Ace (HS)

Fun and Games

Carmen's tongue darted to moistened her lips as she eyed him over. Something about Stephan appeared different, his brown eyes more firm and confident, and his shoulders pulled back just the slightest bit more. The upward curl of his lips suggested his visit was purposeful. Carmen blinked slowly, and it was as though a defensive side of her was called upon, her arms crossing over her chest and eyebrows knitting together.

"What are you doing here?" she asked right away, her posture straightening. How did he even know that she would be there? Something felt off. Carmen's eyebrows knitted together, the crease between them forming.

"What? Not happy to see me?" Stephan's voice feigned hurt and he placed his hand over his heart. "I know you're fucking someone else these days but that doesn't mean you could show a little excitement to see me."

"I'm not excited at all, though," she said bluntly, her voice dripping with irritation. Her eyes narrowed so that only the blacks of her pupils could be seen, giving her an animalistic aura. For the first time, she felt uncomfortable standing before him in only Harry's shirt. She tried to discreetly shift her thighs, the bare skin rubbing together, and concealed the black lace of her panties. Stephan noticed, his eyes darting down for a short moment, before returning to her supple face, which was contorted in confusion and defense.

Stephan was almost amused with the way she puffed out her chest to appear more intimidating than she was. Beautiful and confident, but she could never appear intimidating, not with her gentle features and small frame. She was even more beautiful than their last encounter, which had been weeks ago now; her eyes appeared more luminous and lively, as if something within her had been awakened. He envied who or whatever had been able to do that to her, to spark the life in the soulless depths of her eyes; he had spent a year trying to do just that, and was never successful.

"You can at least pretend, sweetheart," Stephan murmured, his lips pressed in a flat line. He raised his hand, and Carmen flinched instinctively, but didn't back away as he let his fingertips caress her cheek. "We all know you're so good at pretending."

Her nostrils flared slightly as she inhaled a breath. "I thought we've already been over this."

"We have," he nodded, slowly stepping closer to her and shutting the door behind him. Carmen felt uneasy with their close proximity, so she took a few steps back to increase the distance between their bodies.

"So why are you here? Your ego can't honestly be wounded-"

"My ego is perfectly fine," he said through gritted teeth, his voice strained. He cleared his throat and sifted his fingers through his thick hair, which had grown some and now curled behind his ears. He was just as handsome as ever, but Carmen felt no attraction to him in anyway. Studying him over, even as beautiful of a man as he was, she couldn't help but prefer the way Harry looked in every sense. His hair, his jaw, his lips; Harry had blinded her perception of beauty to the point where she only was pleased with his appearance.

"What do you want, Stephan? Harry won't be happy if he comes home and finds you here..."

"I know," he spoke, his voice and features softening. His lips tucked into his mouth as he recalled what he had come for in the first place. "I'm sorry for showing up at such late hour, but I needed to talk to you before my flight tomorrow."

Carmen arched her eyebrow and tilted her head to the side, genuinely confused. "Flight? Where are you going?"

"Out of the country," he answered vaguely. "I won't be living here anymore, for personal reasons. I need you to know something, though, because I honestly do care for you, Carmen. I know what we had was nothing to you, but my feelings grew from it. I cannot stand by and watch the love of my life make a huge mistake."