A/N: It's Friday and I know emj137 will be on the train right about now, waiting for this to ping in her mailbox ;-) Thanks for the reviews and PMs everyone, I know you've been holding your breath for this one LOL. Hope you like it and don't fall off the edge of your seat at the end OK? Have a great weekend everyone!
There was no way that Piper could concentrate on a yoga class tonight, but Polly had pushed her out of the store early.
"If I hear you start even one more sentence with 'do you think Alex…' I will not hold back on choking you. After a mere 15 minute recess, Piper had forgotten the warning and came through the stockroom door with her next random thought. It was enough for Polly to grab Piper's coat and bag and walk her to the door.
"Go to the gym, get your hair done, dig a damned hole. Do something other than torture me for the rest of the day. Have a nice night. See you tomorrow." Polly closed the door and Piper found herself on the pavement.
Afraid that she'd do the same to Jess, she opted to go for a run instead before coming home to shower. She was undecided about what to wear, wanting to keep it casual but also have made an effort to get out of her work clothes. After several iterations of paired clothing options, she settled on a pair of black leggings and a cream off-shoulder knitted sweater. She dried her hair into loose curls, leaving it lying on her shoulders and put on some light make up. Painfully aware that she was ready by 5pm, she thought about what the slowest possible route would be to Alex's place to kill some time and seriously considered walking, but not wanting to arrive sweaty or wind swept.
Piper knocked on the door of Alex's apartment at 6:30 clutching a bottle of white wine. Alex opened the door wearing a faded Rolling Stones t-shirt that used to be black and worn black jeans.
"Hey, you're um, a lot earlier than I was expecting? You look nice too." Alex stepped forward and pulled Piper into a warm embrace before quickly letting go.
"Hi. Oh, I just threw this on after work. The closest things on the laundry pile." Piper tried to shrug off her embarrassment at having made a bit of an effort. It felt like she had prepared for a date now when Alex was in her casual clothes, despite trying to not dress for a date. Cringe.
"Is that for tonight?" Alex nodded to the bottle Piper was holding behind her back now.
"Um…yeah. Just figured I'd bring it over. I've drunk plenty of your stash, so I owe you one." Piper thrust the bottle in front of her, waiting for Alex to take it.
"OK….will you be coming in to drink it or shall I bring you a glass out here?" She took the bottle from Piper's hand and gestured inside with it.
"Yeah, I'll come in. Thanks." Closing the door behind her, she automatically followed Alex as she strode back to the kitchen to put the wine in to chill.
"Have you eaten? I was going to cook some tarragon chicken and there are two breasts in the pack….." Alex stood up from looking in the fridge to find Piper standing right behind her.
"Um, er, no I'd better not. I was going to cook myself tonight…" Piper averted her eyes to start shaking her coat off and walking towards the coat hooks.
"Really? And what will you be cooking?" Alex raised an eyebrow because Piper very rarely made an effort to cook properly when she was on her own.
"What? Um….pasta."
"What kind?"
"Twists."
"What pasta dish I meant."
"It's like a tomato sauce recipe."
"Like tomato sauce? Sounds complex."
"It is. It's got…peppers in it…"
"And tomatoes I presume?" Alex was holding back a laugh from behind Piper's stammering as she hung her coat up.
"Yeah, and tomatoes."
"You don't have a clue what else Dolmio put in those jars do you?" Alex grinned as Piper turned around and saw she was playing with her.
"You're such a snob." Piper rolled her eyes.
"And you're insulting my culinary skills by turning me down for a jar of processed sauce. I'm hurt." Alex put her hand on her heart, feigning the pain of her rejection.
"Well, Mr Dolmio asked first." Piper shrugged as she sat on a bar stool by the kitchen worktop.
"He did? Wow, I need to up my game if an old puppet man is stealing my dinner date."
Piper quirked an eyebrow. "Dinner date?"
"It's a date – today, and we're going to have dinner." Alex backpedalled with as much nonchalance as she could muster.
"Of course it is." Piper grinned as Alex turned her back to pull ingredients out of the fridge.
"Are you sure you want to watch me cook and eat dinner alone while you save yourself for Mr Dolmio?"
"Well, I guess Mr Dolmio makes for an excellent standby when I don't get an offer of homemade dinner, so I can let him down gently tonight. I don't want to hurt your culinary feelings."
"Great, I'll get started then." Alex began preparing the food and Piper sat at the breakfast bar.
"For the record, you need to let a girl know you plan to cook her dinner when you make the invitation."
"Why?"
"So she knows the tone for the evening."
"The tone?" Alex smirked as she chopped herbs on the board between them.
"Yeah, so she knows what to wear and not to eat before she comes around. So she doesn't assume she will or won't be fed."
"What about spontaneity? Doesn't that beat pre-planning?"
"Sometimes. But it makes a girl less nervous when she knows what to expect."
"Were you nervous tonight?" Alex stopped chopping to swipe the herbs into a dish.
"Not nervous. I just…didn't know if it was a date."
"It's not a date Piper." Alex chuckled. "We're friends remember? Friends can call around and spontaneously eat dinner together without setting a tone as you put it." As Alex tried to make light of it, the flash of disappointment on Piper's face was clear but fleeting to the taller woman.
"But thanks for the tips. I'll add those to my checklist when I am beating Mr Dolmio to the punch with actual dates." Alex smiled as she wrapped the chicken and put it into the oven.
"You're the last person I need to give dating advice." Piper scoffed.
"Oh? And who's the first?"
"Myself."
Alex laughed. "And what advice would you give yourself?"
"I'm not telling you!"
"Come on! Share this wisdom."
"I'm not giving you tips!"
"You just said I don't need them!" Alex grinned.
"I didn't say that at all Little Miss Ego."
"I'm pretty sure you did. It's what you meant anyway." Alex smirked as she prepared the sauce, pouring in some wine. "Do you want some of this? It's one that's already chilled. We can save yours for another night."
"Already thinking there's going to be a second date are you Vause? Sure of yourself aren't you?"
"Yes I am. And yes, there will be a second." Alex smirked as she set the pan on a low heat with the lid on and moved to stand across from Piper with a glass of wine.
"So, you're admitting that this is a date now?" Piper levelled her eyes with Alex.
"I didn't say that." Alex held her eyes and gave nothing away.
"I'm calling it a date. For the record." Piper didn't look away and caught Alex's smile before the taller woman could turn and get the bottle of wine to top up.
"So, how's things?" Alex leaned down a little so she was at the same height at the blonde opposite her.
"Good. I haven't got any crazy shower stories, you'll be pleased to hear."
Alex chuckled. "I am. Did you hear anything about what happened in court this week?"
"No. I told my Lawyer I didn't want to know either. I'm curious though, to see what evidence they are presenting first. It can't be related to my case specifically, so it must be one of the other women. I can't help but wonder how she must be coping with all of this." Piper looked down and turned the stem of her glass.
Alex moved her hand across the counter to move her fingers over the back of Piper's wrist, stroking it with her thumb. "You can't think about other people in there. It's not your worry to take on you know?" Piper didn't look up, but closed her eyes to the feel of Alex's warmth against her skin for a moment before Alex moved away to stir the sauce.
"I know. You're right. So staying away is the best I can do at the moment."
"Good. Do you know when they want you to attend yet?"
"Not sure yet. I might go in next week and see how things are going anyway."
They talked easily about the court case and Piper asked about Alex's trip in more detail, finding out that they had won some new contracts out there that would secure the jobs for all of Bill's staff as well as provide opportunities for expansion. Alex told her that she had bought out the company that Bill was working for and they would be re-branding as NY Logistics, with two bases in New York.
"Alex, that's amazing! This is massive! Like, a really big deal that you've got these European contracts…."
"I know right? I might even have to take your advice and take some new staff on who are all academic and shit about logistics to help me out a bit. It's getting too much for me to keep the hours we need for the European workload, so we might need to look at shift patterns for all areas of the business to make it work. I'm burning the candle at both ends now and I barely have enough time to do anything but work at the moment."
Alex turned to plate up their dinner and Piper topped up their glasses with some more wine.
"You need to be careful to not burn yourself out if you're already feeling it Al. Can Nicky or Lorna help out a bit more?"
"Not really. I've got them running things on the ground already and I need to keep the core local business going because that's what pays the bills. The contracts get paid on delivery so it's all investment until they sign it off, so we can't afford to go all in on that. I need to think about it some more with Bill. I don't want to bore you with all of that tonight. I'm not working tonight, so let's not mention it anymore hey?"
They sat and ate their meal, with Piper telling Alex all about her gym sessions and how much she was enjoying working out again.
"Jess seems nice."
"She is! She really knows her stuff and she pushes me to do what's in my programme. She even showed me how to throw a punch in a one to one when I was pissed last week." Piper laughed.
"Is she gay?"
"What?! Why do you ask that?"
"I'm curious." Alex shrugged as she drank some more wine.
"I have no idea. It's none of my business!"
"Come on Pipes, you must have an idea. Does she have long fingernails?"
"No, she works in a gym for God's sake. She's always fixing up the machines and stuff."
"OK. Well does she - ."
"Alex, seriously? It's none of my business and it really doesn't matter. Why are you so interested in who she sleeps with?"
"Because you have a lot to say about her. I want to know if she's hitting on you." Alex took a sip of wine and regarded Piper over the rim of the glass.
Piper got up to clear their plates, hiding her smile as Alex's jealousy got the better of her. Be the fly Piper, run around the web…..
"Well, she did ask if a man was the reason I was in the gym. I guess she might have been trying to work out which team I'm batting for."
"What did you tell her?"
"I don't remember now. She said there was always a man involved when a pretty woman came to the gym wanting to punch something." Piper shrugged.
"Gay. Gay for you to be exact. But you didn't set her straight either?" Alex raised her eyebrow.
"Like how? Telling her there was a man who tried to rape me who was in court denying it, so yes she was right?"
"No. Like telling her you're not interested." Alex stood to put the dishwasher on.
"She didn't say she was interested Alex….are you jealous?" Piper smirked.
"No."
"Really?" Piper moved a little closer to where Alex was standing. "You're sure about that?" Alex held her eyes as Piper stepped close enough to reach out and touch.
"Do I have a reason to be jealous?" Alex reached out and pushed a strand of Piper's hair out of her face.
"No." Piper moved closer still. "I don't want anyone else." She leaned in slowly. "To be perfectly clear…..I've got my eye on a tall, hot, dark haired lesbian wearing sexy glasses." She whispered by Alex's ear, making sure her hot breath would caress the skin of Alex's neck. She moved her hand onto Alex's waist as she finished humming the last words into Alex's ear. "But I don't know if she's into me."
Alex moved her hand up into Piper's hair as the blonde moved her face to look at her. She caressed her fingers across Piper's cheek, concentrated on the movement and feeling of Piper pressing her skin into her palm. Cupping her jaw gently, Alex looked from brilliant blue eyes to slightly parted pink lips. She brought her lips down to meet Piper's and pressed them together, closing her eyes as she moved her mouth against the lips she had been dreaming about. Piper moved her hand into Alex's hair and pulled her closer, moaning as Alex deepened the kiss and opened her mouth. Piper tightened her grip around Alex's waist and moved her thumb over the material of the band tee. The kiss was chaste and gentle and they enjoyed the taste of each other for quite some time before Piper broke the lip lock and pulled away slightly.
"I guess we should talk?" Piper held onto the loops of Alex's jeans, not wanting to let her go.
"Yeah." Alex smiled and stroked her hand up Piper's arm before leading them into the lounge with a bottle of wine.
"So….I'll jump right in with the question that's been burning on my mind since I arrived here tonight…Did you get chance to think about things while you were gone? Think about us?" Piper offered when she couldn't contain it any more.
"I did. A lot actually." Alex hated the conversations about feelings, preferring to show rather than tell. But she knew it was necessary for them to be honest with each other and for Piper to know where they stood.
"Getting away from the stress and the worry was good for me. You might think that's selfish when you compare it to what you're going through right now, but I needed space to think. You unloaded a lot of stuff onto me that I didn't feel I could handle properly. Some serious shit that I've never had to think about before. It scared me a bit. It scared me that I could have spent the last 4 years piecing my life back together and then hand you my heart all over again and you might crush it. You were spinning out and I could feel it happening and it was bad. I didn't want to be collateral damage."
"Alex, I told you-."
"Let me finish Pipes. Please. I was so wrapped up in how to protect my feelings in all of this that I lost sight of what I was most afraid of. Being away from you made me realise that losing you would be far worse than getting my heart broken. Protecting myself from my feelings for you would end up with me losing you and that would be worse than giving you my heart again and letting you crush it."
"I wouldn't do that. I couldn't. It was the hardest thing I've ever done to walk out on you like that and it damned near broke me."
Piper moved to sit next to Alex on the sofa and brought their hands together, entwining their fingers.
"So here's the thing I learned. Being away from you for 3 weeks is worse than going cold turkey from drugs. Especially when you're sleeping in my bed and sending me photos like that." Alex raised her eyebrow. "I want to be with you and I want to be there for you." She squeezed Piper's hand. "Did you think about us?"
"Every day. Every hour of every day. Ask Polly." Piper chuckled.
"I hadn't understood just how much I needed you. You're the first person I want to call when I've got good news and the first I want to talk to when it's bad. You're the last thing on my mind before I go to sleep at night and the first thought when I wake up. I know now that I've been a shitty girlfriend to you. No, I know it Alex." She shook her head, dismissing Alex's protestations. "I forgot that this is hard for you to understand and it's so much new shit that I know now that this was overwhelming. It's a lot to deal with and I'm a mess sometimes. I need you Alex, but more than that I want to be with you more than anything. The whole fucking world can crumble down around me if you're holding my hand." Piper searched Alex's eyes and both of them were holding back tears now.
"Whew. This is deep." Alex laughed a little, shaking her head to clear her emotions a little.
"Yeah….. I've really missed you Al. Like way more than is healthy quite frankly. I think I could be a stalker ex for real."
"Well, if you ever need a reference for your resumé…."
"I don't want to be anyone else's ex-girlfriend." Piper released Alex's hand and moved her fingers beneath the brunette's chin to pull her face closer. "I don't want to be yours either." Alex smirked at the confession. "Unless you want me to carry on stalking you, I suggest you relieve me of my position." Alex moved her fingers into blonde hair and moved so their lips were almost touching.
"Consider yourself fired, effective immediately." She smiled and pressed their lips together with such force that she pushed Piper back into the sofa with the intensity as she began to explore her mouth with her tongue.