Chapter 3
Night had fallen at the Bloom-Chapman household. Their living room was dimly lit by the TV that Larry sat hypnotised by in a vegetated state on the sofa. He was surrounded by empty crisp (chip) packets and was currently munching his way through a microwave bag of popcorn. He was well into his comfort eating depression that struck after every negative review or bit of bad news and once he was in this state there was no getting him out of it. So Piper left him too it as she sat in her armchair underneath a lamp reading the book that Alex Vause had given her.
She hungrily soaked up the words on the page, the flow and pace of the book immerged herself into its story telling powers. Piper didn't even look up when Larry asked if she wanted a drink, she didn't even flinch when he went and spilt the said drink down himself, in fact the only thing that distracted Piper from her book was whenever she looked at the business card that sat on the arm of the chair. By now Piper had almost memorised the eleven digits to memory and although the number was now saved into her phone she had yet to send a message to Alex.
There was something about Alex that had meant throughout the drama of the day all she could think about was the tall, dark haired, spectacle wearing woman. She excited Piper, the way she acted, her choice of words and the way she looked at her made Piper feel as giddy as a school girl with a crush.
Carefully trying not to lose her place in the book Piper reached out for her phone that sat on the arm of the chair and selected a new message. It took her a good few attempts to write out the simple message, trying to make it not sound to informal not too formal.
Hi, it's Piper. Thank you for the book, I am enjoying it so far.
Her thumb hovered over the send button, contemplating whether or not she should do this but after a disgruntled yell from Larry at the TV sounded out around their apartment her thumb made contact with the cool touch screen.
It did not take long for her phone to buzz back into life and Piper was surprised by the smile that filled her face as she saw Alex Vause's name flash up.
Alex - I am glad you are enjoying it, isn't it nice to read a decent story for once.
Piper – Not sure what you are insinuating there. But yes, the book is very good and I am reading it now so go away.
Alex – Rude! You texted me remember. Anyway, I expected a bit more of a thank you.
Piper – Please do enlighten me why?
Alex – Why? For putting in your possession a book worthy of your time and efforts. Tell me, did you actually read all of Two Prisoners, One Sentence?
Piper – Of course I did.
Piper could feel her temper bubbling within; she slammed her phone down on the arm of the chair ignoring the buzzing and snatched the book up once more not willing to admit she had only got half way through Larry's book. After reading the same paragraph for the fifth time Piper realised she was not focusing on the words, instead she was thinking about this afternoon, about Alex and she could not stop wondering why her phone kept buzzing with messages. Before Piper knew what she was doing she had her phone in her hand again, her eyes greedily absorbing every syllable of Alex's first message.
Alex – Many apologies, I never meant to cause any offense. Please take this as a peace offering.
What came next was a series of picture messages, showing different angles of the New York sky line. Then came a photo of the outside of a bar, its bright neon red sign reading 'Litchfield', then moments later a picture of two glasses of white wine. Piper's interest was piqued and she waited with baited breath for each new message, the book was now long forgotten.
Alex – Get to me in half an hour and the second glass is yours!
Piper reminded seated in the armchair for a moment, her blue eyes still fixed on the small screen of her phone. The confidence that Alex showed was incredible, was she that sure the Piper would take the bait? Maybe this was a game she played regularly with strange women she met…and Piper hated the fact that it was working!
She quickly googled where the Litchfield bar was, it was a ten minute car journey from their apartment, this was starting to look possible in her half an hour time scale. Glancing up at her Fiancée Piper could see that Larry was still transfixed by the television and nothing would be able to break him from his stupor. So instead of saying anything Piper got up out of her chair and headed straight into the bedroom and started to rummage through her wardrobe desperately trying to find something to wear that was nice but didn't show she was trying too hard.
She eventually decided on a pair of faux black leather pants with a grey turtle neck top and a thick woollen cardigan. As Piper was slipping on her brown boots her phone vibrated again, she could not help but grin like the cat that got the cream as the name Alex Vause flashed up once again on the screen.
Alex – 10 minutes down, half a glass of wine gone. Tick Tock Miss Chapman.
Piper didn't bother to respond to the text instead focusing at getting out of the apartment as soon as possible.
"Sweetie I am going out."
Piper moved towards Larry as she said her goodbye but barley got a sign of recognition. He could be such a self-absorbed arsehole sometimes! As a sign of her displeasure Piper closed the door with a bit more force then normal as she stepped out onto the streets of New York. Fate seemed to be on her side as a yellow taxi came down the road. Hailing it Piper was well on her way to the heart of New York when her phone vibrated again.
Alex – Oh no! 10 minutes to go and we have one empty wine glass.
Piper could not help but smile, it seemed that Alex was so confident she was coming that she never sought clarification from Piper, an she found that insanely sexy. It was not a new thing for Piper to be into a girl, she had 'experimented' at collage but it had never gone any further then sweaty kisses on the dancefloor. But this felt different; this felt like nature was taking its was something about this woman that drew Piper to her like a moth to a flame.
Piper cursed at every traffic light that held her up, every cyclist or pedestrian that crossed the road. She kept glancing at her phone to see if any other messages were waiting for her but there was no notification. Finally the taxi pulled outside the bar and Piper hurriedly gave the cabbie the money not waiting for the change. She could feel her heart beating faster, she felt nervously excitedly so as she stepped out into the cold November air. There was a thrill about doing this, the possibility the evening held, the knowing that this was not just about meeting a friend it was the chance of a forbidden desire to be fulfilled...and she didn't feel guilty about it!
With a deep breath to steady her nerves Piper opened the door to 'Litchfield' and eagerly looked around for Alex. That was when she saw an empty table with two empty wine glasses upon it.
A/N: Thank you for all of you who have taken the time to read my story, a huge thank you to those who selected those little buttons for follows and favorites and a double highfive to all of you amazing people who left reviews it honestly means the world to me!