Page 59 of Hard Count
“Yeah?” Noah said.
“I think we need to get through the season first before we rush into things,” Piper continued.
Noah laughed quietly. “There it is.”
“Our teams are tied.”
“I was waiting for you to say that.”
“It matters.”
“So do other things.”
Piper smiled slightly.
“We’ll see.”
“Night, sexy. We are not deciding what this is until the end of the season. It’s a deal.”
***
The underwear campaign’s behind-the-scenes commercial hit, and the reaction was colossal.
The cut included rough iPhone video from between takes and was released without Piper or Noah ever approving the spot.
The locker room television looped it without sound. Everyone was watching the last twenty seconds of the commercial, that was the moment generating the most conversation. The footage caught Noah and Piper entering the single occupancy bathroom together.
Piper sat at his locker, phone in one hand, tape in the other. Messages stacked faster than he could read them.
He texted Vivienne. Did they send you this shit?
Three dots. This is scorched earth. Do not respond to anyone. We’re dealing with it.
Three dots, a pause, then a GIF from the movieWaiting to Exhale. Angela Bassett lighting the match, and throwing it into her ex-husband’s BMW.
Piper almost laughed.
A second message came from Vivienne.
Do not try to manage this alone.
He finished wrapping his wrist and opened up the ad on his X feed since he hadn’t seen the entire edit yet.
The camera stayed longer than it should have. Close enough to suggest something, the bathroom door closing and the look on their faces as they entered.
Tank glanced up at the screen.
“They’re calling it a cultural moment.”
“They’re trying to sell underwear.”
“Sure. Also, everyone thinks you two got together on that set.”
“Everyone is wrong.”
The clip restarted.
“So, what happened in the bathroom?”
