I have some ideas of where I'm wanting to take this. Is there anything specific anyone wants to see?
Let me know what you think in the reviews!
Enjoy!
A week later, Piper finds herself standing in front of a crowded room filled with those closest to her, reading out an extract of her newly released book. She had found the final process of her book going onto the shelves rather overwhelming, and it wasn't until she had gotten up in front of all these people had it really kicked in.
For what feels like the first time, everyone that holds levels of importance in her life were present in one room at the same time to celebrate her achievements - most surprisingly, the limelight hadn't managed to shift onto her older brother, Danny, who was seated next to the blonde's parents, her younger brother, Cal, his pregnant wife, Neri, her best friend, Polly, her husband, Pete, and their son, Finn.
Next to Polly sat her girlfriend, watching tentatively with her long hair loose and her glasses shaping the outline of her face.
She has to remind herself to not look at the brunette when reading out of fear that a mere glimpse of her emerald irises could render her speechless, defeating the entire point of this exclusive book release reading. Of course Alex had already heard the contents of the chapter in which she is reading, yet in a post-coital discussion, the older woman had expressed her want to support the blonde's work, considering it is something she herself had invested a lot of time and effort into during the making and writing process.
By the time the blonde finishes speaking and the room erupts into a chorus of applause, the event turns social. The large, open champagne bar is set-up along with a table of appetisers, and - more importantly - the blonde finally has some time to breathe. Well, at least that's what she thought.
Having been making her rounds regarding any professional conversations that she needed to take part in for marketing, Piper finally gets to go and talk to her friends and family - for once excited that everyone is in the same room at the same time.
She talks to Polly and Pete while holding their 1 year old son, Finn - knowing that the young boy is growing restless and wanting to go home, before journeying over to where her family are situated, and in seeing that her parents and older brother are talking to Alex, the blonde almost hesitates entering the conversation, somewhat nervous as to what they're talking about.
Before she's able to do so, her arm is grabbed by her younger brother who pulls her into a hug.
"That was great, Pipes," Cal says into his sister's ear while leaning backwards, arms still positioned on the blonde's biceps.
"You think?" Piper asks sincerely, seeking her brother's approval.
"Yeah! Of course!" he smiles, chuckling at how flushed his sister looks. "What're you looking at over there?" he goes on to ask in seeing his sister's eyes trained on something behind his shoulder.
The blonde fails to hear her brother, instead setting her sights on her dark-haired girlfriend that is currently laughing with her father.
"Oh I get it," Cal says, chuckling while poking her shoulder. "You're looking at Alex," he adds, placing a dreamy emphasis on the older woman's name, attempting to imitate his sister.
"What?" the blonde's eyes snap back to her brother's, suddenly alarmed. "I was just looking around."
"Don't worry about it, Pipes. Your secret's safe with me," the smaller bearded man counters, winking.
"Cal-" Piper begins, but the appearance of a photographer asking for a minute of her time ends the topic of conversation - something the blonde is somewhat thankful for.
Throughout the next 2 hours, the blonde is bombarded to the extent she hasn't even managed to speak to half of the people she had invited, and although she had managed to talk to her parents and older brother before their swift exit, she was yet to speak to Alex.
"You look like you could do with one of these," a husky voice comes from behind, causing the blonde to turn from where she was grabbing a plate of food from the buffett.
"I've been looking for you," Piper responds, putting her plate down while delivering a smile out of thanks as she takes the glass of champagne that's being held out for her.
"Don't worry about it. I know how busy these things can get," the brunette voices understandingly, turning her own body so that she's standing to the blonde's right, both watching the crowded scene before them. "You're trending on Twitter," Alex adds, causing the blonde's head to whip to the side, stunned by the comment.
"You've made a Twitter account?" she asks, ignoring the content of the older woman's comment.
"I tell you that people are talking about you on social media and that's your response?"
"I thought you hated that kind of thing."
"Yeah, well I thought I'd give it a shot considering they love to talk about me nowadays," the brunette adds sarcastically, smiling at the woman next to her.
"I'll make sure to give you a follow."
"Flattered."
Their conversation continues uninterrupted until the blonde announces she needs to use the bathroom, and as the older woman voices that she'll wait for her where she's currently standing, Piper has none of it, instead linking their hands and dragging her companion along with her.
"Finally," Piper breathes out, turning as she pulls Alex into the private bathroom, hands still connected.
"Pipes, I can wait outside when you pee," the brunette remarks, chuckling out loud while she makes sure the door is locked.
"That can wait," is all the blonde responds, instead choosing to move closer to her girlfriend and place her hands on her jaw, connecting their lips.
"We can't fuck in the bathroom," Alex says between kisses, feeling herself getting increasingly riled up at the blonde's passion, finding that grounding her hands on her girlfriend's bony hips isn't helping her growing internal struggle.
"I know," Piper says stoically, not stopping her mission at hand. "I've just been wanting to do that all day," she finally says, moving her mouth away to rest their foreheads together.
"I'm proud of you, Pipes," Alex says, basking - in what feels like - the only real moment of privacy they've had all day.
Blushing slightly, the blonde hides her face in her girlfriend's neck, not wanting the older woman to see how much her comment had affected her.
"I love you, Al," is all she mumbles into the brunette's neck, and in hearing the same sentiment given back, Piper can't help but smile. Despite all of the shit they'd so far encountered, this was one of them moments that reminded her it was all worth it in the end.
After deciding with her girlfriend to depart ways for the rest of the evening - tired from the long day she had encountered, Alex sits on the sofa in her living room and scrolls through her phone - more specifically, her Twitter account.
She'd be lying to herself if she wasn't curious about the kinds of things people were saying about herself and Piper, and in seeing that the vast majority of the comments were positive, the brunette found it entertaining reading through people's interpretations of something as simple as a picture of herself sharing a smile with Piper.
The most recent set of pictures consisted of ones taken by photographers at the blonde's reading event. One whereby they're pictured in a group consisting of editors and publishers, and two of the pair alone together: one of the two innocently smiling at the camera - Alex's arm around the blonde's shoulders who has her arm around the taller woman's waist, and another of the pair unaware of the camera, laughing while conversing - a picture that had captured a moment of conversation after the brunette had approached her girlfriend with a glass of champagne.
Again - if she was being honest with herself, Alex wasn't particularly phased by the pictures that seemed to be sending those following their - publically hidden - relationship on the internet. Piper herself had posted a celebratory picture of the publishing group, choosing to boldly tag Alex's new account in the process, which - along with being present in the picture with the blonde - sent people spiralling to the extent whereby the brunette was receiving new follower notifications by the minute.
She begins to notice a consistent pattern of tweets mentioning the blonde's comments in the beginning dedication and ending acknowledgements of her book. Curious as to why the internet is linking herself with these matters, Alex decides to close down the app and go to her hallway to get her copy of the blonde's book out of her bag.
Returning to the sofa, she flicks through the first few copyright pages before reaching the blonde's chosen dedication:
'For her. An inspiring source of happiness.'
Without wanting to jump to any conclusions, the brunette tries to wrack her brains around as to who the blonde could be talking about. She feels a rose flush covering her skin at the thought of Piper dedicating her book to herself, and as she turns to the back pages to check the acknowledgements, her fluttering heart adds to the mix.
Scanning her eyes down the page, she reaches the final paragraph that people had been raving about on social media.
'Finally, I'd like to thank the person who inspired me to write this novel; the person whose words I hold the closest. Thank you for your patience, your time, and your generosity when it comes to working with a pedantic person like myself. I'm drawn to your qualities day by day, and I've found working with you to be an ever-growing invaluable asset that I not only crave, but cherish in all contexts. Thanks, Al.'
Letting out what feels like a long, overdue breath, Alex lets her shoulders relax before placing the book she was holding down onto her lap. These messages were both things she hadn't seen before, and in knowing they had to be something the blonde had chosen to keep private until the book was fully published and available to be bought, the brunette's feelings heighten. Overwhelmed by what she had just read, Alex picks her phone back up and goes to her most recent chain of messages, selecting the call button at the top of the screen before holding the ringing device to her ear.
"Hello," Piper answers after the first two rings, sounding surprisingly energised.
"Hey, Pipes," is all Alex can voice; her quiet tone giving off unusual vibes through the phone line.
"Are you okay?"
"I read what you wrote," she adds, although lacking in specificity.
"The book? That was quick… even for you."
"No. The comments about me. Piper, you didn't need to do that."
"Oh, so you've heard about that," Piper says, going quiet. "I was hoping to tell you under more private pretences, but I guess that was a dumb idea," she adds, again going quiet. "Is it too much?"
"No, Pipes. I love it. It's- I-" Alex stumbles before huffing in a self-deprecating manner. "I don't quite know how to voice what I'm feeling right now."
"I'd planned for that to be included from the start but with… you know, you being in a relationship and all, I wasn't too sure it was something I should have mentioned."
"Thank you, Pipes. Really - I appreciate it," the brunette says sincerely, honestly appreciating the blonde's sentiment.
"That end bit was the hardest part of the book I had to write and it wasn't even part of the story," Piper chuckles before hesitating. "I meant it all though, Alex. Not just because of where we're at now."
"I know. I get that," Alex agrees. "Why don't you come over?"
"Aren't you tired?"
"I was, but then I read that and now I can't stop thinking about you," Alex admits, glad they're talking through the phone so that blonde can't see the visual reaction her body had to what she had just voiced.
"Are you sure? I don't want to impose."
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't want you here, Pipes. It's been over a week since we've seen each other where we weren't talking business to some extent."
"I'll be over in 15," Piper voices, her tone giving off the fact that she's smiling profusely on her end.
"See you then."