That rookie and her vet in Connecticut love playing with our feelings. Marina Mabrey and Saniya Rivers have made an art form out of teasing a suspiciously close relationship short of confirming an exclusive romance. Look at their latest offering. The Connecticut Sun dropped the BTS of Mabrey’s photoshoot today. The only catch? Saniya Rivers. The hugs, the proximity, the hands on waists, they’re all driving fans crazy. And yet, no confirmation.

The team is in on the fun too. They dropped the clip with a casual caption – “The @connecticutsun duo Saniya Rivers and Marina Mabrey have graced us with their presence and delivered the fire photos 😍”

Duo. Like an oncourt duo? With all that cuteness overload? These aren’t even team photos in Sun jerseys. Mabrey and Rivers are dressed for an All-Star weekend party. Yeah, the Sun is enjoying playing hard to get as much as this more than likely but unlabeled couple.

Mabrey is rehabbing her knee while getting close to the #8 draft select of this year. But to the observant, this isn’t a classic rookie-vet friendship.

Mabrey has only ever praised the 22-year-old’s performance on court, even when the team lost. And Rivers revealed that she didn’t have a good first impression of the guard. Sounds run of the mill. But their interactions and this photoshoot didn’t convince fans there’s nothing deeper.

Kysrae Gondrezick and fans go wild

It’s only the hawk-eyed WNBA fans who are invested in Mabrey and Rivers’ closeness. It’s even the people inside the WNBA circles. Kysre Gondrezick saw the cuteness in this photoshoot and summarized everyone’s reaction with a “😍” emoji.

If only Kysrae investigated a little for our poor little hearts. Then we wouldn’t be asking, “Is this a hard launch because I’m very here for it!!😍“

Earlier this week, Mabrey and Rivera’s pool party livestream with just the two of them turned the Internet upside down. And now this photoshoot in matching earthy tones and their distinctive styles. “Once you start matchin’ as the ol folks say 😂😂😂😂❤️” one fan righteously put it.

To think we almost never got this if Mabrey got her way. This offseason, the 28-year-old requested a trade out of Connecticut. The Suns refused which made her agent very furious. And then the team drafts Saniya Rivera and all is right in Connecticut. Or as this one puts it, “And they were teammates ❤️❤️” Some of us are just grateful like, “I’m glad Marina stayed with Connecticut.”

And as for this photoshoot, most fans think it’s plenty. Comments like, “Allegations confirmed 😍 lmao my favs idc idc” abound. Though if they do want to announce it this All-Star Weekend, we won’t complain.