Piper didn't know what to say, this was a curve ball she really wasn't expecting. Kat and Alex were cousins?

"Piper here is a regular at tonic," Kat said handing Alex a bottle of beer.

"Is that so? Guess I'll have to swing by more often then?" Alex said sipping her bud light.

She didn't like to drink too much when she was recruiting, it made her brain feel foggy and she didn't want to risk that. She had targets to meet and nothing was going to get in her way.

But this blonde girl was horribly distracting, she couldn't deny that. And there was something different about her, she didn't seem like all the other doe eyed Smith grads that hung around. Her smile was intoxicating.

"I was going have a few people over to mine after closing," Kat said, "chips, beer pong, that sorta thing, you in?" She said to piper.

What piper really wanted to know was if Alex was going to be there, because if she was, she would definitely be taking up the invite.

Just then Polly returned from the restroom. Kat introduced Alex.

"Is this the same Alex?" She said to piper who immediately blushed.

Now it would be obvious that she had been talking about Alex to her friend and that she had been on her mind since their first meeting.

Alex chuckled, "nice to meet you Molly."

"It's Polly actually," Polly huffed, unzipping her monogram Chanel quilted purse and re-applying some Chanel Joues Contraste blush powder.

"So are you gonna come?" Alex said ignoring Polly and emphasising the word "come" in a way that didn't seem polite in any sort of company.

Piper blushed more than Polly's powder and then warmth was travelling down her body. How could a person do this to her without even touching her? Sure she'd had lovers before, some of them could even read. She remembered a guy named Doug who used to recite Walt Whitman to her, but this was something else.

"Come where?" Polly said.

"My place after closing," Kat said.

"I've got an early start tomorrow," Polly said.

"That's a shame," Alex replied, not sounding sorry at all.

Piper laughed even though she knew she shouldn't. Polly said she had a headache so they got her a lyft and then the remainder of them headed to kat's place.

Kat lived in a loft conversion with three others- JJ, Cole and Saffron. JJ and Cole were standard dude bros and Saffron was a spiritual healer.

As soon as they walked in Saffron said to Piper, "honey, you have the most beautiful aura."

"Beautiful everything from where I'm standing JJ said."

Alex glared at him, "why don't you keep your eyes in your head and go put a shirt on?" She said.

Piper liked that Alex had defended her- not that she needed defending, she was a strong independent woman who had read "Orlando" cover to cover. But it did feel nice that Alex seemed to care about her wellbeing.

Some more people arrived. Friends of Cole and Kat. They all sat in a circle to play truth or dare. Kat span the bottle. It landed on Piper.

"Truth or dare?"

Piper was feeling tipsy by now so she went straight for dare. Everyone whooped.

"Dare is, you have to kiss Alex," JJ said.

Piper swallowed hard.