12

Piper was in deep sleep when she felt something making its way up her throat. Her eyes shot open and in one swift motion she threw the covers to the side. As soon as her feet touched the cold floor, the room began to tilt just as a bout of nausea hit her. Her hands immediately covered her mouth and just when she thought it had stopped, a sharp throbbing pain hit her in the back of the head. How much did you drink, she berated herself.

She took a deep breath, threw her legs over the bed, and used one hand to steady herself against the dresser. That's when it hit her—she didn't have a dresser. At least not anywhere near her bed. Her brow creased as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. The size of the bedroom was almost the same size as her entire apartment. The furniture, shiny and polished, seemed to have come from one of the catalogs she often paged through during her lunch break. Everything was organized and clean.

She was in the midst of trying to remember where and how she'd gotten there when something resting on a chair in the far corner caught her eye. There, folded in a neat pile, were her clothes. She looked down her body to find she was dressed in a plain long white dress-shirt that was too big to be her own. Her eyes continued their journey down her body and she grimaced when she noticed her bra was missing. One the bright side, she still had her panties. I swear Piper, if you did something stupid… she muttered to herself as she walked to the chair and slipped into her pants.

She scanned the room one last time before heading out into the hallway which led to a kitchen furnished in a similar fashion as the room. The countertops were a dark marble and the appliances silver. She noticed a giant refrigerator on one side and she was almost tempted to take a peek to see the inside. On the left countertop she noticed her purse and snatched it getting ready to leave but as she turned in a hurry, something next to it caught her attention–it was a note.

Went to get something to eat. I won't be long. Just in case you wake up before I'm back…

There was no signature.

Think, Piper, think. You were supposed to meet Marcus. She closed her eyes and tried remembering the events of the previous night. After her conversation with Nicki she'd called Alex and explained the situation. Alex agreed to help her and arrived in no time. They'd both waited but Marcus had been a no show. Piper tried calling Nicki to explain the situation but Nicki had not answered.

After that, they decided not to cancel the reservation since Nicky had paid ahead of time. Instead, they ordered dinner. Throughout their meal, Alex had been quiet and avoided Piper's eyes. Piper noticed Alex was being short as well and not very conversational. To try to lighten the mood, Piper ordered a bottle of wine but was disappointed when Alex declined to drink. This pissed her off and before she knew it, Piper had drank the entire bottle herself.

This is when things began to get blurry for Piper. She could not make out the entire night as she had bits and pieces of what happened. She gripped the counter and closed her eyes trying to think of what happened. Piper, she muttered, you better not have made a fool out of yourself except her memory showed her otherwise. She remembered talking loudly to Alex but she could not remember what she said. Alex was standing and Piper had a glass of wine in her hand. Things went black. Then she remembered seeing Alex with a napkin dabbing at her shirt and the glass in Piper's hand was empty. But this was not the worst of her recollection. Her eyes shot open when a memory of Steven showing up came to the front of her head. Her eyes widened when she remembered his hands on her hips and the sound of music as he twirled her around the room, his eyes coming incredibly close to hers.

She looked around the apartment, "Fuck."

…

Alex had spent all day thinking about the kiss before she finally let it go. Well, almost. Truth be told, the sensation from Piper's lips still lingered on her skin, the softness and delicate precision which it had been planted with still slightly tingled Alex's cheek. And Piper's scent…something along the lines of nerves and lust...

No, Alex thought to herself, that was all you Vause. There's no way blondie is into you. You're her boss's best friend… and yet …you're into her…

For the entire morning and into the evening, she'd paced back and forth in her room checking her phone often for a message from Piper. She was, however, disappointed when nothing came through. She tossed her head back and sighed loudly. She needed to get out the house and do something or she was going to go crazy. Worse yet, Nicki and Lorna were driving her nuts. They must have known she did not come home at night since they were up and about when she came home and yet they made no attempt to question her about her whereabouts. Usually, she would have been thankful for their privacy but the look Nicky gave her was odd and mildly irritating. This was unlike both of them, especially coming from Nicky. Instead, they acted like she didn't exist, only wishing her a good morning before leaving the apartment like two kids holding a secret. On her way out, Nicky gave Alex a nod and said nothing.

An hour later and she could not take it any longer so she grabbed her jacket and headed out. Maybe a drive around the city would calm her down. Before she knew it got dark and she found herself outside of Piper's apartment. She was about to call Piper when her phone rang and it was none other than Piper herself.

…

#

Kubra paced back and forth in. In one hand he gripped a glass filled with whiskey whilst the other traced the furniture. Surprisingly, despite Alex being gone for over a month, the place was impeccably clean. He had to give it to her, she was one to keep everything in place and so it was not hard to find what he came for. He could have left immediately but there was no pleasure in a quick exit. Not when you could invade your enemy's privacy and so he stayed behind taking in as much as he could. When Kubra came upon a picture of Alex and Diane he stopped. They were standing close to each other, one arm on the other's shoulders. They were smiling while they reclined against the red Audi. He scoffed. He brought the glass to his lips and downed the entire contents. After he was done, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand then picked up the picture.

"You have no idea what's in store for you," he curled his lip and rubbed Alex's face with his thumb. After a moment he set the picture down and walked back to the door. He stopped and took one last look at the apartment, his gaze coming to a stop upon a small replica of the red car. Just then the door opened.

"Sir, the cameras will be back online in a couple of minutes," Aydin said.

Kubra nodded, "Aydin," he said still looking at the replica, "How do you feel about getting me a trophy?"

#

AN: I know this is a short chapter but I wanted to give you guys something. I have been dragging this on for so long and well, I hope to give you more the next time I upload. I do not promise you anything soon because I am really busy. Also, I will stop marinating their relationship. I know where this is going. I have decided to keep the story and finish it. Thank you for those who messaged me encouraging words.

Also, I hope you are all staying safe and that you are all okay! This virus has been quite disruptive which is why I wanted to give you guys something to look forward too.

Enjoy!

-Youcanspace