Alice didn't realize how long she'd been sitting there until the screen dimmed on its own.
The room was quiet in that controlled way she liked curtains half drawn, a soft strip of light cutting across the floor, her desk untouched except for a closed folder and a glass of water she hadn't reached for. The city outside moved, distant, muted. None of it touched the space she'd carved out for herself.
Her phone lit again.
The video restarted.
She didn't press play this time. It just… looped.
Dayo's hand at her waist. The angle slightly off, like it had been taken from somewhere it shouldn't have been. Her face mostly hidden, thank God, just the edge of her cheek, the line of her jaw if you looked too closely. Him leaning in. The pause. Then the kiss.
Not rushed.
Not messy.
Too clear.
Her thumb hovered, then tapped the screen.
Pause.
Right there.
She stared at it for a second longer than she should have.
Then she locked the phone.
Placed it face down.
Exhaled slowly.
