That's $30,500 this month, she calculated. If she could just sell the rest by next week, she could bump that figure up by at least 10 grand. She just needed the muscle.
Alex was making amendments on her spreadsheets when her personal phone rang. Rolling her neck, she pushed away from the table and stood to walk to the dresser. She usually doesn't let calls from her personal phone disturb her work, but she needed the break.
She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and winced. She looked like she just escaped from the psychotic ward through the sewers. Lifting her arm, she sniffed herself. She didn't smell of rat and human shit, she mused, but still bad.
The ringing continued, and without looking at the screen, she answered. "Hello?"
"Hey. It's me."
Alex frowned and looked at the screen. She didn't have the number in her contacts. "Yeah?"
"Sorry. Is this a bad time? I could call later. Or text. Whatever works."
Piper. When Alex finally recognised the voice, she grinned. It's been a few days since their encounter at the bar. She even began to wonder if the blonde saw the tissue. "Piper! Piper Chapman. Hey. Sorry, I had no idea who you were. I forgot we didn't exactly exchange phone numbers."
"Yes. You nonchalantly slid a tissue next to my drink. Then I had to muster up the courage to call you."
"'Muster up the courage'? Was I daunting to call?" she asked huskily as she sat on the bed, her arms stretched out back for support.
Piper responded without pausing, "Yes."
Alex laughed, "I'm glad you did. You gave me a reason to step away from the laptop. I think I was getting a computer tan."
Piper laughed melodiously in her ear, "Were you working?" she said.
"Yeah, just had to punch in numbers and figure out sales. Nothing I can't do later."
Piper's voice held a twinge of worry, "You mean...the drug ring?"
Alex smirked, "I wasn't joking when I said I worked for a drug cartel."
"I know. I mean, you told me. It just throws me off a bit. I've never met anyone like you before."
"Maybe you have, but they're not as straightforward as I was," Alex said.
"Well, there was a guy with a really thin beard in college..."
Alex chuckled as she absently played with the bedsheets, "Always watch out for those. They're probably the middleman that waits for scraps."
"What do you mean?"
Alex explained, "Well. When a deal goes down, there's usually someone that watches over the exchange. The middleman. After everything is confirmed the middleman gets a small percent of the money for taking 5 prissy minutes of his time to watch. He's essentially a tax collector."
Piper made an amused sound of acknowledgment, "How is drug dealing even illegal?"
Alex grinned, "Right?"
"How did you get started on it?"
Alex mulled over the question. She never really talked about how she started as a drug importer, but there was something about Piper that made her feel trustworthy. Maybe a little too much. "Well, there was a guy—"
The sound of keys rattling alerted Alex. Shit, she thought frantically. Shit.
"Um. Hey, Piper?" She could already hear the locks turning as she bolted upright. "Do you mind if I call you later? Something came up. Actually, better yet. I'll text you and we can meet up tomorrow for a drink."
"Actually, I-"
"Whenever you can," she insisted. "See you later." She hung up as soon as a familiar figure walked into the bedroom.
"Hey, Sylvie."
"Hey, baby." An absent kiss was exchanged. "How was work?"
Alex exaggerated her groan, "More stressful than usual."
Sylvie sat next to her, rubbing the latter's back in comforting circles. "Want to take a walk? We can go to that coffee shop you really like."
She would love nothing more than to get back to work, Alex thought. "Actually," she said out loud, "I'll just finish off here. I'm nearly done anyway. I just took a breather. Maybe we can go out later tonight, okay?"
Sylvie kept her eyes on her girlfriend as she stood. She walked back to her desk, her lanky figure covering the distance in two strides. She sat down and immediately delved into her spreadsheet of illegal money.
"Who were you talking to?"
Alex's fingers faltered on the keyboard. She turned her head, feigning disinterest, "Huh?"
"When I walked in. You were on the phone with someone?"
"Oh. Yeah. It was Fahri," Alex let the lie roll smoothly out of her mouth, "He wanted to check in on me. We haven't talked to each other for a while. He misses me," she chuckled.
Alex breathed a small sigh of relief as her girlfriend laughed with her, "He's a cutie," Sylvie commented.
"Sure is," Alex said as she turned back to her computer.
Except she wasn't thinking of Fahri.
Piper clipped her hair into a messy bun as she readied herself for bed. She always liked the process of bedtime. Turning in for the night, preparing herself for another day. There was something comforting about the method, the consistency of a routine. It was like shedding her skin for a new one.
Cocoon by night, butterfly by day.
She hummed contently to herself as she slid into bed and turned on the TV. Settling into the pillows, she dragged her blanket to her chin and switched to her personal selection of movies. Feeling romantic, she chose How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. She was barely halfway through the first scene before her phone vibrated on her bedside table.
She reached over and glanced at the phone. Her heart did a quick somersault as she saw the recipient and quickly opened it.
Alex: Hey, sorry for earlier. Can I make it up to you tomorrow at Qrow's?
Piper smiled to herself, despite being unable to take the offer.
Piper: Sorry, I have a party to go to with Polly tomorrow night.
Alex: Ah the manager of fairies.
Piper: Fairies?
Alex: Her name makes me think of fairies. Polly Molly. Polly from Neverland. Polly Jolly.
Piper: I shouldn't be laughing
Alex: Why not? You know it's true.
Piper shook her head in amusement.
Alex: So when can I see you?
Piper desperately flipped through her mental calendar and found a vacancy this weekend.
Piper: Saturday night? Qrow's?
Alex: Fine by me. See you soon
Piper: :) See you.
Piper watched Alex's eyes as they simultaneously knocked back the first shot. She felt the tequila hit her tongue, her throat, and suffered its quick hot, slide to the stomach.
She was, by no means, a drinker. She had no idea why she even said yes to drinking tequila. Actually, she corrected herself as she picked up the next glass, she does. She glanced over the raven-haired beauty next to her.
Alex bopped her head to the music— if you could even call it that. The overamplified screech of the electric guitar, the out-of-beat boom of the drums and the wailing singer made for an uncomfortable sound to the ear. Those at the dance floor were too busy hurling insults at the band to realise one of them was actually tone deaf.
The only reasonable thing to do, as Alex saw it, was to get drunk as quickly as possible.
"How're you going, Pipes?"
In response, the blonde clinked their glasses together before downing their fourth shot for the night.
"I didn't think you were a heavy drinker!" Alex shouted over the club noise.
"I wasn't! I'm not!"
Alex threw her head back and let out a wicked laugh. Picking up the fifth glass, she licked salt off the back of her hand and drank hers down with the same careless gusto as the first four.
"Do you know what I absolutely adore about tequila?" Piper, her head already floating above the heavens, asked.
Alex set her arm down, supported her head with her hand as she watched the blonde woman. "What do you absolutely adore about tequila?"
"The burn. Man, do you have any idea how liberating it is? Like," Piper grinned widely, "I can jump off a cliff right now."
"I don't think—"
"No, no. See," Piper struggled to maintain a coherent string of thought, closing her eyes for a moment. "Technically, you can jump off a building when you're drunk. You may not survive, but technically your body may be fluid enough to survive the fall. Your muscles are like rubber because of all the alcohol, you know? So if you fall, and your body's rubbery enough, you can live. Technically. In theory."
Struggling with laughter, Alex pushed a sixth glass over, "Let's keep that theoretical, okay? Here you go. Bottoms up."
The music was beginning to sound good and colours were starting to blend together. Alex took that as a sure sign to initiate slow mode. And, she thought, Piper looked like she needed the cool down. Her eyes had gone glassy on shot number 5, and now her cheeks took on a sickly tint of green and blue. Her eyes widened as Piper suddenly waved her hands in blissful unawareness and smacked the guy on the other side of her.
"Shit! I'm sorry. God. I'm so sorry." Piper coddled the man, who was too drunk to even have felt the impact. All he knew was he suddenly had a sexy lady draping over him like a luxurious piece of clothing. And she smelt like peaches.
"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Piper tried to bring his face into focus, sticking her face close to his. She was completely oblivious to his creeping hands as they tried to circle her hips.
Alex, on the other hand, was fully aware of the manoeuvre and stepped in, grabbing the man's wrist. "Get your dirty, old paws off her, asshole."
Piper turned around, a scold on the tip of her tongue before a wave of nausea heaved her forward, into Alex's arms.
Alarmed, Alex locked her arms around Piper's waist and smoothly switched their positions, turning her back to the man as she assessed the blonde. "Hey," she said. "Hey, you okay?"
Piper moaned as Alex cupped her face with both hands. She turned her head towards the warm palm and gave it a light kiss. Her eyelids getting heavier by the second, she fought to keep her eyes on the green ones in front of her. "You," she murmured, "are hot."
Alex smiled, "You are way over your head. How 'bout we call it a night and get you home?"
The man behind her slid out of his stool and towered over the two women. His grin boasted yellow teeth and awful breath, his face contorting into one of greedy lust. "I'll get you a home," he slurred. "I'll get all of us a home."
Alex threw a disgusted look at the bastard as she secured an arm around Piper, fishing for bills in her bag. She slapped two one hundred dollar bills on the counter as the bartender headed her way. "Keep the change," she said.
Half limping with the added weight of a hammered woman and her own head starting to float, Alex made her way outside. The night air cooled her cheeks as she fought to keep Piper upright. If she had known the woman was a lousy drunk, she wouldn't have challenged her with alcohol. More less tequila.
"Was that guy okay?" she blathered. "I-I really think we should go back and make sure he's okay, Alex. I punched him right in his babymakers. Maybe he needs them or something. Maybe he's got a wife or–"
Alex fought to keep both of them steady as she hailed a cab. "Pipes, you smacked his face, not his balls."
"Really? I thought I punched something soft."
"That would be his baby cheeks, honey. Not his balls."
"Wow," Piper laughed to herself, finding immense humour that she mistook his cheeks for balls.
After a stream of curses towards cab drivers, one finally rolled over. The driver got out of his cab and rushed over to the two women.
"You guys doing okay?" he asked.
"Never better!" Piper sang. "Do you want a drink? I can pay–"
Alex interrupted, flashing a grateful smile towards the driver as he helped them inside the cab, "We're getting you home, Pipes."
It dawned on her that she didn't know where Piper lived. Smacking her palm to her forehead, she tried to think of a plan. Sylvie wasn't home, she thought suddenly.
"Where to, m'am?"
Alex rattled off her home address and leaned back, hooking her arm around Piper's shoulders. Sated, the blonde dropped her head on her shoulder and snuggled close. She could feel her breath on her neck, which smelled of lemon and alcohol.
"Where're we going?" Piper murmured.
"My place."
"Uh-uh," she grinned. "Gota buy me a drink first. Oh. Wait. Never mind. Okay, let's go to your place."
Alex's sultry laugh sent a shiver straight down her back. Piper turned her head, leaned closer and puckered her lips, kissing the side of the brunette's neck. She felt a movement, and realised Alex's hands were smoothly making their way up her legs and into the triangle between her thighs. In response, she widened the gap.
Alex's heart tumbled over as she recognised the invitation. She let her fingers trail upwards, then paused just before her fingers made contact with her sex. She gave herself a pat on the back for stopping, when what she really wanted was to dive in head—and fingers—first. She made lazy circles with her thumb as she turned her head to capture the blonde's lips with hers.
The first word that came to mind was: sweet. Her lips hinted of peaches and mangoes. She wanted more; a lot more. She pressed the tip of her tongue on Piper's lips. Her heart tumbled again when she opened, accepting the invitation. She tasted the sharp tang of tequila on her tongue, an alluring contrast to the taste of ripe fruit that seemed to cling to her being.
Cupping Piper's breast, Alex felt her heart gallop; a fast, hard movement that matched her own. She tore her mouth away from her lips and latched on to her neck. Breathing in, she found the source of sweetness and wished she could stay there forever.
Piper dragged Alex's head away from her neck and nipped her bottom lip. She wanted her. The woman with a deep laugh and a natural smirk on her lips. The woman with porcelain skin framed by a mane of black, flowing hair. She caught her lips again, moaning in desire. If only–
"Hey. I'm not against gays or nothing, but do you mind canning it for a while? I don't want any lady juices staining my seats."
The duo jerked apart as the driver's voiced piped up from the front. Piper nearly whimpered as Alex withdrew her fingers, immediately missing the contact. Their heavy breathing in sync, the pair tried to straighten themselves out.
Alex was the first to recover. "Would you rather manly juices?" she retorted.
She and the driver locked eyes on the rearview mirror. She raised her eyebrows when he responded, "Yes m'am, I do."
Well, shit, she thought as Piper stifled her giggle against her shoulder. She just got stumped.
