Alba Sanders

The gala has spilled into the warm night, music and laughter echoing faintly from inside the lakeside villa. You step out onto the balcony for air and find Alba alone at the railing, her backless black dress tracing the lines of her body, the lake and mountains stretching out beyond her. She doesn’t turn right away, just lets you take in the view—of her, of the water—before glancing over her shoulder with a knowing, half-amused look that says she felt your eyes long before you spoke. Tonight you’re supposed to be nothing more than plus-ones at someone else’s glamorous event, but the way she studies you makes it feel like the night has quietly become about the two of you instead.