How can Juneau Cortez not be romantic about baseball with someone as beautiful as Mykie Taylor on the field?
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For Juneau Cortez and Mykie Taylor, Bosto...
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The first time Juneau visited New York City, she thought she had stepped straight onto a movie set. Juneau spent her entire life dreaming of traveling there, maybe calling it home for a few years, just to say she tried it. Her parents said they liked New York City better in the 90s. Said it reminded them of Philly, though they preferred the smaller scale of their hometown.
She figured this romanticized view of the city was one of the main reasons she fell in love with the Yankees, despite disgruntled pushback from her Philly parents, not to mention her brother, who grew up to be a Red Sox player. Seeing Yankee Stadium in person for the first time nearly took her breath away. The surrealness of calling a Yankee one of her best friends never quite went away.
Juneau didn't want to admit to her friends and cohosts that she wanted to do anything but what they were scheduled for that day. For one, she barely survived the trip. Juneau could hardly believe the sheer lack of enthusiasm for flying into her favorite city, but that was a given, considering she had to leave on her brother's birthday. She felt terrible about it. Tried everything she could to reschedule, but to no avail. The only reason she could stomach leaving was by convincing herself it was leveling the playing field from when he ditched her on her birthday five years ago for reasons. (No hard feelings.) (She got it.) (They were allowed butthead privileges on occasion.)
She texted Rory Mack Jr. the address for The Gaze office building and the time they were supposed to be done for the day. The interview portion was up first, with the following day scheduled for the photo shoot at a bowling alley being rented out. She couldn't decide what was worse—being forced to talk about herself or being dolled up for the cameras. In the end, it all made her want to vomit.
It was a good opportunity. The exposure would help propel them into more spaces. Didn't make it any easier, despite how much she tried to convince herself of it.
Exposure equaled more attention. More attention meant more criticism. Criticism in the public eye often translated more toward general hate, especially since they were a podcast full of queer women and a non-binary person. Juneau saw the hate that reached others who belonged to those same marginalized communities and identities. She already hated being perceived on a daily basis by regular, everyday people with whom she interacted. Juneau couldn't begin to imagine how to process judgment on a much larger and more vicious scale.
At least she didn't have to go back to a lonely hotel room to wallow in misery afterward. It had taken nothing to convince Rory to let her stay over at his place while she was in the city. As nice as they were sometimes, Juneau preferred sleeping in an actual home. Spending time with him was a bonus since it didn't happen as often as they would like.
Given this was a work trip, Juneau and New York City were reintroduced to each other as strangers. Back home in Boston or Philly, Juneau was known for being grounded and sure of herself, whether as a facade or because she genuinely knew what she was doing there. But here? For a job? Who the fuck knew anymore? Not her. It was like learning how to walk all over again. She tripped over herself and into other people, because she had suddenly grown two left feet. Adelaide kept having to shout words of encouragement while Hollis rubbed their hand reassuringly against her back.
