I re-enter the club to find Polly waiting for my troubled mind at the door. She looks like she knows what just happened so I don't sugarcoat things with her. She's an intuitive bitch but more importantly, I don't want her to talk me out doing what I want to do. I cut to the chase: "Pol, I have to leave. If I don't then I'll never know what I am missing out on." I brush past her shoulder and don't allow her the opportunity to cross-examine my defense.

"Oh god, Piper. Your'e pathetic and I can read you like a book. I saw Alex running after you so I decoyed Pete and Larry and told them we were coming out for a breath of fresh air but I'm not sure how you're going to manage this one, babe. And you owe me one for not letting you figure this one out on your own."

Polly was right, standing there with her arms crossed looking at me with dissatisfaction. But, I know that I am right too. I have to follow Alex, my body had already decided it. My feet were already walking towards Larry to tell him that I was leaving. There was no turning back now and I didn't want to turn back.

"Pipes, are you feeling better?"

Lucky for me, my boyfriend isn't as intuitive as Polly. I take what seems like five minutes to respond, but it was quick enough to indicate my predisposition about how my evening was going to pan out. Larry climbs out of the booth and comes to my side. "No, Larry. I'm actually not really okay." My voice is delicate but without question. I can't look at him. I can't look into the soul of the innocent person that is about to be collateral damage in the warpath that I am soon to create. At first I avoid his eyes until I decide it's time to turn the inserted dagger ninety degrees. "I have to go," I finally face him, "and I can't get into it right now but I don't want you to follow me." My voice sounding a little firmer.

Larry kinks his head a hair to the right illustrating his genuine confusion. "Piper, I'm not leaving you to get home in the middle of the nigh by yourself. What do you mean you are leaving?" He misses the point. This is good at least for now, less blast-radius post explosion. He turns his body to shield our conversation from Pete and Polly. "Pipes. What's going on?"

"Larry, I need to clear my mind, and I need to go it alone. I don't want to get into this right here, in this bar." I motion to the area around us to try to provide my conscience with justification to avoid the difficult task infront of me. For now. "Can we talk tomorrow? I really have to go."

I don't give Larry an opportunity to respond; I grab my coat and turn to him one more time. I pause for as second knowing that everything is teetering on the precipice of the event horizon, but I try not to process thoroughly. I just want to feel. "I'll call you in the morning." With that, I kiss his cheek, a cop out, and run back outside.

Again, the cold hits me like a bad decision. The kind that you see coming, that you have time to fix, but you make it anyway. "Alex," I shout, as soon as I'm out of earshot of my boyfriend and my conscience. When I die, God is going to ask me at the gates 'do you remember that one time?' and I'll have no heavenly defense. He will close the gates because I am a bad decision maker. I have made about fifteen in the last twenty-four hours alone. "Alex," I call again. No one is there to soundboard my call. In the midst of rejection, I see that the one person I'm after is walking down the sidewalk away from my indecision. "Alex wait," I run after her and she stops when I reach her side. I am slightly out of breath and make a mental note to start going to spinning class again with Polly - if I survive this night. But as soon as I look into her deep green orbs, it is like I am staring at my lifeline and I know I'm staring into Heaven as close as I've seen it, "Wait, I'm coming."

Coming where? Her apartment? Her car? Her life? I don't even know where it is that she is going.

"I was beginning to think you found a better offer." The slight infliction in her voice and rise in the corner of her lips let me know she is being sarcastic, like she knew I would follow. Of course I follow, she has a hold on my compass, deciding where true North is located. It's her.

"I think that I am the best offer you've had all day, Alex." My wit fires back as we start to stride down the street as if it has just found an oasis of confidence in my desolation.

Alex chuckles, "ohhh is that so? I don't recall a fair public auction for your... capital." She turns her head to look at me, "you know bribery is illegal, Pipes. I wouldn't want anyone to think that you seduced me into accepting your proposal in this transaction."

"Oh shut up." I playfully smack her arm but, really, it's just an excuse to put my hands in the general vicinity so I can hook them around the arm that she has reaching into her pocket for warmth. We walk for a few blocks in silence, speaking only in flirty glances that have no spoken expectation.

Alex stops at the next corner and examines the street signs. "So this is the pivotal moment in our walk where we can go left, and I can walk you to the subway..." she reflects at what she just said but, as if she's come to a realization, she refrains from further inquisition and looks at me. "... or we can make a right."

"And what is right, Alex?" Based on my inflection, my question had merit in both the literal and directional sense but I am going to put the ball in Alex's court. I have followed her this far.

"You, Me, a night cap." Her facial expression right now holds confidence and the slightest evidence of pride. Smooth, Alex Vause. "But if that's too cliché, we can do ecstasy in an underground club with three strangers in drag. I have those connections too."

I chuckle but don't stand still for too long before I make the decision without much contemplation and turn right. I look over my shoulder back at her, "Are you ever not a smartass?!"

I can tell that Alex is pleased albeit slightly taken aback at my lack of hesitation. It doesn't take her too long before she accepts the moment, "I'd tell you the answer to that but it'd ruin the mystery."

After about ten blocks we arrive at Alex's loft, "This is me."

I can tell right away that it's a little more luxurious than what I expected. There are citrus water jugs by the elevators and reflective foliage wallpaper in the great lobby. Alex leads me to the elevator and we step in alone. I suddenly don't know what to look at or where to put my hands. I feel like if I breathe I will contaminate the air quality of the elevator shaft. Alex hits PH. "Alex!" I exasperate in disbelief but it's only because thus far I've been in the company of a rugged and sexier version of Laura Croft... with some leather instead of rope. Not penthouse.

"What?" She shrugged my reaction before she slowly runs her hand up my arm and to my chin, her hand pulling my face to look at her as she inches closer to my front, "It had the best rooftop access."

I smile before I look down at her luscious lips and lean forward on my top toes. My body is betraying me but to be honest I can't resist anymore, I want to kiss Alex too.

It is as if the universe has singled me out today to fuck with because before I can close down on those luscious lips someone enters the elevator. "Mrs. Elsner," Alex must know her because she is holding the door for the crotchety old bat to get on. Mrs. Elsner takes one look at me and mumbles something under her breath before she faces the front of the car. "She is old fashioned." Alex whispers in my ear as she runs her arm back down to possessively wrap around my waist. All I can do is giggle in slight embarrassment with my face in my hands. After all, I have never really been with a woman before let alone get caught in the act in an elevator shaft.

Mrs. Elsner soon gets off and we get off the floor after. Alex opens her front door and offers to take my coat as I take in her hardwood floors, upgraded appliances, and plush furniture. From the living room and front door you can see the kitchen, what looks like a loft with a high quality card table, and shelves upon shelves of books all over. I walk to the nearest bookshelf and run thumb along some of the spines of classics from every universe of literature. I pull out Gone With the Wind and realize that it is a pristine copy. I feel like I am tainting it with my sinful fingertips. Suddenly I feel Alex behind me, as close as she can be without touching, "You should be kissed often, and by someone who knows how."

Immediately I slide the novel back in its place and it takes me a second to realize what Alex has just said. I can't see her but I know that she is smirking. She has put the ball back in my court but I want to put it back in hers and I want to see her face when I do so I turn to look her in the eye, "Someday, I will kiss you and you will like it. But not now, so I beg you not to be too impatient." The fire between us is roaring with angst but I clearly caught her off guard because she doesn't know how to respond to my response.

"So you too have read Gone With the Wind?" She plays it safe.

"Yes, but I don't have a leather-bound copy."

"What can I say, I am turned on by the lustful words of Margaret Mitchell."

I smile back at her and appreciate our exchange for what it is in the moment, "Your place is gorgeous, Alex. I am not even sure how you have collected all of these books." I continue to scan her apartment for more clues about why might lie under the hard-shelled exterior of this dark haired enigma. "What's up there?" I point to a small metal staircase that leads to an oversized warehouse looking door.

"Wanna see?" Alex grabs my hand and takes me to the top and out the door. It leads outside but it is black, pitch black. While I'm looking into the night abyss waiting for something to happen, Alex wraps her arm around my hip and pulls me flush against her body. "Here, stay close."

I like this feeling so I chuckle and stand on my tip toes to put my lips as close to her ear as possible and race through my words, "Is this where your taking me to murder me and hide my body because I really don't want to leave this world without tasting your—"

I didn't get finish my outspoken and sultry comment before Alex grabbed a large mechanical lever and thrusted up. One by one a string of golden low-dim lights flickered on to illuminate the perimeter of an outdoor loft that I presume to be on the roof of Alex's building. There were trelaces that had lofty plants growing around them, and sitting area with outdoor furniture that was probably larger that my living room. Under a canopy in the corner, a hot tub was tucked away privately with a fence of tiki torches and completely closed off from the world around us, only witness to the moon and the Manhattan skyline.

"Now, what was it you were saying about your body and your desires?" Alex smirked as I stood star-struck in awe.

"Alex... This is beautiful. Is this all yours?"

"Yep. Like I said, best rooftop access."

I leave Alex's side to walk over to the corner with the hot tub. She watches me from where her feet stay planted. I look over my shoulder to meet her gaze as I trace my fingers along the top cover of the hot tub. It's cold out, the night is clear, it's only the next logical step...

"Wanna take a night swim?" The seductive undercurrent to my question is intentional, but the worry that Alex will turn me down is still lingering like the inappropriate uncle after a Christmas party.

Alex saunters the fifty feet towards where I am standing and reaches for the handle of the hard foam cover. "Well that's an interesting proposition Miss Chapman, however i'd be remiss If I neglected to tell you about the spa rules."

"Oh, god, what spa rules?"

"Okay, one, don't question the spa rules. Two, absolutely no horseplay will be tolerated." She traces a finger from my forehead down my cheek and neck. I hope she can't feel the pounding of my heart as she skates over my pulse point because I am pounding all over my body from how seductive Alex is being with her words and movements. She looks down my body and she is so close to me that her forehead brushes against mine for a brief moment. "Three, under no exception are street clothes permitted inside the spa." I am beet red, I know it, but I just stand there and wait for her to continue making my mouth water. "Last, failure to follow any of these rules may result in expulsion from the spa; unless of course you can provide adequate justification to the disciplinary board."

"Okay, miss board member, is this adequate?" I stand on my toes and Alex briefly questions what I am doing. Not for long, though, because I bring my hand up to grab the back of her neck and drag her closer into my existence. I make it very clear. I pause momentarily when she closes her eyes, expecting my lips to touch hers. I go in for the kill and whisper softly into her ear, "Because I don't like to follow rules." Alex isn't the only one who can make a move. At my remark she finally opens her orbs to beg me to lessen the distance, unable to withstand our lips not touching for another second. So, I don't make her wait any longer.

In the first nanosecond that our lips touch, it is like the butterflies in my stomach move to my chest and escape through my mouth. I am reminded of the explosivity when we kiss but it is still like every layer of her lips is a new surface that I need to map. At first I am nice and let Alex taste the desire pouring through my strawberry chapstick as I caress her lower lip, but I can't giver her all day so I bite it and pull it towards me to tell her that I want deeper exposure to her mouth. I want to taste all the corners of her being with my tongue. I can tell that she is surprised at my aggressiveness, but I don't stop. I start by massaging her lips with mine but when I stick my tongue in her mouth she pushes me backwards until my back hits the hot tub. I don't relinquish control. I grab her head more forcefully with one hand and use the other to anchor her hips against mine. She tastes so good that I want to drop her panties right here and taste her flavor between her legs. I bite her lower lip again and the soothe it with my tongue as Alex sighs into my mouth. I am pleased with my display of evidence so I let her catch her breath and leave one last lingering peck on the corner of her mouth before I pull away.

"All right, well, that was a very compelling argument." She opens her eyes to look at me, "But, I don't think I want you kissing anyone else like that." I think Alex quickly realized the weight of what she said because she pulled away from me slightly. I'll admit I am moderately confused at her shyness. As she recovered she soon she recognized the look on my face at her immediate dismissal of our, nothing short of fiery, kiss. "So, you will have to trust my presentation to the board at our next meeting. In the meantime, why don't you get the water going while I grab a few things from inside and get you a bathing suit." Alex pulls the cover from the spa and turns to kiss my cheek before heading back downstairs. I smile as her lips linger and try to hide my blushing. "I'll be right back, Pipes."

Once Alex is out of sight I hit the controls and the hot tub comes to life. I turn the temperature up and get the jets rolling. There is a stereo in the corner with an iPod and I put on some background music with soft lyrics that won't overpower the atmosphere. Suddenly, I am conscious of what I am wearing.

Will Alex want me to change out here? Will it be a turn off if I go change inside? Will she like the way I look in a bathing suit? If I get in the hot tub after Alex should I sit next to her, across from her?

As I thimble with the hem of my dress I know that there is only one solution that prevents me from having to make any of these decisions. I have to get into the hot tub first. Then Alex can decide how close to me she wants to position herself. I hope that it is clear after our kiss that I want to be next to her, but I also don't want to appear easy. Time to grow a pair, Piper. I shimmy out of my dress so that I am left in a strapless bra and a skimpy pair of underwear. Had I known that the evening was going to end up here I would have prepared a little more, but it is too late now so I lay my dress over the railing and climb into the hot tub.

A few minutes go by and I hear the door open before I see Alex walking towards me in her bikini with some towels, a tray of red drinks, and what looks like a bathing suit for me. And there I am sitting, in the middle of one of the benches along the inside of the spa. She is more beautiful than I ever could have imagined and it is such a treat to get to look at her for the few strides she takes to cross the patio. Her abs are well defined, her alabaster skin almost has a glimmer. Her legs are so long and I just want to feel her body wrap around. I know I am caught staring when Alex has to repeat herself.

"I said, I guess you wont be needing this bathing suit," Alex smirks at me. She caught me. "You couldn't wait for me Pipes?"

"No, I really couldn't." I smile back at her playfully as I rest my head backwards to let her choose her seating without any pressure from me. She sets up a tray next to the hot tub and I feel her climb in and sit directly to my right in the corner of the tub, where the curvature of the lining sinks backwards like a recliner. I pick up my head and smile at her for a moment in silence. She breaks the stare by handing me a glass if the drinks that she has poured, "Thanks."

I take a sip from the tumbler, "red Gatorade?" I swallow the gulp but squint my eyes as I was not expecting a mocktail.

"Yes," Alex chuckles at my reaction before continuing,"Can't have you getting me drunk, taking advantage of me, running off with the house keeper and leaving me barefoot and pregnant."

"Hmm," I scooch closer to Alex so that our thighs are touching and my chest is turned towards her, "Is that what you say to all the women that you mesmerize with your rooftop oasis?" I fire back at her attempt to disguise that fact that it is me she doesn't want take advantage of but she is too embarrassed to say it out loud for fear of admitting I have a hold on her.

"I've not had any other women up here." She chuckles and her laugh is radiant. I want to capture it in a bottle and listen to it on replay. I am obviously flattered, but I don't want to give up my position so soon in the game.

"Why me?" Safe.

Alex looks down at my legs and rests her free hand above my knees as I outstretch them across her thighs. Before she continues, her look changes. Suddenly I realize the luminous glow on the moon is reflecting a more serene look on her face and I wonder what layer she is about to peel back.

"I don't date, and I am probably not emotionally qualified to love. But, you have a pull on me." She leans her affection towards the crook of my neck. I am dying, I am sure of it. "I feel like I've been out of orbit, traveling aimlessly all over the galaxy for a while now, and suddenly I've found a center of gravity."

Her eyes meet mine again but this time with a different kind of hunger before she continues, "You could probably get me to do anything you want."

As a subconscious response I shift my body again to straddle her lap. Her arm moves to make room and finds solace on my hip. I set my glass down and grab Alex's glass. Suddenly I feel overcome with emotion that I don't really know how to prioritize. Of all of the women that Alex has been with, which due to her beauty I am sure has to be a lot, I make her feel this way, I have the power to center her orbit. Quickly it becomes a turn on that I have this effect on her, she wants me. And I want her even more. I can't wait another moment for her to take me, have her way with me, and show me the universe of Alex Vause. All other thoughts escape my mind because all I can think about having her too. All I can think about is tasting her lips after she has tasted me. I guide her other hand to my hip as I lean in slowly, so slowly and softly to whisper into her ear.

"I want you to take advantage of me."

AN: Sorry for the cliffhanger, and for the delay. Life takes unexpected turns like my expectations for the direction of this story. If you can hang on for the ride I will try not to disappoint in what lies ahead. Cheers to the new year!