I know it's short, but here's a double update, so check in with the last chapter if you haven't done so already.
Please let me know what you think!
"Wanna head to bed?" Alex asks her girlfriend from where they're lying on the sofa, the blonde positioned as her little spoon.
"Hmm," Piper hums in response, unable to prevent her sleepy eyes from fluttering over.
"Let's go to bed, babe," the brunette voices, rubbing her hand along the blonde's abdomen under her t-shirt.
"Mm-hmm," Piper agrees, turning her body sideways so that she can get off the sofa.
"Come here," Alex says from where she's now standing at the living room door, holding out her hand for her girlfriend. "Are you going to walk on your own for me?" the brunette chuckles from where her girlfriend is standing in the middle of the room, her tired head bowed down.
"My legs won't let me."
Rolling her eyes in a joking manner, Alex walks over to the younger woman and picks her up bridal style.
"Jesus, you're heavier than you look," the brunette tries to joke, but in feeling her girlfriend rest her head in the crook of her neck - offering no response, she gives up trying to converse, instead taking them to her bedroom.
It's roughly 7am when the sound of her ringing phone wakes Piper up from her sleep. Her eyes attempt to adjust to the dark room, and in seeing that the woman next to her is still sleeping - body turned in the opposite direction, the blonde leans over to her nightstand to answer the phone, making sure she doesn't wake up her girlfriend when talking to whoever is calling.
"Hello," she whispers into the phone, not knowing who she's talking to being that she didn't check the caller ID.
"Piper are you at home?" the voice of her publicist comes down the phone line, something that she isn't sure if she should be worried about or not.
"No, sorry," the blonde clears her voice as she sits up to lean against her headboard. "I've only just woken up. Is everything okay?"
"So you're not home? I need to talk to you in person."
"No, I'm at a friend's house. Is it urgent?" Piper asks, eyebrows rising at the fact that she wasn't expecting anyone to be visiting her this early in the morning, especially when she was still in Alex's bed.
"Yeah, I'm just getting into the car. Is that a problem?" the woman asks.
"No. I… um, I just wasn't expecting anyone today and I won't be home in time," the blonde tries to explain, sounding as though she's not really sure how to voice what she's hinting at.
"You don't sound too sure about that," the voice queries down the phone. "Whose house are you at?"
"Well, you won't-"
"Piper, I don't have time for this. I'll be there in 20 and in the meantime, you can either tell her you'll be talking to me in her kitchen, or you can wake her up and tell her I need to talk to the both of you in the kitchen which is probably the best option. Alex has the same address as before, doesn't she?"
"Yeah, she does. I'll let her know," is all the blonde replies before ending the phone call.
Placing the device back onto the table, Piper stares off into the distance, unsure as to how her publicist had guessed she was in Alex's bed, but in knowing how serious the woman sounded down the phone, she turns onto her side and places her hand on Alex's shoulder, rubbing along her arm gently.
"Al - you need to wake up," she whispers, but in getting no response, she heightens the volume of her voice: "Alex."
"What?" the older woman mumbles, rolling over from her right side onto her back.
"Lorraine is coming over. We have to get up."
"You told her you're at my house?" the older woman asks, leaning up on one elbow.
"She guessed. I don't know what she wants but it sounded serious."
"Fuck," Alex lowers her body back down, running a hand through her hair.
"I'll go and make us some coffee," Piper whispers, leaning down to give her girlfriend a kiss on the lips.
"Urgh," Alex groans, stretching in the bed dramatically with her arms above her head. "I guess I'll have to get dressed."
"You better because that is for my eyes only," the blonde says, eyeing the brunette's naked top half before leaving the room to head to the kitchen.
An hour later - deep in discussion, Piper and Alex are seated next to one another on one side of the brunette's dining table, while Lorraine - the blonde's publicist - is seated opposite them, laptop in hand.
"There's nothing I can do about this at the minute, but what we need to discuss is what you two are wanting to do next."
"I don't really know what to do next," Piper replies with a shaken voice, while Alex observes, unsure how to add to the discussion.
"Well I'm not here to tell you what to do - only advise you, but you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. It's just a piece of writing and some pictures they've got against you here."
"What if we just didn't say anything? How is that going to help?" Alex finally chimes in, feeling conflicted.
"In that way, things will still only be a speculation. You know how it is: say something and then your words get twisted. I know this is a shitty situation, but if any of you were to say the wrong thing, then it'll blow out of proportion even further."
Turning to face her girlfriend, the blonde looks into her eyes in question, hoping to seek a solution.
"I think we'll talk over it privately and go from there," Piper says, turning back to the woman adjusting her bag opposite them.
"I guess I'll leave you two to discuss that, but in the meantime, I suggest that you aren't seen together in public; that won't help your case at all."
Now standing from her seat, Piper walks her guest to the front door, pausing before opening the wooden barricade.
"Thank you for this."
"Piper - I get paid to do this. I'm looking out for you," the older woman smiles sincerely. "I've never gotten round to asking, but you two… you are a couple, aren't you?"
"We are, yes," Piper replies while trying to fight back a smile as her cheeks glow a light shade of pink.
"Good for you," Lorraine voices, outstretching her arms to hug the young blonde. "Call me later."
"Of course," the blonde concludes, smiling as the older woman breaks away from their hug and leaves the apartment, waving while doing so.
Heading back into the kitchen, Piper watches Alex who is fixated on the laptop screen that she must have gotten when she was alone in the room, reading the contents of their most recent set of worries.
"What the fuck does this even mean by 'a source close to the pair'? What fucking source?" the brunette angrily voices, turning away from the screen to eye the blonde.
"Al, I have just as much of an idea as you do," Piper replies quietly, sitting down next to her girlfriend to read along the extract.
It's another online article from The Daily Mail - the publication that seems to be the most obsessed with their relationship, paired with several snaps of them on their holiday, several paragraphs of nothing but assumptions, and a so called eyewitness account from someone that had come forward with information as to what they had gotten up to on their 'romantic getaway'.
The headline: 'Author by day, homewrecker by night', is accompanied by a series of pictures which - for both women - is the worst part of the entire so called 'exclusive' article. Three pictures had been taken with what seems to be a high quality camera, showing the blonde and brunette on their cabana bed. Not only are they lying down on the bed, but the images depict the events that took place as soon Piper had set her eyes on Alex walking outside with her brand new, dark blue bikini, whereby she had gone on to pin her girlfriend to the bed and proceed to run her hand down her body and into her bikini bottoms.
Thankfully they hadn't progressed any further than that - Alex deciding that it would be more comfortable to take their activities inside; although nothing too revealing appeared in the images, the sight of Piper's hand down the front of the brunette's bikini bottoms while they're passionately kissing isn't exactly something either woman want open to the public - especially when things were finally starting to go so well for them.
The piece also features snippets of an interview from someone claiming to have been staying in a house nearby, who comments on the pairing strolling while 'holding hands' and frequently showing their affection for one another throughout their week abroad. Reading over the contents, Piper doesn't necessarily know whether the comments are true or not - sure they didn't exactly hide they way they feel from one another, but throughout the week the pair had been staying in their home, not a single person was seen at the private beach or occupying any of the local homes situated around them.
"Do you think we should say something?" Alex asks, turning to face the blonde having reached the end of the article.
"Do you want to say anything?"
"I feel like we should. Explaining that we're together will take away the whole idea that you're a homewrecker. You and I both know that you're the complete opposite of that, Piper."
"I just don't even know where to begin," the blonde honesty reveals, running a hand through her hair. "I think I should talk to Lorraine again… see what she thinks."
"Pipes, she's just going to say the exact same thing as what she did when she was here," the brunette responds, standing up to head to her kitchen cupboard, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and two small glasses.
"Don't pour one for me," Piper says, closing the laptop lid and too standing from her chair. "I think I'll head out. I need to go keep myself busy."
Putting down the whiskey bottle after pouring herself a glass, Alex moves to follow her suddenly panicked girlfriend who is standing by the front door wrestling with her shoes while trying to tie her laces.
"It could have been a lot worse I guess," the brunette tries to console the blonde, wrapping her arms around her waist from behind when she manages to successfully put her shoes on. "Just imagine if we hadn't gone inside and just ended up fucking outside."
Chuckling slightly, Piper turns in the taller woman's arms, appreciating her attempts at lightening their rather sticky situation. "I'm so sorry, Al."
"There's nothing for you to be sorry about, Pipes. Sure, I would prefer if pictures of us in the early processes of fucking weren't all over the internet, but at least we have a non-incriminating explanation for it all."
"You're right," Piper gives off a close-lipped smile, resting her head on Alex's shoulder.
"I think we should wait a few days before we next see each other," the older woman voices.
"Is that what you want?" Piper asks, trying to fight the onset of tears she can already feel attempting to burst from her eyes.
"No, but I think it's what's best for us right now."
"Okay," Piper says, cupping her girlfriend's jaw to join their lips innocently. "I'll call you later," she adds, pulling away to grab her jacket and open the front door.
"I'll be by the phone," Alex concludes, trying her best to smile despite feeling her heart wrench in seeing the evident sadness on her girlfriend's face as well as in her body language.