𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐒 ~| 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘴

Up At Night

~'~

𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝

𝐓𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮

𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞

𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐭, 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐭

‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

Cassi

I was falling asleep.

The hum of the engine was soft, steady, a lullaby made of low rumbles and the occasional whisper of tires over slick pavement. The world outside the window was dark, blurred streaks of moonlight and shadow, the kind of quiet that only existed this late at night. It wrapped around me like a heavy quilt, warm and drowsy, pulling me deeper into my seat.

I blinked slowly, my cheek resting against the cool leather headrest, watching the faint glow of streetlights flicker across Lando's face.

He looked different in the dark.

Softer, maybe. More like something carved from gentler things. He wasn't smiling, wasn't frowning, just focused, his lashes casting faint shadows against his cheekbones, his lips parted slightly as he drove.

The steering wheel caught the light when he moved, fingers relaxed over the leather, his wrist shifting with the turns in the road. But it wasn't his hand on the wheel that had my attention.

It was the other one.

The one that never left me.

His palm rested on my thigh, light and familiar, like it belonged there. Like it had always been there. His thumb brushed absentmindedly over the fabric of my sweatpants, the heat of it sinking through to my skin, and my stomach twisted in that way it always did around him. Not sharp or sudden, just warm. A slow-blooming thing that started in my chest and spread outward, like ink in water.

I sighed, content in a way I didn't quite understand.

Lando glanced at me, and even in the low glow of the dashboard lights, I could see the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Sleepy?"

I made a soft sound in response, turning my face toward the window. "No."

He chuckled. "Liar."

I smiled and didn't deny it.

The road hummed beneath us, long and quiet. I shifted slightly, the movement making his fingers slide further down my thigh before settling again. I bit my lip, staring at his hand.

"It's a little possessive, don't you think?" I murmured, my voice hushed, teasing.

Lando hummed, like he was actually considering it. "Always," he said lightly. "You complaining?"

I wrinkled my nose. "Maybe."

"Liar," he said again, softer this time.

His fingers traced the seam of my pants absentmindedly, and I bit the inside of my cheek, willing my face not to heat. He wasn't even trying. That was the worst part.