Thank you to my beta, Nicky, for everything, especially making this chapter far better than it originally was.
Piper's heart raced as she got behind the wheel and drove aimlessly out of Glenville. Her breathing became erratic, and she had to turn down Stillman Lane and pull over next to a small park so she could control her body's reaction to what had just happened.
What the fuck, she mumbled to herself, head bowed and hands gripping the steering wheel. Piper was intrigued by Alex—that much was certain—but she wasn't attracted to her…or was she? Piper had never considered kissing another girl before that moment, but in Alex's "borrowed" car, she'd considered it.
Maybe, Piper thought, she was just horny because she and Larry had gone to second base, and she wanted more. She wanted to be touched intimately; trouble was, Piper didn't think it was Larry who she wanted to do the touching.
The blonde wondered if she hadn't pulled away, would Alex have closed the distance between them? What would her reaction have been? She shook her head and concentrated on lowering her pulse. When her breathing was mostly back to normal, she drove home and waited for Alex to arrive.
She waited and waited and waited, busying herself with homework and occasionally watching American Masters on PBS.
At midnight, Piper fell asleep on the sofa halfway through Chapter 8 of A People's History of the United States. It wasn't until her father woke her 30 minutes later when she finally retreated to her bed.
After her shift at Salvatore's, Alex needed some time to contemplate what had happened between her and Piper and consider her next course of action. The risk of not turning Mr. Henderson's car in on time was trivial compared to the consequences of kissing Piper.
She didn't have a car of her own, so one of the other valets (who thought she was a genius for devising the car borrowing plan) dropped her off at home at midnight. Instead of going inside, she went around to the backyard and sat on the ground by the pool. If it had been warm enough, Alex might've gone for a dip, but she settled for watching the waves ripple when she threw a pebble into the turquoise water.
Alex knew that if Piper had leaned even an inch more towards her in the car, she would've kissed the blonde. What she didn't know was if the move would've been mere instinct or if she was actually attracted to Piper.
She grabbed a stick next to her and for every piece she broke off, she listed something she liked about Piper: She's well-read, has a gorgeous smile, tall, going to eventually fill out nicely, smart, confident (for a 16-year-old), and isn't afraid to express herself. Alex grabbed another stick and listed the opposite—things she didn't like about the blonde: She's bossy, self-righteous, a bit egotistical, young & naive, and has a boyfriend. That last one, Alex could fix, but the other stuff was likely ingrained in her companion's DNA.
Glancing at her watch, she noticed it was going on 1 a.m. Alex got up and stretched, and then went inside where everyone, she assumed, had gone to bed long ago. She padded to her bedroom and changed into a lightweight pair of boxers and a black tank top. Her bed was still unmade from that morning, and it just didn't seem inviting. Alex had told her mom she hated the scratchy sheets, and Diane promised to buy new ones soon.
She was exhausted to be sure, but she was also restless. A glass of milk sometimes calmed her down enough to fall asleep, so she journeyed quietly into the kitchen to pour a tall glass of skim milk. It never escaped her that Piper was two doors down, sleeping in her soft, warm, comfortable bed. The best nights of sleep she'd had in the Chapman home were when she was in the other girl's bed.
She rinsed the glass and shoved it into the dishwasher before turning off the light and using the wall as her guide back to Danny's room (She didn't think she would ever consider it her own.) Alex paused outside of Piper's door, which was cracked enough for her to peek inside. The lull of the ceiling fan prevented her from hearing Piper's deep breathing, but she could see the blonde's sleeping form. Her hair was splayed on the pillow like golden strands of silk, and her body was turned to the side, facing the window that Alex had smoked out of more times than Piper ever realized. A smile touched Alex's lips as she watched the girl sleep.
Something stirred within her and she decided to go inside. The door creaked, but the sleeping teen didn't wake. Alex stood next to the bed, thinking for a moment how creepy it would've been if Piper had woken up just then, so she slid under the covers next to her.
"Mmm." A noise escaped Piper's mouth almost as if she was in the middle of a dream.
Alex needed to adjust her position and didn't mean to shake the bed as much as she did when turning on her side, facing the same direction as Piper.
Without warning, the blonde reached behind her with her right arm. Alex grabbed her forearm, and Piper moved that same arm across her body, dragging Alex with her. The brunette scooted closer, effectively spooning the girl. She heard Piper sigh and wondered if she was still asleep. If that was the case, who did she think was behind her?
A part of Alex wanted to speak up, but she kept quiet, burying her head in Piper's pillow and smelling the minty shampoo in her hair. They were impossibly close, and the brunette felt her insides doing somersaults as wetness pooled between her legs. She wasn't stupid enough to touch herself—or better yet, move Piper's hand in a position to touch her—but she knew that she'd have to take care of herself in the shower the next morning.
The next morning, Alex awoke in a fit—she had no idea where she was or whose bed she was in. She quickly sat up and looked from side to side, and then it dawned on her that she'd joined Piper in bed in the wee hours of the morning.
Piper.
She looked to her right, and the blonde wasn't there. Alex put her hand on the sheets to see if they were still warm, but they were chilled, which meant that Piper must've gotten up a while ago. She glanced at the girl's pillow and saw a note lying on it. Alex picked it up and squinted as she read it without her eyeglasses.
I liked that more than I probably should have.
Piper
She couldn't help the wide grin that spread across her face. Alex didn't know where things might be headed with Piper, but she liked this little thing that was developing. She was accustomed to making things happen when it came to women, but Alex decided that allowing this one to ripen organically was the best course of action.
She jumped out of bed and headed down the hallway, putting her ear close to the bathroom door to see if her companion was inside. When she didn't hear anything, she proceeded to her room. She gathered her underwear and towel before going back to the bathroom to shower and get ready for her Saturday.
Piper had to be at school by 8 a.m. that Saturday morning for the school's quarterly newspaper deadline. Her entire staff had to be there, too, so that they could put the final touches on stories, photos and captions. The other three times they'd met on weekends, it took them a little over six hours to get the job done. Piper hoped they'd be much more efficient this time.
She sat alone in the computer lab and reflected on the night she'd had, starting with Larry and his friends convincing her to steal beer, to Alex saving her ass at the convenience store, to sharing a Heineken in the borrowed Lexus, to Alex spooning her all night. Shivers rolled down Piper's spine just thinking about the brunette's arms wrapped around her—one under her pillow, the other around her waist.
Inside of an hour ago, Piper had hesitated before writing a note to a slumbering Alex, but she threw caution to the wind and decided it would be a nice gesture. If the dark haired girl had enough guts to crawl into bed with her, she could surely muster up the courage to write a thank you note of sorts.
Larry bumbled in, rousing Piper from her reverie. "Hey, why didn't you come back to the party last night?"
She twisted her head around. "I didn't feel like it."
"Didn't steal the beer, did you?" he asked with a smug smile.
"That was a rotten thing for you to ask me to do." She turned back to her laptop, which she realized wasn't even powered on.
He threw his backpack on the floor and leaned over to kiss her, but the blonde pulled away.
"You're the one who took us up on the challenge." He plopped in the desk across from her. "What's been with you these last few months? You never want to kiss or hold hands. It's like I'm not even your boyfriend."
We can change that pretty quickly.
She ran a hand through her already tousled hair. "I can't have this conversation right now, Larry."
Truth be told, her boyfriend had been aggravating her more than usual over the past few months. He was a total follower and rarely stood up for himself. Piper couldn't recall a time when Larry had an individually formed opinion, and that was particularly annoying to her for some reason.
Another three students shuffled in, all looking like they hadn't gotten any sleep. "Hey."
"We need to get to work." Piper stood and passed out third and fourth drafts of the articles she'd edited. This was the last issue of the newspaper for that academic year, and she wanted it to be great.
Alex learned that the blonde had to be at school all day for newspaper, and she knew that Larry was on staff. She had a message to convey to him and didn't want to wait until Monday to do so.
In order to borrow her mom's car for the morning, she offered to pick Cal up from his friend's house and bring him home. Diane agreed to the deal, and Bill was appreciative of Alex's gesture.
She did as promised, and by 10:30 that morning, Alex found herself in the school parking lot, plotting her actions. She stood next to the car and lit a cigarette, puffing out a ring of smoke in the warmer than usual May air. She scanned the landscape around her, realizing that in two weeks, she'd graduate from high school. She and Nicky had plans to rent an apartment in Manhattan, but Alex only had about $1,000 saved so far, which would probably pay for her half of one month's rent in the City.
All-in-all, she was content with her life, but the future frightened her. Deep down, Alex felt like she was cheating herself for not pursuing college, but she recognized that she'd put herself in that position. She could probably enroll in community college, but that wasn't what she wanted. The brunette didn't enjoy being told what to read, and then tested on it. She was a voracious reader and was on top of current events; shouldn't that be enough? Hell, she was probably smarter than 99% of the seniors in her class—that had to count for something.
Alex balanced the cigarette between her lips, locked the car with the key, and proceeded to the covered walkway just outside of the computer lab where the newspaper staff met. Her blood boiled at the thought of Larry being the one who tried to get Piper to live a little. Alex considered herself a good judge of character, and she knew that the blonde was aching to step out of her comfort zone, but she was going about it all wrong. Attempting to steal beer? It was a foolish errand thought up by her idiot, undeserving boyfriend. Piper didn't need to impress Larry; quite the contrary.
Alex suddenly stopped in her tracks as it dawned on her: She wanted to be the one to help Piper come alive. She creased her brow, and then a timid grin formed on her face. Somehow, the blonde had infiltrated her senses. A sudden warmth streamed through her veins like settling into a hot bath, and Alex realized that she liked Piper more than she probably should.
It took a moment for her to admit to herself that she'd been jealous of Larry. Not only was he (unintentionally) trying to get Piper to come out of her shell, but he was able to hold her hand and kiss her. Alex clenched her jaw at the thought of him caressing Piper. She erased the mental image of Larry & Piper and replaced it with the memory of spooning Piper in bed. Another smile surfaced as her feelings became a little clearer—Larry didn't deserve Piper—she did. Alex blushed at the thought of liking Piper and shook her head at the odd timing of her realization.
Before the brunette could examine her feelings further, Larry and his buddy walked out of the classroom.
She stomped out her cigarette. "Hey, can I talk to you?"
Larry looked at his friend, and then back at Alex. "Me?"
"Yeah." She walked towards him.
He nodded for his friend to go wherever he was headed. "You're Piper's step-sister, right?"
"Not quite," she let out an amused breath. "I'm Alex, and you're a pussy."
He jutted his head back. "Excuse me?"
She took a step closer. "You sent your girlfriend to steal beer for you? That's a pussy thing to do."
He lowered his head, rightfully embarrassed. "How is that any of your business?"
Alex towered over him. "I'm making it my business."
"Why?" He gulped.
"If you don't have the balls to steal your own fucking beer, or you're not smart enough to get a fake ID, that's not Piper's problem." She narrowed her eyes. "Your self-indulgent prank could've landed her in jail."
Larry looked up at her with anxious eyes and swallowed hard. "Message received." He turned to walk away.
"Hey!" The brunette seized Larry's shoulder and spun him around to face her. "If you hurt Piper or get her in trouble in any way, I will make you pay."
"Sorry. We were just having a little fun last night." He shrugged, nervous eyes darting from right to left. "I didn't realize she'd make a big deal about it."
"She didn't make a big deal about it." Alex shook her head, not backing down. "I am." She stared at Larry until he looked away.
Alex turned to walk back to her car, but after a few steps, she twisted her neck around and smirked. "Oh, and by the way, Piper did steal the beer, but she shared it with me." She unlocked her mom's car and stepped inside, noticing that Larry was still rooted to the spot where she'd left him, mouth slightly agape.
Larry busted into the computer lab. "Why did you tell your step-sister that I asked you to steal beer for me?" He asked in an accusatory voice.
Piper, who'd been helping another student with photo captions, whipped her head around. "My what?"
He took another step into the room. "Alex."
"She's not my step-sister." Piper straightened her posture, conscious of the stares from the other students in the room. "And who I tell things to is my business."
"Yeah, well, she pretty much just threatened me."
Piper snorted. "You're threatened by a girl?"
The other boys in the room made snickering sounds, and it appeared that Larry was humiliated.
"What you asked me to do, Larry, was cowardly." The blonde walked towards him. "And airing it out in front of everyone in this room is disrespectful."
He looked away, tightening his jaw.
"Should we leave the room so that I can break up with you?" Piper widened her eyes as if talking to a child. "Or do you want to do that in front of everyone, too?"
"Ouch!" One student exclaimed. The others continued making sounds, effectively embarrassing Larry even more.
"You're breaking up with me over this?" He shrieked.
"Not over this alone, but I am breaking up with you," she offered self-assuredly. "And now, thanks to your antics, we have witnesses of officially parting ways."
Larry shook his head, and she swore she could see tears welling up in his eyes. Perhaps Piper should've felt somewhat contrite, but she didn't. He'd barreled into the room, preparing to make an ass out of her, when all he really did was make an ass out of himself. Piper always knew she could outsmart her boyfriend, and he picked the most inopportune time to let that be known.
"Get back to work," she barked, making her way back to her desk. "We need to be done with this by four o'clock." Pivoting her head, she narrowed her eyes at Larry. "If you want to edit your articles, stay. If not, leave. We're done talking about our personal lives."
Larry lowered his head, and then grabbed his backpack and walked towards the door. He took one glance back at his now ex-girlfriend, muttering, "Fuck you," before slamming the door on his way out.
Ignoring his dramatic exit, Piper stood and walked over to their Sports editor. "Lacey, show me what you've got."