Alex had gone home the night that would forever be deemed, The Evening of Great Restraint, and asked her mom if it was ok that she invited Piper for Thanksgiving dinner. As expected, Diane was overjoyed at having another person join them for the feast; in fact, she went on ad nauseam about the merits of Piper Chapman. (Little did her mother know that Alex didn't need someone else to tell her just how great Piper was.)
She went shopping with her mom after finishing her final project for her grad school class. Now that Alex had a decent income, she insisted upon paying for half the groceries, much to Diane's vexation. The brunette couldn't help but laugh as her mom slapped her hand when she handed the cashier a $50 bill.
After unloading the turkey, rice, dressing, lettuce, cornbread, wine and sparkling cider, Alex went to her bedroom to text Piper with the details of the next day.
It's Alex – I'll pick you up at 11 tomorrow. Good?
Piper texted back five minutes later: Happy day before Thanksgiving! Sounds good.
Alex had difficulty sleeping that night, but just as she was about to doze off around midnight, her phone chirped. She looked at the device to see a text from Piper. She opened the text to find a picture of her young friend in the dorm kitchen, flour strewn about the small space and what looked like a pie in her hands.
Alex chuckled and typed, What the hell happened? Is that flour or snow?
Piper: I baked a sweet potato pie. Had a little trouble with the flour.
She looked at the photo again and smiled at the disheveled girl before typing, You're adorable.
Piper: I'm a mess!
Alex: I worked at a bakery in college. Will show you how it's done one day.
Piper: Looking forward to it.
Alex: See you tomorrow, kid.
Piper: You know the moniker I prefer.
Alex: Yes, I do. Can only use that on special occasions.
Piper: Do holidays count?
Alex: Damn right.
Piper didn't text back, but Alex's heart fluttered at the thought of seeing her—in her own home, away from campus—tomorrow. She fell fast asleep and didn't wake up until morning.
Alex smoothed her hair and checked her lipstick in the rearview mirror before pulling into the train station, their agreed upon meeting spot, at 11:02 a.m.
The bright eyed blonde greeted her. "Happy Thanksgiving!"
"You, too." She smiled and unlocked the door.
Piper was wearing a pair of tight maroon corduroy pants and a cream colored scoop neck sweater. She had a jean jacket over her arm and what appeared to be a pie in her hands.
"My masterpiece." She held up the pie, and then put it in the back seat.
"I'll be the judge of that," Alex quipped.
Piper climbed into the front seat, buckled up and smiled at the driver.
"No snarky comments about the car?" she asked.
The blonde looked over her shoulder. "Looks like a perfectly decent back seat."
Alex smirked at her student's daring statement. She could feel the vein in her neck beginning to pulse. "You're in a mood."
"I'm in quite the mood," Piper commented, troubling her lower lip.
The dark haired woman laughed softly.
"You have something on your cheek." Piper reached out to rub Alex's right cheek with her thumb.
"What the hell?" She looked in the rearview mirror. "No, I don't."
"You did. I removed the smudge," the blonde tried while concealing a smile.
"You're full of shit," she said through a toothy grin.
"It's on this side, too." Piper reached across her body and rubbed her thumb over the other cheek.
"You're going to cause me to get into an accident!" Alex giggled and playfully swatted her arm, but not before picking up on the scent of Piper's lavender perfume that she must have dabbed on her wrist.
The smell of Piper, the way she grinned, her bouncy blonde hair, and the feel of her soft fingers all made the brunette's head spin, and she couldn't get enough. Alex wasn't going to stop herself from indulging—not on Thanksgiving day.
"If you want to touch me, Piper, touch me. You don't need some lame excuse. Not today, anyway."
The blonde's eyes opened wide as if she were unwrapping a gift on Christmas morning. She ran her hand across Alex's cheek, allowing her fingertips to trace a path down her jaw, onto her shoulder, down her arm and to her right hand.
Alex did the best she could to keep her eyes on the road, but it was hard to concentrate upon feeling Piper's soft caress. She opened her hand to allow Piper to link their fingers together just as they had done two nights ago.
They remained silent for the five minute drive to Diane's house, and when the car was parked, Alex squeezed Piper's hand. "Happy Thanksgiving, babe."
The sun couldn't shine as brightly as Piper Chapman's smile.
The house smelled like a five star restaurant—roasted turkey and vegetables coupled with apple pie assaulted Alex's senses. "How could it smell any better than it did when I left half an hour ago?"
Diane surfaced from the kitchen to greet her guest. "Piper, so good of you to join us!"
"Diane? Wait…I'm confused." Piper's eyes widened. "Is Diane your mom?"
The brunette regarded her mother. "I thought you were going to tell her?"
"I asked if I could," her mom replied, enveloping Piper in a hug. "I never said I did!"
"Well clearly introductions don't have to be made," Alex announced, folding her arms, the corners of her mouth turning upwards. "I hope this doesn't make you uncomfortable, Piper."
"Are you kidding?" The blonde put an arm around Diane. "Your mom is, like, my favorite person in the entire school."
Alex nudged Piper with her shoulder and gave her an expectant look.
"You're a close second." She winked at Alex, which sent shivers up the young Vause's spine. "Oh, before I forget, I made a pie."
"I'll grab it out of the car." Alex went outside and retrieved the pie and the bag from the back seat.
"It's a sweet potato pie," Piper announced, following Diane into the kitchen. "I've never baked before, so I can't vouch for the flavor."
"I'm sure it'll be delicious, hon." Diane got two wine glasses out of the cupboard. "What can I get you two to drink?"
"Let's open the Beaujolais Nouveau we bought yesterday," the brunette said, putting down the bag she'd carried in.
"You can have some, kid, but not blondie," Diane commented.
Piper leaned closer to Alex. "So that's where the kid comes from, huh?" she whispered.
The dark haired woman smirked. "Please, mom, I was drinking when I was 15, and you knew it."
"I don't care." Diane put her hands on her hips and gave her daughter a stern look. "You were young and stupid, and so was I. This child is not a product of my womb, and I'm not letting her drink…Except one glass."
The blonde smiled. "One glass would be great, thanks."
"I'll open the bottle," her mother said. "Why don't you show Piper around?"
"Not much to show," Alex said under her breath.
"I heard that!"
Her daughter escorted Piper out of the kitchen and into the living room. "This isn't where I grew up, but my mom has lived here for the past four years. One of the former history teachers owns the house and just needed someone to keep it up. Rent is reasonable, and my mom hadn't lived in an actual house since she was a child."
Piper traced the walnut-etched mantle with her fingers. "Where did she live?"
Alex crossed her arms. "When I was growing up, we moved from apartment to apartment. Nothing stable."
The blonde regarded her. "Are you ashamed of how you grew up?"
"Not really." She shrugged. "It's just nothing to brag about. I had all I ever needed—nothing more, nothing less. My mom was my North Star. As long as I had her, I didn't care about much else."
"I had everything a girl could dream of growing up, except the love of my mother and father." Piper put a hand on her arm. "I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat."
Alex pulled her into a tight embrace and realized that this was the first time they'd ever properly hugged. Piper felt warm and cozy; a part of her, a big part, didn't want to let go.
Diane entered the room and the two young women quickly separated. If her mom noticed anything, she didn't say as much.
"I'd like to make a toast," she began. "To celebrating this fine Thanksgiving holiday with my daughter and our distinguished guest!"
"Cheers!"
Alex completed the tour of the small home, often putting a hand at the small of Piper's back or feeling the blonde's hand somewhere on her own body.
"We can't be so touchy," she whispered, her hands betraying her words as she brushed the younger woman's cheek.
"I know," the blonde whispered, leaning into the touch. "To be continued."
Alex smiled at the thought of continuing to touch the soft blonde. She was careful not to kiss her companion for fear that it wouldn't stop there. Not that she didn't want to have sex with Piper, that much was a given, but she had to remind herself over and over again that she was still the girl's teacher.
The three women spent the next hour in the kitchen, finishing Thanksgiving dinner preparations and talking about everything from food to the NFL game to literature. At one point, the younger Vause realized that she and Piper were talking about Elie Wiesel for so long that they hadn't noticed her mom disappear.
"I think we bored her so much that she vanished into thin air," the blonde quipped.
"Mom?" Alex called with laughter tracing her voice.
"I'm setting the table." She walked back into the kitchen and grabbed cloth napkins. "You two were in your own little world there."
"I apologize," Piper said, following Diane into the seating area with the silverware. "Sometimes when I start talking about literature, I can't shut up."
"You and my daughter both," she laughed. "You make quite the pair!"
Piper glanced at Alex with wide eyes. The brunette simply smiled.
Over dinner, they talked about Piper's childhood, but she changed the subject multiple times to hear more about Alex's younger years.
"It's hard to believe you're only 17, kid," Diane said around a mouthful of stuffing.
"Don't remind me," Piper responded as she cut a piece of white meat and popped it into her mouth.
Alex felt something on her thigh and realized that it was Piper's hand. The wise part of her brain told her to back her chair up, out of Piper's reach, but the horny part of her brain won, allowing the blonde's ministrations to continue.
"So have you applied to college yet?" Diane asked.
She nodded. "Early Decision to Smith College. I should hear back in about a month."
Alex felt her body tense. She had no idea that Piper had made such a commitment.
"That's in Massachusetts, right?" The older Vause asked.
"Yes, Northampton, which is in the Western part of the state." She ate a bite of cranberry sauce. "This is really good, by the way."
"Alex loves cranberry sauce. I had to make it for her," she said with a proud smile. "It's the orange zest that gives it a little pizazz."
Ignoring the comments about food, Alex chimed in, "I didn't know you applied Early Decision."
"I didn't know your mom was Diane, the lunch lady," Piper replied with a shrug. "I think there's a lot we don't know about each other."
"Excuse me," Diane said as she pushed her chair back and stood. "I'm going to get the rolls out of the oven."
As soon as the older woman was out of earshot, Alex spoke. "I would've liked to have known about Smith."
The blonde raised her eyebrows. "Since when do we tell each other stuff like that?"
Alex wiped her mouth, and then let her hands fall with a thud onto the table. "Since right now."
In that moment, on that day, at that table, things shifted between the two young women. Piper no longer seemed like a student in her class—she was far more like a friend—a friend with whom Alex realized she was falling in love.
Suddenly, Alex felt claustrophobic and had to gasp for a breath. She nearly jumped out of her chair. "I need some air."
"But the butter rolls just came out of the oven," her mom commented with a basket of steaming bread in hand.
"I'll have one," Piper said, trying to take away whatever awkwardness existed in the room, but not removing her eyes from Alex. She finally drug her gaze back to her hostess. "Can I pour you some more wine?"
"I'd love that," Diane said, sliding her glass towards her guest.
Alex flew out the front door and down the steps. She walked briskly down the sidewalk, running her hands over her face and through her hair, mumbling fuck every few steps. This wasn't supposed to happen. Sure, she could converse with her about literature and history and even accept Piper's flirtations, but falling in love with her wasn't in the cards.
As she walked down the street in the drizzling rain, her teaching position was the least of her worries. Piper wasn't an adult yet; if they had sex, it would be considered rape.
No, no, no.
But they were a mere four years apart—Alex knew many couples who were further apart in age than that. And Piper was infinitely more mature than half of her own friends. That had to count for something.
The dark haired woman turned around and walked back home, holding her head to the sky as the tiny raindrops fell on her warm cheeks. She knew what she had to do, and she hated the thought of it.