Masterpiece [h.s]

six

"Aurora, if you don't tell me now, I will walk away from all of this—from you—and I know that's not what you want. This is the one time that I'm going to be genuine with you and, if you want to keep me in your life, a friend as far as we'll ever be relationship wise, then it's time to let me in."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Harry nods and runs a hand through his messy hair. "If you won't talk to me, at least go talk to a professional. Get help. Help yourself, Aurora. You can be so much more than what you are, but you continue to hold yourself back."

Aurora turns to look at him now, her eyes glossy but without tears. "You can too, I just pulled you down into my mess and got you addicted. All I'm good at is ruining the lives of everyone I care about. I can't paint like you, I'm not smart, and I'm not pretty enough to be a model. I'm just a fuck up, Harry."

It doesn't matter how many times that he's told her that she means nothing to him, there's still a part of him that cares for her, for the girl that she used to be. Harry sighs and ends up pulling her into his arms and hugging her close to him.

"You and I both know that's not true. You're great at photography and with words when you want to be. I'll stop with you if you want to stop all of this drug business, this...sneaking around and lying to hurt someone who sits at home and who cares about you even though he knows what you do."

Aurora immediately shakes her head. "No, I'm in far too deep. I have to go to rehab, but you can quit, you're not so far down. That other woman that you see sometimes is really pretty, and I do want you to be happy again, you have a nice smile that I haven't seen in a long time."

Harry smiles softly, "You should go and get better. Then, I'll give you the second chance that you want. As a friend and only a friend though. But I will be there for you if you really want me to be."

Aurora detaches herself from his embrace and wraps herself up in the blanket. "Will you promise me that? I know you don't like me at all right now, but I really would like you to stay in my life."

Harry stands slowly and awkwardly wipes his hands on the fabric of his jeans. "I promise you that I will stay a part of your life if you show me that you've made an effort to better yourself."

Aurora nods, a slight smile tugging at her lips. "Okay."

He's halfway out the door when she whispers a tentative, "Goodbye."

Harry turns and offers her a smile to reassure her that he meant what he said, "I'll see you soon."

He's not entirely how sure soon will be, but he'll see her eventually and that's good enough.

Only a few days pass between his heart to heart with Aurora before he sees Carter again. This time, she's already ready for him and it's a wonder that he doesn't hurt himself undressing so quickly.

Apparently, Carter didn't think that last time was rough enough and he's forcefully pressing her into the wall and digging his fingers in her hips before she says more than two sentences. The first round is no problem at all, but the second is interrupted before it even starts because his mother's decided that right now is a perfect time to call him.

Unfortunately, Harry's a momma's boy and he absolutely has to answer her call or he'll feel awful about it later. Everything is fine for a few moments as he waits patiently for her to stop talking so he can tell her that she's busy.

But Carter takes this as an opportunity to have some fun and possibly get him a nice hour lecture from his mother later in the evening. He's not even on the phone for a minute before Carter's smirking and lowering her hand to his crotch.

She places her lips close to his ear and speaks lowly, "Quiet, we don't want mommy to hear us."

Harry swallows nervously as he fights to retain the moans that are tearing at his throat to be set free. He definitely doesn't want his mother to know that she's just cock blocked him in the middle of sex—literally.

"Y-yeah, mum. Everything's fine."

He's not really listening to anything that she's saying right now because Carter's intent on keeping him occupied.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I'm just a little busy right now."

Carter continues to tease him and she's only making it so much more difficult to contain the arousal in his voice. "Yeah, I'll call you later, I promise. Love you too, by mum."

The very moment that he hangs up, Harry throws his phone aside and pins Carter's arms above her head. "Oh, you like being a tease, huh?"

Carter smiles as she bites her lower lips and nods, "There are handcuffs in the drawer to your left."

Harry smirks as he retrieves them, keeping one hand locked around both of her wrists. "Kinky."

He cuffs her wrists to the ends of the bed and she impatiently lifts her hips to meet his. "You've got no idea."

This time is much rougher than either of the previous times they've spent together, and it's much better if he's being honest. Per the usual arrangement, they go at it hard for about another hour or so, but this time Harry got to be the dominant one and he got a little carried away.

Carter hums before exhaling a sizeable cloud of smoke in the air above her, "You haven't been the dominant one very often, have you?"

Harry shakes his head as his breathing returns to its normal pattern. "No, not very much."

Carter grins, her teeth a stark white in contrast to the dark room. "You should do it more often. It's actually much more pleasing."

Harry cocks his head to the side, a grin flirting with the corners of his lips. "Really?"

"Mmhhmm. Glad you sorted out whatever it was between you and that Aurora woman. You're much more...exciting than what I'm used to."

Harry chuckles as he steps out of bed and begins searching for his scattered clothing. "I would certainly hope so. It's really sad when toys are better than reality."

Carter hums her agreement as she enjoys the view of him dressing slowly and carefully, like he wants to soak in her presence for as long as he possibly can.

"Don't forget to call your mommy."

He laughs and rolls his eyes as he pulls his shirt over his broad shoulders. "I'll do that on the way home, that way you can't tease me and force me to keep quiet."

Cater laughs genuinely, she's actually started to enjoy the four nights a month when he comes over to sleep with her. And, while she worries about it, she's ignoring it at the same time because she's far more concerned about the sex.

"Don't say you didn't like it though."

Harry chuckles as he searches for his phone in the dimly lit room. "Oh, I liked it very much. Just not the fact that my mum was on the other end of the phone while you were doing it."

He's just stepped through her bedroom door before he stops himself and turns around to add. "Oh, if you 'need my assistance' during the next few weeks, I can't promise that I can be at your call. Gonna start detoxing tomorrow."

Carter frowns as she blows a nice ring of smoke in his direction. "What a shame. I was just on the verge of upping your frequency, too. Good luck, I suppose."

Harry pops a mint in his mouth as he leaves and calls back a brief thank you. Carter doesn't reply and she's left wondering how their sex life is going to change when he comes back. He'll certainly be a different person; she's just hoping that he won't get attached to her in the long run.

She shakes her headand gazes out her window to the city just behind the glass, "God help me now."