Thanks to all of you for reading and for writing reviews. They definitely make a writer feel good!

Chapter 4

They discussed Alex's initial plea bargain when she told the feds about Piper's involvement in the drug ring, and while there were raised voices, Piper accepted the answer. She didn't like the answer, but she accepted it.

Piper changed the topic. "I heard that you requested a transfer when I was in SHU."

Alex looked directly at her. "I did."

"Was it because of me?" Piper asked, and then quickly added, "Please don't call me a narcissist—I know that everything isn't about me. I just wondered if your request had to do with our…situation."

"It's nice that you've come to recognize your narcissistic tendencies," Alex admitted with a smirk. "And yes, it had something to do with you."

Piper lowered her head.

"You'd just told me that you'd chosen Larry. I wasn't surprised, really, but it still stung." She sighed. "On one hand, I wanted to transfer to get far away from you. On the other, I knew that you weren't strong enough to keep your commitment to him and stay away from me. So in a sense, I wanted to make it easier for you."

"Are you suggesting that I wouldn't have been able to keep my hands off of you?" Piper asked dubiously.

"Yeah, that was part of it." Alex took a sip of wine. "Face it, Piper, you and I have always had a physical connection that's damn near impossible to circumvent."

"I'd like to think I have control over who I fuck," she replied with venom.

"Maybe so, but I didn't want to put either of us in a situation where that would be possible," Alex said in a steady voice. "It wasn't just a physical thing. I meant it when I told you that you were not allowed to come to me with your problems. I didn't want to be the person you confided in about Larry. I wanted no part of that."

"So it was about you, too, and what you thought you could handle?" Piper crossed her arms.

"It was about both of us, and I decided to do the smart thing and remove myself from the situation so there was not even a chance that you'd come to me in any way."

They sat in silence for a moment, and the only sound was that of a ticking clock.

Finally, Piper spoke. "That really hurt me—to know that you'd chosen to leave Litchfield—and me—behind."

"Imagine how I felt when you left when my mom died." She averted her eyes.

Piper knew that topic would surface, but she refused to address it at that time. Instead, she just sighed and let her head fall back on the sofa.

Three bottles of wine into the night, Alex took off her boots and stretched her long legs onto the coffee table and gave her a curt look. "Why'd you pick Larry?"

Piper flexed her neck, then looked directly at Alex. "Because I'd made a commitment to him and it was the safe thing to do."

"Since when was safe your thing?" she asked with disdain.

"Since you and I went our separate ways, and I decided that the adventures of my mid-20s were over." She took a sip of wine and tried to mask her nervousness. "Larry was safe. He was comfortable and funny. He loved me, and I loved him in my own way."

Alex shook her head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I loved what he stood for—the normal, enchanted life. That's what I was brought up to value."

Alex removed her feet from the coffee table and leaned forward. "Is that what you value now?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not."

"So what do you value, Piper?"

"Self-respect, honesty, loyalty." She leaned forward, mimicking Alex's position. "It took me a long time to figure that out."

Their faces were inches apart. "I never thought you would."

"I never thought you'd get a normal job." Piper grinned.

They stared at each other for an instant.

"Look at us." Alex smiled.

"Dare I say, we're both in a good place?"

"I think we are." Alex rubbed her hands on her thighs and sat upright. "But I'm thinking evil thoughts right now."

Piper scrunched her face. "About what?"

"Sitting this close to you…" She looked her in the eyes. "is dangerous. It always has been."

"We can't." Piper swallowed hard.

"We can," Alex admitted, "but we shouldn't."

"Right." She stood and began to pace. "This has been…cathartic. I didn't know if we could talk about all of this without one of us leaving."

"Don't mention leaving." Alex looked away.

"You still haven't forgiven me for leaving when your mom died." She sighed, finally giving in.

"I've forgiven you, but it's always in the back of my mind." Alex shrugged. "I don't know how to get over it."

"Maybe you never will." Piper sat next to her again. "I don't question the fact that I left, but my timing sucked. That was a very hurtful thing for me to do."

"It was." Alex successfully kept her tears at bay.

Piper covered Alex's hand with her own. "I am deeply sorry, Alex."

Before Piper knew it, she was enveloped in a profound embrace.

"It's been nearly 20 years and this is the one thing that still gets me every time." Alex tried to laugh at herself.

Piper pulled back and wiped Alex's tears. "It's the biggest regret of my life."

The two women stared at each other for a beat, and neither one knew exactly who leaned in first. Their lips met, and the kiss was soft and chaste and lasted mere seconds.

It might have been the millionth time they'd kissed over the years, but it felt like the first. Piper's head was spinning and her heart pounded wildly. Although it was short, the kiss ignited all of her senses, especially her sense of taste. She'd never forgotten how Alex tasted and was reassured that she never would.

Alex cupped Piper's face and they rested their foreheads together. "You have no idea what that means to me."

Piper placed her hands on Alex's wrists and rubbed the back of her hands with her thumbs. Alex closed the gap between them, and her lips found Piper's even with her eyes shut. The kiss intensified until Piper's hands began combing through Alex's hair.

"We should stop," Piper breathed heavily.

Alex once again rested her forehead against Piper's. "Is that what you want?"

Piper swallowed hard and paused. "No."

Piper admitted to her deepest, darkest self long ago that Alex was her Achilles heal. She could never resist her charms, her voice, her lips, her mind, her sense of adventure, her independence. She never expected to see Alex again, and in that moment of vulnerability and against all odds, she didn't intend to put up a fight.

Their lips met in a fierce battle that involved tongues and teeth. It was Alex's turn to run her hands through Piper's hair, while Piper's hands clawed at the hem of Alex's shirt. She successfully ridded her of her blouse and was rewarded with finding out that Alex had on a purple bra. She struggled with the clasp but finally got it undone, and her hands immediately cupped Alex's breasts.

Their mouths remained fused together while Alex ran her hands under Piper's shirt, up her slender sides, to her breasts.

"I can't believe you're here," Piper exhaled. "And we're doing this."

"I am, and we are." Alex smiled and unbuttoned Piper's jeans.

Piper laid flat on the sofa while Alex tugged her pants off and quickly proceeded to get on top of her. Their hands and mouths touched every part that they could reach, and Piper still couldn't get enough.

Alex rolled down Piper's body until she was positioned over her mid-section. She looked at Piper, who nodded, and then went down on her. She licked Piper through her blue underwear, and then moved the fabric to the side so that she could kiss her throbbing pussy.

Piper bucked into Alex's mouth, and with only a few licks, Piper began to come loudly. "Oh fuck, Alex!"

Her orgasm lasted longer than most, and as she came down from that incredible high, Alex snaked back up her body, placing tiny kisses along her abdomen and chest.

"Wow." Piper tried to get her breathing under control. "That was…unexpected and amazing."

Alex propped her chin up with her hand and regarded Piper. "Sex with you has always been amazing."

For that, she was rewarded a deep, sloppy kiss.

"Do you remember when we were at Litchfield and I asked why you seemed so inevitible to me?" Piper whispered.

Alex nodded.

"I don't have the answer, but you and I…" She looked Alex in the eye. "Always seem to find each other."

"We do, don't we?" Alex smiled, and then scooted up to allow Piper to rest her head on her chest. "Things are still day-to-day with me, kid, but I have a full-time job that I don't intend to quit, and I have a network of friends who support 'clean-ish' living."

Piper lifted her head and watched Alex.

"I can't say that life with me would be normal in any way," she continued.

Piper smiled widely. "Fuck normal."

Alex touched her cheek. "I'm not saying that I want to find the nearest justice of the peace. I don't even know if I believe in marriage as an institution, but I can…no, I want to see what life would be like with you without the complications of Larry or drug trafficking or prison."

"As sad as it is, that's probably the most romantic thing you've ever said to me." Piper beamed.

Alex playfully slapped her. "I was having a fucking moment, and I might not say romantic things to you but I..."

Piper shut her up with a long kiss. "I want to see what that would look like, too."

"Yeah?" Alex grinned.

She nodded. "Yeah."

They continued making out until sunrise, and eventually moved from the sofa to the bedroom. They both knew that what laid ahead was not going to be an easy road, but it was one that they were both willing to try.

THE END

I debated for weeks whether or not Alex and Piper should have a physical encounter the first time they were alone. I believe that these two have a chemical connection that prohibits them from being completely platonic. They're drawn to each other in every possible way. They might be toxic for one another, but then again, they might be destined to be together and to learn what love is without the restrictions that were placed upon them in prison.

Thank you for reading. If you're so inclined, please leave a review.