Stranger

two

While others may have thought the sound of birds singing their morning song was a lovely thing, Alice certainly disagreed. A groan came from her cherry red lips as she flipped onto her stomach and shoved her face into her pillow. "Shut up," she cried exasperatedly to no one in particular.

Her phone buzzing interrupted the cursing inside of her head. Eager for a distraction, she turned her head to the side and lifted her phone, squinting her bleary eyes to see the screen.

New Message With Bentley Hunter

A slight smile formed on her lips as she unlocked her phone and opened up the messenger app.

Hey Wonderland, the message read.

Alice couldn't help but giggle, shaking her head slightly. Hello, she typed back.

Why are you up so early? The reply came quickly. Like he had seen her typing and simply waited.

The birds woke me up. What's your excuse?

I always wake up early.

Early riser are you?

I guess you could say that.

"Alice?" Her mom's voice rang up the stairs. "Would you take Sandy for a walk?"

No, I'm staying in bed. Walk the dog yourself. Ew, outside? "Yeah, sure," she replied despite all of the other answers she had managed to come up with inside her head.

She set her phone down and, rather sluggishly, dragged herself out of her bed and wandered downstairs where her mother was making breakfast. "Want something to eat first?"

"That's okay, I'll have something when I get back," she replied, shuffling over to her dog. Sandy let out a sharp bark, his stubby tail wagging back and forth rapidly.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go for a walk," Alice mumbled, finding the leash and clipping it to the dog's collar.

As soon as they were outside, Sandy was prancing over to bushes and plants, sticking his nose in anything that had a scent. Alice sighed in annoyance. "Do you really have to sniff everything?" she asked even though she wouldn't get a reply.

***

An electrical smell swam through the air, mixing with the fruity scent as Alice poured her smoothie into a glass. Phone in hand, she sat down at the table and took a large sip.

A notification from Kik appeared and she smiled, opening up the message.

Where did you go babe? :(

Her heart fluttered as she read the text. No one had ever called her babe before.

I had to walk my dog, she replied, pretending to be unaffected by how easily he had made her feel something. She felt special almost, even though she knew he could be calling ten other girls the same thing.

I guess that's a reasonable excuse. Alice laughed softly, assuming he was teasing. However, the next message that popped up made her bite her lip.

I'm curious about what you look like. Send me a pic?

She wasn't necessarily apposed to sending pictures, but he was a stranger and she didn't exactly want him to see what she looked like. That's why her profile picture was blank, so that no one would know what she looked like.

But it's early. I look terrible.

Come on, I won't judge. She sighed.

You send a pic first.

Alice's eyes widened at the picture he had sent. His piercing blue eyes stared back at her, making her weak in the knees even though she was sitting down. Bentley was still in bed by the looks of it, his dark hair still tousled from sleep. He was even shirtless.

She set her smoothie down and hastily combed her fingers through her tangled blonde hair. Plastering a smile on her face, she took a picture. Then she hit send without giving herself time to hesitate.

You're beautiful, babe.