Something About Alice Murphy: BOOK 2

P A R T - T H I R T E E N

Chapter Thirteen: Developments. 
10:36pm
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The door to the bathroom opened with a quiet click, and Alice stepped out, drying the ends of her hair with a small hand towel as a waft of steam followed her out into Magnus's bedroom and a quiet sigh of content left her lips. "I genuinely think I'm in love with your shower." She announced with a soft smile, dressed in a simple oversized white t-shirt of Magnus's, her face cleansed, dewy and make up free and her hair now only slightly damp and just a little wavy. She breathed in deeply, smelling a twinge of something sweet in the air and glanced around for the source. "What's that smell?" She asked,

"I lit one of your candles," Magnus murmured, referring to the scented candle that was now perched innocently on his nightstand. They'd bought it today, along with another collection of them that were still in the bag they were purchased in.

"I like it," Alice smiled, her voice lowering as she realised Magnus was concentrating on something. He glanced at her reflection in the window opposite him, sitting at his desk as he typed up some notes he'd taken in class during that week. "Are you studying?" Alice asked, wanting to talk to him, and couldn't stop herself from asking as she walked over to his bed and lay down, loving how warm his room was and how soft his bed was too.

"Yeah," he murmured, his eyes looking back towards the screen. They'd left the company of his parents just over an hour ago, escaping the subtle future-of-relationship orientated questions and hiding away in Magnus's room for peace and solitude... but when Alice had excused herself to shower and freshen up, she didn't expect to come back and find Magnus with his head tucked in his class notes and laptop, even though it was fascinating to her to know that he did actually study and wasn't just a genius created out of thin air. Her body tingled away, since she knew she was attracted to his intelligence as well as his appearance, her subconscious whispering it's desires and wants into her ear and slipping hints into her bloodstream... she sighed quietly again, watching the back of Magnus's head and admiring his messy sandy blonde hair before she decided to lie on her back and try and mind her own business.

She stared at the ceiling, wondering if it was the several glasses of expensive, delicious wine she'd been sipping like juice the whole evening... Or maybe it had been the romantic piano playing and the lingering looks, or the fact they'd patched up the temporary hole in their relationship that afternoon... but her body's tingling was beginning to drown out her other thoughts, and suddenly make-up sex to seal the deal was all she could think about.

With Magnus evidently busy, Alice decided to sort out her own laptop, and got up off his bed to go over to where she'd placed the box earlier that evening. Excitedly but quietly she unpacked it, sliding her fingertips over the smooth, shimmery grey metal as she picked up the technology and carried it over to the bed again. Magnus glanced at her in the reflection of the window again, watching her discreetly as she opened the lid and began clicking away, following the instructions of the set up process. He glanced over her exposed legs, licking his lips subconsciously as his gaze lingered on her thighs but he looked away after a few seconds, wanting to get his task over and done with before he got distracted.

A comfortable silence lingered in the air, with the occasional clicking of fingertips on keys breaking the quietness... "Ugh, thank god." Alice mumbled after half an hour, seeing most of her documents and pictures downloading from the cloud onto her new device.

"What?" Magnus asked, not looking up from his screen.

"My stuff is still here," Alice replied, tucking her hair behind both ears and deciding to sort out her personalisation process as she discreetly waited for Magnus to be done... minutes collected together as if to watch the pair with anticipation... wondering what would happen next, and when, too. Another half hour passed, and by now Alice has settled back into the pillows with her laptop balanced on her bent knees, she yawned behind her hand and attempted to remember her Netflix password... but continued to get it wrong after a few attempts. "Can I borrow your Netflix account please?" She asked, glancing over to watch the back of Magnus's head.