A wave of heat hit them as the automatic doors to the hotel lobby opened. They both shivered involuntarily as the warmth engulfed them both, thawing them out from the long cold walk they just took.
Pressing the button and waiting for the elevator, Alex peeked out the corner of her eye to find Piper cover her mouth with her free hand as she yawned.
Her nose scrunched up and her eyes closed tight as she yawned. Alex could tell by the way Piper's pace had slowed on their walk back, that she was exhausted.
They made it to level 6 and Piper stepped out, still holding onto Alex's hand as she walked towards her hotel room.
Alex's palm began to sweat as she suddenly realised that she liked this woman. She really liked her, and didn't want to just sleep with her and then forget about her.
Piper slid her passkey into the door and tiredly pushed the door open. Alex stood still in the doorway, letting go of the tired blonde's hand.
Piper turned around and frowned slightly, biting the inside of her cheek. She leant against the door, staring up at the dark haired woman.
"Thank you." she breathed. A thousand different reasons why, behind those two words.
A small and shy smile spread on Alex's face, "You're welcome." she searched the blonde's gaze to make doubly sure that she was alright.
Piper reached up slowly, tucking a strand of hair behind Alex's ear, before leaning in closer.
She kissed Alex's cheek gently, lingering for a moment before pulling back.
Alex smirked at her before pulling her in for a brief hug.
"I'm the level above, in 702 if you need anything." she winked at the blushing blonde, before making her way back to the elevator.
The Next Morning
Piper sat in the lobby of the hotel, anxiously waiting to see if she could catch Alex before her morning meeting. Her foot tapped an erratic rhythm and she grabbed a tourist pamphlet from the rack beside her. Glancing up and over the top of the leaflet every so often, she grew annoyed, asking herself why she didn't just knock on Alex's door, she'd given her the number and floor.
A long sigh escaped her and she began to actually take interest in the brochure she had in front of her.
Alex sauntered into the lobby from the elevator, dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a graphic tee and a pair of sneakers. She bumped into a guy who was hurrying towards the lift and knocked her hat off of her head.
The guy didn't even apologise, just pressed the button to a higher floor impatiently.
"Jackass." she grunted as the doors closed.
She bent down, put her hat back on and fixed her bag strap on her shoulder before turning for the main doors.
A beautiful blonde caught her eye. A look of complete concentration on her face as she read a tourist brochure on the sights that the city had to offer.
Alex shook her head smiling, before making her way over to sit in the vacant chair beside her.
"Good morning." she grinned over at the blonde, leaning closer to see which sight she was looking at.
Piper jumped a little in her seat, sighing in relief as soon as she realised it was Alex.
"Morning" she smiled shyly back at her, a blush colouring her cheeks. "I thought you had a morning meeting?" she wondered aloud after a few seconds more of just staring at the unbelievably attractive woman beside her.
Alex's signature smirk spread and her brow raised at the blonde's question. "Somebody was paying attention." she commented, laughing when Piper's rolled her eyes and face reddened even more so. Alex pat the blonde's arm comfortingly, "It got cancelled." she explained, her attention turning back to the leaflet before them.
"What's on the agenda for today then, Kid?" she asked curiously, her eyes skimming the pages.
It took Piper a few more minutes to compose herself before she answered.
"Well, my friend stayed at her family's last night and is spending today with them too, despite the fact we were booked on a tour of the Blue Mountains." she pouted.
Alex looked sideways at her, "Didn't the grandmother just pass away?" she asked confused.
"Yeah… I'm not annoyed at her. Just disappointed I guess, which is selfish, I know." Piper scrubbed her hand over her face at how petty she sounded.
"Well, can you not just do the tour yourself maybe?" Alex offered the solution tentatively.
"I would, but I already booked two people and it's non-refundable." the blonde sighed, uncovering her face.
Alex raised her glasses on top of her head and took the pamphlet from the blonde, turning it over and searching for the price of the tour.
"What are you doing?" Piper asked confused by her actions.
"I wanna know how much this is." she said, her tone distant as she folded the piece of paper over and over.
"It was $380." the blonde provided her the information, her eyes narrowed in curiosity.
Alex nodded and reached into the small bag by her waist, she counted out $380, opened Piper's palm and closed the blondes fingers around the dollar bills.
"What are you doing?" Piper's eyes widened and she loosened her hand in Alex's still-tight grip.
"I'm paying you for the other tour ticket. I'll go with you. I have nothing to do today, and I was planning on going to the Blue Mountains before heading home anyways." she explained shrugging, her hands still clamped around the blondes.
A small smile spread on Piper's face then. She was going to spend the day with this woman, the thought making her heart stutter.
"Besides, it'll be better to go with you." Alex admitted and Piper grinned at that. "It's always way too awkward asking asian tourists to take a picture of me. They always turn out blurry or they then ask me to pose with them because I'm so white." she rolled her eyes at her own joke, smiling as Piper giggled at her.
"You don't have to pay me, I'd be glad if you came." the blonde put the money back in the brunette's hand and folded her arms across her chest.
Alex narrowed her eyes, smirk still firm in place and put the money back in her purse. "Fine. But I pay for lunch, and anything else on this trip." she bargained.
"Deal!" Piper agreed. Her dimples making Alex's stomach flip.
"I'd better go get ready. The bus will be here to pick us up in half an hour!" she suddenly jumped up.
"Okay." Alex smiled up at her.
"You coming?" Piper asked, walking backwards towards the elevator.
"Sure." she answered, reaching out to move Piper out of the way from a businessman who was about to knock into her.
Alex scowled at the guy as he walked past, too busy on his phone to look up to see where he was going. She shook her head and sighed.
"I can't believe I'm like him most of the time. Always on my phone. I just need a day to relax and not take a phone call." she leant back against the wall inside the elevator.
"I've left my phone on do not disturb mode since I got on the plane in New York. I wasn't taking any chances." Piper waved her mobile at the woman.
Alex reached into her pocket for her phone and put it on do not disturb mode, before placing it back in her pocket.
Piper went into the bathroom to get ready and and Alex sat on the bed, flicking through channels.
She reappeared with a floral sundress and her hair in two braids that hung over each shoulder.
Alex took in the sight of the blonde, and the remote for the tv dropped from her grasp, as an audible gasp escaped her.
Piper's cheeks flushed crimson as Alex cleared her throat. "Y-you look beautiful." she said then, trying to make her voice sound even.
"Thank you, so do you." Piper smiled shyly, reaching for her camera and bag before leading the way downstairs.