asked, his expression full of worry. "Man, I should kick your overgrown ass."

He looked at her funnily before dropping his arm over her shoulder, "What did I do now?"

"3 months worth of problems." She joked.
"He acting up again?"

"You and this 'he'." She shook her head, making sure she grabbed a bag of popcorn. "Yeah, I told You that's my lil man in there."

"Anyways, there was a girl in the bathroom that wanted to do things to you, and she liked your tattoos too."

"Things like what?" Cynatra gave him a look which caused him to wiggle his brows. "Oh those things."

"Mhm. Kinda felt bad for her too." Juan chuckled at the mouth full of popcorn she tried to speak through. "And why is that Cynatra?"

"Cause I be sitting on that pretty face she likes." Her shrug was probably the most comical part, and he laughed.

"You're causing a scene." She laughed along, mushing his head. "Cause you funny as shit. Where the girl go?"

"I don't know. Don't you have a ball to dribble?"
"Just making sure you ain't kill nobody and leave them in the bathroom."

Stepping closer to him she poked his chest, "I promise you, you'll be the first to know if I do."

He watched as she walked back to her seat. He could see Steve narrowing his eyes at him from the court.

Well shit, let me go do my job.

"Y'all did not have to beat them like that." Cynatra laughed as Juan dribbled the ball in front of her after the game. The Warriors beat the Celtics by 25. The team and green and white were not happy in the slightest.

"I barely even played." He mumbled, for some reason Kerr didn't have him in the rotations they practiced. Cynatra could tell Juan was down about it, that's why she kept the moral up.

"You ready to go back to the hotel?"

Juan was beyond ready to go to sleep. They would be back in the bay in the morning and he had a few things he needed to do, like looking for a new place to live.

"Yeah, come on I know your feet hurt." He tossed the ball to the side, grabbing his duffle to follow the rest of the team. "You damn right they do."

"Nobody told you to wear them damn shoes."

"I told me! I wanted to look good, I like these boots." She groaned. "And these boots are cut now smaller, because..."

"Because my thighs are bigger." She mumbled.
"Why you saying it like it's a bad thing?"

"It is, I'm becoming a big ass bitch Juan."

He stopped them in the hallway to talk away from the team. Before he could get his words together, Jaylen would be walking over.

"Aye, I wanted to say bye before y'all left." He turned his attention to Juan, "Good game man."

"Yeah, same to you." They quickly shook hands before he gave Cyn a side hug. "I'll see y'all in the bay."

Cyn waved as Jaylen walked off, giving her attention back to Juan. Their eye contact was intense. "What were you saying Ro?"

"I was saying that, you're not a big ass bitch. That sounds so crazy coming out of my mouth cause I don't even talk to you like that."

"It do sound crazy." She snickered. Cynatra was going to need something to change her perspective and quickly. "Even if you were, I would still take you down. Let's go. They got a pizza place open down the block from the hotel, and I got some energy cause I ain't did shit on the court today."

"What you using that energy for?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He smirked knowing she understood exactly what he was talking about.

"Oh, I'm about to drown you, let's go." She pulls his hand down the hallway, rushing to the team bus to go back to the hotel.