Ace (HS)

Big Apple

Carmen was genuinely enjoying the night. Harry was close to her, his arm wrapped lazily over her small frame as they cuddled on the couch. Legs entwined, hands playing thoughtlessly with a strand of each other's hair. She could smell his cologne, the usual Clive Christian musk that she had grown to enjoy.

They were chatting about anything and everything, a half empty bottle of champagne accompanying them on the table beside the couch. The lights were dim, the sky outside pitch black, and a certain ambiance in the room that made it feel as though their relationship was not as dark as it really was.

Harry was good company. Carmen had never been one to socialize outside of her usual seductiveness, but as the night went on, she found herself forgetting that Harry was supposed to be just another prey for her. She liked to listen to him talk, with the alcohol and slight fatigue making his voice slower and more drawled out, his lips barely parting to let out his words. His eyelids were hooded and tinted violet, his long eyelashes casting shadows over the planes of his face.

"So what did you do?" Carmen asked curiously, her chin propped on his chest so she could peer up at him.

Harry shrugged. "I fired him." He looked down at her and smiled a closed-lipped, content smile.

"You did not!" She giggled and buried her face in his chest to quiet her alcohol-induced laughter. Harry found himself laughing along with her, finding this side of her very charming. Different from the Carmen she usually was, Harry was seeing a side of her that only peeked through every now and then. The relaxed, humble side of her, that didn't seem to be caring about anything at the moment. She appeared so young when she was like this, not burdened with the weight of her emotionless lifestyle. Her eyes radiated, her skin appearing translucent and glowing like that of a woman with child. She, though he thought it was impossible, was even more beautiful like this.

"What exactly is it that you do?" she questioned after her fit of giggles faded.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, your job... I can't imagine it would be very time-consuming to run a club as successful and well know as The Wild Things." She spoke with thoughtfulness, her eyebrows knitted together as she pondered this. All the work meeting Harry said he had, what could they actually be for?

Harry shifted uneasily, but gave her an unfaltering smile to mask his discomfort. "You would be surprised. There's a lot of monetary things I have to attend to. And maintenance... Very time-consuming things, my love."

"Hmm." Carmen nodded slowly, not thinking much of it. It's not like she really cared if he was lying to her; it would at least make them equal.

"Do you have a job?" Harry asked in return, his fingers twirling a piece of her ravenous hair between them. "You seem to have a lot of time on your hands."

You are my job, she wanted to say.

"No, not really. I have a lot of money saved, so I'm fine for now." It wasn't a complete lie. She had been saving her money very diligently for years, with a sole purpose in mind. There was a reason she only sought after men with opulence to their name.

"What are you saving it for?" Harry sat up slightly to reach for the bottle of champagne, pouring each of them another glass, the cool liquid bubbling. Neither were drunk yet, their minds only slightly buzzed.

Carmen mentally cursed at herself for even bringing up the subject. Harry's trust in her was dire to how her game would play out, and the number one rule about lying, is to never do too much of it. An intricately detailed lie is hard to keep up with, especially if you've told other people things that contradicted it. Harry Styles wasn't stupid, in fact, he was very intelligent. Gullible when it came to love, but still intelligent.