Piper: When One Meets Another
Stepping into the noisy bar I look around sheepishly, hoping that nobody recognise is here. A quick glance around the room confirms it. Nobody would know me here anyway, in the big city. I glance down at my fabricated résumé and sigh. It's pretty stupid, to be honest. I haven't any actual experience but I have no issues with making shit up in a time like this. I seriously need a job. As I walk towards the bar someone calls out, "Hey you!" but I ignore it until they add "Laura Ingalls Wilder!" It's not the first time I've heard that one. I turn around, trying to locate the source of the comment. My eyes fall on a tall, dark-haired woman sitting at the nearest table with a group of people. I wonder why I hadn't noticed her on my initial sweep of the room- she is incredibly hot in an edgy, unique kind of way. Her thick-framed glasses tuck into her slightly curly black hair. Tattoos colour her shoulder and wrist. Definitely edgy. And definitely attractive.
"We're skipping America before the apocalypse," she says, looking me right in the eye. "Wanna come?" Puzzled, I manage to reply with a small "Sorry?" before the bartender arrives and I have to pull my eyes away.
"What can I get for you?" He asks.
"Uh, I was wondering if you're hiring." I mumble, but I already know the answer. The guy is turning away before all of the words are even out of my mouth. Dammit. I tried to leave my résumé with him, like they tell you to on all those online articles about job hunting. No go. I give up and glance to my right where I know the hot girl is sitting. And there she is, drinking a beer, so I decide I may as well get a drink myself. Maybe I'll even end up talking to her. I sit down, as the bartender moves away to make my margarita, and feel someone move up behind me. It's her, of course. Her friends are making encouraging noises behind her but I only have eyes for the stranger.
"It's a little cold out for a margarita," she says with a smirk, taking the next seat and putting her beer down on the counter. "Don't you think?" Her voice is a sexy rasp. I can't think of anything to say so I just keep my mouth shut. Don't embarrass yourself, Piper! Now that she's closer I can see she has electric blue hair extensions that fall past her chest which, unfortunately, I can't see as her dress is not low cut.
I mentally kick myself when she reaches for my résumé, which I'd left lying on the counter. Oh God no. No, no, no!
"Let's see this…" she grins. I try not to look too embarrassed as she reads off the list of my 'past experience'. The names I'd made up, thinking they were so believable, seem utterly ridiculous as she reads them aloud.
"Bullshit, bullshit," she concludes. "You need a lesson in fudging a résumé."
"Do you work here?" I ask, suddenly panicking.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" she laughs, drawing her eyes up to meet mine, but slowly, with a very attractive flutter of the eyelashes. I can't help but grin at the bluntness of her comment. Of course she wouldn't work here. I wondered what she did do for a living. I somehow couldn't picture her as the work-in-an-office type, despite the glasses. She directs her eyes back to the page and I take the opportunity to further check her out while she can't see me.
"Manager… Polly Harper" she reads. She lifts her head to look at me. This time her red lips form a disbelieving smirk. "No one named 'Polly Harper' gets put in charge. Who is that really?"
"It's my friend" I confess, which causes her to chuckle. I notice that as she laughs she looks me up and down. Is she checking me out? I ask myself. Or am I just imagining it?
"You've never waited a fucking table in your life, have you?" Damn it, she's good. I shake my head and join in her laughter.
"So…" she says, picking up the page again. "Piper Chapman." So now she knows my name and I still don't know hers. I'm about to ask when she starts reading aloud again and I listen instead.
"…Passionate about making diners feel good," she says, pursing her lips. "That sounds kinda dirty." I'm saved from having to formulate a reply by the arrival of my margarita. Gesturing to the bartending to bring her one of the same, she continues to read from the page: "Safe, clean and careful when handling food and drink." I grab at the paper, my embarrassment finally overcoming me. She laughs again and relinquishes it.
"I like that in a woman" she adds. So she IS gay… and apparently into me. Play it cool, Piper. As I look down, blushing, I can tell she is checking me out. But when I look up again, she's the one looking away.
"What else do I need to know about you?" she asks, her voice filled with curiosity. But she's not the only curious one.
"Who are you?" I ask in response.
"My name is Alex," she replies. It certainly suits her. I don't know where to look. Every part of her is interesting. Her clothes, her hair, her eyes… her lips. I decide to question her further.
"And what do you do… Alex?" It feels nice to finally match a name to her face. "Besides make fun of strangers in bars?" I tease.
"I work for an international drug cartel," Alex replies, casually, yet seriously. I can't tell if she's kidding or not. She starts laughing and I join in. The margaritas soon disappeared and we order more drinks as we talk and talk. I find myself genuinely laughing for the first time in a long time, really enjoying her company. On many occasions Alex reaches out to stroke my arm or to brush away a loose strand of my hair with her slender, gentle fingers.
It's after a row of shots that I manage to pluck up the courage to kiss her. She responds immediately, pulling me in close, cupping my face and kissing me passionately and expertly. It was only my third proper kiss with a woman and it felt amazing. We moved from the bar to the club, leaving her friends behind, and then onto Alex's apartment.
I'd hoped it wouldn't just be a one night stand and it wasn't. Alex is amazing. She is sexy and exciting and crazy. Every day feels like an adventure and I couldn't keep away from her, even if I tried.