Another three weeks passed, and Piper knew that Alex had shared a bed with her every night. The brunette waited until the she'd fallen asleep, and then climbed in the bed, not tossing much at all throughout the night. By the time the blonde awoke in the morning, Alex was already gone.
Piper convinced herself that she was just being kind and generous, allowing Alex to sleep under her luxurious Macy's bedding. There was no amount of joy or exhilaration the blonde felt with Alex lying next to her, except maybe the occasional moment when her companion's toes ran down her calf in the middle of the night.
Alex enrolled at the same public high school as Piper, but they didn't hang out or see each other very often except in English class. Alex had been placed in AP English Literature, which happened to be the same class that Piper was enrolled in (she was the sole junior in the course.)
Piper noticed that Alex didn't pay attention in class, but she always had a book open—usually a novel instead of the textbook the class was using. When the teacher called on her, the brunette often provided an inspiring answer to even the most difficult curricular questions. The blonde determined that Alex was highly intelligent, but she didn't apply herself in school. She'd quickly found "the cool kids" and often skipped class with them and smoked under the bleachers next to the football field. Piper wondered why, if the brunette smoked, she never smelled like cigarettes. That would be the end of her sharing a bed with the other girl for sure.
One day, Alex wasn't in English class, and when Piper got home, she found the dark haired girl in her bedroom, puffing on a Lucky Strike out of the cracked window.
Piper rushed inside, slamming her bedroom door. "What are you doing?"
"Smoking. What does it look like?" The brunette flicked the butt out of the window.
Piper inhaled a deep breath, sniffing the air. "It smells like smoke in here!"
Alex waved her hand, brushing the stench outside. "I didn't think you'd be home so early."
"I didn't feel like jogging today." She walked over to the window, opening it fully. "Don't do this ever again, Alex. I've overlooked...some things..." she paused and looked away as she felt a blush crawl up her neck at the thought of sharing a bed with the brunette. "But I won't stand for my bedroom smelling like an ashtray."
Alex stood and tucked the pack of Lucky Strikes into her back pocket. "Danny is leaving tomorrow, so you won't have to worry about that after today."
Piper had forgotten that Alex only needed to share the room temporarily. She was right—her brother, Danny, was going back to college, which meant that the dark haired girl could have her own room down the hallway. Thank God, she muttered loud enough for Alex to hear.
What troubled the young blonde was that there was a pang in her chest at the idea that she and Alex wouldn't share a bed...err, a room any longer.
Alex threw on her jacket. "Can I borrow your notes from class today?"
"No, you may not." Piper used a book to swat at the smoky air, directing it out of the open window. "Why didn't you go to school?"
She zipped her jacket. "Do you always do what's expected of you, Piper?"
She had to consider that for a moment. "Yeah, I do."
Alex's lips turned up as a soft laugh escaped. "Why?"
Piper shrugged, and then busied herself with closing the window and adjusting the wooden blinds. "Because I like following rules."
"Do you?" The dark haired girl pulled on her black Dr. Martens. "I think you're interested in pushing boundaries, but you haven't had the right opportunity."
"You know nothing about me," she tried for a decisive voice, but it didn't quite register the way Piper had wanted, so she looked away.
"I know a lot more than you think." Alex stood and walked out of the bedroom before the blonde had a chance to inquire what, exactly, Alex thought she knew about her.
She instantly felt alone in her bedroom, and before she had a chance to reflect on the reasons behind that, she picked up the phone to call Larry. She needed to get the hell out of her own house.
Piper didn't come home that night, and for a moment, Alex worried about her whereabouts. Just as she was about to casually enquire, Bill knocked on the bedroom door and peeked inside.
"Looks like you have the room to yourself," he said. "Piper's spending the night at a friend's house."
Alex jerked an earbud out. "Ok."
Bill exited, and the brunette hopped off the bed. She took a stroll around the younger girl's room, touching things here and there. A part of her wanted to open a drawer or two, maybe read one of her notebooks, but her better angels won, and she didn't touch anything that wasn't already on display. She picked up the framed picture of Piper and her boyfriend, pulling it close to her face and snickering. Fucking nerd.
Alex didn't have to do much sleuthing at school to learn that Larry Bloom was an average student on the newspaper staff. He didn't have the machismo that she figured Piper might go for, and Alex wondered if the primary reason that the blonde was attracted to Larry was because he was a writer. She had already learned that Piper loved to write poetry and short stories, so it wouldn't be a stretch for her to latch onto a fellow writer on the newspaper staff. Piper was the Editor-in-Chief, and Alex assumed she liked telling people what to do, and perhaps, how to write. Maybe this kid, Larry, could do just that—follow instructions and put pen to paper.
She flopped on the bed and made a few phone calls to friends in New York, asking if they'd be willing to come to Greenwich the next night. She wasn't quite prepared to ask her mom or Bill if she could have friends spend the night, but she was feeling particularly horny. It had been months since she'd made out with a girl, and summer was the last time she'd had sex. She figured it wouldn't harm anyone to invite a girl over after dinner to hang out. Besides, she knew that her mom and Bill were going with Cal to a Knicks game in the City that night, which meant she'd have the place to herself as long as Piper was going out. (The blonde hadn't spent a Friday evening at home in the time they lived together, so she thought that night would be no different.)
The brunette did go to school on Friday, because she had two quizzes that she needed to pass unless her mother would likely yank her out of school to get her GED. As it was, she wasn't earning the top grades that her mom always thought she should.
After school, she met Nicky and a couple of other friends with fake IDs at a gay bar called Diggers in Thompsonville a few miles away from Greenwich. It didn't take long for Alex to zero in on the girl she'd take home that night. With a wink and a smile, Alex had Cindy, a 23-year-old lesbian, in the palm of her hand. They played a few rounds of darts, drank a couple of pitchers of whatever was cheapest on tap, and then Nicky dropped her and Cindy off at the Chapman home.
"Wow, this is a nice place," Cindy said as she looked around the living room.
"Let me make sure no one's here," Alex whispered. She walked around the house, calling to see if anyone was home, and when the coast was clear, she drug Cindy to Danny's bedroom. This was one way to christen her new room.
They started making out, and Cindy ran her hands under Alex's shirt. It had been a long time since the brunette was this turned on, though the woman she was with hardly mattered. She plugged her iPod into the small speaker and played Guns N Roses, Patience, before sitting on the bed and tugging the other woman on top of her as they rid each other of their shirts and bras.
The kissing was fine and Cindy's hands were nimble, but Alex couldn't erase the image of Piper every time she shut her eyes. It frustrated her to no end—she wasn't even enticed by the blonde. Of course Piper was attractive, what with her dimples and tempestuous blue eyes, but her personality and "holier than thou" attitude did nothing to make her attractive to Alex.
Alex rolled onto her back and removed her glasses. "Give me a second, will you?" She rubbed her eyes and tried to think of the redhead in bed next to her. Cindy had voluptuous breasts and a decent ass. Alex convinced herself that those assets were better than Piper's flat chest and wiry, teenage body.
Cindy kissed her way up Alex's stomach until their lips met. "Was that long enough of a wait?"
The brunette chuckled. "Yeah."
As she raised her head to kiss the redhead, she heard a tap on the door and saw a familiar blonde head peek inside.
Alex squinted at the intruder. "What the fuck, Piper?"
"Oh, my God! Sorry, I…" The blonde seemed rooted in place. "That was…"
"Rude of you?" Alex finished her sentence. "Get the hell out!"
Ignoring the brunette's command, Piper opened her mouth. "I don't think you should have a…a woman in Danny's room."
Alex shrugged back into her t-shirt, leaving her bra at the foot of the bed. "First of all, this is my room now!" She handed Cindy her blouse. "Second, you don't get to tell me what to do!"
The blonde folded her arms. "My father would not approve."
This infuriated Alex. She stormed across the room and turned off the music, sighing loudly. Alex could feel her face turning crimson as anger bubbled to the surface. She ran a hand through her hair and spun around to face Cindy, who was busy buttoning her shirt. "I'm sorry, but now might not be the best time for us to…get to know each other." She shot a death glare at Piper. "There's a bus station two blocks away. Here's some money." She reached into her back pocket and handed her $3.
"But…" Cindy tried.
Alex clenched her jaw, annoyed that Piper still hadn't left the room, but she tried not to make a scene in front of a potential easy lover. "Not tonight," she said firmly.
The redhead nodded and scooted passed Piper, who took a step further into the room.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Alex shouted once Cindy left.
The blonde kept her arms folded and shrugged. "Saving you from getting in trouble."
She reached for her glasses and shoved them on her face. "Our parents are at a basketball game with Cal that'll last another hour! Besides, you're never home on a Friday night!"
"My plans changed," she said haughtily with her chin up high.
"What I do has nothing to do with you!" she yelled again. "Leave me the hell alone and mind your own fucking business." Alex stormed passed the blonde and walked down the hallway into the kitchen.
Nevermind that Piper had just walked in on a make out session where both women were naked from the waist up—minutes earlier, she'd been fantasizing about kissing Piper instead of Cindy. That was not healthy; she needed a drink.
The blonde was hot on her trail. "What are you looking for?"
Alex twisted her head around, hands holding two cabinets open. "What don't you understand about minding your own business?"
"I might not know you well, Alex," she took a step closer. "But I know you like to live on the edge, and believe it or not, I want to save you from making a colossal mistake."
She shut the cabinets and spun around to face the other girl. "And what mistake would that be?"
"It's not a singular mistake, actually." Piper put her hands on her hips. "It's a string of errors that will not only get you in trouble with my father, but might also land you in jail."
Alex tossed her head back with laughter, but deep down she hated that Piper had somewhat figured her out. "I haven't done anything illegal that you know of."
The blonde lifted her eyebrows. "You're 17, and the woman you were about to have sex with was at least 21. That is illegal."
"Is that what this is about?" Alex pursed her lips to avoid the smirk that was about to surface. "The fact that I was about to sleep with a woman?"
Piper averted her eyes, and the brunette knew she'd gotten to her.
"You wonder what it's like, don't you?" She took a step closer to Piper, and now they were mere inches apart. "They're soft and smooth. Kissing a girl is so much more sensuous than kissing a boy."
The blonde swallowed hard. "I didn't wonder that," her voice was thick, betraying her words.
"Well then, you can store that tidbit away for future reference." Alex ran her fingertips down Piper's arm before turning towards the oven and smirking. She could see the blonde's reflection in the glass as she watched Piper touch her arm.
"I won't tell my father about this little incident if you promise not to bring any more women into your bedroom."
Alex found a bottle of vodka. "Has Larry been in your bedroom?"
"Yes, but…" she protested.
"I don't see why this is any different." She unscrewed the cap.
"It's different because you're gay!" Piper blurted out.
Alex stopped mid-pour and looked at her companion. "You have something against lesbians?"
"No, but my dad does," she replied nervously.
This was news to her. Perhaps Piper was really trying to protect her, but there was no way it was just that, the brunette thought. Piper was a curious girl who seemed to seek answers a little less straightforwardly than Alex did.
She blinked heavily. "My lifestyle and my choices are none of your father's business."
"When you live under his roof, they are," the blonde shot back.
"Look, kid." She reached into the refrigerator for the carton of Tropicana. "I'll be 18 in two months, and then he can't tell me what to do. I'll graduate in May, and my friends and I will rent an apartment in Manhattan." She stirred the screwdriver with her finger, and then popped that digit between her lips. "So if you can keep your mouth shut, your father won't know a damn thing about my life, and I'll be out of your hair before you know it."
Piper stared at Alex's mouth. "If you want to make poor choices, go right ahead." She blinked a few times before walking out of the kitchen but turned around before fully exiting. "Just don't let me catch you making them."
Alex took another long sip of the vodka drink, and it stung her throat on the way down.