Hello everyone! Thank you for your responses I am very glad you liked the first chapter. The story is progressing slow, but it will be worth the wait. Any comments are very welcome and I hope you enjoy!

/

Something else is hurting you - that's why you need pot or whiskey, or screaming music turned so fucking loud you can't think.

— Charles Bukowski

/

The air was thick with the blonde's awkwardness. After having met Alex, that incredibly attractive jet haired woman who had now moved over to the bar, Piper had not been able to mouth a sentence. Everything got lost in translation. Of course questions like

"Why are you here/ Why do you look like you have been crying/ Why are you in need of a place to stay?" were ready to roll off her tongue, no matter how hard she had been trying to stop herself from prying.

That was the reason for which she did not speak at all. Darting from one corner of the bar to the other, cleaning up as fast as she could in order to get herself out of this very awkward moment, she avoided the older woman's gaze. She knew it had been set upon her this entire time but she dared not look in her direction. The sound of a phone broke the silence.

She stood still and looked in the direction of the bar where Alex sat, unfazed, lost, looking at Piper.

"Are you not going to pick that up?" she finally muttered. "This is the fifth time they call you tonight."

"My dear, I don't give a damn" Alex said after a silent moment.

"Did you just quote Gone with the Wind or do you really not give one?"

"Sometimes great authors explain what I want to say better than I ever could." A faint smirk had made way into her expression as she circled the neck of the beet bottle she had been nursing for the past few hours.

"Would you like another one? I know I am almost done with cleaning, but if you do," she stuttered "I mean, if you would like one, I could totally get you one. If you don't it's also totally," she exhaled a nervous breath "It's totally ok."

Alex chuckled and grabbed the bottle tighter. "Why are you so nervous? I should be the one who is stuttering. I am the chick in need of a home Nicky handed you over."

Piper smiled and grabbed another beer. "It's on the house. Let's go"

/

The wind was cold and Piper's lack of a cardigan made her move her feet faster along the pavement . She was set on taking a taxi home alone after her shift was over, mostly in fear of the streets at night, but now that her companion was walking with her she did not want to waste precious money. The awkwardness had resolved itself and a feeling of calmness was present.

"You know Alex, my favorite book was Gone with the wind for a long time. We spent two weeks at Smith talking about it. I think it was the reason I got an A in the class. My professor just wanted me to shut up." Her whole body was filled with memories and a smile was etched into her face. Alex did not want to miss the opportunity of conversation. She had been impressed by the knowledge of the young blonde and her beauty. The girl was not trying to hard; her clothes were not too revealing, her make up was not strong and even then sex appeal was over filling her senses.

"Which other books did you like Piper?"

/

After the spark of conversation on Alex's behalf, Piper had began to feel completely at ease. Putting her college degree to use was making her feel better and as they neared her apartment they had progressed into more topics. They had covered books, literature, movies and professors; they even talked about one for whom Piper had a crush on in her freshman year and the spell was broken by the entrance to the apartment.

"So here it is," she smiled "I know its small but it's a home."

Alex looked into the cramped space. It was colored a deep red color accompanied by beige and golden tones in the kitchen, homey and very Piper-like. Alex pondered her though. She did not understand how is it that she felt such connection to the young adult without having known her for even a day. The talk they had, was successful in shutting her brain up and finally getting her out of the black space she was obstructed in for the last week. This, she was immensely grateful for to Piper.

"I like it," she said with a faint smile "it is a home, yes."

After having Piper take her jacket and show her around Alex had made her conclusions. The girl was well read and raised, a clean freak and loved her family. Pictures of a blonde boy and girl at an early age adorned the wall by the small fireplace. She had been looking around the living room while Piper was in the kitchen.

"Do you want coffee, tea?" Piper asked much louder than she had too.

Chuckling Alex decided to try her luck. "What about some whiskey instead?"

Piper's blonde head immediately peaked out of the door. "Are you sure?" she asked concerned. For all she knew this girl could be alcoholic she thought to herself as she stared at the alcohol cabinet. What if that was the reason she was here?

"Well it is much better than coffee at 3 am right?" she said,breaking Piper's train of didn't turn around to face the blonde, but instead tilted her head trying to figure out whether the infant in the picture was a boy or a girl.

"Well, on the rocks or neat then?"

/

All of her worries about sleeping early in order to be able to look presentable at work tomorrow were completely lost by the time she prepared the whiskey. Sitting on the couch while Alex was still walking around the room looking at pictures of her childhood, she got time to really look at her.

Her curves were elegant, and the way she stood was proud and tall; her clothes just proving the point. A leather jacket was neatly stacked in the cabinet near the entrance; The absence of it gave room to her tight black shirt visible for the first time in the night, which made the transition to her jeans a very pleasant one. Seeing as Piper's day had already been unfortunate, it was then that Alex decided to acknowledge the blondes presence on the couch by turning around. Piper blushed as she had been caught staring at the woman's ass and sinked further down on the couch.

"Those are,um," sigh "really nice jeans." Piper blushed even more.

Alex looked at her and smiled. "Thanks kid. I like them too." she said, grabbing her drink from the table and shuffling towards Piper, who scooted up on the couch to allow the woman to sit.

"Well, this is going to be the moment we have to get to know each other right? I am kind of sleeping here," she pointed to the couch and joined in and nodded.

"So?" she stilled "is that baby a girl or a boy? I have been trying to figure it out for the past five minutes"

The night had just begun as Alex tilted her head and Piper erupted into laughter.