Liar, Liar

02 | inhale starlight, exhale stardust

Apprehension and adrenaline blent together, rushing through her veins alongside royalty, skepticism and confusion brimming her head as to why the king was suddenly so interested in herself. Sahar felt wary as she made her way down the long corridor, her red Jimmy Choo pumps with tulle overlay, clicking against the marble flooring, and she glanced up, locking with the pair of dark irises swirling like black coffee.

Ezekiel pushed himself off the wall and shot her a somewhat disappointed look, "You're late, I almost thought you wouldn't show up."

She shrugged casually, of course she did consider it while scraping his dried blood from the tips of her sharp nails. Wouldn't be the first time she'd stood another guy up, and definitely not the last.

Ezekiel let out a breath of slight annoyance, then proceeded to reach for her hand, intertwining their fingers together and pulling her into the elevator. With a quiet 'ding', the doors slid shut, and her heart skipped a beat as they rose up. He looked at ease, leaning against a wall, surrounded by people clad in Chanel and Prada tapping their feet in urgency as they glanced down at their jewel encrusted watches before spilling out of the elevator when it reached their destination.

Sahar folded her arms, fingers drumming against her bare skin, as she watched him swipe his card against the scanner, "If you've brought me here for some scandalou—"

"Jeez will you relax," Ezekiel rolled his eyes, guiding her over the threshold, "I'm not trying to take advanta—"

"Then I'm down for it, I wanted to say, but whatever. Now I feel like I am taking advantage of you instead."

Ezekiel looked back at her, astonishment coloring his face before he let out a loud laugh, the sound bouncing off the walls of his suite, raising goosebumps over her body. He shook his head and pulled her by their still laced hands, leading her to the long french windows as he slid them open, stepping into the arctic air outside.

Suppressing a shiver, she almost gasped, her scorching irises watching the city below that claims to never sleep. It was a gorgeous mess of bright colors on top of skyscrapers, complimenting the black sky, reminding her of the pride month. The hues seemed to tone down towards the bottom, and she stepped out of Ezekiel's hold, forgetting about his existence altogether as her gaze followed the roads packed in traffic, coated in liquid gold from the yellowish-orange streetlights.

"Come on." There was a small murmur behind her before she felt his fingers tug at her wrist.

She pursed her lips, brows furrowing as she dragged her eyes back to him. Ezekiel stepped up on a raised platform at the side of the balcony before offering her a hand. With slight hesitation, she wordlessly slipped her hand into his, and he pulled her up. Barely able to see in the sudden darkness, Sahar stumbled, heart in her throat as she glanced a hundred feet below and sucked in a breath, hardly acknowledging Ezekiel who tightened his arms around her waist bringing her closer as he laughed.

And suddenly the air outside felt a thousand times chillier.

A small laugh fell past her own bold hued lips, and she bent down to take a seat, wanting to prevent another mishap. She wasn't so sure he'd even try to save her again.

Sahar tilted her head towards the night sky, the stars had sprawled across the sky aligning themselves into various patterns. Her long thick lashes almost touching her high cheekbones dusted with NARS highlighter as the breeze blew her soft midnight hair, messing them up further.

She turned her head, causing her somewhat tangled hair to shift on her shoulder as she looked at Ezekiel, only to find his eyes on her, studying her with a packet of black Marlboro cigarettes gripped in his hand. He offered her the open pack, slyly watching her through light lashes fringing his dark eyes, one sitting between his pearly teeth already.