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plot: in which, jess catches feelings for a woman known to never commit

trope: one night stand

pairings: wbb! reader x jessica shepard

warnings: uh none

a/n: alright, so we gon do natisha and kah next xx 🙂‍↕️ if y'all got anyone u wanna add to the list lmk

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"Hey, who's that?"

Jess had just stopped by her usual practice court to obviously practice when she noticed a woman on the court shooting three's by herself. "Oh her? She's just an overseas player. She asked if she could use the court." She nodded, taking a seat to lace up her shoes, still keeping her eyes on the woman. She didn't look very familiar and she played overseas quite a lot so she should've recognized her.

She stood up, making her way over to approach the woman. "Need a rebounder?"

She brushed her hair from her face, turning to look at her. A smile found her lips, the all too familiar piercings in her face and that did it. She knew who this was. She didn't know her name, but she knew the face. Her friend had hooked up with her before. She had ranted about how much a bitch she was after she had ditched her after a one night stand. She was a known player, and that didn't just apply to basketball.

"I do. Thank you." The way she spoke was just how her friend described it. She had this smooth voice, a voice so addicting you'd get mesmerized by it. Her eyes were bright, but tired, she almost looked high. She was decently tall, but not taller than her.

"I know you."

She tilt her head, raising her brow in curiosity, "do ya now?"

"Yeah. You uh, you hooked up with my friend in France." She said, passing her the ball and she shot another three like it was nothing. She seemed amused with her sentence. "Really? So you know me by association?"

Jess nods, passing the ball back to her again. "She never told me your name though."

She grinned, knocking in another three as she gave her name to the woman. Jess picked up the rebound and passed it back to her. "Do you know who I am?" Y/n nods, shooting another 3 but missing when it bounced off the rim. "Jessica Shepard. Minnesota's power forward. I may play overseas but that doesn't mean I don't keep up with the W."

"What position do you play?" She guessed it was a guard due to the practice 3s, but it could be different.

"Point guard, and forward. I like to switch it up." She shrugged, catching the ball and moving to the center to shoot her 3s from there.

"Aren't you a bit short to be under the basket?" She remarked.

She chuckled in amusement, "Carrington's 5'11 and she's a pretty decent forward so I think I'm fine." Jess pursed her lips, nodding her head before catching the rebound again. "Well, you're taller than Carrington. Aren't you?" She nods, catching the ball into her hands, "I am."

"What's an overseas player like you doing in Minnesota?"

"You ask a lot of questions," she mused, dribbling the ball rather than shooting so she could give Jess her attention. She shrugged, the smallest smile pulling at her lips. "I wanna get to know you. Is that a crime?" It made her smile. It always did when someone was interested in her after only a few minutes of being in her presence.

"I'm scouting teams."

Her brows perked up in interest, "really? What for? To coach or play?"

"Play."

"Oh, so you're the one who's gonna be watching our practice on Monday." She recalled her coach mentioning it but didn't pay it much attention.

"Yup. That's me." She nods, shooting the ball for a 3 and making it in.

"Is Minnesota the only team you're scouting?"

"Nah. I'm scouting all of 'em. I'm tryna see which team is gonna need me the most next year." Jess chuckled at her answer as she caught the rebound. "I'd suggest looking at Dallas and LA, maybe even Chicago. They need all the help they can get."

She nods, dribbling the ball before shooting it. "I'll take that under consideration."

"So, how come you're just coming the W?"

"Well firstly, overseas paid more, and I needed the money. But, I promised my mom I'd come back to the states so she could actually come to one of my games." She explained, surprising herself with that because she hardly ever talked about herself to someone she just met. Not even her teammates overseas knew this much about her. She was super closed off about her personal life.

She smiled, suddenly beginning to understand why her friend was so obsessed with this girl after just one night with her. She had such a vibrant, chilled out personality. She was super easy to talk to. "That's very honorable of you."

She chuckled, throwing the ball at her and she caught it, obviously. "Don't mock me!"

Jess laughed, holding her hands up in surrender, "I'm not! I swear! I'm bein' serious. That's really honorable. Family is everything."

She smiled, humming to herself as she picked up the ball. "You right. Family is everything." She tossed the ball back to her, "come on. Show me what you got. We could be teammates next year. Gotta build up that chemistry early." Realistically, she wasn't gonna choose Minnesota after this, but Jessica didn't have to know that.

After a very eventful workout, they were exhausted by the end of it. Catching her breath, Jess glanced at the player, "I don't think I was expecting you to be that good." Y/n grinned arrogantly, loving when she surprised people. "I get that a lot."

"Hey, if you don't have any plans, you wanna grab some dinner?" She asked, really wanting to spend more time with her. If they were gonna be teammates, they might as well build the friendship early.

"Uh, yeah, I don't got plans."

An hour later, they were at a burger place together 'cause she declined going anywhere extravagant. "So what are you looking for in a team? Besides needing your help."

"For one, I gotta have a coach that actually listens to their players. If you don't take what I'm saying into consideration, it's not gon' work out." She explained, picking up her burger to take a bite as Jess nodded, completely understanding her point. "Nah, I get that. That's why I'm so grateful for my coach, 'cause she really listens to us, and understands our point of view."

"I don't really have the highest expectations though. I just want to be listened to, and treated fairly." Jess nodded in agreement with her words. She wasn't asking for much, just common decency. "What about teammates? Are you one of those girls who has an ego?" She joked.

She laughed sarcastically, "cute, but no. As cocky as I am, I'm not one of those arrogant players who hogs the ball and takes all the spotlight. You don't win anything without a team. I'm nothing without my teammates. But, again, I do want my teammates to listen to me, and I'll listen to them. Communication is so important in the locker room and on the court. I learned that the hard way."

Jess raised a brow, wondering what she meant by that last part. "Really? What do you mean by that?" She winced, wondering if she should tell her the story. "Come on. I can tell there's a story. Just tell me. I won't tell a soul. I promise."

She huffed, taking a bite of her fry before gathering the story in her head. "Okay, I had this teammate, who was dating this other player on a different team. I didn't know who she was, and when we played against that team, I ended up sleeping with her. My teammate found out, and she didn't pass me the ball for three straight games. I literally had no idea what the problem was until she told who her girlfriend was."

Jessica just laughed, and y/n's expression made it so much better. She was not amused, more mortified if anything. "Honestly, that's like the best karma story I've ever heard."

"Okay, it's not that funny." She scowled, but she did really like Jess's laugh, and didn't mind if she kept going. "And it's not even my fault. How was I supposed to know they were dating? She never implied she had a girlfriend when she was under me." She covered her mouth to try and contain her laughter. The more she tried to explain the funnier it was.

"I'm sorry- actually, I'm not. This is funny as fuck. She handled that the same way I would. That ball would never touch your hands again." That got a laugh out of y/n, and God did she have the most contagious laugh. "I was so mad though. I had a streak of double-doubles and she fucked it up."

"Your poor streak," she frowned mockingly.

She laughed, throwing a fry at her, "very funny."

"So," Jess cleared her throat, leaning back in her chair, peeping the way y/n checked her out. "What's your type?"

"Fine as fuck."

Jess grinned, nodding slowly, "good to know I'm your type then."

Two hours later, one of those spent at a bar, they were walking in the city, heading in the direction of y/n's hotel, which was conveniently near Jessica's apartment. She really didn't want to end the night here. She had to spend more time with y/n. She noticed her rubbing her arms and immediately pulled off her hoodie, "put this on."

Y/n bit back a smirk, taking the hoodie and pulling it on. It smelled good, obviously. Jess reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers, and maybe it was the alcohol in her system making her so bold 'cause it wasn't common for her to act like this. Just in the few hours she spent with this woman, she was smitten. "I uh..I got more drinks back at my place. I don't think our night should end here."

She knew this was wrong. That spending more and more time with her would give her mixed signals. It felt like leading her on. But, she couldn't think about that now. Not when Jess was staring at her with those low, seductive eyes. She couldn't turn that down. She couldn't turn Jess down. She was too fucking fine. "I'd love that actually."

They walked back to her apartment, Jess letting her inside first before flipping on the lights. Y/n kicked off her heels and pushed them to the side. "You like red wine?" Jess asked, setting her keys on the table.

She grinned, pushing her hair behind her ear, "I love it."

She took a seat on the couch, getting comfortable as Jess poured her a glass. She glanced around her place, it was nice, obviously. It was neat, smelled good too. Jess connected her phone to play some music, 90's R&B, obviously. Music always set the mood. "You like SZA? If you don't...I'm afraid I gotta kick you out."

She laughed, taking the glass into her hands. "I love SZA."

Jess took a seat beside her, arm resting on the cushions behind her. "What else do you like?"

She hummed, taking a sip of her wine before setting it down on the table. She inched closer to her, "why do you want so much about me?"

Jess smiled, shrugging a shoulder, "'cause I like you."

"That's not a good thing."

"Why not?"

She sighed, "'cause I won't feel the same."

Jessica was determined if anything. She liked y/n, obviously. She didn't care if she denied it. She was determined to get this girl to like her. To do what her friend couldn't do. "Yes, you will."

She laughed softly, shaking her head in amusement. "You really think you can persuade me to fall for you? With what? Your charm?"

Jess shrugs, leaning in to meet her eyes, "well, I was gonna say my mouth but charm works too." She smiled, not sure what to say to that so she didn't say anything at all. It was quiet, Jess internally battling with herself on whether to kiss her or not. So much it was starting to frustrate y/n. "If you wanna kiss me, just go for it. That's why you brought me here, isn't it?"

"Aw, how'd you figure it out?" She mocked, smiling before she pulled her into the kiss. She placed her hand on her face, deepening it as her other hand hooked under her legs to pull them onto the couch. She shifted between them, sliding her hand up her thigh to slip it under her hoodie. She broke the kiss to pull her hoodie off, her shirt on the floor right after that.

Y/n smirked as Jess eyed her chest, only covered with a black bra. "Don't worry, baby. I'll let you keep it as a souvenir."

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It was Monday. Jessica was looking forward to seeing y/n. Given she literally woke up the next morning and she was no where in sight. The only thing she left behind was her bra. She even took Jess's hoodie with her.

As they were in the locker room, their assistant coach stepped in to let them know their guest had canceled, so she wouldn't be scouting practice. All the color faded from Jess's face in that moment. Her mood was down the whole practice and it was very noticeable. Natisha, being the compassionate one she was, walked over to see what was up.

She dapped her up before sitting down, Court walking over with a water bottle in hand. "What's up wit' you?"

"I got stood up," Jess answered, leaning back into her chair.

"Wait- what you mean by that?" Court furrowed her brows, taking a seat on the other side of her. "What's goin' on?"

"Y'all know who y/n is?"

Court and T both share a look and grin at the mention of their friend. "Yeahhh, she a dawg. Right, T?"

T grins, dapping her up excitedly, "yeah, she a baddie too. You know her?"

Jess pursed her lips awkwardly, "I hooked up with her."

Their jaws went slack, a ton of thoughts running through their head. "You lyin."

Jess laughed, shaking her head, "I ain't lyin' I swear. I got proof too."

Court furrowed her brows, "how? You get her number?"

"I got her bra."

T was completely taken back by that. "Her bra? Like- the thing you put on your..?"

Court shot her a look, "what else a bra supposed to do?" She deadpanned. She turned to Jess, "what you doin' wit' her bra?"

"She left it there, and took my hoodie. I didn't even get her number. She just told me she was in Minnesota to come and watch one of our practices." She explained, still very much bummed out by today.

Court winced, immediately picking up that she got played. "Oh, shit. You caught them feelin's ain't you?" Jess sighed, nodding her head with a soft exhale.

T patted her shoulder sympathetically, "happens to the best of us."

"T, you is not helpin'."

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