Chapter 4: Teenage Wasteland
Alex's alarm was singing Baba O'Riley from across her penthouse bedroom. Friday. Poker night. She never went in to the office on Fridays. Even though she was her own boss, she rented a small office space in Manhattan, but today she had to spend the better part of the afternoon making final preparations for tonight. She had to confirm with the dealers and servers, and had to send out locations to players. Everything had to run smoothly so Alex spent the extra time running through the logistical preparations while Nicky tabulated invoking funds with potential outgoing funds.
This was their routine and had been ever since they started running this club 5 years ago. By noon time, they'd call the dealer. Dealers rotated and often were selected to match the criteria of the group. Lindsey was the dealer tonight. Tall, tan, but slick with a deck of cards and she could run the "man's table." She would listen to Alex's cues all night; like rake the pot when necessary. She and Alex had a history. It was more meaningful for Lindsey than it was Alex, but then again, Alex let her continue to deal games even after a few of their rendezvous behind the clubs at the end of the night. Big stacks of money do something, scientifically, to make people horny. Sometimes Lindsey would walk out of the game with $3000 in tips next to Alex. One thing led to another. A smirk turned into a peck; a peck leading to a kiss on the pulse point. It wasn't rocket science for Alex and sliding her hand down the front of Lindsey's jeans seemed like the logistical progression during these kinds of nights.
After confirming the dealer, Lindsey, and the servers, she would likely spend the next few hours setting up tables and chairs. She and Nicky invested thousands into quality equipment. The more "high roller" the players felt, the more likely they were to bet big.
As The Who continued, Alex stirred. For a small second, Alex thought about climbing further under her covers but 7:30 was a small price to pay for the thousands that she would bring in tonight. She climbed out of her king size Serta and meandered over to the large windows overlooking the city. With a deep morning breath she drew open the floor to ceiling curtains to peer out onto the active city and commuters thirty floors below her. With a start of her espresso machine she hopped into the shower. Alex was picking Nicky up by 9:00 and they were going to run some errands before the making preparations.
As she toweled off, she received a text from an unknown number; unknown at first, but never to be forgotten now.
[7:52] Hey, this is the clumsy blonde that you heroically rescued yesterday and then ran out on you to keep from getting embarrassed. You don't have a car, do you?
[7:52] This is Piper.
As Alex stared at her screen, she was shocked to say the least. She hadn't really expected Piper, the astonishing woman from the other morning, to be texting her this way. Is she using me for a ride?! Alex had predicted this scenario slightly different; involving bed sheets and hot steamy moans, and Alex would be the one to booty call Piper. Certainly not this way. Alex scoffed and put her phone down without answering as she continued to dry her hair.
[7:53] I'm at the corned of 5th and Watson and need to be uptown like 10 minutes ago.
Piper was getting desperate. Alex looked at herself and back in the mirror. What if this is my only chance? She froze for a crumb-sized second before dropping her towel, throwing on some sweats and running out the door to swoop into Piper's rescue once again. What could she say, she had a hero complex. No sense in trying to change that now while a hot blonde waited a few minutes downtown.
[7:55] That depends. How quickly do you need to get where you're going and how comfortable are you with opening your legs for a little bit of thrill?
Alex chuckled to herself quietly as she started her motorcycle and new that Piper would not know how to respond to that message. Uptown women didn't have senses of humor or senses of sexuality. She didn't care though, she had to do something to let Piper know that she was not easily summoned at moments' notices - and that usually it was her doing the summoning. Alex knew that the bike would be a little chilly but she would be able to navigate the commute traffic quicker.
Piper read Alex's message and had no clue how to digest what it meant. She was embarrassed and slightly awkward with this kind of talk to be honest. Is she suggesting I thank her with sexual favors? What does that mean? A small pit formed in her lower abdomen and Piper was concerned about opening a can of worms that she couldn't repack. She decided to bail before Alex got there and go back to her apartment to hide before any damage was done. Just as she was about to turn the corner, a woman in a grey hoodie, black Capri leggings, and grey Converse pulled up next to the curb on a motorcycle. She had a black helmet on and her dark locks escaped from the underside. She pulled directly next to Piper and balanced the bike with her feet as she removed her helmet to reveal her face to the woman who got her out of her apartment before 8:00.
"Hey excuse me, I'm looking for someone who likes a little thrill and doesn't mind a little vibration between her legs. Can you help me out?" As if there was any question before, now Piper was blushing ear to ear at Alex's introduction.
"Hi Alex. I was hoping to get up town as soon as possible to open my store. My car is in the shop."
"I can help with that. Hop on." Alex handed her helmet to Piper and reached her hand out for Piper to take as a steadying post while she swung her leg around the metal metal machine. She instantly felt the rumbling between her legs from the power of the bike. Piper smiled, she now understood Alex's comments. "Ready?" Alex asked Piper as she buckled the helmet, "You might want to hold on!" Alex reached for both of Piper's arms and wrapped them around her own abs. Alex's sweatshirt was thin, and Piper could feel the definition and tone underneath. A second later Alex peeled away from the curb and Piper squeezed just a little tighter. As Alex zipped through traffic, Piper's front morphed closer into her back and Alex could feel the warmth behind her. Piper's grip got tighter as Alex changed gears but this didn't go unwelcomed by driver or passenger. Alex too was unfamiliar with this tingling inside, but not unfamiliar with the growing sensation between her legs.
As Piper got more comfortable with the feeling of winding through the 9 to fivers, she spoke up to her maiden in shining armor, or rather, maiden on shining armor, "So, is this how you pick up all of your girls?" It was clear that Alex was at least bicurious from her flirtatious advances, so Piper thought the implication of her question wasn't too unreasonable.
"Ha, no. Only the ones that I really want to have their arms around me." Piper smiled at Alex's response. It didn't need a comeback. She just held on tighter and squeezed a little more as she clung to the back of Alex. She relaxed her muscles but tried to make her arms a large as possible to feel the most of Alex. For a moment, she didn't know who she was, why she was responding to the flirtatious advances of a woman. Piper Elizabeth Chapman wasn't gay. She pushed the questions out of her head and decide to live in the moment as she directed Alex to Popi.
As much as Alex was enjoying carting around the long legged, 10-grade blonde on the back of her bike, she was pulling up to the curbside in front of Popi. Piper leaned into Alex with one last tug to engrave the feeling of her body into memory before balancing using Alex's shoulders and dismounting. She'd likely never see Alex again, so she wanted to remember this thrill and unfamiliar flighty feeling inside her stomach. She removed the helmet and handed it back to Alex who was still on the bike. "Well, thank you so much for coming to my rescue again." Piper stared long and hard into the green orbs of her driver.
"Oh, don't mention it."
"How..." Piper continued her gaze down to the luscious lips of Alex. They were beginning to smirk at Piper's hesitation but looked so full and needy. Piper wanted a taste and it was hard to comprehend what was going on with her lower half, "Um, how can I repay... you?" Piper swallowed her immediate attraction and spark towards this woman down to the bottomless pit of her stomach. Her eyes retuned to Alex's. She was standing close, close enough that when Alex leaned forward towards Piper, their noses were millimeters apart. Alex smiled softly as Piper closed her eyes, not sure of what else to do and not wanting to witness her own inexperience and embarrassment. Alex paused before reaching her lips to Piper's. Piper's were parted, and panting heavily, unsure of what to expect. Alex looked one last time into Piper's eyes, which were closed, and veered her lips to Piper's left cheek to plant a small kiss. As she pulled away she lingered and softly swiped her nose down Piper's jaw line. Piper opened her eyes at the unmistakable chemistry.
"Let me take you out for a drink," Alex said before the moment passed, "I'd like to take you out."