A/N: Hey guys, another chapter for you. Ten points to gryffindor for anyone who can guess what Alex is hiding, the seeds have been planted, so to speak.
Have at it...
Chapter #10…
It was a unspoken, unwritten agreement that Alex and Nicky met every Sunday, mostly in the afternoon, for a beer at the local old school rock bar just down the street from Nicky's and away from the gossip and drunkenness of the local bars around the campus.
The pair strolled into the bar, occupying their regular booth on the left, away from the rarely used dance floor but close enough to the bar.
The black leather seats were well worn, the padding barely providing any level of comfort from the wooden bench beneath it. The walls featuring pictures and band posters hanging over the chipped paint whilst classic rock anthems played unnoticed by many in the background.
The bar had a reputation for trouble later on in the evenings but Alex and Nicky loved the place and had picked the spot way before even beginning their studies.
Nicky went to the bar, signalling to the bartender, Tom, for two bottles of their usual beers whilst Alex took her seat.
"Thanks" Alex acknowledged as Nicky joined her in the booth, sliding over the cool beer bottle dripping with wet condensation as the brunette yawned loudly.
"Late night Vause?" Nicky smirked.
The two woman had a friendship based on foundations of close to the bone banter and, occasionally, deep, intimately honest conversations. Recently, the banter usually consisted of Alex having the upper hand over Nicky, generally taking the form of Nicky being whipped by Lorna. However, today Nicky had a full house and was playing her cards very close to her chest for maximum impact on the brunette. She didn't usually have much dirt on Alex and she was going to make damn sure to make full use of it now she had.
Alex nodded. "You'd know if you managed to get out the house last night"
"Oh, we got out alright stretch" Nicky couldn't hide the smirk on her face and in her voice.
"Well, it was nice of you to join us."
Nicky allowed Alex to continue her teasing before finally turning the tables on the brunette, unable to contain her excitement any longer.
"So, how was she?"
"Who?"
"Chapman"
"She was okay, why?"
"Come on Vause, I'm gonna need more than that and we both know it. Don't make me drag it out of you."
"Drag what out?"
"Uuuh, oooh Alex, oooh" Nicky moaned loudly in her breathiest voice.
Alex narrowed her eyes at her wild haired friend.
"Yep, what a time to visit the bathroom, I really wasn't expecting to hear a live sex show."
"Well I'm sorry to disappoint but we only got to second base before Holly interrupted us."
"Vause, why've you got to be such hard work? You started in the bathroom, got interrupted, dragged her up to the back exit, took her home and fucked her senseless. How right am I?"
Alex eyed her friend knowing that the shorter woman had known all along but had still insisted on dragging the information out of her.
"95 percent" Alex eventually conceded smirking, knowing Nicky would have got it out of her either way.
"I took her home, started to fuck her senseless, as you put it, and had to stop for her to throw up" Alex recalled.
Nicky, who had just taken a swig of her beer, laughed loudly and open mouthed, beer shooting down her nose and spraying the immediate vicinity, "man, you really are losing your touch Vause" she managed to get out before bending over to continue laughing.
"She'd drank too much Nick, she was really ill, she passed out so I put her to bed."
"Hmm, wouldn't have stopped me." Nicky added finally beginning to contain her laughing, although not completely stopping.
Alex eyed the blonde, who immediately ceased her laughter upon receiving the look.
"Not a word to her, or anyone for that matter!" Alex demanded firmly, Nicky knowing when to stop her teasing, holding her hands up in a mock surrender gesture.
"I don't know what it is Nic, but she's just…. different" said Alex as she slid her folded arms onto the surface of the table and placed her head down on top.
"I know Vause, I know" Nicky repeated as she took another pull of her beer, patting the brunette on the back gently with her other hand.
"I'm fucked"
"Yep, welcome to the 'fallen for a straight girl' club."
XxX
Monday always seemed to come around too soon for most people, the dreaded thought of heading back to an unloved work after a fun and frivolous weekend. However, waking up at 9:30, Piper literally leaped out of bed, excited for her lecture followed by more alone time with a certain ravishing brunette.
She had returned home on Sunday afternoon beating Polly, who arrived an hour later. The pair had spent the time exchanging their individual stories from the evening previous. Polly and Pete had become official whilst Piper had vehemently expressed her distaste for Larry and Polly's incessant need to set her up with men she had nothing in common with, let alone was attracted to.
Piper had informed Polly of her running into Alex, leaving out the fact that she was ready and willing to be fucked by the brunette in the bathroom with Polly on the other side of the door and that she left with the brunette minutes later, the same intention in mind.
Polly had expressed her distaste for the badass and apparently untrustworthy woman, keen to voice her opinion based on rumours she had heard.
Piper listened, her own anxieties about Alex peaked by Polly. Above all though, Piper was concerned and scared by the extent of her feelings for the older woman and whether she was viewed as just another meaningless fuck by Alex.
Swallowing any thoughts about Alex and her intentions towards the blonde that surfaced, Piper cleared her head, waiting for the appearance of Lorna ready to walk to their lecture.
"Hey Chapman, good weekend?" Lorna asked, any teasing Piper thought she might receive about Alex absent from her tone.
"Hey Lorna, yeah it was good thanks, how was yours?"
"It was good thank you, I took Nicky to meet my parents. It was quite the experience but I think it went okay."
"You two are really serious huh?"
Lorna nodded in response, a small pink blush spreading over her cheeks.
"How was your night out on Friday? Me and Nicky didn't get out until late so I think maybe we missed seeing you." Lorna added, quick to change the subject.
"Yeah, I ended up running into Alex so I wasn't alone anyway."
"Oh that's nice, how are the two of you getting on?"
Piper didn't know to what extent she felt she could openly confide in the smaller woman, she was dating Alex's best friend after all.
"Yeah, I think we're working together well on the assignment, we seem to have a similar taste in literature and the same work ethic." Piper could here the doubt and hesitation in her own voice, let alone Lorna picking up on it.
"I know what it's like y'know Piper, the early stages are so difficult. Constantly trying to work out if you're different to all the other girls or whether you're just another notch on the bedpost. It was the same with Nicky."
Lorna spoke so honestly Piper couldn't help but release the inner turmoil she had been voicing over and over in her head.
Looking up from the floor, Piper spoke softly, "I really like her Lorna." She spoke so quietly she was unsure whether she had actually confessed out loud.
"She seems to care for you Piper, Nicky won't talk about it but I've never seen her look at someone like she looks at you, we all feel the chemistry when you're together."
Piper smiled gratefully to Lorna, happy for any information she could get but equally disappointed she had no insight through Nicky.
XxX
The two women walked the remainder of the way in a comfortable silence.
The thought of the way Alex had taken care of her while she was sick featured vividly in Piper's head brought about by the earlier words of Lorna.
Maybe there was a tiny tiny nanometer in Piper's head that nought it possible that Alex might reciprocate her feelings. Her heart was in agreement whilst her brain chastised her for such a silly thought.
The two women reached the door to the lecture theatre. Piper followed Lorna up to their usual seats at the back glancing to see Boo and Nicky already sat. Piper looked around, desperately searching for contact with those vivid green eyes, whilst the other three made their good morning introductions, Nicky and Lorna's hellos quickly turning into a full on PDA.
Piper looked up at the clock at the front of the room, it was bang on 11 am and Alex was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey Chapman, you feeling alright, you look a little pale, you're not gonna hurl are you?" Nicky teased as she settled Lorna beside her, throwing a wink and chuckling at the desperate blonde able to read her current thought process.
Piper missed the obvious dig at her weekend exploits, oblivious to anything other than wanting to connect her eyes with those of Alex. The blonde didn't even waste the time to turn and face Nicky.
"Oh, by the way, your tall drink of water can't make your study session." Nicky used her fingers to gesture air quotes around the term study session as Piper immediately whipped her head round. "Told me to tell you she had something urgent come up out of town and she was sorry."
"Okay, no worries." Piper replied, fixing the shorter woman with her trademark WASP smile.
Piper finally sat in her seat next to Boo, sad and disappointed, her mind full of unwanted thoughts as to Alex, her whereabouts and whether her weekend performance had indeed ruined any chance she had with her.