Damn I Love Miami
unrivaled!Paige Bueckers x fem!reader
wc: 2.8k
synopsis: Paige comes to Miami for Unrivaled and develops a newfound appreciation for the city—and a certain bald musician. Coincidentally, that appreciation begins the night she meets a local on a dance floor.
a/n: hey y'all, first fic so please be nice?? Anyway, super super sad for Paige but glad she seems to not be in terrible shape bc that fall was nasty, upsetting she'll be out for tmrws game & prolly Wednesdays but whatever best for her health & we def praying for her. Constructive criticism and tips are always appreciated but please remember that I do this for fun & am not a professional @ all. Ive also never been in the Miami club scene or a club at all so not all of this may be accurate. Love u all bad and prayers up for P again 💗
To say Miami had been treating Paige well was an understatement. She was getting paid to play the sport she loved, with some of her best friends, and get wasted every night in one of the best party cities in the country. She was loving life. Unrivaled was incredible, she loved the girls she was playing with along with the staff working the program, she was gaining so much of her confidence back and was growing as an athlete in preparation for her 2nd year on the Wings.
The warm weather from South Florida was incredible as well, after spending five long, cold years in Connecticut and one outlandishly hot WNBA season in Dallas, she was desperately craving a nice beach vacation. She was also craving a nice hookup. Which the girls on Breeze BC had promised she would get at some point during Unrivaled.
“You're hot, famous and young in Miami, you're gonna get some… trust.”
Their promises were empty so far. She had been out to a club almost every night since she touched down in Miami and still hadn't gotten any action whatsoever. She had gotten close, flirting with girls and buying them drinks but it would usually just end in a messy makeout session that would get cut short by a blacked-out friend who needed to be taken home. She was starting to lose hope as her friends were getting ready to go out again. She wasn't making any moves to change out of her post-scrimmage jersey, instead scrolling mindlessly on social media. Her teammate, Rickea, stared at her from the bathroom mirror as she applied a mocha lip liner.
“P, you best be comin’ right? You can't give up when you haven't gotten anything this whole trip!”
“I be gettin’ buckets!”
Paige protested, sitting up on the white hotel sheets. Rickea rolled her eyes and turned to face her.
“Paige Bueckers I refuse to let you sit in this hotel room alone when you could be double fisted listening to Pitbull. Get the fuck up!”
“Rick’ i’on know… i ain't got nothin’ this whole trip. It's just gonna be the same shit over again.”
Rickea sighed and begrudgingly walked over to Paige's makeshift closet, sifting through the blonde's clothes before pulling out an outfit for her to wear. Then one thing led to another and somehow Paige found herself in the back of an Uber with her friends heading towards a club, the driver had a Pitbull and Lil Jon song playing at a medium volume from his speakers. One that Paige had heard almost every day she’d been in South Florida and was starting to hate. Damn I love Miami. As she and her teammates exited and thanked the driver, immediately met with a brick wall of humidity and the blinding neon lights of whatever club they were at tonight, she had one thought. She was gonna really fucking hate Miami and Pitbull if nothing came of this night.
Being a local in the 305 had an endless amount of perks. The warm weather all year long, the vibrant and diverse multicultural scene, and of course, the nightlife was always bustling and full of life. You and your friends had especially taken a liking to the clubs and drinking. It was almost tradition for you all to get dressed up and stay out bar-hopping from sunset Friday night to sunrise Saturday morning, and this week was no different. You stood in the closet of your apartment, your friend standing next to you while three different outfits laid out on your floor.
The first was a black lace corset top with cheetah print shorts and black heels, the second a red latex bodysuit and a jean mini skirt, or third a sheer mesh top with a black bra underneath and a black mini skirt.
“I say the cheetah print, it'll make you look hot. You haven't got a pass at anything in forever.”
You nodded in agreement as you hung up the two rejected outfits.
“I know! I had high hopes for spring break, and then I had that thing with that one girl from SoCal but she turned out to be psycho… I dunno what's been up with the dating pool recently but it's been ass.”
“I did hear there was some professional women's basketball team in town for the winter or something but I dunno if they can like party and shit…”
You were staring at the black top in the mirror, trying to decide if you should add a belt or not when your friend walked in and screeched.
“Oh my god girl! You look so fucking good!”
You laughed and took a full body glance at yourself. You did look good, you had to say, the shorts showed off your long, tanned legs from hours on the beach, and the top accentuated your curves perfectly. You ran your nails through your hair one last time and applied your lip combo before following your friend out to your uber.
“Wait… who did you say was in town?”
You looked at your friend in the backseat of your Uber as faint house music played through the speakers.
“Some professional team… I think it's called Unrivaled or something? It's like Paige Bueckers and Stewie and shi’ if im thinkin’ of the right thing.”
You nodded, opening up your Instagram and searching Paige Bueckers into the search bar. Sure enough, a blonde woman in her mid-twenties popped up. Your eyebrows raised as you noticed the follower count,
“She has 3 mil…”
You nudged your friend who had a similar reaction to yours.
“Not like we’d see them or anything but geez”
your friend looked over your shoulder as you clicked around on her profile a little more. You noticed she had posted on her story and viewed it out of pure curiosity, assuming that if she and her friends did go out, they would go to a more selective and private club and not something as mainstream. What you didn't expect to find was her latest story, a purple-tinted photo of her and a few teammates at a club you recognized immediately.
“Oh my god… they’re at fucking E11, should we go?”
Your friend stared at you with a smirk,
“oh you're getting some tonight.”
By the time you and your friend entered E11 it had already gotten packed in there. Your senses were immediately overloaded with weed, cologne, perfume, and liquor. You held on tightly to your friend's arm as you two weaved your way to the bar for a drink. You surveyed the dance floor looking for a particular blonde but came up unsuccessful. Your friend must've noticed your glance because she turned to you and said lowly,
“By the photo she posted it looked like they were in the second room,”
she gestured to an adjacent room that had more purplish lights and not the stark blue like the one you were currently standing in. You trusted your friend's judgement and let her lead you blindly as she frequented this club more than you did. Once you two finally made your way through the thick walls of people and hit the bar top, your friend immediately started talking the bartender up and ordered both of you something that would make you two warm and loose while also not making you guys messy. You glanced over your shoulder as the DJ started playing a house remix of some popular rap song when your eyes fell on a particularly tall blonde.
She was wearing light pink bedazzled jeans with a white short sleeve collared button up and a matching pink brand logo on the front. Her hair was pulled into a slicked bun and she had on glasses. She and her teammates (you assumed by the height) moved through the crowded club with such nonchalance and confidence it was almost as if they commanded a room to look at them. You had seen enough famous people in clubs to know the ones that knew what they were doing and the ones that didn't, and Paige did not. She had that athlete swagger about her, yes, but unlike her friends who led the charge through the wall of people, she hung back a little. She was either 1. Forced to go, or 2. didn't go to clubs often.
You didn't know which was which. You weren't a big women's basketball fan, often choosing to watch a different sport that was more popular where you lived, but you had heard of Paige Bueckers. Who hadn't? The girl had gone viral. You swore that every other video on your For You Page was either an edit, a clip from a livestream, or a highlight from a game.
But you never really cared enough to take her seriously. Until now. At the same time you noticed Paige and another walking up to the bar, your friend turned and handed you a drink. You took it with a grin and noticed her eyes travel past your shoulder and up to what you assumed was Paige. Your friend smirked and leaned in,
"She's like right behind you, make eye contact and flirt a little and then we’ll go in the room there and see if she bites.”
You nodded, following her as she pushed through the crowd. You caught Paige's eye as you walked past, raising your eyebrows slightly and giving her an appreciative once over. Your eyes lingering on her biceps down to her hands. You made eye contact with her blue orbs one last time before getting pulled into the sea of people by your friend.
Paige quickly realized that if she was gonna get through this night, she was gonna need a lot of Dirty Shirleys. She had already had three along with two shots with Teesh. Then after she was dragged onto the dance floor for an off-key rendition of Love by Keyisha Cole, she finally broke away from the group with Rickea to grab more drinks. As she drifted through the crowd her eyes landed on a pair of dangerously small cheetah print shorts. Her eyes appreciatively looked up and down the long expanse of your tanned legs and arms.
When she finally looked up and met your eyes, she found that you were copying her actions. Her head almost unintentionally followed you through the sea of bodies, only snapping back in front of herself when you became unrecognizable in the crowd.
“Damn P, she was feelin’ you!”
Rickea teased as the two of them ordered more drinks. Paige rolled her eyes, not feeling like arguing when her body already felt warm from your stare mixed with the vodka.
“You see where she went?”
Paige asked, weaving her gaze throughout the club trying to get another look at you. Rickea shook her head slowly before raising a hand to point at the room Paige and some other Unrivaled players were in. Rickea was quiet for a few moments before laughing and looking back at Paige.
“P, her friends talking with Teesh… girl this is your chance!”
Paige distractedly thanked the bartender as she tried to witness what Rickea was describing. She let out a sigh when her eyes finally landed on the scene. Natisha was clearly flirting with your friend and your friend clearly just wanted a free drink, which made Paige let out a laugh.
“Let's go ask her about her friend!”
Rickea didn't really give Paige a choice, just dragging her back into the crowd. By the time the two finally got back to their group, your friend was already gone but after talking with Teesh for a moment Rickea pointed to where you and your friend were already on the dance floor.
“Go P, you've been sulking this whole entire night because you haven't gotten laid and now you have the chance.”
Paige rolled her eyes but, with the addition of Teesh and downing the rest of her dirty Shirley, she pushed her way onto the dance floor.
You were a slut for two things in the club, free drinks and latin house music. Which you were 2 for 2 of right now. Your friend had gotten some famous person to buy both you and her a free drink, and now you two were getting down to Daddy Yankee and Pitbull. You took a sip of your Vodka Redbull as your eyes scanned the heads in the crowd, zeroing in on a blonde slick back bun walking through the crowd with your friend's new blue haired best friend. You gave Paige a smirk as your friend's drink buyer, who you learned was named Teesh, immediately attached to your friend. You gave Paige another once over before noticing her glass was empty.
“You wanna go get another?”
You asked over the music, Paige leaned down to hear you and nodded. You told your friend, who nodded at you distractedly. You grabbed Paige's wrist and started making your way through the columns of drunken adults.
“One dirty Shirley and one…”
Paige drifted off looking at you,
“one vodka redbull”
you added, already moving for your card. Paige stopped you, handing hers over instead. You gave her a look, angling your body towards her as the bartender turned to start making your drinks.
“So… pretty girl got a name?”
Paige asked slowly, leaning against the bar top as she stared at you. You told her yours, which she repeated once, almost like she was testing out how it sounded on her lips before returning the favor and telling you hers.
“Well Paige… I take it you're not from here?”
“Nah, im in town for some work thing, I live in Dallas right now.”
“Oh yeah? What do you do?”
You tilted your head slightly as you waited for her to respond, absentmindedly playing with the ends of your hair. Of course you already knew who Paige Bueckers was, but you had been around enough famous people to know that you never wanted them to know you knew.
Paige sucked her teeth and stared up past you for a few moments, looking as if she was having an internal battle between two choices.
“I play professional basketball, for the WNBA, you watch?”
You nodded in understanding.
“Well that would definitely explain the height, I don't really watch that much though. I'm more into soccer, I do go to some Heat games though!”
You admitted with a laugh, which Paige returned with a smile and a smug look on her face like she had earned something.
“I mean I know like Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark-”
Paige cut you off with a dramatized sigh and eye roll, giving you a look.
“Ma… I'm so much better than Caitlin. You need to get educated.”
You couldn't help the heat that rose in your cheeks at the nickname that had fallen from Paige's lips. Her gaze held a heat behind it that you weren't sure was completely from the vodka in her drink alone, as you felt her hand tentatively slide up your bare thigh and settled on your waist. The moment was quickly broken by the sound of two cups being slid across the wood counter top. Paige mumbled a quick thank you before her gaze was back on you.
“Maybe I need someone to teach me?”
You finally responded teasingly, causing Paige's pupils to widen slightly as she pulled you in closer by your belt loop.
“Yeah Ma..? you want me to teach you?”
You tried to respond, you really did. But the combination of the alcohol in your system, Paige's warm vanilla cologne seemingly wrapping itself around you and squeezing like a python, and her hands which seemed to be all over you and not touching you all at the same time, made your mind feel a little dizzy and the concept of words felt a little too advanced in the moment. You settled on a nod, willingly leaning against her as your unoccupied hand fisted the bottom of her shirt.
You swore you saw Paige mumbled something along the lines of fuck, her thumb rubbing absentmindedly along the strip of skin between your top and your shorts. She finally broke eye contact with you, her head whipping around to see if she could find Rickea, or Teesh, or even your friend. She found Teesh and your friend pretty quickly, but they were pressed against the wall making out so they were zero help. She then saw Rickea and got her attention, mouthing.
‘Im leaving with her’
To which Rickea gave her two thumbs up with an excited expression on her face.
“You wanna get outta here Mama?”
Paige asked, her hand on your low back. You nodded, seemingly looking for your friend to tell you that you were leaving. Only to be met with her basically dry humping Teesh in the middle of the club. You looked back up at Paige, who was already smirking at you with an Uber pulled up on her phone. You rolled your eyes at her eagerness and led her towards the exit.
Safe to say that Paige and Pitbull had similar opinions on Miami now.