Piper ate lunch in her room, wondering why Alex had accepted her father's offer to join them for dinner. Did he pressure her? He'd often tell people, I insist, leaving little room for rebuttal. Perhaps that was exactly what he'd done to the brunette. There was no way that Alex had gracefully accepted the invitation right off the bat. In Piper's mind, the dark haired woman was avoiding her just as much as the opposite was true.
It wasn't until 5:30 when Piper ventured downstairs. Cal was playing on the X-box, her mother was reading a magazine, and her father was grilling chicken on the back deck.
Piper tied her hair into a ponytail, trying to act casual. "When is Alex coming over?"
"I don't know." Carol turned the page in her Coastal Living magazine. "Ask your father since this was his idea."
Typical.
Piper walked onto the back deck and smelled grilled meat, instantly reminding her of all of the times Alex had cooked for her. "Hey dad, what time is Alex coming over?"
He looked at his watch. "In 10 or 15 minutes."
"Mom's not making an appetizer or anything?" She shoved a hand in her pocket. "I know how hungry I was after doing manual labor all day, so I would bet Alex will want to snack on something when she gets here."
"I don't think she has anything prepared." He gave her a closed lip smile as if silently saying, you know your mother.
"I can throw something together. Maybe a cheese plate or some chopped vegetables?"
"That sounds good." He paused, giving her a somber look. "Piper, we need to talk about your…preferences."
She averted her eyes. "That's fine, dad, but know that there's nothing you can do to change who I am."
"We'll see." He opened the grill and a cloud of smoke wafted out.
Piper needed something to keep her busy as the sound of a clock (or a bomb) ticked in her head not only for the impending conversation she'd have to have with her father, but also as she waited for Alex to arrive. She found a few carrots, cucumbers and bite-sized tomatoes, so she chopped what needed chopping and set the vegetables on a platter with a ramekin of Ranch dressing in the middle. Her mother seemed disinterested in anything going on in the kitchen, and the blonde thought it was just as well—the longer Carol was out of her hair, the better, especially after the bombshell that Piper had dropped on her parents earlier.
Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and Piper froze.
"Turn that video game off, Cal, and answer the door," Carol groaned. She put the magazine back on the rack and stood. "Let's get this over with."
The blonde had to decide how to play this in an instant—by not answering the door, she'd send a clear message to Alex that she wasn't welcoming her into their home. By answering the door, she might appear too eager.
Cal solved her dilemma by jogging to the front door and swinging it open. "Hey, you must be Alex. I'm Cal."
She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Cal."
The second Piper heard her husky voice, her body melted and she threw her head back and clutched her eyes shut.
"Alex is here," her brother yelled.
"That was right in my ear, son." She covered her ear as if Cal had blown her eardrum with his proclamation. "Hello, I'm Carol Chapman." She shook the taller woman's hand with just her fingertips. "What do we have here?"
"These are for you." Alex handed Carol a beautifully arranged bouquet of flowers ranging from purple lilies to blue hydrangeas and yellow peonies.
"How lovely. Thank you." Carol took the flowers and proceeded into the kitchen, not inviting the brunette to come further inside.
Alex stood in the doorway wearing a pair of dark denim jeans than Piper had never seen and an olive colored linen shirt. She put one hand in her back pocket and looked around, apparently waiting for permission to enter the living room.
The blonde took a deep breath and entered the living room. "Oh, hey," she tried to nonchalantly greet their guest.
"Piper." Alex's smile seemed…anxious.
Piper stayed about five feet away from the brunette and tried to keep up her casual façade. "My dad told me he invited you for dinner."
"Yeah, I tried to decline but he wouldn't hear of it." She shrugged.
"Come in," Piper said. She turned on her heel and led her companion to the back deck. She had to twist her hands in front of her to keep them from shaking. The only thing Piper could think about was their one, searing kiss. She shut her eyes for a second, trying to erase the mental image.
"Alex, good of you to join us," Bill greeted.
"Thanks for having me." She took in a big whiff of smoke from the grill. "It smells good. What are you cooking?"
"Romaine and chicken breasts," he offered. "Sort of a deconstructed Caesar salad. I'll grill some rosemary bread from Auntie's House once the chicken is done. I hope that sounds ok."
"Yeah, it does." She looked over at Piper who was fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt.
"Piper, why don't you get Alex something to drink?" Bill asked.
"What do you want?" The blonde couldn't hide the bitterness in her voice.
"Anything is fine," Alex replied. "Water, lemonade, soda…a bottle of tequila."
Piper smiled against her will. Alex's sense of humor was one of a thousand things that the blonde found attractive about her.
"I'll see what we have." She went inside, leaving Alex with her dad. "Mom, what are we serving to drink tonight?"
"I'm having a gin martini. If you want to open some white wine for your father and Alex, have at it." Carol brought the veggie tray outside. "Are you hungry for some Crudités?"
Piper put both hands on the counter and hung her head. She said a silent prayer that her nerves would subside and that the evening would be uneventful. The blonde hoped they'd eat quickly, skip dessert, and then Alex would go home. She didn't want to be caught staring at the dark haired woman at any point during the evening, so she put an elastic hair tie around her wrist and promised herself she'd snap it every other minute to remind herself to quit staring at her lips or her eyes or her broad shoulders…or her lips.
Piper struggled with a bottle of Chardonnay and hoped that she wouldn't get the cork stuck—she didn't need a reason to bond with Alex over a shared secret. As she began tugging the cork, Alex entered the kitchen.
"Need some help?"
"I think I can manage." She pulled the cork one last time, and it came out clean. She held it up for Alex to see, scowl firmly in place.
The brunette stepped closer. "It doesn't have to be like this."
She could smell her familiar fragrance, and Piper's body quivered. "You made it very clear how things have to be, so yeah, it kind of does."
Alex reached out, fingertips skimming the blonde's waist. "Don't be upset."
Piper shivered at the other woman's faint touch. She couldn't look into her eyes—every demand Alex had would have been met with hypnotized agreement. Piper needed to be strong and let her companion know that everything was not ok between them.
"Please," the brunette whispered inches from her face.
Carol walked in through the open French doors and hiccupped. "I'll take a glass of wine out to Bill. Why don't you join us on the deck? It's such a beautiful evening."
Alex walked away, rotating her neck to look at Piper. The blonde knew that her own facial expression showed how upset she was, and she didn't care if Alex was pissed at her for acting immature.
The other factor at play was sure to be her mother's apparent intoxication. The blonde figured she must've been on her third or fourth gin drink, and it was only going to go downhill from there.
For the next 15 minutes, Alex stood outside, trying to make conversation with her parents, but Piper thought it couldn't have been easy. Alex was a great conversationalist to be sure, but talking with Carol Chapman would be a chore for anyone who wasn't in her social circle.
The blonde went in and out of the house, pretending to be on errands like getting napkins for everyone, refilling wine glasses, checking on her brother, etc. There was no way she could stand (or sit) still with Alex present, and she wondered what she'd do come dinnertime when they'd surely be seated across from each other.
Carol sipped her drink. "Set the table, Piper, and get your brother to join us."
"Let me help." Alex followed the blonde inside. "It's pretty painful out there."
Piper pulled a stack of plates out of the cupboard, setting them on the counter and was reminded of the five times she and Alex had shared dinner at the cottage. She tried to keep her eyes off of her guest, but at one point, Alex caught her eye and smiled. It wasn't a confident or condescending grin—it was just a simple gesture of kindness. The blonde didn't want to act this way, but she felt trapped.
Alex picked up the stack of plates. "Can we talk? Just the two of us?"
"Not tonight." She filled a pitcher with water.
"You're acting like a child, Piper," the brunette whispered harshly. "I want to have an adult conversation with you. Let me know when you're prepared to do that." She marched back outside with the plates in hand.
Piper slammed the cabinet shut.
"Uh, everything ok?" Cal asked, grabbing a Pepsi from the refrigerator.
"It's fine. Take these outside; it's time to eat." She handed him the napkins and silverware.
The last thing she wanted Alex to think was that she was too young, because being young meant being immature, and Piper knew that her companion wouldn't want to be with someone who didn't act their age if not a bit older. She tried pulling herself together and changing her attitude. If she kept her mouth shut during dinner and didn't glance at Alex, she could get through the evening unscathed.
About halfway through dinner, Carol made herself another drink and hiccupped several times. Alex caught the blonde's eye and lifted her eyebrows. Piper could sense that it made their guest uncomfortable, and her father seemed to sense it as well.
"So, how did Piper do last week?" Bill asked.
"She did very well," Alex offered between bites of chicken. "You should've seen her sand the O'Sullivan's deck. It took her four hours, but I didn't even have to go over any rough spots. It was perfectly smooth and ready to be varnished."
"My daughter sanded a deck?" Carol asked with exasperation.
"Yes, and she painted a room, helped me mend the fence at the front of the road, filled a sink hole, mowed lawns, changed fuses, and secured a sail that blew over. She handled whatever task I gave her."
Bill looked on proudly. "I must say that I'm quite surprised, but pleased. Thank you for taking her under your wing."
Alex wiped her mouth with a starched napkin, and Piper could feel her gaze. "It was my pleasure."
"Did you know that my daughter is bisexual?" Carol asked, leaning forward and swirling her cocktail.
The blonde nearly choked on her chicken. "MOM!"
"Carol!" Bill reprimanded. "This is neither the time nor the place."
"Whoa, sis," Cal said. "Is that true?"
Alex was the only one who didn't seem to lose her cool. She gently set her fork and knife down on the side of her plate. "I don't think a person's sexual orientation is anyone's business, so excuse me if I refrain from commenting."
"Yes, of course," Bill said, giving his wife a barbed look. "Honey, why don't you go inside and get the cake?"
"Just shoo me away like a fly…it's fine." Carol stumbled to the kitchen.
"Sorry about that," her father said, shaking his head. "She's had one too many tonight."
Piper's whole body tensed as her eyes darted from one person to another until they met Alex's. The brunette gave her a pitied look.
"It happens." Alex set the napkin over her plate. "I should probably head home anyway. I'm going out of town tomorrow and need to get some stuff together."
"Where are you going?" the blonde blurted out.
"I have some errands to run." She nudged her glasses.
Piper's mind immediately jumped to Sylvie, and she could feel her face turning red. She had absolutely no right to be jealous, yet she was green with envy.
"I apologize again for my wife." Bill pushed his chair out. "Thank you for joining us tonight."
"Thanks for having me. The food was delicious." She stood and put her hand on Bill's shoulder in a thoughtful, warm way. "I'm sure I'll see you around."
Piper could see that the brunette was looking directly at her. "Yeah…I'm sure."
Her dad walked Alex to the door, while Piper and Cal cleared the table. She didn't want to even look at her mother after the shit she'd pulled. In fact, the blonde wanted to run to Alex's house and apologize profusely for such an awkward dinner. Instead, she kept her mouth shut as her dad excused himself to have a talk with her mom. Carol instructed the children to clean up, "and throw away the lettuce that your father burnt."
Watching her parents miserable marriage was difficult for Piper at times like that. She had very little respect for her alcoholic mother, but she respected her dad's work ethic. The blonde didn't agree with either of them politically, but she was thankful that she had her brothers to commiserate with. It wasn't until Piper went to college when she realized what a fucked up family life she had growing up. Sure, she wanted for nothing, but her parents didn't instill a work ethic or an appreciation of other cultures in her. She had a hard time relating to students in lower socio-economic brackets at Smith, and while she tried to be better at not assuming everyone had enough money to go to dinner or a movie on a whim, she still put her foot in her mouth on more than one occasion.
"So…you like boys and girls?" Cal asked as he dried a bowl.
"Yeah," she replied in a weak voice.
He raised both hands in surrender. "I'm not judging or anything. It doesn't matter to me who you choose to hook up with."
"Thanks, Cal." She gave him the best smile she could muster. "I'm exhausted." She threw a dish towel on the counter and walked out of the kitchen. "Good night."
"Night, sis."
Piper tried to keep the images of Alex out of her mind, but it was damn near impossible. There had been only one other time when she'd seen the brunette in something other than her work clothes, and it was a sight to behold. The linen blouse she wore that night fit perfectly, defining her shoulders and breasts, and the jeans, well, no matter what pants the woman had on, they fit like a glove.
Before dozing off, Piper glanced at the stack of clothing that she needed to give back to Alex from her first day working with her. She would bring the clothes to the cottage the next day, since she knew that the dark haired woman would be out of town.
There's a chance I will post the next chapter this evening, but this day has totally gotten away from me. Thank you for the reviews so far.