The next three days went very much like the first—they worked on several projects each day, and Piper was exhausted by noon. They ate lunch together at Alex's cottage every day, and Piper joined her for dinner as well. The dinners the following nights weren't as long as their first two evenings together, but the blonde realized that sleep was paramount to her success as a manual laborer and vowed to hit the sack as early as 9 o'clock each night.
On Thursday evening, Piper took a shower, and then walked to her companion's house with a salad she'd made from a Dole kit. It wasn't much, she knew that, but Piper felt like she needed to contribute something to their fifth dinner together. She even "borrowed" a bottle of wine from her father's collection. (She'd gone on the Internet to see how much several of his bottles cost, and decided to bring the Duckhorn Merlot.)
As Piper approached the cottage, she heard what sounded like a running water coming from the side of the house that flanked a small forest. She figured that Alex was watering her herb garden, so she walked around the cottage and was astonished at the sight before her: Alex was standing under an outdoor shower spigot, naked as a jaybird.
Her head was flung back, eyes closed, and Piper couldn't stop staring. The blonde's eyes journeyed from Alex's face to her arms and legs. She couldn't see the brunette's most intimate spot due to her positioning, but she saw her full breasts. Piper involuntarily licked her lips as she watched Alex's well-defined arms reach towards her head as she rinsed the shampoo out of her hair. Ten seconds later, the brunette opened her eyes and saw her standing there.
"Oh, God, I'm sorry!" Piper jumped back and immediately covered her eyes. "I thought you were watering your garden, and…" She peeked through a crack in her fingers.
"It's ok." Alex turned to face her, not bothering to cover herself. "We have the same lady parts."
"Yes, but still…" She spun around, back now facing her companion. "I invaded your privacy."
"Relax, kid." Alex chuckled. "It's no big deal. I'm glad it was you and not Mr. Bankston."
Piper ran her hands through her own wet hair and took several deep, steadying breaths.
"Will you hand me that towel?"
The blonde saw an ivory towel hanging on a tree branch and grabbed it. Before turning around, she gulped, trying to prepare herself for what she'd see. "This one?" she asked awkwardly.
"It's the only towel out here, so yeah." The brunette wrung her hair out, and Piper now had a full-frontal view of Alex's body.
She was gorgeous—milky white skin, toned muscles, jet black hair, and voluptuous breasts.
"Piper?" She took a step forward. "Towel."
"Oh, right." The blonde handed her the towel and spun around again, trying to erase the image of Naked Alex from her mind, but knowing it would be a futile attempt. "I brought stuff," she said out of the blue.
"You didn't have to do that."
"I wanted to." Piper looked around for the salad she'd carried over, forgetting that she'd set it on bench in front of the cottage. "I'll grab it." She turned around again, relieved that Alex now had a towel wrapped around her body.
The dark haired woman began walking towards the back door. "You have no idea how refreshing that was. You ought to try it some time."
Piper followed her into the cottage with the salad in hand. "Yeah, um…I will…try it some time."
She gestured with her elbow towards the Frigidaire. "Just put the salad in there, and open the wine if you don't mind. I'm going to put some clothes on."
"I'll try," she replied, looking anywhere but at her hostess. "Last time, as you might recall, I broke the cork in the bottle." Piper opened the refrigerator and moved a carton of milk aside to fit the salad bowl. Her breathing returned somewhat back to normal as Alex disappeared into her bedroom.
"Yeah, I remember." The dark haired woman called. (The night before, Alex had to stick a screwdriver into the cork to yank it out. The good news was that they were both tipsy and laughed throughout the process.)
When she was certain that Alex was in the other room, Piper rested her hands on the counter and hung her head, eyes squeezed shut as the image of her companion's bare breasts entered her head. She told herself to calm the fuck down and act as if nothing happened.
Alex returned to the kitchen two minutes after the blonde had recovered, wearing a dark gray t-shirt and white shorts. The brunette immediately grabbed a bowl on the counter, shoving her hands inside and turning the ingredients over.
Piper stepped directly behind her and looked over her shoulder. "What are you making?"
"Herb marinated chicken." She turned her head slightly to the left, and their faces were inches apart.
"Smells good." Piper took in a big whiff of Alex, not the marinade. She was sure that the sauce smelled delightful, too, but nothing was as refreshing as the scent of the woman in front of her.
"I hope it tastes good. I'm not using a recipe," she said. "Will you push my glasses higher? My hands are covered in olive oil and cilantro."
Piper did as she was told, and once the frames were in place, she ran a hand down the back of Alex's head to her shoulder. They both grinned widely as if realizing, on some level, something significant was shifting between them.
"I'll get the wine," Piper said, breaking the stare. Her hands were shaking and her breath hitched in her throat.
"Don't fuck it up, kid. That looks like an expensive bottle."
She inserted the corkscrew and began twisting. "I researched it on the Internet: $27. That's not bad, right?"
"It's kind of pricey, but I'm sure it'll be worth it." The brunette flicked on the water with her elbow and proceeded to wash her hands. "Let me guess, you stole it from your parents' cellar and need me to buy a bottle to replace it?"
Piper stopped twisting the corkscrew. "I'll give you money."
"Don't worry about it," she chuckled. "I'll buy some before your parents come up again."
"Thank you." She pulled hard, and the cork came out in one piece. "Ha! I did it!"
"Nice work, kid." Alex slid past her, putting a hand on the blonde's hip as she reached for a dish towel.
Piper stood on her tip toes to reach the wine glasses, pretending not to be affected by the brunette's touch. A familiar song came on, and the blonde turned to her friend. "How do you know Bootstraps?"
"I saw them a couple of months ago in Portland at The Trap Door." She raised the bottle and began pouring. "Have you heard of them?"
"They played at Smith in January. I love them," Piper remarked.
"Their remix album is amazing," she replied.
Alex coached her companion through how to make rice in a pot rather than in a rice cooker, and the blonde carefully followed directions. Just as the water began to boil, the brunette's phone buzzed.
"Are you expecting a call?" Piper asked.
"It's a text." She picked up her phone from the small table. "Fuck."
"What's wrong?" Piper placed the lid on the pot.
"Sorry, kid." She scratched her forehead. "You need to leave soon."
The blonde spun around. "Why?"
"It's…" She shook her head as she typed a response on her phone. "It's terrible timing. Nothing I can do about it."
Her arms dropped to her sides. "Is someone coming to your house?"
Alex tossed the phone onto the table, and then shoved her glasses higher. "This doesn't concern you."
"It's cutting into our dinner, so I think it does," Piper stated with an edgy tone.
"The world doesn't revolve around you, Piper, and sometimes shit happens that's out of my control," the brunette said in a raised voice.
Piper looked at her feet and felt the sting of tears in her eyes. It was ludicrous for her to react this way, and she damned her emotions for making her look foolish.
"I need to take care of something." Alex took a few steps towards her companion, softening her voice. "I'm sorry. I really am."
Piper looked up with sad eyes. Alex ran a hand through her hair and let out a long, frustrated sigh.
"Don't worry about it." Piper tried to step past the brunette, but Alex took a step to her right, effectively blocking Piper from exiting.
"Don't be like that," she whispered.
"Can I just get some fresh air?"
Alex stepped aside and looked away. "Yeah, sure."
The blonde walked outside, hands rubbing her face, then following through her hair. Whoever texted Alex had some sort of power over her, and Piper hated it. She didn't think it was possible for someone to intimidate Alex, but clearly, whoever was on the other end of the line, did. Piper never expected that week to proceed the way it had—working with Alex all day, having a quick lunch together, and then hanging out and cooking at night. It was all too good to be true, and the blonde cursed herself for believing that it could be that easy.
She hadn't realized that she'd been outside for 10 minutes until Alex's voice startled her musings. "I can put dinner in some Tupperware for you to take home."
"That's ok; I'll manage." Piper tried to focus on anything other than the woman in front of her.
The brunette sighed, and Piper detected a hint of irritation. "It's supposed to rain tomorrow. We'll work inside if it's a downpour."
"Ok," Piper answered curtly.
Alex lifted the mostly full bottle of Duckhorn and tilted it to see the contents in the light. "I'm sorry we couldn't enjoy the wine. I'll save it for another time."
"I'll just grab my sweater." Piper walked into the living room and picked up her Land's End sweater, putting an arm through each sleeve. "I hope that whatever's going on isn't bad."
The brunette looked away. "Me, too, kid."
She began walking away. "See you in the morning."
"Don't come to the cottage tomorrow." Alex spat out. Again, she couldn't seem to look the blonde in the eyes. "Meet me by the shed."
"Got it. Good night." She walked away without looking back and had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
That night, Piper took a long, hot bath and tried to let her thoughts and feelings melt away into the water. If nothing else, the bath was relaxing, but it did little to keep her mind off of Alex. She tried concentrating on her impending internship that would begin on Monday, and that seemed to do the trick long enough for her to climb into bed and fall asleep at 9:15.