The late afternoon sunlight filtered through the curtains, painting the room in soft, golden hues. Alice lay on the bed, propped up on one elbow. She was relaxed, but her eyes were fixed on you, following every move you made.

You weren’t paying much attention to her at first, preoccupied with finding something comfortable to wear. It had been a long day, and all you wanted was to slip into something loose and soft, maybe curl up on the bed with Alice and lose yourself in a movie. You peeled off your shirt absentmindedly, tossing it onto the chair beside you.

Alice’s breath caught. She hadn’t expected to see you like this—not that she hadn’t imagined it, of course. She was human, after all, and her mind wasn’t always so virtuous. But this was different. There was something so profoundly intimate about this moment, so unguarded, that it left her momentarily stunned.

Her eyes traced the lines of your body, the curve of your shoulders, the way the light danced over your skin. You turned toward her, holding a soft sweater in your hands, and caught the look on her face. Her lips were slightly parted, her expression unreadable but intense, as if she were trying to memorize every detail of you in this fleeting moment. She looked at you like you were the rarest piece of art she’d ever seen.

“What?” you asked lightly, the corner of your mouth tugging upward in a small, amused smile. Alice shook her head, a soft laugh escaping her. “Nothing,” she said, but her voice was quieter than usual, almost reverent. “You’re just... shit, you’re so goddamn beautiful.”