One For The Road

It was a nice breezy spring night in New York City. It was the type of night where tourists were walking aimlessly around the City looking for a club or bar to go to, but the locals were hanging around their regular dive bars. Taxies were busy driving around patrons who were either one of two things; drunk and looking for another establishment to enjoy, or sober and wanting to be the former. Unfortunately, one woman was not either.

Piper Chapman was fresh out of college and was on a date with a gentleman she knew from her best friend, Polly. Piper was generally okay with being single, but every once in a while she had a weak moment and just wanted to have somebody. Anybody.

Polly recommended said gentleman during one of those weak moments. This particular moment was last night.

"You are always sitting around not enjoying the city. Do you know how many men are walking around the city waiting for you?" Polly questioned.

"No. Nobody is waiting for me to keep them company. Men at our age just want us to warm their bed and help them with nightly cardio workouts."

"Is that so wrong? That is your problem. You need to get laid." Piper rolled her eyes.

"No I don't. I'm perfectly fine in that department." Piper's best friend rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone. After a few clicks on her phone, Piper felt her phone vibrate.

"Fine. If you don't need to get laid then at least make an effort to meet somebody instead of moaning and groaning on my couch."

"But I like your couch." Piper looked at her phone. Polly sent her a contact. "Larry Bloom? Really? Isn't he the guy friend of yours who is a writer?" Polly nodded.

"Text him, call him, throw rocks at his window… whatever. Tomorrow is Friday night and you need new surroundings." Piper tapped on her phone, which Piper was suspecting that she was texting somebody. The blonde looked out the window of her friend's apartment.

Piper knew she wasn't bad looking. She went to the gym 3 or 4 times a week depending on how much ice cream she ate, always looked presentable in public, and she was smart. Just last month she graduated from Smith College with a major in business management. She had a blast at college, but didn't do the typical things college attendees did. No parties, not a lot of drinking, and never skipped class. Her parents were paying for college, and she didn't want to waste their money or time. Most nights she stayed in her dorm working on papers or studying. When she happened to have a free block of time she would head back home to decompress with Polly over a glass of wine. One glass. Always one. Piper knew she was a lightweight.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her best friends hand smacking her on the arm.

"Done!" Piper flinched and rubbed her arm.

"Ouch? And done what?" The blonde saw her friend's smile. Oh no.

"You have a date tomorrow night with Larry! Text him with your address and he will pick you up tomorrow at 8."

Piper leaned back against her chair and sighed. The date was just as anybody would expect from a polite, nice, charming, and funny man. He came by her place at 8pm sharp and handed her flowers. Then he took her to a local pub for some drinks and light food. Piper was just drinking a glass of white wine, and was snacking on the nachos. Larry was nice, but she felt he was kind of bland. He was almost too normal. The blonde knew she shouldn't be complaining that a nice guy was interested in her, but she just wasn't having fun. Plus, Larry kept on rambling about a piece he was working on. She honestly had no idea what the piece was on because she zoned out while picking at the nachos.

Larry was currently in the bathroom and Piper took this moment to step outside into the breezy air. As soon as she felt the air on her face she sighed and looked up at the stars. Even though the city blocked out a lot of the stars she could still see the North Star and other popular constellations. It really was a beautiful night. Her thoughts were interrupted when the front door to the pub slammed shut. Piper turned around to watch a woman walk out with a drunken grin on her face. She couldn't help but watch the woman's movements.

The woman was tall, lean, and had dark hair. She had on jeans and a tight blue t-shirt. The t-shirt and jeans hugged her in all the right places. She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her back pocket and tapped a lighter out of the pack. She placed the roll of tobacco between her teeth and light it. The lighter illuminated her face enough to give Piper brief glance. She had black rimmed glasses that a cliché school teacher would have, but it worked for her. As the mysterious woman was putting her belongings back into her pocket their eyes met. Piper immediately looked away.

"Want one?" The woman spoke. Her face was deep and sexy. The kind of voice that sends shivers up your spine no matter what came out of their mouth. It did just that to Piper. She looked back to the direction of the voice.

"Sorry?" Piper asked. The woman smiled and took a drag of the cigarette.

"Smoke. Do you want one?" Piper stared at the cigarette in the woman's hand. Piper never smoked in her life. She wasn't distracted by the cigarette, but just the general presence of this woman. She just looked at her hand then back at her. The dark haired woman laughed, stuck the cigarette between her teeth, and then reached behind her. She pulled the pack out of her pocket again, and opened the top. Piper waved her hand to her.

"I don't smoke. Thank you for the offer." The woman closed the lid then returned it to its original place.

"Thank you to offer you cancer? No problem blondie." Piper stared. What?

"If you know what they do to you then why do you smoke?" The woman slid her glasses to the top of her head, scratched the tip of her nose, and then slid her glasses back on her face. This was done with a slight smile on her face.

"I also know car crashes happen every day. Doesn't mean I don't travel in them." Piper nodded then looked around for her date. No sign of him. The woman took a step towards the blonde. "Hey, can I borrow your phone real quick? Mine died. I just need to tell my boss I won't be into work tomorrow." Piper looked back at her and tilted her head slightly.

"Tomorrow is Saturday." The dark haired woman nodded.

"Yeah, and?" Piper unzipped her clutch and handed the woman her phone.

"Here."

Then something happened. Just briefly their fingers brushed and Piper nearly jumped back from what felt a shock through her entire body. All she could do was look at the woman's hand that held her phone. The screen reflected into her glasses as she typed quickly then handed her phone back. It took all of 20 seconds. That was fast. Piper was almost excited to take the phone back and catch another brief touch of electricity, but the woman just tossed her phone to her.

"Thanks. So, what brings you to this dump of a place tonight?"

"I'm on a date." The other woman took a drag of her cigarette and nodded.

"How's that going?"

"Horrible. He is so boring!" Why did she just say that to somebody she didn't know? It wasn't any of her business to ask, but Piper just said it. No hesitation either.

"Most men are." Piper turned towards her and rocked her weight to her other foot.

"Why are you here if you aren't on a date and if you don't like it?" She laughed, flicked her cigarette into the street, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm here with friends. Just because a place looks like crap, doesn't mean it isn't fun. You are very judgmental. Lighten up." Piper gawked at her.

"Who ARE you?" The woman smiled brightly.

"My name is Alex."

I haven't written fan fiction in FOREVER. Please let me know what you think. Good? Bad?

Thanks!