AN: Happy New Year to you all! Thanks so much to the couple of people who already left reviews. I'm glad it's all making sense and I know you want to see Alex make an appearance!

It made Piper quite smug that she could drink tequila on a weekday and still get up for a run before work the next day. She only ran 3k and her pace wasn't great, but she could feel the toxins sweating out and that is what mattered. She stopped at the park gate to do some stretches as part of her cool down routine, before walking back to her apartment to shower and change.

She knew Polly was running late today as she stayed over at Pete's last night and needed to go home and change. Dirty stop out. No doubt she would be getting the juicy details later anyway, whether she wanted to hear them or not. Getting in through the back door, Piper put her coat down and went around switching the lights on and opening the front door. There were still a lot of gift packs to be made up and the advert would be printed tomorrow to bring in more business if all things went to plan.

There was a steady trickle of customers that morning, some of them were here for the second or third time, so people were liking the products they had bought and word of mouth was helping sales already. Polly came in just before 1pm with coffees and a lunch bag.

"You look very...flushed. Is it the weather or have you been in Pete's bed a little longer than planned this morning?" Piper didn't need to see Polly's face to know she would be blushing now.

"No, it told you I had to get some things from my apartment before I-"

"Please. This is me you're talking to, not your Mother."

"OK. Yes, I got a little...distracted."

"By Pete's dick?"

"Piper! You're so vulgar."

"You love it. My being vulgar AND Pete's dick. Did you have a good night then? What was the Italian place like?"

Polly told her about the great food and authentic Italian experience they had, with the large opera singer standing 10 feet from their table all night bellowing out Nessun Dorma so loud they couldn't talk for most of the meal.

"Any chocolate deliveries with mysterious notes delivered this morning I should be aware of Piper? And are you going to tell me who sent them yet?"

"It was just Nicky, from the logistics place. It was a joke really, just following from the first batch. We met up last night actually in a bar not far from my apartment."

"Really? You went on a date with a woman and you didn't think to tell me until the morning after! What, are you back to being a lesbian again now?"

"No! And no to the second question too. It wasn't a date, it was putting a face to a name. She was really nice actually."

"Well, maybe she can be your date tonight when we go out and you can meet Pete too?"

"We aren't dating! It was a drink in a bar and that's all."

"Why don't you ask her anyway? I really want you to meet Pete and you'll hate being a gooseberry if you come alone."

"Ugh. Polly, I only saw her last night. She's going to think I do want to date her if I ask to go out again. Fuck, even if we were dating, I'd be playing it more cool than this! Can we do it on Friday instead? That way we can celebrate the advert going to press and there's a day for her to make her excuses to not go out with me - us."

"OK, call your not-a-date and ask her then."

Piper scowled at her and went into the back office to make the call. Jesus, this was so simple last night. There was no pressure, just a couple of acquaintances meeting up for a drink. Now it felt like she might seem desperate and the thought of rejection made her palms sweaty. Seriously, this was ridiculous. Nicky wasn't even Piper's type. Not that she really had a type when it came to women, did she? Nicky was the opposite of Alex from what she knew. Alex was tall, with gorgeous long dark hair, smooth pale skin and had an incredibly sexy voice. Maybe the opposite of Alex was exactly what she should be looking for though. Not that she was looking for a date, argh!

She dialled the customer services number and waited while it rang several times.

Eventually Nicky picked up, slightly out of breath. "Hi, NY Logistics. How can I help?"

"Hey Nicky, it's Piper. Been working out?"

"What? Are you saying I need to?"

"No, of course not! You just sounded a little breathless is all."

"So you're saying I'm fit enough for you already then?"

"Um, no. I didn't mean that either. Look, forget I said anything." Piper heard Nicky laughing at the end of the line. "Right, fine. You got me. Well done." Piper huffed.

"What's up Blondie? You calling to complain you didn't get any chocolates this morning?"

"Yes, there was a definite lack of cocoa in my stock room this morning. It's absolutely unacceptable that you can tempt me with two boxes in a week and then leave me to go cold turkey when the supply dries up. What kind of a supplier are you? A good dealer would capitalise on my new addiction and feed it."

"Sounds like you know a lot about that marketplace Piper Chapman. Perhaps you can share your trade secrets and I will learn a few tricks from you?" That analogy had hit a bit closer to home than she had planned, so she floundered and changed the subject quickly.

"Ugh, yeah maybe. Anyway, um ...I was calling to ask you something actually. Don't think I'm a freak for asking this and I'm not a desperate singleton or anything, but would you go out with me tomorrow night?"

There was a short pause, which Piper felt the need to fill very quickly with an explanation about why she wasn't desperate at all...which made her sound very desperate indeed.

"So you're single then Blondie?" Jesus, it sounds like Nicky is enjoying making her squirm a bit too much for her liking.

"Yes. But it's not a date or anything. Or even a double date. You're just there as a friend to prevent my best friend from trying to match me up with a blind date. All you have to do is laugh at my jokes and drink, I promise."

"You're asking a lot there Piper Chapman. How many jokes will I have to pretend are funny exactly?"

"Fucking all of them. And I'll pay for your drinks. Do we have a deal?"

"Sure Blondie. You had me at 'do you want to go out' to be honest. I'll give you my number so you can text me the address later..."

Nicky hung up and Piper felt relieved and exasperated at the conversation she had just been having.

They got a proof copy of the advert from the design company and it looked fantastic. It was well worth the money they were spending. It was going to print tomorrow in the magazine and they just needed to get copies printed for the leaflets they wanted to post door to door now. Polly got some quotes from print companies and sent the design through to the one closest to them so they could collect as soon as they were ready.

The damaged 'sea kelp' soaps were dolled up with some bits of cut ribbon as the free gifts and set by the counter for customers spending the qualifying amount and the stock room was full of different gift sets. Piper was really hoping they could sell a couple of the big $100 sets, but she knew it was a lot to spend on soaps as a gift. She felt ready for a massive rush, but would be happy with enough new customers to break even with the promotion work with a healthy profit margin and the possibility of repeat custom.

The best friends arrived at work at the same time on Friday morning, neither of them with coffees. Polly offered to head out and pick something up straight away while Piper opened the store. As she opened the front door, a parcel delivery guy came in and asked her to sign for a package. She did and it was addressed to her, so she opened it. Inside was a basket of fruit with a note, typed and printed this time:

'It looks like writing notes is the best way to get your attention. No chocolate this time as you are a perfect fit for those running tights that hug your curves in all the right places. Mmmm, I'll be thinking of that while you're on your second date tonight. You might even get to first base this time.'

Was this Nicky? Was she teasing her again? Did that mean Nicky wanted to get to first base with her and this was her way of making it known she wanted that? Oh God, she was overthinking again. Just see what happens Piper.

Polly was back with the coffee, so she decided to show her the note to see what she thought it meant.

"It means she likes you Piper. It doesn't take a genius to get that from this note and all the chocolates you've been getting. She wants to lady kiss you, so I'll have to assess her tonight and see if she's worthy. You have an awful rack record, especially with women."

"You think? What about where she says 'on your second date' like its my date and not hers though?"

"I think what I just said. She likes you. So make an effort Chapman and you might not be a spinster by the time you reach 30."

Piper sent Nicky the address of the bar they were meeting in later. They decided against a restaurant for a first meeting with Nicky and Pete as it seemed a bit formal and they wanted a relaxed atmosphere, so a bar snack would be fine. Besides, it was easier to get drunk if it all went tits up and she could make a quick escape without waiting to go through three painful courses.

They locked up the store and went their separate ways to get showered and changed for the night ahead. Piper put her hair up in a loose twist at the back of her head to show off her long neck with the black dress she was wearing. It was knee length and perfectly contoured against her upper body before flaring out in a a little A-line cut at the knee. She put on some mascara and eyeliner to make it a nice evening look, with some pink lipstick and simple black heels finished it off. She picked up her coat and headed out to catch a cab to the bar they were meeting in.

Polly and Pete were already there, so she waved at them and walked over to the booth they were sitting in to let Polly make the introductions. Pete was tall and stocky, with an athletic figure and a good tan. A typical Aussie body and very typical of Polly's type to be honest. He had a genuine smile that reached his eyes when he was listening to them and seemed to be interested in what she was saying. Piper noticed Nicky was at the bar, looking around for them. She was wearing a tight black skirt with heels and a white chiffon blouse that showed a bit of cleavage, but not too much to be gratuitous. Piper headed over to say Hi and brought her back to the booth to meet the others.

"Nicky, this is my best friend and PARTNER in business, Polly. And this is Polly's boyfriend, Pete. I only just met Pete tonight, so I can only tell you that he is Australian and seems to be a good listener so far."

"Hi. Good to meet you partner Polly. Piper never fails to mention that you are her BUSINESS partner when she calls to complain about our poor delivery driver. Good to meet you too Aussie Pete. I see Piper has already noted your most important features." Nicky laughed easily with Pete as he told them about his other important features as though he were on a cheesy dating website. The waitress came over to take their drinks orders and hand them the food menus to look at. They all ordered beer to keep it simple and the conversation flowed easily throughout the night. Pete was great company and was a perfect balance with Polly's seriousness because he could make her laugh easily. Him and Nicky got on great and were bouncing off each other with the jokes and stories about wild nights out they had both been on. Piper found her cheeks were aching from all the laughing when she went to the ladies room. She decided to pay the bill herself tonight. She owed Polly for taking last weekend off and being a pain about the advert and she already told Nicky she would pay for her side - even though Nicky had done most of the joke telling and it was Piper laughing at her jokes.

She went to the bar and asked for the table bill discretely so Polly wouldn't be able to argue about it. When the bill arrived in a leather folder, she opened it to find a hand written note on a piece of paper.

'Please don't make it to first base tonight. I want to trail my lips down that long neck of yours so badly right now that I can't wait around to see if someone else does. X'

Fuck. Jesus fuck. She recognised the beautiful handwriting immediately. It was Alex.