Avery is a cheating shit.
Jesse mutters this to herself while getting ready to go out on Saturday night after a loss to the Ravens, Evergreen College's women's basketball team. Jesse is the captain of the Golden Eagles.
She tucks a black button-down into her jeans and buckles her belt. She fixes her short, cropped brown hair in the mirror and nods to herself. She's going out tonight with the team anyway -- fuck the Ravens. They worked hard this season and she's damn well going to celebrate with whiskey shots and dancing at the city's gay bar.
The night starts off well. Good music - the kind with a beat that she can roll her body to, relax into, let go of her stress. There's some good bangers that she sings along to with her teammates, smiling and buzzing with whiskey warm in her stomach. But when the night grows late, she notices Avery at the front of the bar, paying for her cover, and the whiskey rolls in her stomach. She clenches her jaw and Avery glances up, making eye contact. God dammit.
Jesse rips her eyes away before she can see how Avery responds, spinning around to the group on the dancefloor.
"What -?" her friend Tasha asks, peering behind her. "Oh. Whatever, Jesse. Fuck her. We came here to have a good night and that's what we're gonna do."
Jesse groans but nods. "You're right. Fuck it. I came here to dance." And she does, pretending like Avery isn't there, buying a drink at the bar, looking hot as hell in a leather jacket, then joining the other side of the dancefloor. She's definitely not thinking about her. She's having a great time, and not resisting a nagging urge to steal glances. Nope. Just dancing.
After a high energy song and at least an hour of dancing, Jesse gulps down a cup of water at the bar.
"Thirsty?" The familiar voice makes her shoulders tense.
She turns around. "Fuck off, Avery."
"Oh come on. I just wanted to say good game, captain."
Jesse scoffs. "That's rich, coming from someone who plays dirty."
Avery playfully frowns, and takes a step closer to her.
"I don't play dirty..." she says, glances down at Jesse's body, flicks her eyes back up to hers. She lowers her voice and smirks. "At least, on the court." Her seductive voice makes Jesse's blood grow hot.
"Whatever," Jesse rolls her eyes, trying to push past her.
"Wait -" Avery says, grabbing her arm. Jesse glares at her hand and Avery lets go. "Let me buy you a drink." At her continued glare, she adds, "Please. Captain to captain. Consider it good sportsmanship."
Jesse grits her teeth. "Fine."
This draws half a smile from Avery. "Great. Let me surprise you. I'll meet you out there."
Jesse rejoins the dancefloor with her heart still pounding as fast as when she left. She resumes dancing halfheartedly, distracted. The song changes to a slower number, with a deep bass that Jesse feels vibrating through her body.
Avery emerges with two shots of brown liquor, handing a glass to Jesse.
With the music so loud, she leans into Jesse's ear and yells, "If you can guess what it is, I owe you a pickup game. If you can't, you owe me a kiss."
Jesse pulls back and raises an eyebrow at her. She leans her body close to Avery to reply, and she pretends not to notice how hot their bodies feel pressed against each other, hoping that her warm skin doesn't look flushed under the bar's lights. Her lips next to Avery's ear, she yells back, "What makes you think I want either of those things from you?"
Avery shrugs and raises her glass to Jesse's. Jesse shakes her head and tips the shot back into her throat. Then she smiles. "It's Jameson," she laughs. "I'm a whiskey girl, you didn't stand a chance."
Avery nods and toasts her empty glass to Jesse. "Pickup game it is."
Jesse shakes her head again, still laughing, as the song changes to a great beat, and her body moves of its own accord. The conversation breaks off as the dancefloor blends into crowded dancing bodies, Avery near her but not quite dancing with her. Instead, she feels her eyes on her, watching her shake her hips and roll her body. Jesse's skin feels hot and a distinct throbbing in between her legs begins to form.
She needs to dance with someone and she pulls Tasha to her, knowing that her friend won't find it weird, and they move their bodies together and grin.
"What the fuck is happening here?" Tasha laughs.
"I don't know!" Jesse yells.
She turns around, grinding her ass against Tasha, and catching eyes with Avery, who openly watches her. This time, she can't look away. She keeps dancing under Avery's heated gaze, feeling her anger and attraction to this girl simmering.
Impulsively, she pulls Avery close and brings her lips to her ear. "I don't want to fucking play basketball with you!" she yells. Avery hasn't stopped dancing, and now it's right against Jesse's body.
"Okay," Avery smiles, unbothered.
"You're an asshole," Jesse says halfheartedly, her anger dulling to the rhythm of the music and the buzz of the whiskey and the feeling of Avery dancing against her and Tasha behind. Her feelings leave her head and settle in her body, thrumming with heat.
Avery's hands come to Jesse's waist. "Am I?" she asks.
"Yes," Jesse answers, their lips inches apart, but neither closes the distance. Avery keeps looking to her lips and back to her eyes, the tension burning between them, and Jesse can't take it anymore. She turns away from Avery, mouthing 'What do I do?' to a smirking Tasha.
"You fuck her, that's what!" Tasha yells in her ear, very unhelpfully, before leaving her stranded on the dancefloor with her searing desire and Avery's hands on her waist. Fuck.
She can't bring herself to turn back around to face Avery, so she presses her back into her chest, grinding to the beat and guiding Avery's hands down to her hips, rolling them back into hers. "Fuck," she hears Avery murmur against her ear. A fire burns down Jesse's body.
The song changes to Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", and Jesse pulls away, taking a step back and shaking her head at Avery, who is smiling and singing along. Avery pulls Jesse's hands in and guides her in a silly dance, crooning "Ohh, don't cha wanna dance, say you wanna dance, don't cha wanna dance?"
Jesse smiles and rolls her eyes, singing along and deciding to let go into whatever the fuck is happening here. Together they sing " I wanna feel the heat with somebody / Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody / With somebody who loves me." Avery spins her, but it's a little too fast and she loses balance, falling back into Avery's arms.
"Sorry," Avery laughs, steadying her. Jesse looks at this girl she's competed against all season, watched from across the court, envied for her skill, hated for her ruthless strategy, barely spoken to. Then her eyes flicker down to Avery's chest, where she's still gripping the edges of her leather jacket for balance, and to Avery's lips, and to Avery's eyes... that are watching her with an intensity that shoots jolts of electricity through Jesse's body.
The music pauses between songs, and Jesse leans in, brushing their lips, and murmurs in a low voice, "I don't want to fucking play basketball with you."
The music starts again - it's Juice by Lizzo - and the crowd is into it but Jesse and Avery don't notice.
Their lips meet softly, exploring, then harder, then bruising, tongues brushing in a rhythm that makes Jesse's knees weak. Jesse's hands slip under Avery's jacket, pulling her closer, feeling her hard body. Avery's hands slide down her body, trailing heat to her core and tugging a moan from her lips.
They kiss through the whole song, not coming up for air, and Jesse absently thinks Blame it on the juice is a good enough excuse for whatever the fuck else is going to happen tonight.
Avery tugs on her hand and pulls her through the crowd to the stairs, leading her up to the lounge with couches and a second bar. She orders two more shots of whiskey for them and motions for her to sit on an empty white couch with her.
"Cheers," she says with a smirk. Jesse resists the urge to roll her eyes. She clinks her glass with Avery's and tips the whiskey back into her mouth.
Avery leans in close to Jesse when she puts her empty glass down on the table. Closer than she needs to. She licks her lips and smirks at Jesse. Avery's arrogance pisses her off and turns her on. Jesse puts her glass down too and opens her mouth to say something when Avery's warm mouth finds hers, tasting like Jameson and mint gum. It's quieter up here, less people, just a few scattered couples also making out. The music is still loud and the bass thumps through her body while Avery's hands find her hair, pulling her in closer to the kiss.
The couch is wide and shallow, and when Avery leans back and pulls her back with her, they're basically horizontal. It makes Jesse think about other things that happen while horizontal, and fire sparks in her belly. The kiss grows more heated, and Jesse finds herself hooking her leg around Avery to pull her closer, while Avery's hand slips up her back under her shirt. They kiss for a long time, long enough for Jesse's lips to feel bruised and clit to throb in need.
"Fuck," Jesse pants, clinging to Avery's leather jacket. It's soft under her fingertips, the zipper rough.
Avery plays with the top button on her black shirt, slowly unbuttoning it. "What?" Avery asks, curious, teasing the skin where she's opened her shirt.
"You," Jesse breathes.
"Fuck me?" Avery says playfully, smirking and fingering the next button. Avery leans into Jesse's ear, promising in a low voice, "Only if you beg for it."
Jesse swallows and barely holds back a whimper. She pushes Avery down on the soft leather couch, climbing on top of her to kiss her again roughly, with a lust that's growing out of control. She tugs on Avery's hair, her jacket, her belt. She wants her. Fuck, she wants her. She's not supposed to want her. She's supposed to hate her basketball rival, not ask her to call an Uber home and fuck her. Shit. Her teammates are still here, they would see her leave with Avery. Wait. They've already seen her make out with Avery. Oh god.
Avery is still kissing her while Jesse has an internal meltdown. Finally, she pulls away from the kiss. "I need another drink," she announces.
Avery agrees and returns with another shot of Jameson and a glass of water, like a thoughtful fucking gentleman.
Jesse waves away the water, yelling "You think I need this shit?" and downs the shot. Avery shrugs and drinks the water herself.
Avery sits and puts a hand on Jesse's thigh, leaning into her ear and asking in a voice that comes out huskier than intended, "Can I take you home?"
Jesse thought she'd never ask. She hides her smile and nods. Avery pulls out her phone and orders the Uber. 7 minutes away. "Can we... stay up here?" Jesse asks, glancing down to the first floor of the bar. "Til it gets here?"
Avery nods - she doesn't care, she would have agreed to anything in that moment. She kisses Jesse again, still nodding, putting her hands on both sides of her face and pulling her in close. They kiss for 6 minutes and run down the stairs and out of the bar, not running into any teammates on the way, thank God.
