Chapter 23
From the AirTran rail that took them to the east side of Manhattan for them to check into the hotel, to the too-small for seats pizza shop they’d gotten a slice at, to the cab ride back into Brooklyn to meet Rowan’s friends, Juniper took in everything.
“Holy shit, Rowan. This city is huge.”
She stepped out of the cab and onto the sidewalk in front of a gym. She was pretty sure. Then she took in the smell of hot pavement and lingering city trash.
Rowan paid the cab driver and thanked him before stepping out behind Juniper.
“Junie, when I tell you I was a literal hermit when I first moved here.”
“You were… twenty-two?” She guessed. She actually didn’t know.
Rowan nodded. “Everyone is sheltered before they move here. But I was totally unprepared. This city will show you a lot of things.”
“Like what?” Juniper narrowed her eyes skeptically.
Catching onto Juniper’s hidden meaning, Rowan scratched the back of her neck. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
Juniper loved to watch her squirm. “So unassumingly charming. So disarmingly attractive. Then, so mind-blowingly good in bed.”
Rowan smirked and shook her head. “Junie, you’re wild. I’m sure Manny would love to tell you all about my absolute lack of game when he first met me.”
“When he first met you… but then I bet you had your pick, here.”
“I have my pick, now.” Rowan tapped her on the nose. “File those jealous feelings away for later. There are things I want to do with those.”
“Fine, me too. You lived here, in this neighborhood?”
“For the last few years, yeah. I lived in uptown Manhattan for school.”
“I’m guessing that’s not near here.”
Rowan chuckled. “No, not at all. At least an hour on the subway.”
“Damn.” Juniper tilted her head side to side as she kept piecing things together. “And you met Manny at school? Then started Climate Justice Collective and moved here with him.”
“That’s right–”
“Rowan!” She heard a deep voice rasp from down the block.
“Manny!”
Juniper watched Rowan collapse into the hug of her friend after he jogged the remaining few steps between them.
They teetered back and forth as they squeezed each other.
Manny was a few inches taller than Rowan with deep brown skin and a wide toothy grin.
Juniper had worried whether Rowan’s friends would accept her, but even before speaking to him directly, she felt instantly at ease in his presence.
“Ugh, I’ve missed you, man.”
He still hadn’t let go. Rowan patted him on the back a few times as they finally separated.
“Manny, this is my girlfriend Juniper.”
Rowan held out a hand to bring Juniper closer to them. Juniper grasped it and joined them in their new circle configuration.
“That Juniper.” Manny’s eyes sparkled.
“I guess so,” Juniper laughed. “That probably means more than one thing.”
They dodged a couple people leaving the gym, so Manny held the door open for them to enter and laughed with her. “Yeah, you’d be right.”
With her hand on the small of Juniper’s back, Rowan led her through the gym toward the back where the basketball court was located.
Juniper was introduced to several of Rowan’s friends who greeted her warmly, pulling her into hugs and commenting how excited they were to meet the woman that in some ways they already felt like they knew.
Juniper’s lips twitched from a suppressed smile when Manny gave her a knowing look. He leaned into her while Rowan was still caught up in conversation with another friend.
“So you see, you are quite literally that Juniper.”
“I am seeing I am quite literally that bitch.” She bumped a shoulder to the sky.
Cracking up, Manny threw his arm around her shoulder. “You’re funny, lady. I like you. I wish you guys were here longer. There’s so much more we can get into.”
She peered over at him and grinned. “I’m sure we’ll be back.”
“Manny, you remembered to bring me some shorts and a shirt, right?”
“For sure, for sure.” Manny let go of Juniper and held up a small tote bag he’d been carrying on his shoulder.
Rowan accepted the bag in one hand and pulled Juniper in to give her a kiss. “I’m going to go change.” She extended her arm past Juniper to point toward the bleachers, and Juniper turned her head to follow the motion. “Feel free to sit anywhere up there.”
Juniper nuzzled into her side and pulled away to scan for a seat.
“And if you don’t want to sit and watch, or if you get bored, just tell me.” Rowan drew her eyebrows together in concern. “There’s a million other things we could do in the city.”
Juniper slid her hand underneath the edge of Rowan’s short-sleeved button down and scratched her nails along the bare, firm skin of Rowan’s stomach. “I’ll be fine,” she whispered. “I want you to spend time with your friends. Besides, I want to watch you get sweaty.”
“As long as you help clean me up.”
“Win your game first.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Juniper climbed the bleachers a little less than halfway and settled in to people-watch.
She surprisingly didn’t feel out of place.
It was as simple as watching her girlfriend play a random pick-up game on a Monday afternoon after work.
She watched the game’s organization slowly come to life below.
Then she watched Rowan stroll out of the locker rooms in basketball shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt and clap hands with Manny.
She oozed confidence as she stood with her hands low on her hips to talk about what Juniper assumed was strategy with the other players.
Okay, it was as simple as watching her very fucking hot girlfriend play a random pick-up game on a Monday afternoon after work.
Juniper’s phone vibrated with a message from Wren. She was thankful for the distraction.
How is it? Are you having a good time??
Juniper smiled as she typed back.
I’m having a great time. We’ve been mostly traveling around today, but I got to meet her best friend. He seems really genuine and funny. Sitting in the bleachers now waiting for them to play a basketball game.
Three dots flashed for a few seconds before a new message appeared.
That’s cute. You get to be all supportive girlfriend. I’m so happy you gave yourself permission to finally feel what you wanted to feel.
Juniper looked up to see an unbelievably gorgeous woman with a high ponytail of black micro braids in a matching pink spandex shorts and sports bra set walk onto the court.
Tall, with long legs and a toned ass, she greeted Manny, and lingered near Rowan.
The woman took the basketball curled under her left arm and bounced it once, catching it with both hands, and passed it to Rowan. Rowan took it under her right arm.
She watched Rowan duck her head down to listen to something the woman whispered in her ear.
Rowan quickly looked up, making eye contact with Juniper in the bleachers, as she shook her head and pointed toward her.
Juniper’s heart stopped when she noticed she’d been caught staring at the interaction, but she didn’t break away.
She watched the woman turn to face her, smile brightly, and wave as she mouthed ‘hi.’ Juniper hoped she didn’t look too apprehensive as she waved back.
She looked back down at her phone and typed.
Other teammates are attractive.
More dots as she waited.
I’m confused. Like you want to fuck them?
More dots…
No nevermind, you think she’s fucked them. Juniper, get out of your damn head and have some fun.
More dots…
Send me pictures though.
Juniper rolled her eyes and responded.
So horny.
She put her phone away and watched the game. The score remained neck-and-neck until Manny was fouled in the last few seconds of the game. The fate of the game rested on a single shot.
It took Rowan two steps to cross over to Manny where he stood behind the free throw line.
She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and leaned into his ear to give a little pep talk, then squeezed his shoulder a few moments later before retaking her spot on the three-point line behind him.
Manny rolled his neck and shook out his shoulders.
Juniper wanted to laugh at how seriously they were all taking this game, but instead she scrunched up her nose when Rowan looked up at her and smiled at how happy she was.
Juniper gave a thumbs up, and Rowan laughed, making Juniper laugh anyway. Her joy was infectious.
She got her phone back out and typed a new message to Wren.
She’s so in her element here. She’s happy at home, right? You’ve seen her laugh a lot and–
She deleted it and watched her very hot girlfriend’s team win their game.
The team was still cheering Manny on as she finished descending the bleachers. After Juniper joined in with the post-game celebrations, they both naturally separated from the group together as teammates began to filter their way out.
“Your teammates all seem like they’re a lot of fun.”
Rowan tipped her water bottle back to finish it. “They are. This was really great, Juniper. Thank you for letting me do this and sitting through it.”
“I didn’t just sit through it. I had a lot of fun. Your happiness makes me happy.”
Rowan looked at her pensively for a few moments. “Your happiness makes me happy too.”
“Okay.” She ran her fingers through her hair. For some reason, she felt uncharacteristically shy as she turned her face to the side. “You were talking to someone at the beginning you didn’t introduce me to.”
“Who, Nia? She asked if I moved back, and I told her that I was here with you for work.”
Juniper wondered if she’d said she was her girlfriend.
“She’s really beautiful.”
“She is. And she’s married to Manny’s cousin who also plays on the team. And she told me she was very happy for me that the woman I always talked about is now my girlfriend. And they had to leave straight after the game to pick up their two kids from the babysitter.”
“Oh,” Juniper said quietly.