Something About Alice Murphy: BOOK 2

P A R T - T W E N T Y - S E V E N

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Discovery.
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"You smell so good," Alice murmured as Magnus guided her to sit back down on his lap after he'd appeared and motioned for her to stand up. "What is that?" She asked, bringing her face close to his neck and breathing in deeply, releasing a hum of approval.

"Ralph Lauren." Magnus murmured, putting his arms back around her as the party by the lake continued to steam ahead around them... She leaned into him, feeling affectionate as she began to draw circles on his chest and trace lines across his shoulders. She'd noticed he'd had this look in his eyes, and for some reason it sent warm waves through her body...

She had a feeling he'd done something... but what that was she wasn't sure yet, so she decided not to comment on it... knowing he'd probably tell her later if she asked.

Magnus didn't react to her touch although he enjoyed how it seemed to slow his heart rate... instead he very carefully listened for the moment the commotion would reach them, waiting for the perfect and discreet moment chaos would unfold and he'd be able to whisk Alice away from it and claim innocence. He was smiling without realising, and to an outsider it looked like Alice's affectionate touches were making him happy but in reality he was overjoyed that an nuisance in his life had been neutralised.

It had gotten slightly chillier now, with the wind seeming to pick up the cold from the large body of water just in front of them. The lake rippled and washed up against the shore, creating pleasant background noise as the evening seemed to continue as normal for a little bit... only minutes after Magnus had returned to the group they'd stood up to join the large gathering of people dancing behind the car with the large speakers placed in its boot. Alice noticed quickly, even in her intoxicated state, that again something was different with Magnus.

He was relaxed, and was smiling more as he held her hand, taking her with him into the gathering of people as the group followed. He was offered a spliff from Charlie and took it, placing it on the edge of his lip as Alice watched him intently with a small smile playing on her lips. 

The spliff was lit for him, the other boys seeming to gather around him excitedly to see him in such a mood as the sound of Money Trees by Kendrick Lamar echoed loudly from the speakers. Alice bit her lip a little, reaching for her phone to capture the moment as if it was a rare work of art that would only be on display once in a blue moon...

She began filming him... seeing him standing in the middle of his friends whilst taking a long toke of the white roll up. He saw her with her phone raised, and exhaled the smoke through his nose before mouthing the words to the song, "everybody gon' respect the shooter, but the one in front of the gun lives forever." He motioned to his chest and tapped it lightly with his free hand, acting arrogantly as Charlie laughed, understanding the reference, "And I been hustlin' all day, this a way, that a way, through canals and alleyways, just to say- money trees is the perfect place for shade and... that's just how I feel,"

Charlie cheered him on along with his other friends, and he moved closer to Alice's phone, looking directly into the camera and taking another brief toke before continuing to mouth the words, "A dollar might, just fuck your main bitch, that's just how I feel.  Nah. A dollar might, say fuck them- ... that you came with that's just how I feel."

Alice lowered her phone when she finished filming, unable to process for a moment how handsome her boyfriend was, on and off camera, before she tucked her phone away and grinned, reaching for his body to bring herself closer to him. He was in such a good mood that it seemed infectious, and people gravitated towards him like moths to a flame. He seemed drunk to those who were already intoxicated and they egged him on whilst calling out the lyrics too. But he was just having fun, having released a surge of dark energy that had been building for a while. He tucked Alice under his arm, and she glanced around whilst smiling, watching how everyone interacted with him, gazing at him like he was some kind of celebrity, mimicking his behaviour without realising they were.