Choosing the stool closest to the center of the bar, the dark-haired woman sat down and nodded at the pub owner, who returned the greeting. She tapped on the shiny, wooden surface with her fingernails and glanced around the place until she spotted Piper. The blonde was zigzagging her way around the tables with a round tray under her arm and a genuine smile on her lips. This was something Alex did on occasion, going by Piper's workplace to pick her up, so she'd had plenty of time to observe the woman's behavior. There was always a nice word or two for every client, and she even stopped to chat for a minute if they were sitting by themselves. Most people liked her because she could be kind without being bothersome, and that was why she always got the biggest tips, despite being rather disastrous at the actual waiting of the tables.
It was easy to mock her for liking the job so much -and Alex did mock her, more often than not-, but it was equally true that Piper knew how to extract joy from almost everything she did, something that Alex herself was not always capable of doing. Lately she had been thinking about that fundamental difference between them: she had worked hard to mold the world around her, a world which had been unsympathetic to her for years, while Piper's strategy was quite the opposite - adapting herself to whichever world happened to surround her. That required special abilities and an unusual kind of strength, one which wasn't noticeable at first, one which had barely made it through Alex's trained eyesight. Luckily, though, she had not made the mistake of underestimating Piper.
A few minutes later, the blonde woman noticed Alex's presence at the bar, and flashed the sweetest of smiles in her direction. Alex swore internally, but maintained her perfectly serene front while Piper approached her, sashaying her hips and wearing that cute little uniform: a white polo shirt, a black mini-skirt, and a Guinness bottle-green apron.
"Hi, my name's Piper, and I'll be your waitress tonight," said the blonde, with pretend politeness. "What can I get you?"
"How about… you get yourself out of that apron and come with me right now? Let's start with that."
"That's… something I could probably do, yes. Just give me a minute."
The blonde vanished as quickly as she had appeared, and Alex felt a familiar pang of anticipation in the mouth of her stomach. Before, she had only felt it on counted occasions: maybe before meeting her father, embarrassing as it was to even think about that experience; certainly after discovering what her exhilarating profession had to offer. She wasn't an impressionable person; she didn't spook or shock easily, but that irritating little pang presented itself more often now, ever since Piper had wriggled her little ass into her life.
Alex sighed, adjusted her glasses. How she wished it was just her ass, because she'd had plenty of that before and it had never overwhelmed her. This was different; that girlwas different.
And now it had come to this. They both knew what was going on, that this was the last night they were going to spend together in a long time, if not ever (who knew where Piper would be when she returned - Alex had zero expectations). She had work to do, starting with Indonesia, and there was nothing to be done about it. In fact, she'd been putting it off for too long, tiptoeing around her boss, which was more like tightrope walking - she was smart enough to know that she didn't want another visit. The bottom line was that she had to leave and couldn't keep on avoiding it. And that, as they say, was that.
She had never lied about her job -it was Piper who hadn't believed her at first-, and once the cat was out of the bag, they'd never sat down to talk about all the other stuff either, their stuff, whatever it was they were doing. There had been a couple of half-hearted attempts, one of which had started when Piper believed she wanted to have a serious discussion, although she hadn't, she'd just wanted to feel like she was in control of the situation, if only for a little while. And Alex had capitulated because she had understood Piper's need to prove that she wasn't overwhelmed. Those attempts, however, had been unsuccessful because neither had wanted to get into it, not really. But hey, full disclosure was severely overrated, wasn't it? Why go through all the trouble, when you could make do with just-about-enough disclosure? Why bother, when they knew they had been living with a countdown hovering over their heads for some time now?
The blonde returned, wearing a purple hoodie over her uniform, stating that she was ready. They exited the pub, Alex holding the door open for the girl, enjoying Piper's beaming smile and look when she had to squeeze between the doorframe and Alex's body.
"So, what do you wanna do?" Alex asked, shoving her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket.
Piper slid her hand inside Alex's right pocket, interlocking their fingers. "I'd rather turn in, if you don't mind. I still have to pack?"
Ooh, packing. Fun… Her own suitcase was already by the door, ready for the next day, because she was so much better than her at getting her shit together, she had jokingly told Piper. With a wry smile on her lips, Alex stared straight ahead, tracing the palm of Piper's hand with her thumb. She remembered the bottle of expensive, white wine she had left cooling in the fridge -a remnant of some party-, and felt better.
However easily she could read Piper most of the time, that woman still managed to puzzle her. She either looked at her like a schoolgirl with a crush, or like she was about to eat the most appetizing of desserts. Being at the receiving end of both was great, yet, at the same time, she seemed to be completely accepting of the present situation, that Alex had to go. Not that she could do anything to change it… and maybe that was it, maybe that was the only reason Piper needed to accept something. Once more, Alex felt that she had been right not to underestimate her.
The prey to her trap, Piper had been too easy to lure. Alex knew that the blonde had found her interesting right off the bat. That was what usually happened, particularly with girls -Alex's area of expertise-, girls who had been raised by their families under a glass dome, both for protection and for a preservation of the species of sorts. They were equally repelled and attracted by Alex's outrageousness, her loudness, her recklessness, and wanted to try out what real freedom felt like. If, in order to obtain that, one had to move around a bunch of heroin, well, that wasn't so terrible, was it?
And Piper hadn't even wrinkled her nose at her, not for a second. She had been all wide-eyed desire from the very beginning, glancing back at her from over her shoulder, ordering a stupid drink and staying at the bar even after the waiter had blown off her request for a job and her joke of a résumé. The blonde had done it all but wear a big sign that said "I don't know why but I want to know you better", like an Ani DiFranco song on legs. It had been a great source of amusement for Alex, how very into her this little, straight girl from Connecticut was. And Alex had given her precisely what she'd wanted, knowing exactly what to do to her to make her feel special. All those girls believed that their first time with a woman was a very big deal, and that was how they needed to be treated, like they themselves were a very big deal. Besides, they were already used to people making a fuss over them, so they kind of expected it.
Not that she hadn't enjoyed -and didn't still enjoy- sleeping with Piper. Who wouldn't? She was all kinds of hot, fun, and very… dedicated, very thorough - a fast learner. However, that wasn't all. Soon enough, something had changed, although Alex had never been able to pinpoint the exact moment. Perhaps there hadn't been an exact moment, and they had simply started talking, over dinner, over drinks, and under the cocoon created by the sheets. Perhaps it had to do with too much rubbing skin against skin and spending too much time together, and Piper borrowing her clothes and running her fingers along the spines of her books, leaving her prints on all of her stuff. Perhaps it was that Piper could always make her laugh, sometimes on purpose, sometimes with her excessive innocence or her surprising malice, and sometimes because of her aggravating need to destroy every Dusty Springfield song in every single karaoke bar they encountered.
Somehow, Piper had made herself different in Alex's eyes, and time went by and Alex never got to the part of coaxing her into working for her. They were just living together, without a script, pouring sugar and milk into each other's coffee, and being so fucking mundane that seeing it in any other person would've made Alex suppress a wave of nausea. But this was her life. This was her person. This was someone she could relax with and sleep next to, without necessarily having to be this or that Alex.
They arrived to her place, an old factory which had been thoroughly and successfully revamped into an impressive loft. It was luxurious, conforming exactly to her tastes and wildest dreams, but functional as well -how she loathed those houses furnished with stuff you weren't supposed to touch, armchairs you weren't supposed to sit on-, and somewhere she could always come back to. Even if she wasn't the settling down type, it had been great putting it together, it was nice owning it, and it had been nice sharing it with Piper too.
Alex took off her leather jacket, hung it by the door, and glanced down at her suitcase, which seemed to be waiting for her like an obedient dog. Following the blonde's footsteps into the open space that was the kitchen, she extracted the bottle of white wine from the pistachio-colored refrigerator.
"Want some of this?"
"I'm going to jump in the shower first, okay?" Piper gave her a small peck on the corner of the mouth and disappeared into the bathroom.
The brunette placed the unopened bottle on the granite countertop and sat on one of the stools which surrounded the large kitchen island. With the tip of her index finger, she absentmindedly traced a capital "A" on the humid, cold glass. She didn't feel like drinking it anymore, and couldn't quite figure out the reason why. Maybe due to the fact that uncorking a bottle of something or other had to do with a celebration, a new beginning. They had downed bottle after bottle of champagne all night at her housewarming party, she recalled, and that had felt right, while this didn't.
Leaving the bottle behind, Alex went to the main bedroom. She thought it was a good idea to change into more comfortable clothes –sweatpants and a loose t-shirt-, before Piper started opening and closing drawers.
"You're not having wine?" Piper asked when she came back from the shower. She was wearing a grey top and some cute shorts they had bought together - although Alex couldn't remember the actual store, just the dressing room.
As soon as she'd heard muffled sound of the blow dryer, Alex had gone for a snack and a glass of water, since she knew that this was going to be one of Piper's eternal bathroom stays. She had also started playing some soothing soul and funky music, which always made her feel warm inside. Leaning back on the headboard and cradling a book against her knee, Alex felt as ready as she would ever be to watch the gradual process of Piper leaving.
"No, didn't feel like it," she answered, burying her nose back in the book.
She felt the blonde's eyes on her during several seconds, and then sensed her moving around the room, busying herself with the task of fishing out her clothes and laying them down on every able surface. This was going to be fine. If there was something she believed in, it was her own capacity for self-preservation.
When she lifted her eyes again from the page, she saw that the blonde was standing at the foot of the bed, facing the wall, nonchalantly folding her clothes, but shaking her head and body to the music. For a couple of seconds, Alex couldn't avoid staring at Piper's ass in movement, and then she noticed that the blonde was looking at her over her shoulder, completely aware of the effect she was causing. How could she be so goofy and sexy at the same time, and make her smile no matter what?
"Get over here," she commanded.
But clearly, Piper wanted to take it slow, make her suffer. Still swaying to the music, she peeled off her shirt, teasingly ignoring both Alex's gesture and mouthed request for her to come closer. She swung around one of the bedposts, placed one knee on the bed, clearly in no rush to comply. If she wanted to play, well… Alex was fucking game.
"Will you miss me?" Piper asked, using her innocent voice, which of course was all part of the show.
It was probably the worst thing to ask, in the worst possible way. She was being sweet, seductive, leaning on the bedpost and flexing her leg. They hadn't even addressed this properly, and now it had to be done jokingly, mixing it up with the sex. And of course she was going to miss that.
"Yes," Alex admitted, immediately. She shook her head, staring at the curve of Piper's back, not even wanting to play pretend with this matter. "Too much."
That was the naked truth, even if Piper was probably too involved in her little striptease act to notice. She wasn't going to miss her "a lot"; she was going to miss her "too much", because she wished it could be less, as simple as that. And then, the solution presented itself in her mind, clear as day and simple as fuck. Why the hell not?
"Come with me."
The blonde froze for a second, peering at her from behind the bedpost. "What?"
Piper seemed genuinely surprised, not because the idea was dumb, but surely because she hadn't expected such a proposition. And Alex understood; their relationship up until that moment had been one thing, and this would maybe turn it into another. It was enough to stop her seductive dance.
"Come to Bali," Alex said, grabbing the remote and stopping the music. "Come with me, I mean it, I'll buy you a plane ticket."
Why should the Bali thing be a problem? Her job had nothing to do with them. It had never interfered until that moment, and it didn't have to. Why did it have to split them up? Why did she have to give up something good, end their holiday before even taking the trip?
Her mind was no longer in a rut. It went back to being practical, and quick, and sharp, and clear, with an aim. Of course she didn't have to lose Piper. Why renounce to anything? Why should she renounce to anything? She didn't. She could have both, Piper and Bali, and now she felt completely relaxed, she realized, taking off her glasses, because once she knew what she wanted, all she needed to do was reach out and take it.
"Are you serious?" Piper asked, scooting closer. It was more a request for Alex to be serious than a question.
The brunette's smile grew, fueled by the girl's tribulation. She met her at the center of the bed, looking her straight in the eye.
"Yes," Alex answered, raising her eyebrows and bowing her head to deliver a kiss between Piper's breasts. She felt more confident than ever.
This was the Piper she could read effortlessly, as much as it had always bugged the blonde to admit it. Alex could almost see the wheels turning inside her head, wondering if it was one of her little games, but what if it wasn't… that kind of thing. Again, the brunette completely understood her, because it wasn't like they had ever been serious about this "relationship" for more than a second - only sometimes in bed, of all places, under the covers, hugging and kissing like there was no tomorrow, staring into the gleam between each other's eyelids. And still, those were actions, not words.
"Come with me. Quit your job…" Alex snaked her hands around the blonde's waist, directing her to straddle her hips. "And come with me."
Still somewhat stunned by her proposal, Piper kept more or less still, letting Alex caress her and kiss her neck. But if there was something Alex was good at, she could tell when a deal was done, and Piper's stuttered rebuttal was but a smoke screen. In her mind, she was already picturing the idea.
"I-I'd have to give notice."
"You're a fucking waitress! You don't need to give notice." She laughed, and started kissing Piper's cheek. It was going to happen. It was going to happen and it was going to be fucking incredible.
"Will I get in trouble?" Piper asked, not even bothering with hypotheticals now.
"God, I hope so," she answered, chuckling at her own pun, the possibilities before them innumerable.
She kissed down the girl's clavicle, making her gasp. It was one of her weak spots. Then, she caressed her way down to Piper's breast.
"You know what I mean."
Of course she did. But Piper's voice was already dense with desire, and all she wanted was to be reassured so that she could let go completely, to know that she was "allowed" to say yes.
"You don't have to do anything. You're just there to keep me company." Alex toyed with the strap of Piper's bra, caressing her shoulder. "Alright?"
When their noses rubbed together, she realized that their closeness was becoming too intoxicating to dance around any longer. Their lips found each other, easily, as they always did now, whether it was broad daylight or the darkest night. Piper was more than ready; she was telling her with every fiber of her being, with the pressing urgency of her kisses. But she wasn't going to get it that easy, oh no, she wasn't.
So this was the game; if she wanted it, she would have to give her a concrete answer, which Alex needed, despite herself.
"Come on, babe, I want you to come. And I want you to come."
To help Piper speak up and to test the waters, Alex slid an exploratory hand inside the girl's shorts. The tips of her fingers got coated with Piper's wetness at once, and she felt fucking amazing. The girl's sharp intake of breath and her surprised face told Alex everything she needed to know. She thought she was getting what she so badly wanted, but not yet, not yet. First, Alex required her answer, if she had to tease it out of Piper.
"Yes? Is that a yes?"
"Yes," Piper said, almost breathing out the word into her mouth. "Yes."
Of course it was a fucking yes. And she would be saying that word a lot more. She dove into Piper's lips again, her tongue finding the other woman's tongue, stifling every emerging moan.
She finished getting rid of Piper's bra and let Piper take off her shirt, which was like a dead weight on her body anyway. Her own heat, as well as Piper's heat against her skin, was getting tough to handle. Alex hooked her thumbs under the elastic of Piper's shorts and discarded them, then made her lie down on the bed while she took off her own pants and underwear.
She lied down on top of Piper, and the girl's legs surrounded her waist, using her feet to shove Alex against her. The delicious pressure made the brunette groan, but it wasn't close to enough. She slid an arm between their bodies and dipped her fingers within Piper's wet folds, using her own thigh to push her hand. The blonde tried to communicate, in her own way, that this was what she wanted by murmuring an array of incoherencies, holding a bunch of Alex's dark hair tightly within her closed fist.
Unconsciously but inevitably, Alex's hips started creating a spiral-shaped rhythm, one which made Piper dig her fingers into the small of her back. She herself was grinding hard against the blonde's thigh, and felt just about ready to let go, but no, not before Piper.
"Look at me," she whispered, lifting her head from the curve of Piper's neck, where she had been kissing and biting her. "Look at me. Together?"
The blonde nodded, muttered her name.
"It's okay, it's okay, baby. Just tell me. Tell me when."
"Okay… Yes… Oh my God. Oh my God, Alex, I'm coming. I'm coming."
Piper threw her head back and closed her eyes, and only then did Alex feel free to increase the rhythm of her hips and fingers, which was the final push both of them needed. It felt like an electric current was splitting her in half, her voice coming out in ragged cries, wounded, returning from a battle fought in the depths of her body.
"Oh my God," Piper repeated. Or was it just an echo, the remnants of their pleasure still bouncing off the walls?
She cupped the blonde's face and kissed her lightly, almost lazily, at least a dozen times, until her body appeared to recover. Again, she started to feel the immediateness of what was happening, the stunning vertigo. This didn't have to end, it just didn't, and so she allowed the floodgates to open, the relief flooding her like an internal cascade.
"Pipes?"
"Yeah?"
"Come with me."
"I am, I already told you." There was a pause. "And… I just did, remember? Barely a minute ago? Um, which one… which one do you mean?"
Alex giggled, placed a kiss on Piper's cheek. Poor thing. "I mean theother one. Get up, come with me?"
The blonde frowned, but complied, accepting Alex's extended hand. They walked into the kitchen, and Alex grabbed the bottle of white wine she had abandoned earlier.
"I thought you didn't feel like it," Piper said.
"Now I do. And look, it's still cold." She dragged the side of the bottle down Piper's naked back, making the girl yelp and almost jump out of her skin.
"Jesus! Don't do that!"
Laughing, Alex opened a drawer, extracted a corkscrew, and started working at the bottle. "Fetch me a couple of glasses, please, my dear?"
There was just something in Piper that incited her to be more playful than usual, and she loved that side of her own personality. And Piper enjoyed it too, even if she didn't want to admit it. This playing house of theirs had been a lot of fun, but it was now time to give this thing a test drive around the world.
She filled up their glasses generously and raised hers. "To the fucking amazing adventure that's out there, waiting for us."
Piper nodded, smiling like an excited little girl. They knocked their glasses together, and drank. "Hmm, wow, this very good."
"Yeah, mine wasn't so bad. Let me try yours."
Pausing a moment to enjoy Piper's puzzled face, glancing from the glass to the bottle, Alex then lunged into the girl's mouth, sucking the wine's taste off her lips and tongue.
"You were right, it's delicious."
"Aren't you going to let me try yours?" Piper asked, surprising her with her bravado. And she wasn't even drunk yet.
Alex nodded, theatrically handing her the glass. She definitely had her complete attention. The blonde took one look at the glass and then proceeded to down all its contents quickly. Since it was too much for her mouth to contain, tiny, transparent rivulets of wine started running down her chin and neck. They traced the shape of her breasts and collected in the form of dew-like droplets on her nipples. The brunette raised her eyebrows, springing into action immediately, unimpaired by her own surprise.
She bent down to drag her tongue along Piper's tasty skin, drawing circles around her wet nipples. She then tried to kneel before the other woman, who was holding onto the granite counter for support, but Piper seemed to want none of it. She pushed Alex against the kitchen island and seized the half-full bottle.
The brunette kept still, but only because the expectation was delicious and she wanted to know where this was going. Suddenly, she barked a laugh when she felt the icy wine pour from the bottle and splash against her skin.