Chapter 6: Bemused Bar.
Piper bustled into the bar and immediately felt the refreshing sensation of the cool air on her skin warm skin. She took a moment to hang back by the door and observe her surroundings.
Shit you shouldn't be doing this. But since you are at least be careful!
The bar wasn't too crowded and looked to be a decent enough for a the cozy spot that it was. It had a classic rustic interior vibe with a few TV's around the room and at least a dozen booths and various tables surrounding the glossy wooden bar. There was also a pool table and dartboard nicely in placed in the right half of the room. There were only about 10 people in the place all together with the mood seeming rather light hearted. The place was simple with little chance of her getting caught.
So Piper walked up to the bar as she tried to relax with the feel of the place. She ran her hand along the glossy wooden bar, and was surprised to feel that it was perfectly smooth. Her hand never caught on sticky gunk, or invisible imperfections, because they simply weren't there. The surface was incredibly clean as if it were hand polished every hour. Whoever owned the place clearly had cleanliness as a high maintenance.
A guy that didn't look much older than her walked over towards her from behind the bar. Piper felt anxious, but did her best to hide it as she brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes.
"Can I help you miss?" the guy asked.
"Yes, could I get a margarita?"
"Sorry, but even in Minnesota the drinking age is still 21, no exceptions," He smirked smugly.
Fuck, I don't have time for this shit. Not today.
"I wasn't asking for any exceptions," Piper retorted as some of her anger started to well up into her voice. She wrenched her id out of her pocket and flung it down on the bar with a dramatic flourish. "Here's my id, and I believe 22 is an age greater than 21 if I'm not mistaken?"
The guy inspected her fake id closely but Piper knew he'd never find anything wrong with it. Not only was the id sound to look at, Piper had taken no chances and had even broken into the database so anyone would have a hard time disproving it's authenticity unless they personally knew everyone in the states. And Piper doubted God had time to inspect fake id's.
"Well I'm sorry about that miss, I'll get you your drink. And I must say you look great for your age."
Piper arched an eyebrow in mock annoyance and the bartender scurried off to make her drink. Piper sighed with all the effort of dealing with people as she slumped down on a bar stool, staring off into space in no particular direction.
Uh, I've gone and broken the law again. And now what? The dorm is a toxic zone of pure poison and that bitch, so what the fuck can I do.
Life looked pretty bleak and hopeless as she thought about it, so a nice dose of alcohol was just what she needed to drown her insecurity, if only for an instant to relax out of neurosis, but ultimately tumble deeper into despair.
"Well I must say you do indeed look young to be 22," pured a familiar, sexy, voice from her left.
Piper swiveled around in disbelief, stunned to find the bemused smile of Alex right next to her. She was so off guard that her mind fumbled to form words or speech entirely. Piper had no clue what to say or do even if she could speak, but all she could do was blush bright red as she stared at Alex's gorgeous physique.
She'd only met Alex once the prior year and had hoped to meet her again some time, but never so soon or so utterly out of the blue. She need prep time for people, especially with Alex and her uncanny ability to make Piper lose even more control than usual. Now she was frozen in place, completely speechless.
The fact that Alex was wearing a light black t-shirt, tight black jeans that perfectly matched her hair and glasses didn't make Piper any more articulate. She was drop dead gorgeous, and her smile would surely be her undoing.
What would those rouge lips taste like? Fuck get a grip Piper, she obviously doesn't seem threatening and you want to talk to her and not stare at her like a complete and utter moron. Now just play it cool and everything will be fine. Cool is totally your strong suit, you've got this.
Piper blushed even deeper and quickly managed to pull off a half smile as her heart raced past escape velocity.
"Alex, isn't it," Piper said in mock recollection as she stared off into space and scratched her chin pensively. "Oh yeah, and I think you seem a little young as well to be at a bar."
Idiot, her false recollection was obviously fake. Alex surely knew that.
"Yeah right," Alex replied as she tossed her id right next to Piper's, grinning down at her. "You see I'm 23 so obviously am old enough to drink at this establishment. Besides isn't faking an id against the law or something for an upstanding student like you?"
Oh, she was teasing her now. Piper liked that, a lot.
"Isn't hacking also illegal?" she posed in response.
"Touche, but as I recall you were the one who did all the computer stuff, I was just coding."
"That may be, but the law isn't my concern if I don't get caught, which you would have if you'd kept going with your attempt."
Piper blushed in recollection. Alex was much easier to talk to than most, but she still made her feel uneasy. People just had that effect on her, no matter what.
"I have to admit you're probably right, but at least I can see you took my advice to come to this pristine university," Alex smiled.
"I did indeed," Piper smiled back.
There had to be so spark between them; both smiling, and holding eye contact for just too long for it to be coincidental.
Piper blushed and broke her gaze away from Alex.
This woman is driving me crazy, but in a such a fantastic way.
"Your drink miss," the bartender interjected as he passed Piper her margarita.
"Hey, put her drink on my tab, and send a bottle of my special champagne back to my booth on ice," Alex said as if it were no big deal.
"Certainly Mme," the bartender replied as he instantly obeyed.
Piper was shocked by the ease Alex had with him, as she stared after him running off to do her bidding without any question or hesitation.
How could she do that so easily?
"So how did you get that guy to be at your beckon call so easily?" she murmured sheepishly.
"I'd say it's probably the fact that I exude a dominating presence…"
Piper blushed again, but still managed to sarcastically raise an eyebrow.
She felt so turned on, so wet so close to Alex.
Alex chuckled at her comment, "And also the fact that I own the place and he doesn't want to get fired in this toilet bowl we call the American economy."
"Wow," Piper replied as she stared around the bar again. She had new admiration for Alex and a bit of shock as well. Then again there was also something else she was feeling, was it anxiety, fear, no wait… excitement? Whatever, it wasn't important and she needed to stop being so damned awkward.
"Well you must have some serious cash to own a place like this," Piper remarked.
"Not really, this place is just a small asset that pays the bills and gives me a place to hangout some nights when I don't feel like studying. Now why don't we head back to my booth where the champagne is on ice for this perfect occasion?"
"What occasion?" Piper asked blankly.
Oh she needed to pay attention better.
"No duh, your arrival, us getting to see eachother again and all that; that's it," Alex replied, but with the faint red of a blush entering her cheeks.
Or maybe Piper had just imagine it.
"That sounds great," Piper replied as she felt the unwelcome tension rising between them.
Alex looked relieved as she gestured for Piper to rise and calmly lead her to the back left corner of the bar. The direction seemed odd to Piper since all the rooms focus seemed directed to the right side of the room, not the little there was on the left side. She was contemplating asking if they were going the right way when they arrived at an older looking wooden door. It was ornately carved and looked to be at least 50 years old, not fitting at all with the modern theme of the bar. Alex opened the door and gestured down an old, but sturdy, flight of wooden stairs. Piper froze as she looked down and Alex sighed as she took the lead. Relieved, Piper followed Alex with interest as they walked into what must be the bar's basement. The place looked like a classic wine cellar, except that the room also had a booth, soft beige carpet, a pool table, a 55" plasma TV, and half a dozen computer towers and monitors scattered between barrels, bottles, and other assorted alcohol. Piper looked around the room, impressed.
"Seems like a nice place you have here."
"It's pretty cozy, now would like a glass of my special champaign?"Alex mused with raised eyebrows.
"Am I going to get roofied?" Piper asked sarcastically, then blushed pure crimson with the realization of what she'd just said.
Alex merely laughed it off.
"Come on, do I look like the kinky type of person who does that kind of shit? Besides if I wanted you in bed I'd want you conscious for it."
Alex's voice took on a tone that was so smooth but suggestive that it made Piper's blood rush with excitement, and make her even wetter. God she wanted Alex. But she shrugged off the rush and took Alex's offer for the drink.
What were the chances Alex wasn't just making a joke? What where her chances that Alex was at all into her?
"How about we get to know eachother a bit better?" Piper blurted out as she attempted to break the silence swimming through her numbed mind.
Alex smiled genuinely at Piper as she lifted the champaign bottle out of it's holder. Then with deft skill she popped the cork and poured Piper a glass of the golden liquid.
"I assure you the only think in this bottle is champagne, and it is indeed a fine champagne at that."
Piper raised the bubbling glass to her lips and took a sip. "Oh that's excellent," she replied in astonishment.
She'd never tasted something so good before.
"What can I say, I know my share of good drinks. Now why don't you tell me a bit about yourself then, all I know is that your id says your name is Piper, but I can't take that as fact. And you happen to be a better hacker than anyone I've ever seen before in all my time, hell you're the best programmer even screensaver designer I've ever seen. So what else do I need to know about you?" Alex asked.
"Well I do think computers are really something I enjoy, but I have no clue if my passion lies elsewhere really. I don't think I'll get to really find out any time soon," Piper said with a sigh.
The harshness of her reality was seeping back in again.
"What's wrong?" Alex asked so softly and sweetly that Piper felt like melting right into her from across the intricate booth. "You seem all rung out and sad all of a sudden, where's that fire, that passion I've seen so much in you?"
"Sorry, it's just sometimes reality goes and slaps me in the face and I have to remember I live in a world of rules and limits that can't be broken. I just really wanted to come to this place, to this school I mean, to explore what I could do with computers, and now all I think I get to explore is how eternally tight my parent's grip is on my life. Sometimes it's just so hard when I wake up day after day facing the fact that I'll never be great, that I'll never go anywhere they don't tug my leash. I just need to accept that I'll never be free and make the best of it as things are."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up Piper," Alex sympathized. "I've been down really low before, but I've learned that I can always pull myself. But you are something else entirely, with all the talent and potential you possess. You can do whatever you want, don't let anyone else hold you back from that."
"Thanks, that made me feel a bit better," Piper smiled as she downed the rest of her champagne glass.
But the feeling of the ever approaching failures in darkness didn't fade a bit from her tormented mind.
"Here, have another drink, that always helps me feel better on a shitty day."
Piper smiled and held out her glass.
Alex poured another glass of the golden liquid, and Piper felt the cold gold warm her effortlessly from inside and she did indeed feel better.
But only to a certain degree.
"Well from what I've seen from you you've got real potential," Alex continued. "As for me I'm not really sure where to go from here. I want to really do something for the world you know, I want to really make a lasting difference with my life, but I just feel I don't have enough…"
"Time," Piper interrupted thoughtfully. "Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt, people just aren't..."
"Aren't what?"
Piper blushed deeply, quickly staring into her champagne glass to avoid eye contact. "People don't make me comfortable at all, they unnerve me."
"I'm sorry if that's what I'm doing to you. If you want I can…"
"No it's fine, you are different somehow."
"I'll take that as a complement," Alex beamed as she toasted Piper with another glass.
When their eyes met again Piper couldn't help but see something more shared between them. She couldn't explain it, but there was something electric cutting through the air as she gazed into Alex's gorgeous green eyes. They felt so truthful, so inviting, so perfect.
Then Alex tore her gaze away from Piper as she poured another glass into their flutes.
"Yeah, you're exactly right about not having enough time. I just don't see how I can ever do even a fraction of what I want with how little time I have in my life," Alex philosophized.
"I know, it just seems so monumental to know what the real right thing is, to know what you want to dedicate your life toward," Piper replied as she downed the last of her champagne glass. "Personally I want to build the first Artificial Intelligence lifeform by myself. I dream about it all the time and I see where some of the pieces fit in, I just don't have it yet. But if I did I could really do something for the world."
"That sounds fascinating and with that system you had cracked an entire encrypted server in a minute flat. So I think you're obviously on the right track."
"Maybe, but I just need something bigger than code, I need actual willpower. I need thought, I need intelect for what I want. I just don't see how it's possible," Piper sighed in slight frustration. "I don't see how anything's possible.
"Well we've still got plenty of time and champagne to keep going right here. Let's forget about the past, put it out of minds and enjoy what we have in this moment. I've got racks of bottles standing by on my command all just waiting for our enjoyment."
Piper blushed slightly as she finished downing her 4rd glass, staring at Alex's alluring physique.
"Well that sounds like fun, so yeah, let's live now be frustrated later," Piper smiled as she shot Alex a beaming smile.
"Amen to that," Alex cheered as she poured herself another glass of the golden liquid and took a deep sip.
For the first time in a long time Piper felt completely happy and fulfilled; Just sitting there and talking with Alex really satisfied her, or maybe that was just the champagne which was warming her every fiber of her being. But right then Piper refused to think about anything but the present as she kept talking and drinking away with Alex. Piper's happiness never wavered, even when her body gave into the alcohol and she passed out in the leather booth, as happy as ever.