They ended up going to Salvatore's that night for dinner, and Alex excused herself early to hang out with Brandon and the valet crew with whom she'd spent the past year becoming friends. Piper couldn't fault her lover for enjoying the boys' company, but she wanted Alex to herself. They didn't have plans to hang out after dinner, and there was a niggling in Piper's mind, wondering if Alex was trying to distance herself already to make it easier for her to get on a plane in 48 hours.
The brunette didn't come home that night until after 2 a.m. Piper knew that because she'd gotten up to use the bathroom when she heard the key in the door. She rushed back to her room, hoping that Alex would join her in bed, but she went to her own bedroom and didn't surface until much later the next morning.
Diane had taken a half-day at work so that she could spend the afternoon with her daughter. Piper didn't know where they'd go, but they disappeared all day and into the evening hours. She tried concentrating on the brilliant sunshine on the lifeguard stand that day and the tan she was getting, but her brain was exclusively focused on Alex's imminent departure.
Piper liked math, which meant she liked solutions. She couldn't have this thing hanging over her indefinitely and needed to talk to someone about her feelings. Polly was hopefully the answer.
She made arrangements to meet Polly at the Harper home for an early dinner that night, knowing she'd want to be home no later than 8 o'clock on Alex's last night.
Piper never enjoyed dinner at Polly's house, because it was terribly formal. They couldn't take their food to the living room and eat on TV trays; rather, everyone had to sit in the dining room and practice their etiquette. The blonde sat next to Polly's mom, who went on and on about running for Junior League president, while Mr. Harper ignored every word. Piper ate the spinach & artichoke stuffed chicken as fast as she could, and then gave Polly a look, indicating that she'd had her fill of Harper family time. Polly's parents reminded Piper of her own—very little affection and completely self-absorbed—and she figured it was only a matter of time before they'd divorce, too.
She'd never told her best friend anything about Alex other than the occasional complaint early on in their relationship, so Piper's big disclosure was surely going to shock the other girl.
They retreated to Polly's enormous bedroom, and Piper closed the door. "There's something I haven't told you, Pol."
Her friend gave her a strange look. "That doesn't sound good."
She sucked in her lips and closed her eyes, inhaling and exhaling before divulging her secret. "I had sex with Alex."
Silence filled the air, and Piper slowly opened her eyes to see a confused Polly.
"Alex, as in the short, redheaded wrestler at school?"
"No." If the moment wasn't so tense, Piper would've laughed at the thought of having sex with that Alex. "Not Alex O'Malley; Alex Vause."
Polly knitted her brow. "Girl, Alex?"
The blonde nodded.
"Holy shit!" She put a hand on Piper's arm. "Since when are you into chicks?"
"I'm not—at least I don't think I am." Piper lowered her eyes. "I'm into her."
"Wow, this is quite the development." The other girl sat on her bed and crossed her legs. "I'm listening."
"My attraction to Alex kind of blossomed last year before she moved to Milan. There were times when I wanted to kiss her, and I thought something was wrong with me; like I was wired differently," she explained, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "I mostly ignored my feelings, but there were a few moments when we were together that just felt, I don't know…" Piper trailed off and looked out the window at a tree's branches, swaying in the wind.
"Like what?" Polly asked.
"Like the reason Alex and I didn't get along at first wasn't that we didn't like each other—it was the exact opposite." She spun around to face her friend. "When we're in a room together, Pol, we gravitate towards one another, and it's like we have to touch. Before she left for Italy, we finally kissed, and I swear I could see fireworks." Piper let out a long, anxious breath.
"Go on, Katy Perry."
Piper gave her a sideways grin but never lost her solemn expression. "I've thought about Alex every fucking day over the past year, and I was afraid to tell you anything, because I knew you'd judge me." A tear dripped down her face, and she watched it hit the hardwood floor. "Polly, I think I'm in love with her."
The brunette didn't speak—she looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"I know this is a lot to take in." She swatted another couple of tears away. "But please, say something."
Polly shook her head. "I…wow, sorry…this is a lot to process."
Piper felt like the porcelain doll that she'd thought of herself as a year ago when Alex kissed her too softly for fear of breaking her. She felt exposed and stripped naked as she stood in front of her friend, waiting for a response. Piper didn't know if she was crying because she was afraid of falling in love with a woman who lived thousands of miles away, or if she was embarrassed that her friend would ridicule her for being gay.
"Come here." Polly hopped off the bed and tugged the blonde into her arms.
Piper blubbered until she just about crumbled. She could feel the big circles her friend was rubbing on her back and could hear the occasional, "Shh, it'll be ok." Piper had no idea how long they stood there like that, but the tears finally subsided and she pulled back.
"Thank you." She wiped her eyes with her shirtsleeve.
Polly grabbed the box of Kleenex next to her bed. "Tell me everything."
Piper began from the moment she met Alex to present day, and Polly allowed her to speak uninterrupted.
"First of all, I'm not judging you. If you like girls, then you like girls." She lifted her shoulders.
Piper sniffed. "I don't know if I only like girls; I just know I like this one…a lot."
"I think you should follow your heart, Pipes," she said with a hand on her friend's thigh. "If it's with Alex, and it sounds like it is, then let it happen. Be happy."
Piper glanced at her friend with wrung-out eyes. "You really mean that?"
She grinned. "Why not?"
The blonde leaned in for a tight hug. "I can't tell you how much this means to me, Pol."
"It's going to take me a while to process all of this, but I'm on your side." Her friend pulled back. "Whatever you need, let me know."
Piper nodded and gave her the best smile she could muster. "I should go. This is Alex's last night at home."
Her friend walked her to the door and gave her one last hug. "Call me tomorrow."
With that, Piper left the Harper house and headed home.
Alex and her mom had a memorable day in New York City. They drove by their old apartments, ate a late lunch at the Jewish deli that Alex loved as a child, and got half-priced tickets to an off Broadway show. While it was true that she missed Piper most, Alex loved her mom and had always enjoyed spending quality time with her.
They made it back to Greenwich around seven, had dinner with Bill and Cal, and then Diane retreated to take a hot bath and soak "her barking dogs."
Alex was in her room, packing, when Piper rolled in just after eight.
The blonde tapped on her door. "Hi, can I come in?"
"Wouldn't that have been a great question to ask a year ago when I was trying to have sex with that woman I'd brought home?" Alex snickered. "I think her name was Candy…or was it Cindy?"
"I took great pleasure in busting you that day." Piper grinned, shutting the door behind her. "I didn't realize back then that jealousy was my primary motivation."
The brunette folded a shirt. "I did."
"Really?"
She put the blouse in her suitcase, and then picked up a pair of shorts. "I didn't understand it fully, but I had a feeling you didn't want me to kiss another girl."
Piper sat on the lip of the bed next to the suitcase. "I didn't."
Alex dropped the shorts into the suitcase, and then moved it onto the floor. She sat next to her lover and grabbed her hand. Her expression shifted upon looking into Piper's eyes. "You've been crying."
Piper averted her eyes.
Alex lifted her chin with two fingers. "What's going on?"
The blonde swallowed hard. "I told Polly about us."
Alex raised her eyebrows. "That was brave of you."
She shrugged, and Alex could tell that Piper was holding back tears.
"Oh, babe." The brunette reached for her, tugging her close as Piper whimpered. She could feel warm tears on her shoulder, so she pulled back and wiped Piper's cheeks. "Don't cry."
"I'm just sad that you're leaving." She sniffed as her chin quivered. "I feel like my heart is breaking into a thousand little pieces."
That caused Alex's eyes to sting.
Piper wiped her own tears away, but it was fruitless as many more fell. "We don't even know when we'll see each other again."
Alex reached out, rubbing the blonde's cheek with her thumb. "Then let's make a plan."
It was the first glimmer of hope she saw in Piper's eyes as the girl nodded and looked directly at her.
"Christmas—you're welcome to come to Italy to visit me, or I'll come here. Whatever you want." Alex felt a wet droplet trickle down her own face.
Piper wiped it away and left her hand on the brunette's cheek. "Promise?"
"Yeah." Alex leaned into the touch. "Stay with me tonight."
Piper's head bounced back as if she didn't expect the request.
The dark haired girl leaned forward to kiss her. "I'll set an alarm for 5 a.m., and you can go back to your room before anyone gets up."
The other girl nodded. "Ok."
Piper went to her room to change into her pajamas, leaving Alex alone for five minutes. She quickly finished packing and hoped she had the courage to tell Piper that she loved her. Those words had never tumbled out of her mouth to anyone, so she wasn't even sure what it would feel like to make such a confession.
The blonde tip-toed back into Alex's room, locking the door behind her, and then proceeded to slowly undress in front of Alex. Piper stood in the middle of the room, completely naked, and the brunette had to wonder if she was showing her more than just her body—perhaps Piper wanted her to know that she was completely vulnerable and exposed. And she was hers.
Alex reached for her, and the blonde stood between her open legs as Alex touched every part of her body with her hands and mouth. By the time she finished her exploration, she looked up to see desire in Piper's stormy eyes. The brunette gently tugged her onto the bed before shrugging out of her own clothing. She wrapped her arms around Piper's thin frame, feeling the girl's arms reach around to return the embrace.
They kissed tenderly before Alex removed her glasses and looked at Piper's face. Her heartrate increased as she stared into the blonde's blue eyes, and Alex knew she just had to get the words out. Maybe they'd give Piper a reason to not give up on her despite the miles between them.
"What's wrong?" Piper asked.
"Nothing." Her voice hitched, so she tried to smile to cover up the sadness that began creeping into her heart. "Piper, I want you to know…" She looked down and tried again. "Before I leave, I want you to know something." Those three little words tumbled in her head like clothes in a dryer. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the moment. Upon opening her eyes, she would tell her.
One, two, three, she counted.
"I'm in love with you, Piper."
The blonde's wet gasp seemed to catch in her throat as a smile slowly spread across her face. "You are?"
Alex nodded, relief apparent on her face.
Piper placed her hands on the other girl's cheeks. "I'm in love with you, too. So very deeply in love."
That was all it took for Alex to lean forward and kiss the living shit out of Piper. If their lips could be fused together for a lifetime, Alex would take it. She'd never felt more alive than when she was with Piper, and she never wanted that feeling to end.
They made love four times that night, whispering words of love, laughing, crying and holding on to each other for dear life. Although they'd had sex multiple times during that trip, it wasn't until that night when Alex truly felt that they were tethered together as one.
Piper didn't go with Diane to drop Alex off at the airport the next morning. She couldn't. The previous night, she'd consulted with Alex about it, and both agreed that it would be a messy goodbye—something they wanted to avoid in public. Their farewell when they woke up together that morning was hard enough, and Piper was emotionally spent from crying so much over the last 24 hours.
The blonde was thankful that she had to lifeguard that day; at least that would keep her mind somewhat occupied with something other than Alex. Piper had no idea where their relationship was headed, but at least she knew that they were squarely in love, and that counted for something.