Some of you read my mind with your suggestions, so I hope you enjoy this one...
I've just finished university for the year, so hopefully I can get some more writing done in the next few months I have off.
Please go ahead and leave a review!
The sound of a vibrating device is what drags Alex out of her sleeping slumber. Turning onto her side - without checking the caller ID, she accepts the call, putting the device up to her ear.
"Hello," she greets, her voice sounding huskier than normal due to her just-woken state.
"Alex!" Piper's voice fills the line, causing the brunette to sit up in bed. "I need you to come over. It's all over the kitchen," she adds, sounding panicked.
"Lock all the doors. I'm on my way," Alex responds, getting up to get changed quickly.
Getting into her blue BMW, the brunette races to Piper's apartment, and although the blonde had been testing her patience throughout the first few weeks they had been working together, she had never called her over the phone expressing an issue - something, to Alex, that sounded genuine.
The blonde had seemed to be enjoying the little game of chess she was conducting, from frequently asking Alex about why she wasn't allowed to call her by her first name, to running around her apartment whenever the brunette was trying to check the rooms, to - what Alex had tried her very best to take no notice of - dressing in more provocative ways - especially when the two of them were alone: from undoing more buttons than necessary to wearing sinfully short skirts. Of course Alex knew nothing would - or even could - come of it: Piper has a boyfriend, but she can't help but wonder if the blonde's seemingly increasing flirtatious acts are a part of her personality or an ongoing act.
Having arrived at the blonde's apartment, Alex moves through the building and into the elevator - deciding that the stairs weren't a good idea considering the blonde could be in genuine trouble. Reaching Piper's floor, Alex goes to knock on the door but sees that it's slightly opened from it's hinge. Reaching to her side, she releases the button from the top of her holster and places her hand onto her pistol - something she doesn't like having to carry, but in moments like these, it's her duty to, as well as the fact that, if need be, she'd be required to use it.
Pushing the door open, the first thing the brunette notices is that the apartment is silent - something that renders her brain into thinking of the several possibilities that could be related - mainly whether the blonde is alone or not. As she closes over the door and takes a large step into the apartment, she hears a noise coming from the kitchen.
Taking her pistol out of her holster, Alex approaches the kitchen slowly from the side so that she can't be seen, before finally moving her body around the side, holding the gun upwards.
"Don't move," the brunette shouts as she steps into the kitchen, fully in sight.
"What the fuck, Alex?!" Piper shouts from where she's standing in the kitchen, and from as far as the brunette can tell, the blonde looks untouched.
"Ms Chapman! Are you okay?" she asks, putting her gun away before moving to walk further into the kitchen.
"Wait!" Piper shouts, putting both of her hands out in front of her. "Stay there."
Raising her eyebrows at the blonde's actions, Alex looks down to see a large puddle of water surrounding the kitchen floor. Looking back up at Piper, it's the first time Alex allows herself to look at what the blonde is wearing. Her torso is covered by a light blue shirt that is rolled up to her elbows while her lower half has on a black pair of shorts, which - in considering how short they are - shouldn't really classify as a pair of shorts at all.
No matter how hard she tells herself not to stare, Alex is caught by how little of the blonde's skin is covered by her outfit; her shirt may as well not be buttoned up at all considering her full chest is practically on show, and as her eyes lower to actually set on Piper's chest, she notices that her shirt is soaked, and even worse, the blonde isn't wearing a bra.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Alex shouts from where she's standing, hoping that getting angry will cover up the fact that she had just spent way too long checking out the blonde.
"What? The washing machine broke and I didn't know who else to call."
"Ms Chapman," Alex begins, biting down on her tongue to try and remain somewhat professional. "I don't believe that fixing your household appliances comes under my job description. Why didn't you call a friend or even your boyfriend?"
"Because I didn't know what else to do, okay?" Piper screams back, seeming unnecessarily angry.
"Why did you leave the front door open? Anyone could have gotten in!"
"I left it open for you to get in," Piper argues, almost as though sounding like she's stating the obvious. "Will you please get me the fucking mop?" she asks, pointing towards the small cupboard that is under her staircase.
Turning away, Alex goes to grab the mop, while ensuring to place her blazer onto the bannister in the meantime. She's annoyed at the blonde - in fact, annoyed is an understatement, and when she walks back into the kitchen, even the sight of the smaller woman makes her blood boil.
"I'll deal with this," she announces, alluding to the flooded kitchen floor. "Go and change," she adds.
Piper, meanwhile, bends down to pick up her washing basket filled with soaked clothes, which gives Alex a front-row seat to a view of her ass in the shorts that may as well not be there. Unable to look away from the sight before her. Alex is glad that the blonde isn't facing her way, but when the blonde does - fortunately still looking down as she picks up some socks that had fallen onto the floor, the brunette is blessed - or maybe cursed in this instance - of a view down the blonde's shirt.
Closing over her eyes, Alex looks away and steps backwards to make room for the blonde to exit the room. When she does eventually pass, Piper places her hands on the brunette's bicep, squeezing slightly.
"Thank you, Alex," she says genuinely before disappearing.
Where she's now standing alone in the blonde's flooded kitchen floor, Alex lets out a sigh. Yes, it's her job to protect the blonde, but something about their exchange seemed to suggest otherwise. Piper was testing her - she'd known this since they'd first met, but this was the first time Alex allowed herself to wonder what the blonde's motives really were.
Nearly an hour later, having cleared most of the mess, Alex decides to head upstairs to go and find Piper, ready to announce that she's going to head off home.
When walking along the corridor leading to the blonde's bedroom, she hears what sounds like a conversation taking place.
"No, Mom, I can't make it. Cal still has my car. I know I promised I would, but I can't come over if there's no way I can get there," the blonde argues while Alex tries to keep her presence unknown.
As she listens in to the conversation, the brunette shuffles from where she's standing to try and get a view of the blonde. The door is slightly pushed over, leaving a slit of vision through the hinge, and as an image of the blonde finally comes into view - for the third time that day - Alex scans her eyes over Piper's state of dress.
Her wet hair is tied up in a messy bun while a white towel is wrapped around her body from her chest down, indicating that she had just gotten out the shower.
"You know what, Mom. I'm not doing this right now. If I show up, I show up. If I don't, I don't."
Alex watches the blonde throw her phone down onto the bed before placing her hands over her face, seemingly stressed out over the conversation she had just had with her mother. Another few seconds later, just when she was least expecting it, Piper lowers her towel to reveal that underneath she's dressed in nothing but a black thong. Alex's eyes widen as she watches the blonde's form from behind - a view she isn't complaining about, but one she knows she shouldn't be looking at. Piper takes a few steps closer towards her dressing table to pick up a shirt - which she subsequently drops onto the floor and bends over to pick it up.
That's the final straw for Alex; the moment in which she tells herself that she can no longer hide how attractive she finds the woman whose safety is in her hands, and although it comes as a revelation momentarily, if anything, it's a sign to not get too invested in the blonde; she has been a pain in the ass to work with.
What Alex isn't aware of is the fact that since the moment she resided outside of the blonde's bedroom door, her attempts at being discrete weren't so subtle. If her shadow that darkened the line of light shining through the door or the sound of her footsteps coming up the stairs weren't a giveaway, the sight of her peeking through the wooden gap sure as hell was. The blonde, however, knew she was being watched the moment Alex had arrived, and although she was on the phone to her mother, she had other plans as to how she would catch the brunette's attention.
Alex, meanwhile, remained transfixed by the blonde before her; Piper is now standing upright having picked up her shirt and stands in front of her body-length mirror where she puts on and begins to slowly button up the garment. The brunette's eyes follow the blonde's hands until they reach the blonde's chest, whereby they pause and fiddle with the button teasingly.
Scanning her eyes upwards, Alex's green orbs are met with the reflection of Piper's blue eyes through the mirror, delivering back a piercing gaze. The pair continue watching one another for another few seconds as Piper's fingers begin to move again, this time shuffling back to the button she had previously done up, only to begin to unbutton it again while keeping her eyes locked on Alex's.
Turning her body to the side so that she can no longer watch, Alex lets out a heavy breath as she now leans against the wall of the hallway, all of a sudden feeling very affected by the blonde. Not wanting to make their next exchange any more awkward than it could possibly get, the brunette - without so much as looking at the bedroom door - rushes back along the corridor and back down the stairs, hoping that Piper will be fully dressed by the time she reappears.
5 minutes later, from where she's standing in the - now cleaned up - kitchen looking out the window, Alex hears Piper coming back down the stairs, causing her to clench her jaw.
"Not a bad job," the blonde announces when she appears - thankfully fully clothed, Alex notes once she turns around.
"I think you'll be needing a new one of those," Alex points out, looking over at the broken washing machine, but Piper offers no response, instead just watching the brunette while leaning against the door frame. "What?" she goes on to ask.
"Working suits you. That's all."
"Maybe you should try it sometime," Alex scoffs.
"Well since I now know how good it looks on you, I might just have to pass on that one," the blonde replies flirtatiously, scanning her eyes down the brunette's tall frame while biting down on her bottom lip.
Feeling like things are getting out of hand despite how minimal they are, Alex moves from her position as she wades to the other side of the room, ensuring she rounds the kitchen island so that it separates herself from the blonde, almost acting like a buffer.
"Where abouts do your parents live then?" Alex asks.
"Connecticut. I was meant to be visiting this weekend, but I let my brother borrow my car for his road trip thinking it was only one week, not one month," Piper responds, chuckling lightly in a self deprecating manner while stepping further into the room, leaning against the closest kitchen counter. "I don't go home very often because of work, so my Mom wasn't too pleased, but I don't really know anyone who would be willing to drive me on such late notice. Unless…" the blonde begins, looking up at Alex with a tilt of her head as though she had just had a light bulb moment in her head.
"Unless what?"
"Unless I need someone to save me from my parents," Piper smiles, walking over to the kitchen island, closing some of the distance between them despite the physical barrier.
"Piper - I'm not here to just go on trips with you."
"But I thought your job is to protect me; to watch me," the blonde counters, sliding her hands outwards along the edge of the island as she speaks flirtatiously with emphasis when talking about watching - a reminder of what had not long just happened in her bedroom.
"Only when you're working; when you're at risk."
"What if I said this was a dangerous trip?"
"But it isn't."
"You don't know that," the blonde counters, biting down on her lip while staring at the brunette with persuasive eyes.
"Fine," Alex voices, giving in under the blonde's gaze, yet trying to tell herself that she's helping the woman out of an underlying fear that something could happen and it'll come back to ruin her career. "When do you want to leave?"
"Tomorrow morning."
"I'll be here at 7, Ms Chapman," Alex says, wanting to try and establish some dominance over the conversation before moving back to the hallway to grab her blazer and leave the apartment without looking behind.
The pair make it to Connecticut in good time the following day, and despite Piper's protests that the brunette could join her in staying at her parents' house, Alex refused, instead opting to stay in a nearby hotel. In her continual stubborn ways, the blonde then too decided to stay in the hotel rather than with her parents, with her explanation consisting of making it easier for Alex to do her job, despite the taller woman's eye roll when she first heard the excuse.
The blonde had bought two rooms at a luxury hotel close to her parents' house, and along with Alex's security request, Piper researched and made sure she chose the rooms that had a door in between, ensuring that, if need be, Alex could check on the blonde - a precaution she needed to follow.
Despite coming to her hometown to see her family, Piper also took up the opportunity to meet with some friends that she rarely gets the chance to see, meaning that Alex, despite not really wanting to go out, had to tag along.
"You know you don't have to come if you don't want to," Piper says as they walk along the street on their way to a local bar.
"As much as I'd rather be lying in bed right now, you know I can't do that, Ms Chapman."
"Alex, how many times have I said to call me Pi-"
"But I'll only be looking out from a far. Give you some time with your friends," Alex interrupts, not letting Piper finish her sentence.
"You and I both know that nothing is going to happen here, Alex. Just live a little," the blonde responds, bumping her arm into the taller woman's.
If only you knew, Alex thinks to herself as they approach the bar, beginning what is bound to be an interesting night for the both of them.
"So you work for Piper?" a feminine voice asks, causing Alex to turn to the side from where she's seated on a bar stool with a perfect view of Piper's table.
"Something like that," Alex responds, eyes taking in the woman before her.
She admits that the woman is attractive - very attractive, and along with her long, blonde hair and blue eyes, the brunette can't help but think this could be the very excuse she was looking for to take her mind off the recent stresses her life seems to be continually presented with.
"Did she tell you that I do?" Alex goes on to ask, genuinely curious.
"She mentioned someone was here for a matter of her safety."
"I see. What made you think it was me?"
"You're sitting on your own in a busy bar and you can't seem to look away from our table."
Our table?, Alex thinks, suddenly intrigued.
"Are you two friends or something?"
"Not really - more like acquaintances. I'm staying with one of the other women at the table for the rest of the week before I go back home."
"Where is home for you then?"
"New Jersey, but I work a lot of the time in New York," the woman responds before moving to finally sit down next to the brunette. "Can I get you a drink?" she adds, tilting her head while delivering a toothy smile.
For Piper, being in the company of her friends was somewhat refreshing, yet at the same time, tiring. She felt some comfort in the fact that Alex was watching from afar, but as she takes a glance over towards the bar to see if the brunette is still there, her jaw locks and her eyes widen at what she sees before her.
Alex - indeed still in the same seat she had been in for the near 2 hours they had been at the bar - is sitting - rather closely - to one of the women who had not long ago been sitting at their table. She assesses the way the blonde - whom she remembers is called Amelia - is obviously into the brunette, and if it weren't for her body language, the way in which she seems to be laughing at nearly everything coming out of Alex's mouth speaks volumes.
Although Piper had insisted several times throughout the day that Alex didn't have to watch her; she isn't at work, seeing that Alex - the ever serious professional when it came to her job - could be distracted by the presence of a younger woman, her blood begins to boil. Yes, she knows she made it clear that Alex wasn't obliged to care about working this weekend, but the blonde didn't think she would actually go as far as entertaining company like she currently is.
In seeing the barman approach the two woman to collect the empty glasses in front of them and listen to their latest order, Piper can no longer watch.
Excusing herself from the table through a fake close-lipped smile, the blonde heads towards the bathroom, wondering how long it'll take for Alex to appear - if she does at all that is.
Locking herself in an empty cubicle at the furthest side of the room, the blonde waits for the sound of the main door to open, and after 5 minutes of hearing nothing, she gets up from where she was seated on the shut toilet lid, only to pause when a squeaking door echoes throughout the room.
"Ms Chapman?" she hears Alex ask, causing her eyes to close over and her shoulders to drop.
Flushing the unused toilet and opening the cubicle, Piper offers no response and moves to wash her hands.
"Are you okay? You were in there a while," the brunette asks, sounding somewhat concerned.
"Hmm, how very observant of you," Piper responds, fighting hard to not voice what she was really thinking: I'm surprised you even noticed I was gone.
"I had a call from my Dad so I'm heading to see my parents," she adds in an attempt to sound nonchalant.
"Let's go then."
"Alone."
"Ms Chapman-"
"Alex - you should be able to enjoy your evening without worrying about me. You even said it: your job is to look after me when I'm working. I'm in a different state and going to see my family. I don't expect you to come with me; as a matter of fact, I need to go alone."
"Are you sure? I can drive you and wait outside?" the brunette probes, wanting to ensure the woman in front of her is certain.
"Positive. I don't know what time I'll be back, but don't wait up for me," Piper responds as she moves back from the sinks to collect some tissue to dry her hands. "Enjoy the rest of your evening," she adds, giving a half-hearted toothy smile as she throws the tissue into the bin and walks out the bathroom, ensuring their shoulders brush against one another while exiting.
Opening the Uber app on her phone, Piper selects the address belonging to her parents and in seeing that it'll be arriving in 2 minutes, she hopes that she'll be able to keep herself in check.
At this moment in time, the blonde doesn't regret telling Alex she was going to her parents' house when she was actually just heading back to their hotel. A part of her didn't want to give the other woman any satisfaction in the game she was trying to play, but if she were being honest with herself, she just couldn't stand being in that bar any longer.
It's now 1:00 am and Piper is lying in her bed with all the lights off staring into the ceiling. Sleep isn't coming her way, and no matter how many times she tries to distract herself and preoccupy her mind, nothing seems to work; her brain immediately goes back to thinking about why in which Alex still isn't home and what she could be doing this early in the morning.
Her mind is finally somewhat put at ease when she hears the sound of the closing front door coming from Alex's hotel room - a sign that she had finally returned. A subsequent bout of silence follows, causing Piper to sit up in bed, hoping that an increased leverage will help detect any form of movement. When nothing can be heard, she falls down onto her back, hoping that she can now at least get some sleep.
The thought that she would be getting sleep anytime soon goes out the window, as when a large crash, followed by giggling laughter, rings out from the brunette's room, Piper's eyes widen; Alex isn't alone.
Getting up out her bed, the blonde walks over to the door joining their two rooms together, resting her head against it, but doesn't dare open it - not when she doesn't know what it is she could be walking into.
She tries to tell herself that she had misheard; it was Alex herself that had dropped something and laughed at her error, but that theory all comes crashing down by the next version of events - something that makes Piper wish she hadn't even asked Alex to drive her to Connecticut in the first place.
A series of loud moans, followed by panting versions of Alex's name, indicates to Piper exactly what it is the brunette is doing behind the door dividing them, and who it is exactly she is with.
The younger woman - who she knows was the blonde from the bar Alex had been talking to - is being loud - extremely so, and although it doesn't surprise her that the brunette has that sort of effect on her sexual partners, Piper can't help but feel angry. Angry at Alex for taking the first opportunity she can to sleep with someone when left to her own devices, and angry at herself for her undenying jealousy as to why she isn't the one underneath the brunette letting her do unspeakable things to her body.
No longer able to listen, Piper moves away from the door and out onto the balcony located on the other side of her room. She takes a seat on the large sofa that's positioned at the side of the area and looks out at the visible skyline of buildings and lights.
She's thankful she can no longer hear the events taking place in Alex's hotel room, and as she revels in the peace and quiet of the outdoors, Piper knows that she needs a timeout in order to reassess the tactics of her game plan.
