"Alex…Alex, get yourself together god damn it!" Diane shouted. Alex groggily lifted her head and looked up at her mother. Diane was standing over her, a stack of funeral programs in hand. Alex rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands and took in a deep breath. She and Nicky had gone home halfway through the school day and spent the entire night drinking in her car. They'd drank, burned through a pack of cigarettes each, and snorted their way through all of Nicky's dad's coke that she'd stolen from his desk that morning. Alex dragged herself through the back door of the funeral around four that morning, hoping to get some sleep before Diane arrived to prepare for services in a couple hours.
"Look at you, you're a fucking mess." Diane shook her head. The bright lights of the prep room were searing Alex's sleep riddled eyes.
"Mom, I'm on time aren't I?" Alex sighed.
"Are you high right now?"
"No, mom, I'm not high."
"Bull fucking hockey!" Diane stamped her foot. "I get a call yesterday that you missed your last three classes, you don't come home, I come in here worried sick about your stupid ass, and you're asleep on my damn prep table."
Alex sat up, her back cold from the steel she'd been laying on.
"You're so fucked up you don't even care that I embalmed a guy with Mersa on that table yesterday." Diane said in a disgusted tone. "Mersa, Alex!"
"Mom can-"
"Where's Nicky? Did she go home last night?"
"No list-"
"Where the fuck are you two getting the liqour anyways?"
"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" Alex yelled, her voice echoing in the silent funeral home. Diane crossed her arms across her chest and looked at her daughter with disappointment in her eyes.
"Alex." Diane said. "You are sixteen years old. I'm driving the funeral hearse to the god damn grocery store so that you can drive my vehicle around with your little punk ass friends."
"It's just Nicky, mom."
"I am not finished." Diane held a finger up. "I give you a very generous amount of freedom. The cigarettes, the weed, the whole…gay thing. I know the job is hard. This business exposes you to a lot of things but you cannot use this place as an excuse for your bad decisions anymore. I have given everything for us to have this funeral home. We are finally making a little bit of money here and I can't risk losing that because my daughter feels this need to raise hell all over the city."
"I'm not trying to fuck up your reputation, Diane." Alex sighed. "I know the funeral home is the only thing you care about, anyways."
"Are you kidding me right now, Alex?" Diane scoffed. "I spend all day and night in this damn place for you. So that you can have a place to call yours when I'm dead and gone. So that you don't have to worry about keeping food on the table or keeping the lights on or having a bed to sleep in. I do this so that when you graduate high school, if you even manage to do that, you'll have a career ready to go."
"I'd rather have a mom who spends time with me." Alex shrugged. "I'd rather have a mom who doesn't take me to crime scenes and makes me watch her do embalmings after dinner every night."
"I don't make you do anything-"
"Everyone at school calls me Morticia Addams. Did you know that? They say I smell like a dead person. One of them asked me if I've ever fucked one of the dead guys." She shouted. "So sorry I'm not super proud to be the face of this shitty funeral home, Diane."
"Well that's not even an insult because Morticia Addams is gorgeous."
"Mom!" Alex balled her fists at her side. She took a deep breath in. "That is not the point."
"Alex, I know what we do is different. I know it's creepy or spooky or whatever those assholes at school say it is. This is not something to be ashamed of. We help people in their time of suffering. We help families. Just because this is what our family does as a livelihood does not mean you need to do all these things to fit in with these people."
"You didn't have a problem doing it when I was little, did you?" Alex said hatefully. "When you'd get too fucked up to get up and feed me breakfast? All those times I had to call 911 because I thought you were dead after you'd passed out from a bender?"
She regretted the words she'd said as soon as her mother's eyes began to fog with tears.
"Mom, I-"
"Don't." Diane sniffled. "You don't wanna be here, then don't be here. Take the car, hang out with Nicky. I don't care anymore. I'll hire someone to cover your hours." She straightened her floral blouse and looked down at the programs in her hands. "Tasha's dad's been asking me to give Tasha something to do around here for a while anyway."
"Mom, I'm sorry."
"You better get home. I've got a service in half an hour and I don't need to look like a hot mess with the family here." Diane exited the prep room.
Alex opened her eyes. The room was dark and the air around her was cold. She reached a hand out, feeling the soft sheets beside her. She stared at the empty pillow next to her head. She pictured Nicky.
"Stop bein' a pussy, Vause." Nicky said with a smirk. Her wild, red hair was all over the place. Curls drooped into her big, brown eyes. "What do ya want, eh? A line? A shot? I got whatever you need."
Alex blinked her eyes. Nicky was gone now Tasha stared back at her.
"What happened to you?" Tasha asked. The disappointment in her voice was evident. "You forgot about all those talks we had about getting your shit together? For the business? For your mom?"
She shook her head. Diane replaced Tasha. She was wearing the dress she had been buried in.
"My baby…" She sighed. "What are you doin' baby?"
Tears slowly rolled down the side of Alex's face.
"Mom…" She whispered. "I miss you."
"I miss you. I miss who I thought you could be, Alex."
Alex closed her eyes tight and buried her face in the pillow.
"Al?" Piper's soft voice questioned beside her. She turned to face the blonde.
"Al, are you alright?" Alex stretched her arm out, desperately trying to run her fingers over her face. "I'm here for you." The very tips of Alex's fingers reached Piper's lips as she finally woke.
Alex sat up in her bed, fully awake. She clamored for her glasses, unable to see a foot in front of her. She stared at the wall trying to gather her thoughts. Her alarm clock read five in the morning. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and trudged to the bathroom to take a hot shower. She still had a paranoia in her head that made her want to check behind her shoulder every few seconds but she was far too tired to actually commit to it. At this point, if someone was going to break into her apartment and kill her, she wouldn't fight back.
After her shower she checked her phone. She had three missed calls from Nicky and one from Piper. The calls from Nicky had been around two in the morning while Piper's had been around three. She dialed Nicky's number but got no answer. She tried Piper. No answer. She took her time getting ready, dreading the day before her. As if Kubra watching her every move wasn't enough stress she had to plan services for the rest of the week. She didn't know what condition Lorna was in, where Nicky was, or how she was going to make an excuse for all of this nonsense to Tasha. All she wanted was to go back to sleep.
Alex arrived at the funeral home around an hour later. She was wearing her pinstripe pants and white flowy blouse. That was her go to outfit when she needed a confidence boost. She walked through the lobby doors, coffee in hand. Red was already at her desk reading a magazine.
"Morning, boss." Red growled.
"Hey." Alex nodded.
"Your little girlfriend's here pretty early today, no?"
"What do you mean?" Alex stopped.
"The blonde one. She was here when I got here." Red lowered her glasses. "You give keys to just anybody now, huh?"
"No…uh no, I didn't give her any keys." She shook her head.
"Well then you better go figure out how the fuck she got in at four o'clock this morning." Red shrugged before turning back to her magazine. Alex made her way up the stairs towards her office. She noticed Tasha's door was wide open. She peeked in to see Piper sitting behind her desk.
"Good morning." Piper smiled.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Alex asked.
"Sitting at my desk." Piper said matter of factly.
"Okay, you need to tell me what the hell is going on right now." She shut the door behind her.
"No, Alex, I think you need to tell me what's going on." Piper stood from her chair and made her way around the desk. "You need to tell me everything."
"Everything? Like what? That you're way out of line right now? You can't waltz in here at four in the morning and hijack Tasha's office. How the fuck did you even get in here?"
"With the key. Tasha's key. The one she gave me after I told her everything drunk Poussey told me about." Piper folded her hands.
"What do you…" Alex shook her head. "What?"
"Poussey showed up on my doorstep very late last night. She was rambling all this nonsense about how you and Nicky are trafficking drugs all over the country in the dead bodies. She said that's what's keeping the lights on in this place. I gotta say I didn't one hundred percent believe her until I called Tasha. When I tell you, that girl broke down, Alex. She cried and she cried and I went to her place."
"So what's your point? Tasha just gave you her keys?" Alex scoffed.
"No. She actually told me how badly she still wanted to keep her stake in this place. She wanted to make sure your mother got to see her business thrive. But, after everything with Poussey and the drugs and the stolen money…she can't do it anymore. She said she missed her big chance to leave when she turned down that corporate guy's offer last week." Piper sighed and sat down on the desk. "It wasn't quite enough to convince her to let it go."
"How much did you give her?" Alex asked through gritted teeth.
"Only a little more than what your friend Doug was offering. That and I covered the four grand that Nicky stole." Piper shrugged.
"What's your end goal? You're gonna sell the share you bought off Tasha? Ask me for mine? If you've got all this fucking money then why are you even here, Piper?" Alex shouted.
"I got a little loan from my parents back in college for a small shop I planned to open and simply didn't go through with. They never asked about the money and I saved it for something that really caught my interest. So here I am."
Alex set her coffee down and put her head in her hands. She took a deep breath in before letting out a big sigh. She looked at Piper and they stood in silence for a few moments.
"So what do you want? Please, I am so fucking in over my head Piper. I can't do this shit anymore." Her eyes were brimming with tears.
"I want in, Alex." Piper stood and took a step closer to the taller woman. "I want to do this."
"What?" She asked.
"I want to run this business. The funerals, the services, the burials. Even the underbelly that you've got going. I want to do it all. With you." Piper raised her hand and set it on the side of Alex's face. Alex slapped her hand away.
"You are so fucking…" She clenched her teeth. "You have made the biggest fucking mistake of your life, Piper. This is not a fun little dangerous fling! This is not a game!" Her voice raised. "He almost killed my fucking friends! That guy…That fucking guy we picked up in Flatbush, he was Nicky's dealer. He shot him in the head, Piper." Tears were streaming down her face. "Why in the fuck would you want this?!"
"I told you, Alex." Piper said softly. "I can't leave this place after finding you."
"You have Larry!" Alex yelled.
"But you are all I think about!" Piper shouted. "You are all I fucking think about. This place, you, my stupid fucking life. I just want to be around you, Alex. I want to help you."
"Piper…" Alex choked.
"It's too late anyways." Piper shook her head. "Tasha and I already signed all the paperwork. I am now co-owner of Vause Funeral Homes and if you so much as think of getting rid of me or pushing me out of this place I will go directly to the DEA about what you and Nicky are doing down there in that prep room."
Alex met Piper's eyes with a look of fear.
"If you do that, Kubra will kill us. Me, you, Nicky, and Lorna."
"Then it's settled." Piper shrugged. "We're business partners." She stuck her hand out for Alex to shake. She scoffed and exited what was once Tasha's office. Alex stomped down the stairs.
"Didn't go too well, hm?" Red asked without looking up from her magazine.
"Fuck off, Red." Alex spat before storming out of the funeral home.
"Good mornin' sunshine." Nicky said softly. Lorna groggily opened her eyes to find herself in a cold, nearly silent hospital room. Nicky sat beside her holding her hand.
"Nick." She whispered. Her throat was sore and her head felt as if she'd been hit by a car. "What…Those guys…"
"Yeah kid, I know." Nicky hushed her. "Those fuckin' assholes beat you up pretty bad."
"You look like shit." Lorna said. Nicky's eye was still swollen shut and her lip was badly scabbed over.
"Well, I feel like it." She chuckled. "You, on the other hand, look as stunning as ever."
"I always know when you're lyin' to me." Lorna groaned. She reached a hand up to her head only to feel a thick padding of bandages. She began to unwrap it.
"Stop." Nicky gently pulled her hand away. "Leave it be, you're not all the way healed yet."
"My hair." Lorna gasped. "Oh my god, my hair!" She sobbed.
"Lorn, come on, it'll grow back."
"What the fuck did they do to my hair, Nicky?!" Lorna shouted.
"Alright relax, I'm gonna go grab a nurse and we'll take the bandages off, alright?"
Nicky quickly exited the room, searching for anyone wearing scrubs. She made it halfway down the hall before noticing Alex sitting in a chair against the wall.
"Vause? What the hell are you doin' here?" She asked. "Who's runnin' services?"
"Red and Piper, apparently." Alex sighed.
"What are you talkin' about?" Nicky approached her.
"Piper knows everything. Poussey showed up on her doorstep and told her everything last night and she somehow convinced Taystee to sell her her share of the business."
Nicky squinted her eyes at her friend.
"She did what?"
"Yeah." Alex stood. "Piper's the new Taystee now."
"I guess we don't gotta worry about them bein' up our asses anymore then, huh?" Nicky shrugged.
"Yeah but Nicky, she doesn't know anything. She can't do all the shit Taystee did. She's only worked there for like a week. She's gonna run processions? She's gonna embalm bodies and dress them?"
"I didn't know how to do any of that shit when you hired me, Vause." Nicky sighed. "Piper she's…She's a good chick, you know. All that stuff about the money and making sure I didn't get pinned with it. She didn't have to do that. But she did. She doesn't know us from Adam." Nicky looked back towards the hospital room. "I mean think about it, you let her run the business part, we can give a little more thought to what we've got goin' on on the side so that…" She sighed. "So that horrible shit like this doesn't happen again."
"Nicky, we can't let this happen." Alex said urgently.
"Why, Al? You and I got this shit started when Diane died and the monster's only grown since then. I don't see Kubra stopping any time soon. Do you?"
"No…No, I don't."
"Right. She's a big girl. If she wants to choose this, fuck it, let her. At least now we don't have to sneak around and hide shit. Everybody knows and we can actually get a grip on this and not be so careless that we get fucking killed over it."
Alex stood in silence for a moment. She nodded her head slowly.
"Fine." She said quietly. "Yeah, you're right."
"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find somebody to unwrap Lorna's head and sedate her again before she has a meltdown over her hair. I'll be there later on. Keep your shit together until then."
Nicky wandered off down the hallway, leaving Alex to stare at the brightly painted walls.
Piper could feel her anxiety beginning to rise in her chest. The lobby was filling with family members and she had no idea who they were here to mourn.
"Where the fuck is Alex?" Red hissed.
"I don't know!" Piper yelped.
"The viewing room isn't set up. Are there flowers? Wind chimes? Anything to put in there?"
"Red, I don't know." Piper responded angrily.
Red scrambled towards the viewing room, dragging Piper behind her by the wrist. She closed the chapel doors behind them, smiling gingerly at the family members looking her way. She turned to Piper with a look of rage on her face.
"This is the Rosa family. They have been coming here since before Diane Vause opened these doors. You cannot fuck this up because of whatever high school catfight bullshit you and Alex have gotten yourselves into!"
"Just tell me what to do." Piper said in annoyance. "Tell me what needs to be done and I will do it!"
"Go to the prep room. There are two bodies dressed and ready to be viewed. You check the name band on the left ankle and you find Josephine Rosa. You roll that casket in here and you center it on that stage."
"Okay and what are you gonna do?"
"I thought I'd finish my crossword on my issue of US Weekly and paint my toenails. I'm going to get everything set up you idiot!" Red hissed.
"I don't appreciate your rudeness." Piper held a finger up to her before turning to walk through the doors towards the back of the funeral home.
Piper rushidly entered the prep room looking over the two caskets lined nicely against the back wall. Both caskets contained an elderly woman dressed nicely in a formal black dress.
"Josephine Rosa, Josephine Rosa, Josephine Rosa…" Piper whispered to herself as she checked the ankles of the woman. Both women were wearing nude colored stockings that blurred the lettering of the plastic anklets beneath them. She thought she recognized a J or an R through the stockings but she couldn't be sure. She picked the one she thought most likely resembled a woman who'd be named Josephine and rolled her through the back hallways towards the chapel.
She entered the chapel to find that Red had managed to set everything up beautifully in a matter of moments. She'd even gotten the hymns started over the speakers.
"Okay, here she is." Piper whispered. Red helped her center the casket on the stage and fixed the dead woman's wig on her head before taking a deep breath and giving her a thumbs up.
"Open the doors." She said. Piper headed towards the chapel doors, gathering herself into a more professional posture with each step. She opened the two huge doors with a sad smile on her face. The mourning family members began to flow into the chapel. Red stood near the door passing out programs. She paused and stared at the paper in her hands. From the photo on the front page, it was quite obvious the woman lying in the casket on stage was in fact not Josephine Rosa.
Red waved her hand wildly, trying desperately to get Piper's attention. Piper was too busy greeting funeral goers to notice.
"Good morning." A sweet sultry voice rang over the microphone."Before we begin our services for our beloved Josephine, I would like to ask that we all make our way to the parking lot to arrange our cars for the procession. Unfortunately it appears the weather reports have changed and we're expecting quite a bit of rain in the next couple of hours and I'd like to keep everyone as dry as possible. Thank you."
Piper and Red turned to see Alex holding the microphone on stage. The funeral goers each begrudgingly stood up and filed out of the chapel and towards the parking lot. Red followed suit, sending Alex a wink before closing the doors behind her.
"What are you talking about?" Piper asked.
"That is Jessica Ramos." Alex pointed towards the casket. "Great Aunt Josephine is still in the prep room."
Piper looked at the woman in the casket for a moment before looking down at the funeral program in her hand. Her eyes bugged and her jaw dropped.
"Oh my god." She gasped.
"Come on, we better get them switched out before anyone comes back in." Alex helped Piper switch out the caskets quickly. The funeral goers filed in just as the women were getting the true Josephine Rosa centered onstage correctly. The service continued on smoothly with the pastor giving his sermon at the front while Alex and Piper stood against the side wall.
"Thank you. For doing that." Piper whispered.
"Yeah, no problem." Alex responded coldly.
"I didn't do it on purpose."
"How do you expect to run a fourth of this business when you can't even keep the bodies straight?" She asked angrily before storming out of the chapel.
Piper sat behind her desk, staring at her blank computer screen. She couldn't help but feel as though Alex was right. She had made a huge fucking mistake. Not only had she spent her life's savings on this business but she hadn't even told Larry what she'd done. Larry. Poor, sweet Larry. He was going to lose his mind. She buried her face in her hands and fought the oncoming tears.
"I've known about what they've been doing for months but I stayed out of it. After what they did to P…" Tasha told Piper as they sat at her dining room table. "That was the last straw."
It had only been an hour since Poussey had left Piper's doorstep. Piper had called Tasha a total of seven times before she had sleepily answered her phone. She didn't know who else to call.
"I don't blame you. You're new, you don't quite know about their shit yet but…" Tasha shook her head. "After all the shit I've turned a blind eye to for Alex over the years just for her to drop P like that. It broke my heart."
Piper looked over Tasha's home. It was organized and clean. It felt professional yet comforting. Her walls were covered in photos of herself with family members and friends. Her fridge was covered in wedding invitations and photo booth strips of her and Poussey.
"Again, I truly am sorry about what happened with Poussey." Piper said, blowing on her cup of coffee in her hands. The sun hadn't even risen yet but she found herself wide awake. She was surging with adrenaline.
"It ain't anything new." Tasha shrugged. "P ain't perfect. Do I think she stole that money? No. Did I tell her to keep her nose outta things and let it be? Yes. She didn't listen. Now look at the situation we're in. I can't even put a stop to any of it cause my name's on that business too, Piper. My name. My daddy's." Tasha looked longingly out the kitchen window. "I'm stuck."
"About that." Piper interjected. "Have you thought about selling your stake?"
"I've tried. Nobody wants a part of that landfill. The ones that do give me an offer that make me wanna throw up. I've put too much into that place for too long. Not only that, if I sell my share and they find out what's going on with the bodies, I'll go down with Nicky and Alex. No matter how much I did or didn't have to do with it."
"What if you found a buyer that was aware of all the happenings there and still gave you an offer better than what you've found?" Piper asked sincerely.
"What are you talking about?" Tasha cocked an eyebrow at her.
"I want your stake, Tasha."
Tasha stood from her chair and shook her head.
"You are dumber than I thought you were, blondie."
"Hear me out, Tasha." Piper stood and met her eyes. "I give you the equal amount you bought your stake for, we do the paperwork, and you hand me the keys. Your hands are wiped clean of the place and you can use the money to open your own funeral home. One that you have total control over."
"What's your angle?" Tasha chuckled. "What do I have to do in return?"
"All you have to do is nothing." Piper smiled. "We do this deal and no one hears about what's happening in the prep room of Vause Funeral Home."
"That's all?" Tasha asked in disbelief.
"That's all." Piper nodded. "I promise you."
Piper rose her head at the sound of her office door being opened. Alex stood before her, hands folded.
"Hey." Alex said quietly.
"Hi." Piper replied.
"I uh…I wanted to apologize for how I acted earlier." Alex took a step into the office.
"It's fine, really, I get it." Piper sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"You were right. I made a big mistake."
"No, Piper-"
"I did. Because now you hate me. I thought I was doing all this to protect you and I just turned out looking like a fucking crazy person and-"
"Piper." Alex stopped her. "I wanted to tell you thank you."
She made her way around the desk and stood in front of Piper sitting in her chair.
"I wasn't mad at you for buying Tasha's share. She's been wanting out for the last year and she deserved to get back as much as she put in and I was too much of an asshole to let her go." Alex sighed. "I was scared if she knew anything she'd tip off the feds and I don't know… I knew no one would touch this place with a twenty foot pole." Alex sat on the desk. She took Piper's hand in hers.
"I was upset because you're putting yourself into a situation that's extremely dangerous. A situation that could wind up getting you seriously hurt or killed. I appreciate you doing that for me and I can pay you back over time I just… I couldn't live with myself if your involvement in this place ended up with you dead or in prison."
Piper squeezed Alex's hand.
"Alex, I did this because I wanted to. I want to be a part of this of you. I told you, I can't leave here after having known you. Whether whatever we have ends up as being just friends, that's fine. I just want to be around you." Piper looked up at her.
"You know, you could have just seen me on your days off." Alex smiled.
"I know, but it's not enough." Piper stood. Alex wrapped her arm around her waist and pulled her in.
"I need you to tell me you understand one hundred percent what you are getting yourself into?" Alex whispered.
"I understand, Alex."
"I need you to know that there's no room for error. If you're going to do this and I can't change your mind, you've gotta listen to every little thing I tell you to do."
"I don't think that'll be a problem."
Piper kissed her lips deeply. Alex tightened her grip on her waist while Piper leaned forward, pushing Alex backwards onto the desk. They kissed passionately, Alex sweeping the blonde's hair back off her face. Piper moaned into her mouth and pressed herself forward, feeling Alex's hips against hers.
"I wanna fuck you." Alex whispered as Piper's lips moved to her neck.
"Isn't that what we're about to do?" Piper chuckled.
"No, I mean, really fuck you." Alex gasped as Piper's hand snaked its way up the front of her shirt. "In a bed. Or on a couch. Or anywhere that isn't this fucking place."
"Well you know my place isn't an option." Piper replied, not taking her mouth off the warm flesh of Alex's collar bone.
"Call him. Tell him you're working late. We'll go to my place for a couple hours."
Alex sat up, pushing the other woman off of her.
"Really?" Piper smirked.
"Yes." Alex stood. "I want you in my bed."
"Okay." Piper pulled out her cell phone. "If that's what you want."
The women arrived at Alex's apartment. Piper took a moment to look over the bare walls and fake houseplants while Alex wasted no time heading towards the kitchen to pour a couple glasses of wine. She felt a strange mix of anxiety and fear. Anxiety about being in Alex's domain where she had no upper hand. Fear that Larry would somehow walk through Alex's front door and confront her for the criminal act she was about to engage in. Both emotions mixed into a wonderful cocktail that pooled in her lower stomach.
"You don't have any pictures up." Piper commented as she took her glass from Alex's hand.
"Don't have any to put up. The one I do have is on my desk at work." Alex took a large drink from her glass.
"But you have all those chairs around your dining table?"
"Those are more for show. The only people who come over are Nicky and Lorna."
"No girlfriend?" She asked.
"None that have ever lasted long enough to see my place." Alex laughed.
"Oh, really?"
"Yes." Alex pulled Piper close. "Really."
"So none of them have seen the Vause master suite?" Piper flirted.
"No." Alex laughed. "Do you wanna?" She took Piper's hand and they giggled like schoolgirls on their way to the bedroom. Piper was surprised to see Alex's bed made so neatly. Her room resembled the rest of her apartment. It was mostly bare besides the bed and a good amount of books strewn about.
Alex led her to the bed and lay her down. Piper smiled up at her, admiring the way her eyes looked from this angle. Alex ran her fingers over Piper's chest through her shirt. Her hips poked out of her pants, exposing the line of her panties. Alex snapped it.
"Ow!" Piper yelped.
"Sorry." Alex laughed and leaned down, kissing her. She rose up again looking down at the younger woman lying on her bed. Her blonde hair fell in long waves behind her head and her big blue eyes were hooded heavily, watching Alex's every move.
"You are so stunning." She said. It sounded just the same as she'd said it that night they'd kissed at the bar.
"Come here." Piper motioned with her finger. Alex closed the space between them and kissed her again, running her hands down her body. She began unbuttoning Piper's shirt, stopping to tease her between kisses. Piper whined and set her hand on the back of Alex's neck to keep her from pulling away. Alex took her time kissing her and once her shirt was fully undone she ran her hands down the blonde's taut stomach. She parted their lips and looked down at her.
"You're shaking." She whispered.
"I'm just…excited." Piper whispered back, her voice trembling. "I think about doing this every night."
Alex smiled and unbuttoned Piper's pants. She slid them off easily and tossed them to the side. Piper began to remove her underwear.
"Don't." Alex stopped her. "Just lay back." Piper listened and lifted her hands above her head, resting them on the bed beneath her.
Alex kissed her way down the younger woman's neck to her collar bone. She removed Piper's bra and took her time flicking her tongue on one nipple while using her fingers to tease the other. Once she was pleased with her work she switched and moved her tongue to the next one. Piper bucked her hips upward, trying desperately to feel Alex's warmth between her thighs.
"Relax, baby." Alex chuckled. "Does Larry rush you like that?"
The mention of his name made Piper's excitement rise. The thought that they weren't supposed to be doing this made her adrenaline rush even harder.
"Y-Yes." Piper responded, her voice sounding much more shaky than she'd intended.
"Relax, baby." Alex repeated. Her voice made Piper even wetter, an almost impossible feat. The older woman kissed down her stomach, resting her hands on Piper's breasts as she did. She reached Piper's groin but placed her tongue over her clit through her panties. She gave a few soft licks, tasting her through the thin, silky material. Piper's shaking became much more apparent. Alex took it as a sign to get on with it already and swiftly removed her panties, tossing them somewhere near her pants. She resumed moving her tongue against Piper's clit, this time with no barrier between her soft, warmth and Piper's sweetness. Piper let out a moan and wrapped her hand in Alex's hair. She could feel Alex smiling.
She ran her tongue in small circles over Piper's clit softly while she snaked her hands up her thighs. She took two fingers and inserted them inside her. This motion made Piper nearly shriek with surprise and pleasure. Alex began to move her fingers, feeling the woman's muscles tightening around them. Piper's hips bobbed up and down.
"Al." She breathed. Alex moaned in reply, moving her free hand upwards to entangle with one of Piper's. Their hands gripped and the hold became tighter and tighter the closer Piper came to her climax.
Alex enclosed her plump lips around Piper's clit and swirled her tongue around it, driving the younger woman almost to her breaking point. Alex could feel the wetness between her own thighs growing and refrained from grinding into the bed beneath her. She wanted to save it for when it was her turn.
"Al, I'm gonna-" Piper breathed. She was feeling something she'd never experienced before. She'd never felt so deeply enthralled in pleasure before, even when she'd touched herself. Before she could finish her sentence every muscle in her body tightened to its limit and her breath hitched in her throat. She choked out a moan that transitioned into a small whimper as she came. Alex buried her face deeper, taking as much as she could onto her tongue. She emerged, smiling proudly.
"Do-" Piper struggled to catch her breath. "Do you want-"
"Head?" Alex smiled. "No baby." She kissed her on the lips. Piper tasted herself on the other woman's lips. Their tongues danced as Alex placed Piper's legs on each side of her hips. They struggled to find a position at first due to Alex's height but once they did, Alex found a rhythm and began to move at a pace that felt like heaven with each motion. Piper held on tightly, moaning in the other woman's ear.
"You like when I move like that?" Alex asked. Her voice was starting to shake.
"I love every fucking thing you do." Piper said through gritted teeth. Alex began to moan. The sound felt like a symphony to Piper's ears. She hadn't fully recuperated from her orgasm only moments prior but somehow she was preparing herself for the next one already. Alex sped up her motions and their hips began to bump against each other at a force that was almost painful but overwhelmingly pleasurable. Piper kissed her again, feeling Alex's breathing deepen. Piper felt her muscles begin to tighten again and readied herself for the wave that was about to overcome her. Alex's body stiffened and her moans became louder.
"Piper." She whined. They kissed again and together they climaxed. They rode it out together, grinding through it. Their moans synchronized and both women had each other in a grip tighter than a vice. It was only a mere moment, but it could have lasted forever. Alex collapsed on top of Piper. They lay together, both trying their best to catch their breaths. They kissed, held each other, kissed again. They looked into each other's eyes and silently agreed to kiss once again. Both women fell asleep only to wake up and continue countless times throughout the night. Switching between those ethereal waves of pleasure to sweet, kind kisses, and comments of affirmation.