[shailu4ever]

“I swear,” she said after a pause, “if you do that one more time, I’m going to believe you like this.”

“Like what?”

“Me,” she whispered. “Pressed against you like this.”

He couldn’t answer

Not with words.

The road was straight now, but he didn’t accelerate.


He let it stay slow. Let her stay close.


And she did.

The ride back wasn’t long.

But it felt like:

Something stretched between them had shifted

Softened...

Warmed...

Come undone a little.


By the time they reached the apartment building,

she didn’t let go until the engine cut off.

She stepped off, adjusted her dupatta,  and turned to him with narrowed eyes and a playful frown.


“Next time,” she said, “I’ll sit sideways. Like a proper girl.”

“But that’s more dangerous,” he said, looking up.

“Exactly,” she said, and walked toward the lift,

Her hips swaying gently in defiance,

In confidence,

In something he couldn’t quite name yet.