Forbidden Fruit
She climbs up the stairs to her apartment, not really knowing where she's finding the strength to drag her body up each flight of stairs, barely able to breathe. It's not from exhaustion, but rather from the knot in her throat that barely allows air to pass through. But the elevator seemed too small and suffocating, and the outside world too big and overwhelming. All she wants is to finally reach her home and close the door behind her. Hopefully, the air inside will be thinner and she'll finally be able to breathe. Or at least, that's what she hopes.
After several minutes of climbing stairs as quickly as her tight skirt allows, she begins to see some clarity about what has happened in the last two or three minutes, during which she has been walking like a missile with a fixed course, not registering anything else around her. As she climbs the stairs, she sees herself opening the door to the lobby and going straight as an arrow at breakneck speed towards the stairs, completely ignoring the friendly greeting of the receptionist in her building who always says goodnight and asks about her day while waiting for the elevator. And suddenly, she comes to a stop, as if feeling guilty about it made any sense. It's an unpleasant gesture, of course. But surely Mr. Dixon will understand — after all, everyone has a bad day once in a while. But for some reason, guilt weighs heavily on her shoulders and she stops for a moment in the middle of the stairs. She doesn't even know what floor she's on. She's been so automatic and so focused only on her breathing that she wouldn't be surprised to find out she's passed her floor.
She then lifts her head, looking up at the ceiling, trying to open her airway and take in the air her body is screaming for. She inhales as deeply as she can and finishes climbing the flight of stairs, and to her fortune — since she wasn't sure if her body could handle one more step — she finds herself at her floor. She walks, almost dragging her feet, her loafers resonating against the marble tiles, to her door and opens it with the skill of someone who is drunk and not only sees double, but triple.
Once inside her apartment, she closes the door behind her and leans her back against it, letting herself slide down to the floor and burying her head between her legs. She lets out a frustrated scream, feeling the tears begin to prick at the corners of her eyes. She just can't understand how Alex can be so blind to her perspective, especially since she has been working in this field — politics — for much longer. She always feels like her hard work and expertise are being belittled and undermined, like she's just a small cog in the machine. But Alex had never made her feel this way, at least not until today, until now.
The air finally begins to penetrate her lungs, and she feels as though she's slowly regaining consciousness, the feeling of being present in the here and now returning to her. She is no longer adrift in a sea of uncertainty that has been pulling her in a direction that she couldn't quite grasp. Gradually, she begins to feel as if she has landed back in her body, once again taking possession of it. The silence of her empty apartment feels suffocating, though, and she knows she can't just stay there, sitting on the hard wooden floor, stewing in her frustration and anger. So, she takes a deep breath, slowly stands up, and walks over to her kitchen.
The sound of the faucet fills the room as she fills a glass with cool water. She takes a sip and savors the refreshing taste, feeling the water course down her throat and soothe her parched mouth. Then, with the glass still in her hand, she makes her way over to the couch and sinks into the soft cushions with a sigh.
As she leans back, the tension in her body gradually begins to dissipate. She closes her eyes, taking slow, measured breaths as she tries to clear her mind of the thoughts that are swirling around. She tells herself that tomorrow is a new day, and that she can approach Alex with a clearer head. She tells herself that not all is lost, that things can be talked through, and that all of this has just been something Alex has said in the heat of the moment without truly meaning it. But as she repeats these things to herself, she starts to doubt. Doubt whether she truly believes them or whether she is only telling herself what she wants and needs to hear because she can't really bear any other reality. Alex has become a pillar of support for her in this moment of her life, and the mere thought of her disappearing and being replaced by another agent she would have to start from scratch with causes her an overwhelming sense of fear and anxiety, causing the air that she has finally managed to breathe in to remain trapped in her lungs, making it hard for her to breathe again. And — for some reason — the idea of never seeing Alex again generates a distress that she cannot bear to feel.
Minutes pass, many, maybe even an hour, she doesn't know, as she never looks at the clock, and after a while immersed in thoughts about the woman who has turned her day — and her life — upside down, she decides to get up and go to her desk. Once there, she stretches and searches for information about Alex on her computer. She had never done this before because she believed it was important to get to know her without any preconceived notions or prejudices that could shape her idea of the agent in an unjust or unjustified way, but now, in this moment, everything is different. She's not sure what drives her to do it now, maybe it's the pain, or the sense of loss she feels in her chest, or the possibility that if Alex were to leave the office tomorrow, she may never get to know her better. Or maybe it's just that her curiosity about the mysterious beauty with silky black hair has finally won the battle, and she just needs to know more. Regardless, she begins to search.
There isn't much information available about her; just parts of her resume on some sites like LinkedIn, some forums that also talk about her professional career, and a few articles that came out in the newspapers when she worked in security at what seems to be a casino and that mention her name. Not much at all.
She scrolls through all the search results, her eyes teary from a mixture of sadness, the sting of her smudged makeup, and the bright white glow of her computer screen only a few inches away. But she doesn't look away from it.
She takes a moment to consider putting on some music. Her vinyl collection looks as impeccable and appetizing as ever, and she usually uses it to fill the silence when working alone. In fact, music always helps her whether she's working or feeling down. But now the thoughts in her head are so loud that the mere idea of adding more noise, more sounds, more stimuli to her head seems like a nightmare. She returns her gaze from the cover of one of her vinyls — REM's Automatic for the People — to the computer screen in front of her and continues reading silently when, suddenly, she comes across an article that catches her attention. Something about rumors that the owner of a famous hotel and casino had fired a security company because of the alleged homosexual relationship that one of the security team members was having with his daughter. This hotel magnate had made a public statement calling the security agency unprofessional, and the director of the agency had defended himself by saying that such rumors were false.
She reads the article several times, her eyes feeling dry as the desert and yet practically shedding tears from the discomfort of incessantly reading the screen in a practically dark room. She wonders if the rumors are about Alex or not. It is too much to assume that she was the only woman on the security team... the rumors could perfectly well be about someone else. Besides, it doesn't sound like something Alex would do. Alex is a professional through and through.
...
Or is she?
...
She thinks about how Alex has been getting on her nerves lately, about the intimate moments they've shared, and wonders for a moment if the professionalism that the agent had initially inspired in her was just an illusion. But she immediately shakes her head inwardly. No. Alex is a good professional. Alex would never do that. She is a person with enormous respect for her work, duty, and those around her, and would never do something like that. But she can't help but think that, at least with her, she has walked along the line that separates the professional from the personal quite often, sometimes even stumbling and falling on the wrong side, but she tries to excuse it by telling herself that their case was special. If Alex has ever lost her composure, it's because what they had was different — somehow, she can't really explain it, but it was —, not because she is one of those who get involved with their bosses. No. That can't be. It can't be like that.
"It was my idea that we get to know each other more. I suggested it."
"Yes, it was me. It wasn't her. She's not like that."
She closes the laptop and stands up from the chair, taking a couple of turns around the living room and trying to breathe with a regular rhythm, taking deep breaths and exhales. "But it's also true that in her field of work there aren't too many women, at least not as many as men." "How many people from her company would be working in that hotel? What's the chance that there were more women?" For a moment, she considers going back to the desk to check all this, but she doesn't.
"After all, they're just rumors," she tells herself. "Maybe she was the only woman, maybe the rumors were about her, but they're nothing more than that, rumors. Or maybe they weren't about her at all."
She paces around the living room, feeling as if the walls of her apartment are closing in on her. It all feels suffocating. She has no idea what time it is, or even what day it is at this point. She begins to lose track of what she's doing and where she's going. She wanders around the apartment aimlessly, not thinking about where she wants to go or even aware that she's the one moving her body. It's as if her legs, still wrapped in those delicate and luxurious black stockings, had a life of their own.
After a while of wandering around the room, stopping briefly to look out the window or sit in whichever chair is closest, she finally approaches the minibar and pours herself a generous glass of white wine. She drinks it practically in one gulp and pours herself another. She drinks that one too, and takes another lap around the living room. She then pours herself another glass, and drinks it down, and repeats this cycle again and again. Again and again, until everything is blurry, though it has been since the beginning, but somehow now it is even more so, though that isn't entirely possible.
Just when she couldn't believe she was any more detached from reality, a familiar, sharp, even aggressive sound catches her attention, bringing her back to the world, to reality. It takes her a few seconds to compose herself, and then she hears it again, this time accompanied by a slight knock at her door. It's her doorbell.
Suddenly she stops moving and stays frozen in place, looking at the door from a distance, not sure what to do. "Who the hell is ringing the doorbell at this hour?" she wonders. "Although, I have no fucking idea what time it is." Nonetheless, she knows it's late. She doesn't need to check the time to know that. She got home late, and that was probably hours ago, so it must be very late.
With caution and without too much haste, she approaches the door and removes the bolts before opening it slowly and gently. And when she does, she reveals behind it the result of all her recent hardships.
Behind the door stands Alex, in the same clothes she left her in several hours ago but looking completely different. She is no longer impeccably dressed, but her hair is disheveled and her clothes are misplaced and wrinkled. The expression on her face has hardly changed though, and it is practically the same mix of anger, rage, and sadness that had dominated her face earlier in the car. Although this time her eyes — for some reason, slightly brighter and more vibrant than usual — betray a hint of something more. She doesn't know what it is, but she knows that she can see it, that she can feel it, and that it's there.
Alex is just as surprised to see her. Piper is still dressed the same way, but her clothes are also wrinkled, her skirt is twisted too far to the left, she's not wearing shoes, and her hair is also quite messy. But it's her face, her expression, that catches her attention, as it has changed — unlike her own — significantly since their argument in the car. The young woman's hypnotic blue eyes still shine with the sadness they had when she got out of the vehicle earlier this evening, but somehow multiplied by a thousand. The intensity of the message they transmit is such that Alex feels that they have no bottom and somehow feels dizzy and repulsed when looking directly at them. The rest of her expression looks just as sad, but her eyes, surrounded by smudged makeup all around, teary, seem like a mirror of her soul, which right now looks like many things, all bad, but above all, it looks broken.
Alex examines the young woman in front of her once again, taking in more details about her appearance, and spots the wine glass in her hand. Between her appearance, the fact that she still hasn't changed her clothes or cleaned up, and the glass of alcohol in her hand — glass that the blonde quickly puts on the sideboard next to her —, Alex puts two and two together and deduces that she must be drunk. But before she can even make a comment about her well-being, the young woman interrupts her with a curt,
"What are you doing here?"
She doesn't mean to be rude or standoffish or sound angry or upset. It's just out of pure surprise and anger at not having foreseen that this could happen. It's the frustration of having Alex see her in this state, so shattered, so broken, so vulnerable without any shields, all mixed with the incredible shock of finding someone behind the door of her home who, frankly, just a minute or two ago, she wasn't even sure she would ever see again.
The agent looks at her with a mixture of concern and confusion. "The man at the desk downstairs recognized me and let me up," she explains.
"That's not what I asked," Piper retorts, feeling irritated that Alex is avoiding the question. "Why did you come here?"
Alex takes a deep breath before responding, once again noticing the pain in the blonde's eyes. "Are you okay?"
Piper's eyes fill with tears, and she tries to maintain her composure. "No, I'm not okay," she admits, her voice breaking. "But you already know that."
And she can barely catch her breath before Alex begins to speak, "Piper —," the agent breathes out, but before she can finish, Piper interrupts her with desperation and tears in her eyes, as if in the middle of a sob.
"Don't quit," she pleads, staring directly into Alex's big emerald eyes — now with her eyeliner almost faded and somewhat smudged — as if hoping that the words she has spoken and the strength with which she has spoken them will penetrate the agent's heart. Her chin wrinkles noticeably as she speaks, as if she is trying to hold back tears with all her might, but cannot.
Alex is somewhat taken aback by this emotional outburst. She had never seen her boss like this before. For a moment, she is speechless, unsure of how to react. A flood of emotions and feelings float through her mind and chest, throughout every corner of her body, causing her skin to prickle, her chest to tighten, messing with the stability of her voice, and threatening to make tears fall from her eyes. To be honest, she isn't even sure why she came to Piper's door. She hadn't intended to do or say anything, she just wanted, no, needed to see her. But to see her like this, in this state, was something she never would have imagined.
For the first time since they've known each other, Alex thinks she's sure of what she feels for the young politician. And although she's certain that Piper also feels something for her, she never would have imagined that the emotional intensity of these feelings could be so great that she would have such a reaction after the imminent threat of her resignation.
"Does she love me?" the question quickly passes through her mind like a shooting star that barely gives you time to see and assume it, and when you want to realize it, it has already disappeared from your field of vision, and is quickly replaced by the next one, "do I love her?"
She doesn't know what to say, she doesn't know what to think. Of course she doesn't want to resign. Just a couple of hours without Piper and with the prospect of resignation on the table have been enough to make her return to her boss's door like a puppy with its tail between its legs in the middle of the night, so emotionally destabilized that she doesn't even know what she's doing there, like an insect that flies towards the light for no real reason at all other than that's what her instinct dictates.
"What are you doing here?" Piper's words resonate in her head. "I don't know," the agent thinks. "I don't know..."
Piper looks at her impatiently, waiting for a response that never comes. She had opened up, but all she was met with was silence, and now she feels like someone who has fallen to the ground and instead of being helped up, is being kicked endlessly, making it impossible to get up again. The silence is deafening and her heart races with anxiety. She takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself, and wipes away her tears with the back of her hand. "I just don't want to lose you," she confesses softly, her voice trembling with emotion.
The words hang in the air, heavy and desperate, as she waits for Alex to respond. Her eyes plead for understanding, for forgiveness. "Alex, please. I won't do something like that again, ever. You were right. Please, give me the chance to prove to you that I take you seriously. Please."
Alex looks at her for a moment, her expression unreadable, and Piper's heart sinks as she realizes that she might have pushed her too far, that she might have in fact ruined everything.
She stares at her with bated breath. But then Alex sighs and takes a step forward, and Piper's heart skips a beat.
Another step.
And another.
Before Piper knows it, the agent is standing right in front of her, just millimeters away from her face. She wonders if she intends to keep moving forward, if she should step back, but then Alex places her right hand on her cheek and, with just the right amount of force, the agent commands her body to move in the direction she wants.
Piper's breath catches in her throat at the contact of Alex's gentle hand against her skin, and she finds herself following her silent commands without any resistance, taking a few steps further into the apartment while never breaking eye contact with her.
Alex follows her closely, her hand still on the blonde's cheek, never once looking away.
Piper's mind races as she tries to process what is happening. What does this mean? Is Alex angry with her? Is she trying to intimidate her? Or is there something else going on?
As both of them step a few feet inside the apartment, Alex applies more pressure to the blonde's face and neck, moving her hand towards the nape of her neck and turning her around so she is facing away from the door they have just entered. With her other hand, she slams the door shut, directing Piper's body towards it and pressing her back against it to fully close it, pinning her to it.
Piper doesn't resist at all, nor does she offer any resistance to the movements that the agent's body directs her to make. However, her breathing reacts strongly, with deep breaths accompanying every change of direction, and a small involuntary moan escapes her lips as her back gently but unexpectedly collides with the door.
Alex, on the other hand, seems unaffected by the situation and moves with the confidence of someone who knows what she wants and what she is doing. Her movements are decisive and confident, adding to Piper's nervousness. But in reality, she trembles inside. She feels as if someone else is piloting her body. It is as if desire and lust are taking over, something she would never allow herself to succumb to completely. She knows that she would never allow herself to cross all the lines that she is about to cross. Her practical and rational sides have always been dominant, which is why she is such a professional agent. She never lets her desires control her. But Piper has a way of casting a spell on her, of causing her personality to shift and become unbalanced, making her behave in ways that are neither normal for her nor rational — something she has already experienced in the office. And right now, she is under that spell more than ever.
And the most dangerous thing is that, when she looks into Piper's endlessly blue eyes and sees how they don't shy away from her gaze and how her body obeys her desires without protest, she knows that the politician wants the same thing. She knows that her primal instincts are also taking over, overpowering her professional side and any fear she may have had, as usually work and fear go hand in hand for her. For once, what Piper truly wants is in control, and that only gives the agent a surge of confidence, pushing her to continue with even greater determination.
But suddenly, her confidence is shattered when she feels Piper's muscles tense ever so slightly, offering a minimal resistance that is barely perceptible but very real, accompanied by the parting of her lips and the whisper of her name, "Alex —" between visibly strong yet not very audible sighs.
The agent continues to look into her blue eyes without changing her position, noticing how Piper's chest rises and falls ostentatiously as she tries to regain her composure enough to summon her voice again and say what she has set out to say. "Alex, I'm not —" she manages to say before falling silent, dropping her gaze to Alex's thick, red lips before returning it to her green eyes, shaking her head at the same time.
Alex immediately understands the message of what she is trying to say and inhales deeply — separating her lips slightly — through her clenched teeth. "But you want this," she says, gently pressing her body against Piper's without changing her position, only leaning forward slightly.
The blonde's breathing trembles at the contact, and her eyes once again travel that familiar path between Alex's gaze and her mouth as she shakes her head again. "You're wrong."
Alex narrows her eyes at the same time as she runs her tongue over her lower lip before biting it slightly in the middle of a smile that denotes something between amusement and incredulity. "I don't care what you are or what you think you are, but I know the truth, the truth of what you feel right now, and you know it too," she says, and as she delivers the last word, she withdraws her hand from Piper's face and takes a small step back, separating her body from hers.
Piper's heart races, beating so hard that she feels like her chest is going to crack like glass. She can only feel her heart in her chest, in her throat, and behind her face, beating strongly, but she feels nothing else, nothing else except for the desperate feeling of loss at the loss of Alex's proximity. The agent is still less than half a meter away from her, still looking into her eyes, but there is no longer any physical contact between them, and that burns inside her, causing her a feeling so unpleasant that it's as if she has lost a part of her body that belongs to her, and now all her cells demand it back with the ferocity with which any living thing demands and seeks what it needs to survive.
"Should I leave then?" Alex says, still holding that threatening gaze, full of desire and anger, fixed with Piper's.
The young politician continues with her body and head leaning against the door, partly because the support it provides her is welcome, and partly because separating from it would mean getting impossibly close to Alex again, who is still there without offering her much room to maneuver. She manages to swallow the excess saliva in her mouth forcefully, trying to get the knot that has formed in her throat to pass. "Tell me you won't resign."
Alex's expression doesn't change in the slightest, her threatening gaze like a sharp dagger capable of penetrating everything it focuses on, in this case, Piper, all the time. The blonde feels exposed and naked under the scrutiny of those piercing bright green eyes that show no mercy. And then the agent speaks, "Give me a reason not to."
Piper straightens up slightly, separating part of her upper body from the door slightly, and for the first time since they were alone in the apartment, she speaks hastily, "I won't ever question you again. Really, from now on, you're in charge," she says in a pleading tone.
Alex snorts with incredulity. "You know the problem is that I don't believe you."
Piper's chin wrinkles again, and this time her whole face with it. Tears once again slide down her face. "I don't know what else to tell you," she says in a trembling voice, almost choked by crying.
Alex feels a twinge in her chest seeing her like this, and if it weren't for who she is, if she were anyone else, someone who hadn't gone through all the trials and tribulations that have shaped her, she's sure that right now she too would be crying at the sight of Piper like this. But Alex Vause is not one to cry easily. Even so, she can feel the weight of Piper's pain pressing down on her. That and the being faced with the dilemma of having to choose between what she wants more than anything, which is to stay in this job and see the woman crying in front of her right now begging her to do so daily, and what she knows is really best for her, which is to distance herself from all this complicated jumble of feelings that her current job suddenly entails. She fights back tears, but her heart aches. She needs something, something that truly tilts this balance between what she wants to do and what she knows she should do towards one of the two sides. "I want you to tell me the truth."
Piper raises her eyebrows and her eyes quickly dart around the room in confusion. Then, her tear-streaked face looks up at Alex, her eyes pleading for answers. "The truth?"
Alex nods slowly, her gaze finally showing some empathy and understanding, or at least that's the feeling Piper gets.
Both women stare at each other in silence for just a few seconds, but to Piper, it feels like ages. Then the politician takes a deep breath, her shaky breathing and flared nostrils suggesting she's about to say something. "Alex—" she starts, but then shakes her head, as if pleading with her to drop the subject.
Alex looks at her silently and rolls her eyes slightly, not upset, just sad and disappointed because it seems like the scales are tipping towards the side she didn't want, the one that held the least hope for her, the side that told her there was nothing left for her in this job, nor in this relationship, and that she should abandon both. This feeling presses heavily on her chest and she puts her hand on it as if to check that it's there and that it's intact and whole and well, and says "I see."
Piper shakes her head, her face again completely wrinkled in tears. "It's not that. It's just—," that's all she can say before tears cut her off briefly. "Alex, I can't."
Alex nods her head, and a solitary tear slides down the corner of her eye. She doubts Piper has seen it, as it is thin and barely visible, but she feels it, cold, sliding down the side of her face, and she is surprised by the sensation. "It's okay. Can you move away from the door so I can leave?" she asks, pointing to the door behind Piper.
And upon hearing those words from Alex's lips, Piper springs away from the door, driven by the absolute fear of the agent walking through that door and never seeing her again, and she closes the scant distance between them, placing her hands on Alex's stomach as if to stop her in her tracks, and begs, "Don't go."
Alex is surprised by the contact. She had never felt Piper's thin and delicate hands on her body before, and although several layers of clothing separate them, and Piper's gesture, though delicate and not aggressive at all, is a gesture of force and not the pleasant sensation she would have wished for, she feels a huge shiver run through her body from the tips of her toes to her head. "Piper," she manages to say before her voice abandons her momentarily at the sight of Piper's endlessly blue, enormous, and sparkling eyes, just centimeters away from hers. "I can't," she clears her throat and swallows, "I can't stay if we're not going to talk—" and before she can finish the sentence, one of the hands that just a few moments ago rested on her abdomen, pushing it, preventing her from advancing, leaves its position to rest on the side of her glasses. She is so surprised by the gesture that she just stops talking, watching as the scene unfolds before her like a spectator at the movies.
Piper, with her left hand, grabs the black-rimmed glasses from the agent and carefully removes them from her face. Then she turns slightly and, with just a slight stretch of her body, carefully places them on the sideboard next to the door. Then she turns back to face Alex again and her gaze meets hers directly, this time unobstructed by the lenses that had separated them before and, with a slight sigh, as if admitting defeat, she whispers in a hushed tone, as if the words are meant only for the two of them to hear, "I do want this."
Alex appears to not react to her words, but inside, she is like fireworks.
They stand in front of each other, their eyes locked in a deep gaze. The tension between them is palpable, and the air is thick with anticipation.
Slowly, as if afraid to break the spell that surrounds them, Alex reaches out and takes Piper's hand. She feels the softness of the blonde's skin, warm and inviting, against her own and savors the touch, reveling in the sensation of finally being able to enjoy her skin, to explore it. With a gentle and deliberate movement, she brings the hand to her lips and kisses it softly, her eyes never leaving Piper's.
The blonde's heart races at the touch, and she feels a warmth spread throughout her body, as if a fire has been lit inside her. It's a simple gesture, yet it speaks volumes about the depth of feeling that Alex has for her. Her blue eyes flutter closed at the sensation, and she exhales a soft sigh. It's a feeling she's never experienced before, not with such intensity anyway, and it's both unnerving and thrilling at the same time. Alex's lips are soft against her skin, and she feels a shiver run down her spine at the touch, and in that moment, she realizes that she has never felt so alive, so present in her body and her surroundings. The softness of Alex's lips against her skin is a revelation, and she finds herself wanting more.
And then, without saying a word, as if reading her mind, the agent takes a small, cautious step closer to her, their bodies almost touching. Her free hand finds its way to Piper's cheek, delicately brushing her thumb against the skin, tracing the inky trails left by tears. Piper's eyes close at the touch, savoring the feeling. And then the agent leans in, their lips just a breath away from each other, in fact feeling the blonde's breath on her lips, becoming shallow and ragged.
The space between them is electric, and Piper can feel the heat emanating from Alex's body, her breath on her lips as well, she can smell the faint hint of mint on the agent's breath, and the faint hint of her perfume, a delicate and alluring scent that draws her in even closer, and her mouth waters with longing.
Finally, Alex closes the distance between them, and their lips meet in a soft, tentative kiss.
Piper's heart flutters as she feels the warmth of Alex's mouth against hers, and she responds eagerly, her own lips moving in sync with Alex's.
She feels Alex's hand on the small of her back, pulling her closer, and she responds by pressing her body against hers. Their lips move in a slow dance, each movement eliciting a new sensation.
Alex for her part can scarcely believe what is happening, and at times she even doubts that it is real. She has wanted to do this from the moment she first laid eyes on the politician, her desire only growing stronger with each passing day, whether good or bad, spent alongside the blonde. Even when she drove her crazy, she wanted to kiss her, and she can hardly believe that she is now doing so, that Piper's lips are tracing hers with such tenderness, such care. Her lips feel impossibly soft, probably the softest that Alex has ever kissed.
The kiss is gentle, hesitant, at first as if they are both afraid of what might happen if they go too far. Piper's hands rest lightly on the agent's waist, her fingers just nervously grazing the hem of her shirt when she suddenly feels a tingling on her lips as Alex's tongue gently brushes against them, seeking entrance, and she opens her mouth slightly in response, granting access, and their tongues meet in a gentle exploration. The taste of Alex's mouth is sweet, like honey, and she can't get enough of it. The sweetness of the agent's breath, mingling with her own, creates an intoxicating flavor that she never wants to end.
Her mind goes blank as she gives in to the sensations that are overwhelming her. Her entire being is consumed by the feel of the agent's lips, the touch of her tongue, and the warmth of her body. Time seems to slow down, the world around them fading away into a blur of colors and shapes. She's never felt anything like this before, and she never wants it to end.
She feels a sense of longing, of desire, of something more that she can't quite put her finger on. It's a feeling that she's never experienced before, and she's not quite sure what to make of it.
Their kiss deepens, becoming more urgent, as if they are both losing themselves in the moment.
Piper's fingers tighten on Alex's waist, pulling her even closer, and she feels a sudden surge of heat between her legs. It's more than obvious that she wants this, that she wants Alex. But to feel such a strong physical attraction to another woman, to feel her hands and breath against her own, to kiss her and desire her, and to feel her own body respond to all of it, it's all so new and foreign to her. In a way, she feels a sense of completeness that she's never experienced before in the embrace of another person. Yet, she also feels fear, fear of the unknown, of the unexplored. She had never really questioned her sexuality before, and now suddenly she finds herself kissing the woman who has occupied her thoughts for months, realizing that she truly desires her. And she can feel Alex responding to her, her own body growing more heated with each passing moment.
Their tongues continue to dance, exploring each other's mouths with increasing intensity until finally, after what seems like an eternity, they break apart, both gasping for breath.
Piper opens her eyes and looks up at Alex, feeling as if she's seeing her for the first time. She sees the depth of emotion in her eyes, the way they shine with a fierce intensity that takes her breath away, her own blue eyes filled with a mixture of awe and desire. She can see the desire burning in Alex's eyes, and she wants nothing more than to continue exploring this new, exciting world that they have discovered together.
"I've wanted to do that for so long," Alex whispers, her voice husky with desire.
Piper nods, unable to find her voice. She knows that this kiss has changed everything between them. And she knows that she wanted it, more than anything. But what comes next, she doesn't know, which is somewhat scary, and yet, there is something so beautiful about this newfound intimacy, something that feels so right and natural despite its novelty.
Alex's hand moves from her cheek to her blonde hair, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. "I know we should talk about it," she whispers against her lips, her big emerald eyes searching Piper's for a response. "But I don't want to think about anything right now. I just want to kiss you again."
Piper's heart swells with happiness and she nods slightly, unable to resist the urge to lean in and press her soft wet lips against Alex's rosy lips once more.
This time, the kiss is more urgent, more passionate. Piper can feel the agent's tongue exploring her mouth, her hands roaming over her body, igniting a fire within her. The kiss deepens, and she feels Alex's hand slide under her shirt, her fingers tracing patterns over her skin, and she lets her. She gasps and tenses ever so slightly, but she doesn't pull away. Instead, she presses herself even closer to Alex's frame, feeling the heat between them grow.
Her senses are alive, acutely aware of every movement, every touch, every breath they take. The feel of Alex's skin against hers, her rosy lips on her mouth, is electric, sending shivers of pleasure coursing through her body. Her own delicate hands roam over the agent's back, tracing the muscles beneath her shirt, while Alex's fingers trail along her spine, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. Her heart pounds heavily in her chest, her breath coming in short gasps as the intensity of their passion grows.
And for a moment, she forgets everything else, lost in the heat of the moment. But then reality comes crashing back, and she pulls away from the brunette's embrace, breathing heavily.
Alex looks at her with concern. "What's wrong?" she asks.
Piper takes a deep breath before speaking. "I —," she gasps, looking into Alex's eyes. "It's not that I don't —," she pauses briefly, "want this," she continues, "It's just that I think... I just need I moment."
The agent nods, understanding written all over her face. "Yeah," she says, her voice soft. "Yeah, of course."
Piper takes a slight step back, distancing herself ever so slightly from Alex, but they still remain impossibly close. Her mind is racing, unable to process everything that has just happened and all the sensations that are floating through her body, bouncing around her ribcage like wild butterflies trying to escape and twisting in her stomach. As she tries to make sense of everything that has just occurred and everything that is happening to her, everything that she is feeling, she also tries to conquer her worry about how they will handle this new situation in their professional lives. Her mind momentarily travels to the article about the casino she read earlier, but she quickly abandons that thought. She's not sure if it's because she trusts Alex and doesn't doubt her, or because her head is truly incapable of processing so many stimuli and simply can't afford any new trains of thought like that. For there are more pressing matters at hand, more important things to focus on right now, such as the question that escapes her lips almost unconsciously,
"So you're not going to resign, right?" Her top teeth graze her bottom lip, a mix of supplication and curiosity in her tone, and the sweetness and mischief of someone who knows they have charmed the person in front of them and already gotten what they want from them, but wants to hear the confirmation from their mouth nonetheless.
The agent, who was looking at her with a hint of concern, as if fearing that the woman in front of her might reconsider and say that all of this had been a mistake, can't help the faint chuckle that escapes her lips as she marvels at how effortlessly Piper, simply by being herself, can disarm her and make her laugh and pour out her heart with tenderness. The laughter lasts only a few seconds, though, and her expression quickly returns to one of seriousness, of mesmerizing seriousness, as she gazes at the woman before her who is looking at her with a mix of desire and vulnerability, and she doesn't hesitate to reassure her with the answer she knows she wants to hear, "No."
Piper feels a wave of relief wash over her body from head to toe, and she finds herself giving Alex one of her impossibly wide smiles that illuminates the room and makes the agent's heart skip countless beats. "God, I'm such a mess, I can't believe you've seen me like this."
Alex, infected by the young politician's wide and mesmerizing smile, smiles back with practically the same intensity, as if looking into a mirror, and jokes, "I must look quite a sight myself."
Piper continues to smile and deftly closes the short distance between them to trace Alex's abdomen with her hands again. "Your shirt was wet, where have you been?" she asks with curiosity, not a trace of judgment in her tone, just pure curiosity.
"Just around," Alex responds casually, her breath caught in her chest at the new proximity of Piper and the sensation of her slender hands on her again, but not returning the gesture in any way, no matter how much she wants to, trying to give the young politician the space she had requested just minutes earlier by pulling away from her lips. "It doesn't matter," she adds as she looks closely at Piper's forehead in front of her eyes, her delicate blonde hair falling in strands over her slightly downward-leaning face, escaping her updo in a chaotic yet equally beautiful way.
"Mmm," Piper murmurs, nodding before lifting her gaze from where it rested on Alex's wrinkled white shirt and looking at her again in those huge green pools that are her eyes. "It's late, I should take a shower and go to bed," and after a brief pause as if carefully measuring what she's going to say next, she adds, "what are you going to do? You can stay if you want."
Alex feels her stomach turn at the proposition, "Can I — can I crash on the couch?" she asks tentatively, since the prospect of going back to her own place now feels like torture, but she also doesn't want to suggest too much and make Piper uncomfortable, risking driving her away from what she thinks might be between them, which is delicate at the moment.
Piper smiles at her question as she separates from her and walks inside the apartment, saying, "Come on, you can sleep in the guest room."
Alex, who had been staring at the front door as soon as Piper had disappeared from her field of vision, rolls her eyes slightly with amusement as a smile conquers her lips and thinks, "Of course she has a guest room, Vause, what were you thinking?" and laughs softly before turning around and following the young politician wherever she leads her.
Piper shows her the guest room, with a small bathroom attached, and offers her some clothes and a towel in case she wants to take a shower. Then she assures her that she will call her driver in the morning to pick them both up at her address telling him they have a matter to discuss first thing in the morning and they'll do it at her place. And with that, once everything is cleared up and settled, they bid each other good night, Piper planting a soft kiss on Alex's cheek which, after the moment they shared in the living room before, feels like too little for the agent, but which she nonetheless treasures in the pure delicacy and sincerity of the gesture.
And it bothers her a little to admit it, but Piper was right, it has been a good day after all.