CHAPTER 10 – Success

Piper: So, last night was fun…

Alex: It really was. I can't help but wish we were together though.

Piper: I know, I miss you like crazy… tomorrow can't come quick enough.

Alex: I can't wait to hug you and kiss you again. What we done last night though… It can't happen again. Not until next week anyway. I still have another week teaching here and you still have another week of being my student…

Piper: This will be the longest week of my life…

Alex: I promise I'll make it worth the wait ;)

Piper smiled as she placed her phone under her sun lounger and sipped on her margarita. It was still too early to be drinking but even though it wasn't socially acceptable she felt like she needed it after last night.

Piper wasn't planning on having some super-hot late night phone play with Alex but as soon as she heard her deep, sultry voice on the other end of the line, her emotions took over. She was never confident with the whole dirty talk thing but last night she felt at ease, she felt like she could say whatever she was feeling – and she did. Alex was damn good at it, but she made Piper feel comfortable too.

The sun was scorching in the sky and beating down on her face as she tanned by the pool in her black bikini. The ice cold drink in her hand was the only thing giving her a slight escape from the suffocating heat. As it turned out, the weekend hadn't been as bad as she thought it'd be. Her mother never brought up Larry's name again. Piper hoped she'd got the message when she was cut off the other day but she feared there'd be another attempted mother-daughter heart to heart before her flight that evening.

She spent most of the weekend with Cal and his equally crazy girlfriend Neri. They provided some light relief and entertainment away from her parents old people chat. She couldn't help but wish she could share this experience with someone. She wanted to let someone else in on the craziness of her family. She wanted to walk hand in hand on the beach with someone whilst spending time with her family – just like Cal and Neri did all weekend. She wanted Alex with her. Unfortunately, she struggled to visualise a time in the near future where Alex would be accepted by her parents. She didn't care though, as long as Alex was a part of her life, everyone else's opinion and comfort was second best.

Just as she was about to close her eyes and nod off to a relaxed nap in the sun, Piper heard her mother approach from behind.

"Isn't it a little early to be drinking Piper?" Mrs Chapman asked as she lay down on the lounger next to Piper, sunglasses covering half of her face.

"I'm nervous about my flight." That was a lie. Piper wasn't a nervous flyer, she never had been. She felt this was a more appropriate answer, however. Telling her Mom she was drinking early because it seemed necessary after the intense orgasm her Professor/lesbian lover gave her last night wasn't really a conversation she wanted to be having right now.

"Aren't finals this week?"

"Yes…" Piper replied.

"Then shouldn't you be studying?"

"Mom, if you thought I should be studying then why did you invite me on this vacation?"

"I'm worried about you, Piper." The sunglasses covered her Mom's eyes but she could hear the worry in her voice. It confused her though because Piper was probably the happiest she'd ever been. There was nothing to worry about.

"Why?"

"You're drinking in the morning, you left Larry, you…"

"Jesus, Mom…" Piper interrupted "…It's one drink and I told you about Larry the other day."

"I just don't understand it Piper, I thought you were happy."

"I wasn't happy. I didn't love Larry. I wasn't in the relationship for the right reasons, it was just easy and I enjoyed having someone to support me, someone to rely on. It wasn't fair on anyone and I'm sorry I wasted his time. That's why I ended it…I'm in love with someone else."

Piper didn't intend to add that last bit on but it felt right and she hated keeping things from her Mom. She could never keep secrets to herself for long anyway, her Mother always had a way to find out the truth.

Mrs Chapman swung her legs to the right and off of the sun lounger so she was now facing Piper. She pulled the sunglasses off her face to meet Piper's gaze.

"With who?" she asked sternly, no expression on her face.

The tone of her voice made Piper feel like she was in trouble and it took her a couple of seconds to remember that she'd done nothing wrong apart from being human and allowing nature to take its course.

"I'm not ready to tell you that yet."

Her Mom sighed and nodded her head slightly. Piper expected a different reaction – two or three more attempts to find out who the mystery 'man' was at least. Instead, her Mom saw her resistance and didn't push it, she'd wait for Piper to go to her. She slowly stood from the lounger and was now looking down at Piper. She rested her hand on her shoulder.

"As long as he treats you right Piper." She said with a genuine smile before walking back to the house.

"She does." Piper whispered under her breath when her Mom was out of earshot.

"Thanks for a great weekend, Dad. It was really great catching up with everyone again." Piper said as her Dad dropped her off at LAX terminal.

"You're welcome, Piper. Let us know how your finals go."

"I will." She said as she leaned over and gave her Dad a kiss on the cheek.

She breathed a huge sigh of relief as she stepped out of the vehicle and on to the cool gravel outside the airport. She had made it through the weekend. She loved spending time with her family but only in small doses. Now, she was going home and she couldn't be happier about it.

She looked down at her phone when it vibrated in her hand and her smile only grew wider.

Alex: Safe flight, baby. I can't wait to see you tomorrow.

Her flight wasn't until 8pm so she wouldn't be back in New York until pretty late. She told Alex she wouldn't be in her class in the morning as she'd be pretty jet-lagged after the flight. Instead, she arranged to meet her in her office around lunchtime. Piper had a small welcome home surprise for Alex, however.

She usually hated the flight home. The vacation was over and she was heading back to her normal boring life. Tonight was different. As Piper looked out the window to the dark skies covered in bright stars, she smiled as she realised there was nowhere on the planet that she'd rather be travelling to. She was going home.

"Monday again… sucks, right?!" The young Starbucks attendant asked as he served Alex her tall skinny latte.

"It's not all bad." She smiled and grabbed her drink.

It was a beautiful Monday morning, the sun was shining brightly in the sky and the air was crisp and cool.

Alex decided she'd walk to Litchfield today. Black ray bans on her face, leather jacket on her back and coffee in her hand, she made her way down the busy Manhattan sidewalk. She received a text from Piper that morning to say she'd landed safely. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when she took the words in. She knew the possibility of something going wrong was almost non-existent, yet still the doubt was always there and she just wanted Piper home. She wouldn't be seeing her until lunchtime as she was too tired to make it to their 10am class, this did cause Alex to feel slightly disappointed but she tried not to dwell on it too much.

Her mind had been so taken up with thoughts of Piper recently that she almost forgot that this was her last week teaching at Litchfield. She'd enjoyed her time there, some times more than others and she was incredibly glad that she'd taken the opportunity when she was offered it. If she'd turned it down, she wouldn't have met a certain blonde and her life would be considerably less exciting than it was turning out to be.

The walk to Litchfield had been somewhat longer than she estimated it would be and it was already 10am as she was making her way through the gates. She knew if she was any more than 10 minutes late, the students would leave and that wouldn't be particularly productive given that their finals were tomorrow.

She rushed in to the classroom which was already filled with her students and power walked to her desk.

"All right, guys, sorry I'm late. Open your text books to page…"

She was stood behind her desk removing her leather jacket as she looked at the students sat in front of her. One face stood out more than any other. It was like her face was full of colour while the rest were black and white. Smiling from ear to ear back at her was Piper. Alex held her gaze, it was like they were stuck in a parallel universe where only the two of them existed, and everything else was background.

"Umm… Professor… What page should we turn to?" A voice from the second row called out as Alex realised she'd held Piper's gaze for a few seconds too long.

She cleared her throat and eventually snapped her eyes away from the blondes, not before a caring smile graced her face.

"69."

Alex threw her leather jacket over her chair as she glanced back at Piper. The blonde's smile hadn't disappeared and her eyes stayed fixed on Alex as she opened her textbook, her eyebrows raised suggestively as Alex called out the page number.

Alex had a lesson planned for today's class and no matter how distracting Piper was, she had to stick to it.

"Ok. So today we're going to talk about the correlation between Marketing techniques and human emotion. Someone shout out an emotion…"

"Love."

Alex's head shot up and she tried to suppress a small smile as Piper immediately volunteered an answer.

"Thanks Piper. Love is a good one. Love makes people do crazy things. It makes you feel like you're floating in a bubble that you never want burst. Like everything around you, the darkness, the upset and the worries become non-existent. Love becomes the sole focus of your life."

She glanced at Piper and her eyes began to moisten. Although she was teaching to the whole class, the words she was saying were personal and Piper was the only one she wanted to hear them.

"What does that have to do with marketing?" The deep voice of the scruffy haired man in the back row called out.

"When you love a product, you'll go out of your way to have it. Similarly, when you're in love with someone, even the world's biggest obstacles won't stop you being together."

Alex looked out in to the room. Her students were making vigorous notes on their pads – it would seem she knew what she was talking about after all. Piper's eyes stayed glued on the Professors, however. Alex took this manufactured moment of privacy and held her gaze while the other students were distracted. Within a second, they became lost in each other's eyes and the world around them once again disappeared. That was, of course, until the collective sound of multiple pens being put down signalled to her that she still had her job to do.

"Ok, guys, let's talk about the finals. Anyone have any questions about the exam?"

"Thanks everyone. Good luck tomorrow, just remember everything we've discussed over the past few weeks and you'll be fine. I'll see you all on Wednesday when you'll all tell me you've passed with flying colours."

Alex watched as her students filtered out of the classroom. She noticed one in particular take an incredibly long time to get packed up, however.

"Piper? Can you stay behind for a minute? There are some things I want you to tweak… in your paper."

Alex watched proudly as her innuendo caused Piper to turn bright red and try unsuccessfully to suppress waves of laughter.

"Your paper is in my office." Alex said as Piper approached her desk before they followed the students out of the classroom and walked the short journey down the hall to her office.

They didn't utter a sound as they made their way down the corridor. Alex could smell Piper's perfume and felt surrounded by it. Every time her arm accidentally bumped against her, Alex felt a shiver course its way through her entire body.

Alex was convinced that the time it took to walk from the classroom to her office had doubled today but eventually they were stood outside the door. She quickly pulled the keys from her pocket, unlocked the door and stepped inside. She was followed immediately by Piper who closed the door behind her and turned to face Alex.

"It's so goo…" Piper didn't have time to finish her sentence.

Alex pushed her against the door and pressed her body against the blonde's. Before Piper could utter another sound, Alex's lips were on hers. Alex kissed her deeply, passionately, like the three days they had been apart were three years. And that's what it felt like. Every passing moment that they were apart, Alex yearned for Piper. She was never one who enjoyed being in a 'relationship' and in the few she'd had in the past, she never felt a slither of the emotion she was feeling in that moment.

Her hands cupped Piper's cheeks as their mouths moved in sync. Piper's hands rested on Alex's back, holding her as close as possible. Alex slowed the intensity of the kiss and gently parted her lips from Piper's. She looked her in the eye and a small smile graced her face.

"I thought you weren't gonna be in until this afternoon?"

Piper raised her hand and tucked a misplaced strand of hair behind Alex's ear.

"I wanted to surprise you."

"You certainly did that, kid."

Alex threw her arms around Piper and held her close, leaning her hand down and locking the door behind her as she did.

She took Piper's hand in her own and led her towards the leather sofa in the corner. She sat down and patted her knee, signalling for Piper to sit on her lap. The blonde quickly complied and threw her arms around Alex's neck as she sat down.

"So…" Alex said as her hand rested on Piper's thigh "…tell me about your vacation."

Piper shook her head.

"What?" Alex enquired.

"I don't want to talk about that just now."

Before Alex could reply, Piper's lips were on hers, kissing her gently. The kiss quickly grew deeper and their tongues were soon intertwined. Alex's hand slid its way from Piper's thigh and moved up her side before resting on the side of her neck.

She slipped her arm under Piper's legs and lifted her up. Piper's arms were still around Alex's neck and their lips didn't part for a second. She placed Piper back on the sofa so she was now lying on her back and Alex was on top of her. Piper instinctively spread her legs and Alex fit perfectly between them. Her hands rested on the Professors ass squeezing it gently as their kiss deepened once more.

"Hey I was thinking…" Piper said in between their kisses.

Alex didn't reply. Instead she mumbled a noise as her lips moved to Piper's neck.

"Want to take this to second base?"

Alex's lips parted from the skin on Piper's neck and looked up to meet the suggestive smirk on her face.

"You still use the phrase 'second base'?" she chuckled.

"Yeah…" Piper smiled "…so what do you say?"

"Yes." Alex mouthed as her lips quickly found Piper's once more.

Their kiss quickly grew passionate and Alex could hear Piper's breathing intensify. Her hands were still on Alex's ass and she pulled Alex closer to her so there was now no space between both of their centres.

Alex felt her arousal grow as she began to grind slightly against Piper's sex. She could tell the blonde was enjoying it as she moaned into their kiss, causing a tingle to shoot its way through the brunette's body.

She sat up on the sofa and pulled Piper on to her lap so it was now her turn to grind against Alex as her thighs straddled the Professors waist. Alex's hands moved up Piper's thighs, grazed her hips and made their way to her breasts. They skimmed over the loose material of Piper's tee covering her breasts before reversing back and giving them more attention. Alex's right hand covered Pipers left breast as the other hand rested on her lower back, holding her close. She squeezed gently, causing Piper to involuntarily moan out loud.

Her hand made its way lower before joining the other and moving underneath Piper's tee. Her hands felt every inch of Piper's bare back. Alex slowly reached around and with both hands quickly unhooked Piper's bra. She smiled slightly into their kiss, proud of her efforts. Her hands quickly moved from her back and cupped both of Piper's breasts. Their kiss was still as hot as before as Alex began to massage both of Piper's perky breasts. Alex placed her thumb and fore finger around Piper's nipples and squeezed gently, causing Piper to gasp out loud.

"Fuck…" she breathily said as she reached her hands down and grasped at the hem of Alex's black jumper.

Alex knew what was coming next so she raised her arms in the air to help Piper out somewhat. With one quick, carefree motion Alex's jumper was over her head and thrown to the floor. Her hands moved inside Piper's jeans and rested on her ass but quickly moved when she felt Piper struggle with the clasp on her black lace bra. Her arm reached behind her back and undid the clasp before Piper removed the Professors bra and threw it to the floor.

"Thanks." She said before returning her lips to Alex's mouth.

Alex could tell Piper wasn't particularly experienced in this but it didn't matter. Piper wanted to experience this with Alex and that is all she cared about.

Alex was now naked from the waist up and as her big breasts fell free, Piper was quick to cover them with her hands. Her breathing intensified as Piper's hands massaged both her breasts. Before long, Piper's lips were tracing her neck with light kisses before moving to her chest. Alex gasped out loud as Piper's lips quickly covered her left breast while her hand continued massaging the other. Alex felt like she could lose control then and there as Piper licked and sucked gently on her nipple.

"Fuck Piper. That feels so good…" she whispered.

"Mmmm" Piper hummed in agreement.

Alex didn't feel like this was real life. She'd imagined these moments with Piper and now that she was actually experiencing them she couldn't believe her luck.

Unfortunately, the dream didn't last long as the couple were suddenly brought back down to earth with a bang on the door.

"Professor Vause… are you in there? We have a management meeting in 5 minutes."

"Shit" Alex said as she searched for her glasses on the sofa and looked at her watch.

"Yes, Professor. I'll be right there."

They waited until they heard Professor Hastings footsteps disappear as he made his way down the corridor.

"That was close." Piper said as she stood up from Alex's lap and handed over her bra and jumper.

"You're telling me" she replied as she got dressed.

"Second base was fun…" Alex said as she followed Piper towards the door "…Maybe at the weekend we could hit a home run." She raised her eyebrows and a suggestive smirk appeared on her face.

"I'd like that." Piper replied before placing a soft kiss on Alex's lips.

Alex opened the office door a crank to make sure the coast was clear before Piper stepped out. Alex watched as Piper walked down the corridor, the blonde turning her head and smiling back at the Professor before heading through the swing doors.

'Damn you and your interruptions Professor Hastings' Alex thought to herself as she grabbed her notebook and swiftly exited her hot and stuffy office.

"Pipes are you still awake?!" Polly called from outside her bedroom door.

Piper left Alex and came straight home. Finals had been at the back of her mind all week. She knew they were coming but hadn't given it much thought – she had been pretty distracted after all. It was only as she was walking down the corridor away from Alex that it hit her like a bullet in the brain. Finals were tomorrow. She had done next to no studying and she had to pass. SHIT.

She power walked home, made some grilled cheese and had been sat in front of her Mac ever since. It was now 3am and the words on the screen had started to fuse together. The smell of stale Gatorade surrounded her and she knew that anything she read now would go in one ear and out the other.

"Yeah Pol, I'll give it one more hour then I'll get some sleep." Her voice was slurred as she fought to keep her eyes open.

'Ok, one last chapter'

She stared blankly at the screen, attempting to read the words in front of her.

'The successful advertising strategy of any singular product or service allows consumers and stakeholders alike to…' She could feel her eyes shutting and the words could've been in a foreign language. This was a battle she didn't want to win.

Piper awoke 4 hours later, still sitting at her desk with her head on top of the keyboard of her Mac. Thankfully, she'd set an alarm the night before in case of this very event. She was so exhausted, she worried she'd sleep late and miss the exam all together. That'd be a fun call to her parents.

She groaned, yawned and stretched before making her way to the kitchen where Polly was waiting with freshly brewed coffee.

"Mmm… Coffee… Gimme" Piper said as she grabbed the coffee from Polly's hands.

"Did you eventually get some sleep?"

"If drifting in and out with my face on the desk counts as sleep then yes I got some sleep."

"That bad, huh?"

Piper nodded.

She'd never wanted to trade places with Polly ever before but right now in this moment when Polly's finals were all completed and passed she'd switch in a heartbeat – only if she could keep Alex, of course.

"You'll be fine, Pipes. You always are." Polly rubbed Piper's shoulder and kissed her head before making her way back to her sleeping boyfriend.

Piper hoped she was right. She knew she should have studied more and she should never have let anything get in the way of her potential success. She just hoped the binge reading and all-nighter would pay off.

She made some final notes before getting washed and ready and making her way to Litchfield. The suspense and worry was broken slightly as her phone vibrated with a text from Alex as she walked along the sidewalk.

Alex: Good luck, kid. You'll do great.

Piper smiled as the realisation hit her. No matter what happened today, no matter if she passed or not, she would still have Alex and even though it shouldn't, that seemed enough.

Piper stood amongst the crowd outside the exam hall as they waited to be called in. Many of the students were slumped against the wall or sat on the floor, notes in hand and their eyes furiously reading the paper. Piper chose the other option. She didn't look at her notes. She wasn't going to learn anything new in these next few minutes. Hopefully she knew enough already to get a good result.

She checked her seat number on the board outside the exam hall before they were called in. She took her seat and filled in her details on the front of the script. There were still a full 5 minutes to wait before the exam officially started. These were the worst five minutes. The exam paper was in front of her but she couldn't look at it yet. Those 4 sheets of paper would determine her future.

As this thought raced through her mind, she felt the nerves start to build up inside of her. She had been relatively calm until this moment but now that it was here, now that she was in her seat seconds away from the exam starting and there was no turning back, she felt a slight panic build inside her. The sweat was building on her palms and her heart was beginning to race. These feelings only multiplied as the invigilator called time.

'Here we go…' Piper thought to herself as she opened the first page of her exam script.

Piper raced to finish her last sentence after the invigilator called time at the end of the exam. Her writing was barely legible but she managed to get all her points written down.

She filtered out of the exam hall amongst the other students, stopping on the way to discuss the exam with some of her classmates before stepping outside in to the fresh New York air and walking the short journey home to her apartment.

The exam had gone well – much better than she thought it might. The questions she was hoping would come up appeared and there was only a couple of subjects she'd struggled with. She hoped she'd done enough yet she still had that doubt inside. She was still analysing the exam as she reached her apartment.

"Soooo… how did it go?" Polly asked as she lay in Pete's arms on the couch.

"Yeah… ok… I think…"

"Here… have some leftover Chinese to celebrate." Pete said as he passed Piper the white carton of chicken noodles.

"Not now. I'll save it for the morning when I find out my result. I'm pretty beat anyway, I'm gonna have a lie down."

Piper was exhausted. The stress of the past few days had well and truly caught up with her. Her time with Alex, her vacation with her parents and now her final exams had worn her out. She promised to call Alex and tell her how the exam went but she could feel her eyes closing as soon as she lay down. Within seconds, while her fingers were dialling Alex's number, she was sound asleep.

Piper awoke 12 hours later – she was clearly much more tired than she thought. 4:25am. She looked at her phone and almost ignored the time completely. She had one unread text message, three missed calls and one voicemail from Alex. She quickly put the phone to her ear and felt the butterflies in her stomach build as she listened to Alex's husky voice.

"Hey Pipes. Just checking to see how the exam went. Give me a call whenever you can."

Piper hated the thought that Alex could be worried about her and she felt incredibly guilty that she'd fallen asleep before contacting her. She knew Alex would be asleep but she decided to send her a text anyway.

Piper: Hey baby. I fell asleep as soon as I got home after the exam yesterday. I'm so sorry for not calling. I've only just woken up. I'll see you later on this morning. P

Piper lay in the darkness of her bedroom and looked out of her window into the deserted New York streets. She watched for 10 full minutes and not a sole made an appearance – so much for the city that never sleeps. She felt like she was the only one who wasn't sleeping in that moment.

The email with her exam results was due in at 8am yet she was still checking her inbox every 10 minutes. Her heart dropped every time that circular timer took a second too long to refresh only to show the same message over and over again; 'No new items.' She had to do something to distract herself for the next few hours. This was torture.

She made her way to the bathroom and ran a hot bubble bath. She removed all her clothes, placed them in the corner of the room and stepped in to the hot, soapy water. She lay back in the bath and attempted to relax. She was unsuccessful. All the 'what ifs' were circling in her head. What if she failed the exam? What if she couldn't graduate? What if her family disowned her because of her failure? She knew these were thoughts were best dealt with when they came around – and that time wasn't now. She wished she could calm down and relax. She thought about Alex and imagined she was there with her. She knew Alex would be able to calm her down. Even hearing her voice sent Piper into an instant state of relaxation. If Alex was with her though, in that hot bubble bath, Piper wasn't sure she'd want to calm down at all.

She stepped out of the tub and onto the cold bathroom tiles. She got dressed and debated on making some breakfast. She quickly changed her mind when she almost gagged as the smell of bagels from the deli below blew through her window. She couldn't stomach any food right now.

She checked her phone once more – still no email.

Piper decided she'd kill some time by reading a book. Reading always calmed her most severe nerves. Getting lost in the story and the characters took her away from reality and that is exactly what she needed right now.

Four and a half chapters in to 'The Kite Runner' and Piper's phone vibrated on the nightstand. She smiled as she assumed it would be Alex returning her text. It was already 7.20am and she figured the Professor would be waking up around this time anyway. The smile was quickly wiped from her face however, when the screen of her iPhone showed no text. Instead, it showed one new email and it was the email Piper had been dreading.

She froze on the spot for a few moments, terrified to open the email in case it confirmed her worst nightmares. Her heart was beating out of her chest and she failed to open the email on her first attempt as her hands were shaking so much.

Eventually she managed to control her fingers and opened the email. She scanned the screen and saw the word 'Congratulations' before her eyes were drawn to the bold 84% figure halfway down the page. Finally, she could breathe again. She was ecstatic as the realisation hit her. She had passed. She had barely let the news sink in before she was out the door. There was only one person she wanted to tell about her success.

Running through the side streets of New York to Litchfield University had become a regular occurrence for Piper over the past few weeks. Only today, she was running for a different reason. She wasn't late for class and she didn't have any deadlines to meet – both of which had become routine for Piper recently. Today she was running towards Alex. She wanted Alex to be the first person she told about her success. She wanted to share this with her.

She didn't notice Alex's motorbike on the way in but she wasn't really looking. It was around 8.30am by the time Piper reached Litchfield and she knew Alex was usually in her office at this time preparing for the day ahead – she prayed that today was no different.

As she passed through the double doors and made her way down the marketing wing, she saw Alex step in to her office and close the door behind her. A wave of relief and excitement came over her. It was another 10 seconds before Piper reached the door but she didn't stop for breath when she arrived. Instead she swung open the door, stepped in and leaned against the closed door behind her as she finally stopped to control her breathing.

Alex hadn't even removed her jacket yet. She was in the middle of placing folders on her desk as she immediately noticed Piper.

"Pipes? Are you ok?" Alex walked quickly towards the blonde who was still trying to catch her breath and slow down her heartrate. She placed both her hands on Piper's shoulders and looked her in the eye, a concerned look plastered her face.

"I'm fine, Al. More than fine actually. I passed. I got 84%" Piper struggled to contain her joy and the emotion could be heard in her voice.

She watched as a smile broke out on Alex's face. It was a smile she'd never seen before – one filled with pride and laced with relief.

Alex pulled Piper into a close embrace before picking her up and swinging her around in circles.

"You fucking rockstar. I knew you'd do it."

As much as she loved the spontaneous act of affection, Piper was glad when her feet were back on the ground – she hadn't eaten in around 18 hours and was already feeling lightheaded.

"Thanks, Al. I ran here to tell you."

Alex placed her hand at the back of Piper's head and pulled her closer until her lips reached the blondes forehead where she placed a gentle kiss.

"I'm so proud of you, baby." She said as she pulled her lips away and caught Piper's gaze.

"I couldn't have done it without you."

"Yes, you could've but I'm glad you didn't." Alex smiled.

Piper threw her arms around Alex's neck and closed the gap between them. She placed a soft, sensual kiss on the Professors lips before pulling her into a close embrace. They stood there like that for a number of minutes; hugging, holding each other close before Alex reluctantly broke the embrace.

"I have an all-day meeting with the faculty here which starts in about 3 minutes." Alex said.

Piper could tell she wasn't looking forward to it. Alex struggled to hide the emotion in her voice when she spoke.

"So you won't be in class?"

"No."

"Oh." Both women were disappointed that they wouldn't see each other all day. Thankfully, Alex came up with a suitable alternative.

"What are you doing tonight?" Alex said as she took Piper's hand in her own, slowly grazing the skin on her palm with her thumb.

"Nothing. Why?"

"Why don't you come over to my apartment? I could make you dinner and we could watch a movie. We could celebrate your exam success."

"I'd love to." Piper tried to control the excitement in her voice.

"Good."

Alex reached for a pen on her desk and scribbled her address on Piper's hand.

"7.30… be there."

"I will." Piper said as she blew Alex a kiss and made her way out of the office.

Piper had become used to the long days at Litchfield and was unfortunately today faced with another. She had spent most of her day in the library. Finals were over, and she was glad about that but she still had her final paper to hand in. Piper was a perfectionist and even though she knew the paper was good enough to pass, she rewrote it over and over and over again until she was sure it was 100%.

Polly had brought her coffee and a takeaway cesar salad for lunch. Both of which were still sat on the desk. Too much coffee sometimes gave her a funny tummy and she didn't want to eat or drink anything that could affect her appetite tonight.

Finally, she was happy with her work. She hit save, printed the paper and handed it in before leaving Litchfield for the day. She had enjoyed her time at University but was incredibly relieved that she only had a couple more days there. She'd do all those years over and over again, however, as long as Alex would be her professor and she could see her every day.

She stopped at Macy's on the way home and bought a new outfit for the night. After trying on four or five different items she finally settled on skin tight black jeans and a nude coloured blazer. She'd finish the look with her favourite heeled shoe boots that were lying under her bed.

After time dragging in all day, it was now flying by and before she knew it Piper was home, showered, dressed and waiting on her cab to arrive. The excitement was already taking over her.

After one quick stop on the way, the cab driver pulled up in front of what Piper assumed was Alex's building. She paid the driver – tipped him extra because she was in a good mood – and made her way to the main entrance. The sandstone building was situated in an affluent area of the West Village and Piper smiled as she saw Alex's motorbike parked directly outside the door – looking somewhat out of place in the WASPy area.

She pressed the number on the intercom that Alex had written down on her hand. After a few seconds of silence someone picked up but there was no answer. Instead she was buzzed straight in to the building.

"Evening Maam" The doorman said as Piper entered the building.

She smiled at the older gentleman and made her way to the elevator. After a short journey, she stepped out on to Alex's floor and made her way to the apartment at the end of the hall. As her heels walked along the carpeted floor, Piper couldn't stop herself from feeling a slither of jealousy at how luxurious Alex's building was compared to her own. These thoughts didn't linger long however as she was finally in front of Alex's door. She smiled as the door was swung open, expecting Alex to be smiling back at her. Alex was there and she was smiling at her but she wasn't alone.

A small, frizzy haired woman stepped out of the apartment.

"Aren't you going to introduce us Vause?" The woman said as she looked Piper up and down.

Alex hesitated for a moment before she spoke.

"Nicky, this is Piper. Piper this is my best friend Nicky Nichols."

"Ahhhhh so you're Piper." Nicky said before turning her gaze to Alex, who was stood in the doorway. "You were right."

With that, Nicky turned and made her way towards the elevator. As they watched the woman leave, Alex grabbed Piper's hand and pulled her in to the apartment. She quickly closed the door and kissed Piper on the lips.

"Hi." She smiled as their lips parted.

"You were right about what?" Piper enquired.

"What?"

"Before Nicky left she said you were right. What was she talking about?"

"Ah." Alex said as she realised what Piper was talking about. She looked slightly embarrassed before she continued.

"When I told Nicky about you I told her that you were beautiful and that when you smile even the darkest of rooms lit up. I guess she saw that too."

Piper felt her heart drop. She couldn't believe how lucky she was that this woman felt these things for her. She was speechless. She didn't know whether to kiss Alex, hug her or drag her to bed. She obviously chose the awkward option and stood there glued to the floor.

"These are for you." She eventually found her voice.

Piper had stopped off at a corner shop on her way to Alex's apartment. She bought flowers for the Professor and a thank you card which she scribbled on during the remainder of the bumpy car ride.

"They're beautiful, Pipes. Thank you." Alex said as she took the flowers from Piper's hands and placed them in a nearby vase.

"I also got you this. It's a Thank You card. Just to say thanks for being an awesome Professor."

Alex took the card and read it slowly to herself.

Dear Alex,

I thought these last few weeks would be the most stressful of my life. Instead, they turned out to be the best.

Thank you for being an amazing Professor and for helping me get through this course.

Thank you also for walking in to my life and for making me endlessly happy.

Piper xo

PS. I also wanted to say thank you for being an incredible kisser and for being incredibly hot.

Alex placed the card on the counter and turned to face Piper. As she got closer, Piper could see the moisture form in Alex's eyes. She kissed her slowly and full of passion. She picked Piper up and sat her on the kitchen counter, the blonde's legs wrapped around Alex's waist. They continued to kiss, their tongues intertwined as Alex's palms simultaneously grazed Piper's thighs. Piper tightened her grip around Alex's waist and her hands held her close. There was nowhere in the world she'd rather be than right here, right now.

They were pulled out of their embrace as the microwave beeped.

"Dinner's ready." Alex smiled as she helped Piper down from the counter and kissed her one last time.

Alex refused to allow Piper to help with dinner. She sat at the table until everything was ready. Her eyes glanced around Alex's apartment. It was modern, spacious and reflected Alex's personality perfectly. The record player in the corner was on and played the sounds of one of New York's newest indie bands. The apartment was lit by many candles situated throughout the rooms. Alex's leather jacket was placed neatly over the arm of the brown fabric sofa and the fire was on making this one of the cosiest rooms she'd ever been in.

"Here you go." Piper was snapped out of her daydream by Alex's voice.

"I bought some champagne to celebrate your success." Alex continued.

Piper smiled and took the glass from the Professor, celebrating was exactly what she wanted to be doing tonight.

Dinner was incredible. Alex sure knew how to cook. She had made smoked salmon and cream cheese for dinner which was followed by the richest chocolate fondant Piper had ever tasted.

"That was… incredible." Piper said as she swallowed the last bite.

"Glad you enjoyed it kid."

The fact that Alex could cook as well as she'd shown that evening, made her even more attractive to Piper – if that was at all possible. Piper wanted nothing more than to drag her in to the bedroom at that very moment. The two days that were left of them being student/teacher were going to be torture.

They sat at the table for the next 30 minutes talking about life and drinking champagne. Piper talked mostly about Alex's amazing cooking skills. She felt shivers throughout her body as Alex's foot slowly grazed Piper's shin under the table.

"Come on." Alex said as she stood up and held out her hand for Piper to grab hold of. "Let's go and watch a movie."

Piper followed behind as Alex led the way to her bedroom. She lay down on the bed and patted the space next to her. Piper removed her shoes and joined Alex on the soft, dark duvet.

"You pick the movie." Alex said as she handed Piper the remote.

After a lot of searching, Piper finally settled on a movie; Pretty Woman. She pressed play on the remote and turned immediately to face Alex.

They were both laying on their side facing each other, their bodies only centimetres apart. Alex grazed Piper's cheek softly as Piper rested her hand on Alex's ass. They made out for several minutes, ignoring the movie completely. It was the most sensual experience Piper had ever had. It wasn't a rip your clothes off fuck me kiss. Rather, it was a kiss filled with love and closeness and Piper lost herself in Alex's lips.

"You're amazing." Piper whispered as her lips parted from the brunettes.

Alex let a soft smile form on her lips before the two women turned their attention to the movie for the first time that evening.

Piper turned so she was now laying on her other side and Alex spooned her from behind.

"Hold me tighter." Piper whispered as Alex's arm pulled Piper closer to her.

"Tighter…" Piper wanted to feel as much of Alex as she could.

Alex held Piper's body against her own and snuggled her lips in to Piper's neck. Piper's hand reached down to her stomach and her fingers quickly interlinked with Alex's. A satisfied sigh escaped her mouth as she felt Alex's warm breath on her neck She was content and she felt safer with Alex in this moment than she'd ever felt in her life before.

Before long, both woman had fallen asleep in each other's arms.

Another long chapter. I hope you are still enjoying this story. Lots of Vauseman coming up. Please follow/favourite/review. Update coming soon.