Carmen's chest was flushed a milky shade of pink, nipples hardened from the drilling water spurting out of the showerhead, and her hair in thick dark clumps down the length of her back. Her breathing was even, despite the ever-growing urge to push Harry up against the tile wall and exploit his need for her to fulfill her own desires. Both of them kept their lustful cravings at bay, their hands straining to remain at their sides.

Harry reached for the bottle of shampoo, putting about a quarter-sized amount in the palm of his hand before lathering it in his wet waves of hair. He hummed lowly, fingers prodding his scalp, and the muscles in his back flexing as he lifted his arms up. Carmen watched with a thick lump in her throat, her eyes drinking in the sight of his glistening, toned body. He had to be doing it on purpose, to test her perhaps. Or maybe it was punishment for her not agreeing to attend the wedding with him.

"Do you need help?" she questioned softly, her voice barely audible over the sound of the shower water humming against the tile. His hooded eyes peered over at her, lashes appearing thicker as they stuck together from the water, and the soap in his hair seeping down the length of his back and to the floor as the shower rinsed it off. He didn't speak, lost in his thoughts and not wanting the use of words to penetrate the rhythmic pattering around them; he silently grabbed the bar of soap and handed it to her.

Carmen meticulously glided the soap bar over the skin of his shoulders. The muscles in his body tensed for a brief moment, before relaxing, his eyes watching her as she bit her lip in focus. His body was like a temple to her, a spiritual place that she felt was her responsibility to tend to. Carefully and slowly, her hand guided the soap along the planes of his chest, over the dark ink imprinted in his skin. When it got too low for her to reach, she knelt down, her knees pressed against the wet tile, and her face aligned with the trail of hair that led down to between Harry's thighs.

"Are you upset with me?" she murmured, the soap inches away from his crotch. It ghosted over his hipbones, and then over his thick thighs. Harry's head was tilted down to watch her scrupulous movements, the water accumulating at the ends of each ringlet of his hair.

"No. Not upset." He kept his voice just as soft as hers, like the whistling of wind. Carmen pondered the thought of someday never being able to hear his velvety voice; it would surely be something she would miss.

"Then what?" She danced the bar of soap along the skin of his inner thigh, eliciting the quietest of a moan to leave his lips.

Harry was rendered silent for a few moments, maybe minutes. He kept his eyes on her movements, while he let his thoughts try to wrap around everything he was feeling, and somehow put it into words. It was how to understand his emotions and thoughts when he never seemed to have the time to interpret them. His whole life, he never needed to; he had been a virtually apathetic guy until he met Carmen.

"I'm..." His tongue darted out to wetten his lips, even though the shower water had already done so for him. "I'm disappointed, I think. I thought that things were evolving between us."

A sharp gasp harmonized with the sound of the water as Carmen dropped the bar of soap suddenly, and instead wrapped her fingers around his length. Harry's eyebrows raised in confusion, questioning her suddenness.

"Disappointed, you say?" she hummed, rotating her hand around him slowly. The smooth, warm skin along his shaft felt velvety against the palm of her hand. He hardened instantly, her touch never ceasing to have considerable effects on him. The flick of her wrist, the gentle squeeze of her small fingers, the feel of her warm breath fanning over his tip; it was the most sensual experience and Harry lost all train of thought. The wedding dissipated from his mind, probably going down the shower drain along with the water.

"I think you are hurt," she mouthed, bringing Harry back to reality, his eyes fighting from closing shut. Her hand continued to work around him, her thumb darting over the swollen head of his cock. It seemed he practically pulsed in her hand, aching to feel more and more and more. There could never be a limit. The lust he had for her was strengthening each day, along with his love.

"Hurt?" he managed to mutter, his lips rolling in to suppress a moan as her tongue peeped out to run along the slit in the tip of his length.

"Yes," her voice vibrated against him, plump lips kissing softly along his hardened shaft. "You are hurt that I won't put you first."

He wanted to say something in protest, to deny her claim. He couldn't formulate a coherent sentence with the pleasure from her hand and light kisses, let alone could he deny the blatant truth. Harry Styles was hurt. His ego had been punctured by her rejection, by her inability to prioritize Harry just the way he always did for her. Carmen naturally came first to him; he would be at her feet in a heartbeat. It was because he loved her. He loved her in the most rawest, violent, and obsessive way there was. It was the kind of love that was suffocating, that seemed to eat away at your very flesh, until all that's left of you are bones and a beating heart, hidden in the prison of your ribcage.

For Carmen to not retaliate, told Harry that she did not hold the same kind of love. She did not need him at every waking moment. She did not think of him at the last hour before sleep, and the second she opened her eyes in the morning. And to think that his feelings weren't mutual, was the most painful thing Harry Styles had ever had to endure.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

Carmen looked up at him, eyes dark and stone cold. She quickened the movement of her hand, almost forcefully demanding him to come undone.

He did, of course. In a matter of seconds, the white hot liquid spurted out onto her bare chest. Harry moaned a gravelly, raw moan, his eyes screwed shut and his mind numb with pleasure and submission. He was at her mercy. Body, mind, spirit- she owned him like he was her slave.

"Yes," he let out short, hot pants. He was gleeful to see that Carmen had collected the creamy liquid from her chest, bringing her coated fingers to her lips and licking them clean, like a kitten lapping at a bowl of milk.

"You're right. I'm hurt."

Carmen stood up, their chests breaths apart, hearts beating in the same intervals.

"I'm always right," she smiled and brushed her lips against his, letting him taste himself. The warm water fell around them, bare bodies pressed together like entwined vines. The connection was undeniable.

"You are," he said in agreement. She was right about almost everything, at least.

****

The days went by and the wedding, which Harry had yet to make up his mind about, came closer and closer. He tried to put off the decision, focusing on games of poker and his time with Carmen. She seemed to be growing increasingly comfortable around him, many nights being spent in thoughtless conversations while they laid entwined on the couch, with a bottle of wine at hand. It was one of Harry's favorite things, to listen to her rant about everything and anything; she always got this spark in the depths of her eyes that flared with passion when she spoke.

He interpreted her affection as her feelings evolving. His hope was swelling inside him with every smile that she wore, and every kiss that she would spontaneously place on his cheek or forehead. A few times, when he lay with his eyes closed in the morning, appearing to be asleep, he would hear her saying things to him, her voice hushed and gentle.

"You deserve the world," he was sure he heard her whisper once as she trailed her fingertips along the contour of his jaw. He had wanted to open his eyes and tell her that he didn't deserve anything, but he had instead remained 'asleep'.

"Do you think this tie looks alright?" Harry inquired as he finished tying the fabric around his neck. Carmen looked up from book in her hands, eyes widening in amusement.

"Um-" she stifled a giggle. "Stripes aren't really your thing, babe."

Harry didn't really hear her as his eyes were too fixated on the knee high socks she was wearing. Her creamy thighs were visible, but everything below was covered by the black fabric of her socks. He didn't know what, but something about them was so sexy, his teeth tugging at his bottom lip.

"Where are you going?" Carmen frowned in confusion. He was dressed in very formal attire; black slacks that hung loosely to his lean legs, a white flannel and a black dress coat over it. And the striped tie, of course. Carmen set her book down on the bed and crawled to the edge, sitting up her knees so she was level with him, before undoing the tie around his neck.

"The wedding," Harry mumbled as he watched her skillfully untie the fabirc. "I decided I will go for just a bit, and then leave if things get too... much for me."

Carmen tossed the tie to the floor and then took his face in her hands, palms flat against his cheeks and her thumbs tracing small circles over his temples. His eyes seemed hesitant, insecure almost. The green in them was lighter than usual, and the flakes of gold were prominent. She gazed into them for a few moments, getting lost in the depths of emerald, before finally speaking.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Harry," she spoke, voice not much louder than a whisper. Her breath, cool and minty, fanned over his lips. Her presence did some to ease his nerves, his shoulders visibly relaxing.

"I know," he said gruffly, as if confused by himself. His decision had been only that morning, over a cup of coffee and while listening to the light rain patter against the windows. Something in him had told him that attending the wedding was a good idea, no matter how distasteful he knew the night would be. "I want to go, though. I don't know why, but I do. I need closure, I think."

"Closure?" she tilted her head and stared at him with gentle eyes. 

"Yeah," he nodded and swallowed thickly, the notch in his throat bobbing up and down. "I've spent the past few years not wanting to see any of my family because of-" he cleared his throat "- of certain things that happened. But now that my mum is reaching out to me, even if it's only for my sister's wedding, I realize that this a good chance for me to at least see how they're all doing, you know? Like, I don't want to live the rest of my life not knowing if things could've been resolved between all of us."

"I understand," she spoke, still caressing his face, her fingertips waltzing over the light hairs scatted along his jaw and chin. "I really hope things work out for you, Harry."

Something about the tone of her voice sounded like a goobye, a solemn look in her eyes that Harry noticed just before it disappeared. 

"I hope things work out between us," he uttered with a firm gaze. It wasn't that he hoped things would work out, it was that he would make sure they did. He wasn't ever going to give up on her.

Carmen nodded gently, not needing to say anymore. She brushed her lips against his, the familiar warmth sprouting in both of their stomachs. His arms wrapped around her tightly, holding her close and secure to his chest, as though he could hold her this way forever and she would never be able to leave him. He knew he needed to revel in her presence as much as he could before leaving to the wedding, so he inhaled her scent, focusing on the way the sweet jasmine flooded his senses. 

"I don't really look bad in stripes," he muttered in her ear, a playful smirk dancing on his lips. "You're lying. I look good in everything and you know it."

Carmen laughed melodically and shook her head. "Everything but stripes. Want to know what you look best in, though?" She bit her lip and pulled away from him slightly so their foreheads were leaning against each other. 

"What?" 

Her finger prodded around the collar of his shit, just over his sternum. "Nothing," she whispered with a smile. Her cheeks flared as images of his naked body beneath her raced through her mind. She had to hold back a small moan just at the thought, her thighs pressing together. 

"If you wait up for me tonight, you might get to have a little show," Harry purred softly and rubbed his nose against hers cutely. The heat in Carmen's cheeks only swelled at the charming action; it was times like these where she felt her regime falter.

"Show?" she raised her eyebrow and placed her hands flat against her chest, feeling the blood pulse through his body. "What, are you going to dance nude or something?"

"Fuck no," Harry scowled in disgust. "I don't dance. I'm sure you would be very good at it though," he ran his tongue over his lips, the smooth muscle causing them to glisten. "I can imagine it. Your hips swaying-" he nipped at the end of her chin. "-your ass grinding against my cock to the beat of the music. Would you like that? Would you like to dance for me?'

His words ignited a flame of lust within her. She smiled. "I would love it."

****

 kind of a filler but i needed this to transition into what is gonna happen next, if you get me.

and btw, i am a very stressed and busy teenager so taking time out of my life to update as often as i do is at least worth my readers showing some appreciation by voting and commenting. like, yall can say "oh you should just be writing for fun not for votes !!!!!!" all you want but lmao do you think jk rowling wrote all those hp books and gave them out for free? yeah didnt think so

ily