"So", Harry continued to smirk as he took her in, while by contrast, Caroline's nerves had returned and were betraying her body as she sat opposite him at the bar. Her leg jigged up and down incessantly, and he noticed a tremor in the hand that lifted her glass to her lips.
"So", Caroline replied, picking at the fabric of her skirt. She seemed to deliberate with herself before she spoke again.
"Imrry for New Years Eve", she blurted out, her cheeks colouring as she acknowledged and remembered their encounter in Chiltern Firehouse, a club just down the road from where they sat now.
"I'm sorry too", Harry replied readily, sitting up straighter. Caroline smiled, relieved that he was admitting some responsibility. "I definitely didn't mean for you to hear what I said outside", he assured her, leaning forward slightly, his clear green eyes earnest.
Caroline nodded thoughtfully, measuring her words carefully in her head before she responded. This felt important, and affirming, this encounter, and she knew already with a pang that she would never again get the opportunity to speak freely with him about their relationship and what had come to pass since. She was determined to leave him satisfied and purged of the turmoil that had raged in her since she had met him that night.
"I mean", she began slowly. "It bothered me what I heard you say. Probably...because I don't know how you could possibly think that? Like, that I don't care about you and stuff", she dropped her eyes again, and Harry looked pained as he scrambled to respond.
"I...", Harry spread his hand in front of her, searching for the right words. "I suppose I just...I was looking forward to speaking to you when I saw you", he finally confessed, deciding that in this particular instance, honesty, however painful and embarrassing, was going to be the best policy. "But then...when you saw me...", Harry grinned as he watched the colour in Caroline's face flush an even deeper crimson. "It didn't seem as if you exactly felt the same. Pair that with a bit too much booze, and...", he spread his hands again, pink blooming in his own cheekbones at his admission. He looked down at his own hands and noticed how his fingers were shaking, and grabbed his glass to hold between them to calm them. She had always had this effect on him, he realised, closing his eyes briefly. He was a man now, established, calm, happy. He knew now to be careful and precious with his feelings and inner thoughts... and now, here in front of her, he felt seventeen again. Like he could never hide from her. Wasn't that their problem in the first place? He huffed loudly, setting his glass down somewhat loudly on the bar. She stripped him bare and left him vulnerable and open, while never revealing as much about herself.
Caroline watched him, her brain ticking over as she processed his words and agitated actions. She watched the muscle in his jaw work furiously and saw while his eyes were kind, they were guarded, and set. He wasn't a teenager anymore.
"It was just so unexpected to see you, Harry", she began, shaking her head slowly. "I...", she raised her eyes momentarily to the ceiling, blinking away unwelcome tears that threatened. Harry reached out to touch her automatically, before thinking better of it and pulling back, exhaling loudly in his frustration.His instinct to his very bones was to comfort her, and it felt uncomfortable and awkward not to, as if his hands were tied with invisible string. Caroline gulped a vinegary mouthful of wine quickly, composing herself with difficulty while Harry waited.
"All I've seen of you in the last few months is you and this girl", Caroline stated bluntly, while Harry nodded, understanding, his brow creasing heavily. "And that's fine", she hastened to add. "I mean, it wasn't exactly nice to see it every day, in every paper and magazine. But I was getting on with it. Getting over it", Caroline's breath hitched in her throat. "It was on my mind though, obviously, you were on my mind. And then you appear in front of me in the street? It was overwhelming, Harry".
Harry hadn't stopped nodding since she had started to speak. He looked her in the eye and they gazed at each other for a long moment, both taking long drinks of their respective beverages without breaking eye contact.
"I'm sorry about all the press", Harry said finally, his voice thick.
Caroline shook her head vehemently, her hair swishing around her shoulders. Her eyes were brimming now, and she fought to keep her composure.
Harry gestured to where the barman was quietly standing for him to refill their glasses which he did, dutifully and quickly, before retreating back into the bowels of the bar. Finally ignoring his awkward reservations, he took Caroline's hand firmly as she managed to speak again.
"H, the press isn't you fault", she assured him. "You don't have to apologise for living your life. I'm proud and so glad that you are doing so well. It's just...", her voice trailed off. "It's just been overwhelming",she repeated lamely, sniffing and rolling her eyes before reaching into her handbag for a tissue.
Harry cleared his throat and gulped some of his newly topped up bourbon, letting the fiery liquid slide down his throat, relishing the burn. "I know what you mean by overwhelming",he admitted, looking down at their fingers entwined on her bronze thigh. "I have been good, Carrie. I've totally managed to get past all the stuff with...me and you...now I've met Eilidh. But, before I met her...you should know...I was a fucking mess", he looked up at her finally, tears glistening in his own eyes as Caroline nodded into her tissue.
"It felt like", Harry searched for the right words,determined to be honest. "Like, I had been given this amazing opportunity with the band...but in return...I couldn't have anything else. Like, I know I was young, and we worked together, and people worried about it, and the press were relentless...", Harry dared to look at her again and saw he had her full attention. "But I honestly thought we were so good, Carrie. I was so angry with you for ending it".
Caroline nodded for a while, taking in his words.
"I'm sorry", Harry spoke again finally, and she shook her head.
"No, I'm sorry", she whispered. "I agree with everything you just said".
Harry eyed her as she took a couple of long drinks. He knew she was thinking from the tiny crease between her eyes and the way her nose scrunched.
"I was scared", she admitted finally. "I suppose I kinda...in a weird way felt similar to you", Caroline struggled to correctly convey her feelings, anxious to word what she had to say sensitively. "I...loved my job so much, and it was relatively new back then", she set her glass down and ran the tip of her finger round the rim as she spoke. "And then...there was the vilification from the press. They basically called me a paedophile. I...thought I might lose everything", she ended with a whisper, while Harry sighed heavily, nodding finally.
"I used to read one thing and go to the bathroom and cry at work in a cubicle", Caroline admitted, while Harry swallowed hard at the thought of her in pain. "I used to convince myself it would never work, that it was impossible, but then I would see you...", she hiccuped over a sob and Harry squeezed her hand tighter, knowing this was the only contact he could give her. Despite his instinct to pull her onto his lap he knew he had to keep his wits about himself. "And I just loved you so much...it was like a vicious circle. When I was with you, I loved you. But, when we were apart, all I could see was the negative, and then all of a sudden you were never there because of tour and..." her voice trailed off again. "There was nothing to remind me how good it was".
A silence finally fell between the pair, and they both drank deeply, while their minds ticked.
"I hope I didn't cause any trouble for you on New Years with your girlfriend", Caroline said finally, her eyes now dry. This had been something that had troubled her greatly since the event. She had always been a girls girl, and had lay awake at night cursing herself for behaving inappropriately with someone else's boyfriend.
Harry smiled crookedly and shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, it was confusing, for me", he admitted. "But not for her. She's smarter than me though", he joked, and Caroline smiled, noting the warmth in his eyes when he mentioned her.
"Gemma looked pretty angry", Caroline hedged tentatively. "I know she's never been my biggest fan".
Harry shook his head dismissively. "Gemma's opinions have nothing to do with you", he assured Caroline. "And everything to do with me. You know what she's always been like; she's just protective of me making a dick of myself".
Caroline nodded and they smiled at each other openly, probably for the first time properly since they had met.
"So, what now Legs?", Harry asked casually, propping his legs up on another stool opposite them.
"Hmmm", Caroline deliberated. "I dunno. Friends maybe?"
Harry grinned. "No ignoring me on the street?"
Caroline pushed him hard, causing him to fall off the chair without warning, hearing him shout with laughter.
"I should bloody ignore you", she teased. "The trouble you have caused me, Styles".
"Ahh", Harry smiled and readjusted himself on his stool. "I have heard that I can be trouble", he admitted.
"You seem less troublesome these days", Caroline smiled, her eyes twinkling, relieved at the change of mood.
Harry shrugged and smiled.
"So are you gonna tell me about her, then?", Caroline asked finally, trying her best not to choke on the words.
Harry eyed her, a frown creasing his forehead as he took her in and considered her words, his head cocked on one side as his eyes travelled the length of her.
"Nope", he said finally.
"No?"
"Not cool to talk about others", he said quietly, his eyes never leaving hers, his expression suddenly serious.
Caroline let a sad smile spread across her face at his words. He was so wise, so considerate, so beyond his years.
"Okay", she said simply, nodding.
"Works both ways", Harry said shortly, finally looking away. "Don't wanna hear about no boyfriends", he playfully wagged his finger at her and she laughed.
"I don't have much to talk about on that front, but fine. It's a deal".
"You will though", Harry heaved himself up off his stool suddenly and reached for her hand. "C'mon, you. Lets go home".
The light spilled behind them as they walked out, together but separate, both feeling lighter, both content.
*******************************************************************************************
Harry whistled as he punched in the number that made his gate swing open, his shoulders feeling younger than they had in, well, in years, probably. His meeting with Caroline had been like a balm to the troubled corner of his heart that was still raw and aching from their relationship.
He was still whistling when he opened his back door, and stepped inside, choking with surprise when he was suddenly slammed into the wall there without warning.
"What the-"
Eilidh braced her hands on his shoulders and bounced lightly to jump up and wrap her bare legs around his waist, and he caught her automatically. Her lips feverishly met his with a strangled moan, and he immediately responded through his surprise, cradling the back of her head as he kissed her, his mind clicking into overdrive as he realised she was naked, her smooth brown skin like velvet in his hands.
"Jesus Christ, baby", he grunted harshly into her mouth as he fisted her hair into a tight ponytail and sucked on her neck, shuddering as he felt her against him, and she let out a wild, animal cry.
"I don't like you meeting up with other girls", Eilidh whimpered, admitting the reason for her need. her fingers frantic as they worked underneath his tshirt, feeling the hard, taught skin there and finally wrenching it up over his head. Her thighs gripped him tightly as he pulled it deftly over his head, walking her backwards against the glass door that he had came in and pinning her against it with one hand, while the other worked his belt.
"I missed you, baby", Harry growled in response, all thoughts of Caroline gone from his mind as he saw all Eilidh's colours flit beneath his lids; the chestnut of her hair, the golden of her eyes, the glints of silver on her fingers and her pink, pert nipples straining in their arousal.
Holding her firmly against the door, Harry kissed down her cleavage hungrily, before taking her nipples one by one in his mouth and sucking. "Oh, oh", Eilidh moaned and bucked against him, suspended between him and the cold glass of the door. She held her breasts like an offering to him and he devoured them like a starving man.
"Fucking hell, baby", Harry felt wild as he listened to her, all his senses assaulted by her sexuality, and his need to pleasure her beyond reason. Holding her effortlessly he moved her from the door before laying her gently on the kitchen island, where she had lain for him before, and opened up her legs, gulping at the sight of her perfect, pink pussy, glistening before him. "I'm gonna make you come again, like that other time", Harry almost barked at her, his voice lower than ever as he kneaded his cock which stood out, erect and ready against his body. "Remember baby? That time I made you squirt?"
Eilidh nodded weakly, her thighs shuddering in anticipation as he suddenly plunged between her legs and lapped at her, making her wail.
"Oh baby, oh baby", Eilidh whimpered. "Oh fuck...daddy..."
Harry's head snapped up, his lips red and wet, his eyes wild. "What the fuck did you just say?"
Eilidh writhed, giggling, her finger in her mouth as she watched him playfully. "Did you like that, Daddy?", she cooed playfully, and Harry's vision swam as he thought he might pass out.
"Jesus fucking Christ", he groaned as he hooked his fingers inside her, feeling for that familiar, spongy ridge, knowing he had reached it when he watched her buck in shock.
"Oh fuck, oh fuck", Eilidh moaned, her tummy flexing and riding, her finger still in her mouth as she sucked on it harshly. "Oh Jesus, Harry..."
Harry gritted his teeth, the strain in his cock almost uncomfortable, he wanted her so badly. He massaged the spot inside her gently at first, before speeding up, listening to the change in her, the tensing of her tummy muscles, the strain in her jaw as she became quieter rather than louder at the force of the orgasm building inside her.
"I'm scared, Harry", Eilidh ground out, the unfamiliar feeling of ballooning inside her worrying her. "Harry...I..."
"It's okay, baby", he encouraged, his eyes wide as he watched her body bounce on his stiff fingers. "Let it go, Eil. Come for me baby".
He let his jaw fall open as he watched. "Oh, Jesus, you're gonna come", he said in wonder watching as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she let out two guttering wails as she bucked, spurting over his hand and arm.
"You are fucking amazing", Harry gasped at the sight of her, wet and inviting, unable to even process what he had just watched.
Eilidh giggled, delirious with pleasure. "No I think that's you", she teased, hoisting herself up on the island and hopping off to wander over to the couch that sat at the rear of the room.
Harry watched her carefully, his hand still gently kneading his cock which was now positively painful with it's need for release.
Eilidh put both of her knees on the couch and perched her ass high in the air before looking over her shoulder for Harry, her long hair swishing over her back.
"You want to fuck me, Daddy?", she cooed.
Harry needed no more encouragement as he plunged into her, her well-lubricated pussy giving into him easily as he roared with relief. He pumped hard, his jaw falling open again as he watched her twerk backwards on to him, her full, rounded ass bouncing on his cock.
"I'm not gonna last long", he ground out, harshly, fisting her hair again and throwing his head back, relishing in her moans.
"Oh, fuck me Harry", Eilidh panted, never ceasing to move, giving him as much attention as he had given her, determined to bring him off after her own intense orgasm. "Fuck me, Daddy".
The word was enough for Harry, who with a guttural cry, emptied himself into her, feeling her come again around him as he gently massaged her asshole with his thumb.
He collapsed on top of her as she crumpled beneath him, panting and laughing. "Oh my fucking God", he said, dazed.
Eilidh giggled. "I love you, Harry".
He stared at her, the corner of his mouth pulling up in a crooked grin. "I think we have found each other for life, Miss McLean", he verified.
