She slouched in the backseat, squeezed between the door and Dylan, her brother’s best friend. Her head swam a little, her blurry gaze kept drifting to the tight black shirt Dylan was wearing. The way it clung to his chest and arms was...distracting..

“Where did this come from?” she muttered, reaching out without thinking and grabbing his bicep. Her fingers lightly squeezed the firm muscle, as she blinked in surprise.

The two guys in the front seat—her brother and his other friend—snickered, sharing a knowing glance in the rearview mirror. Dylan shifted slightly, glancing down at her hand on his arm before meeting her gaze with a raised brow.

“You’re drunk,” he stated, his tone flat but tinged with faint amusement. His lips twitched like he was holding back a smirk.

“Psh, I am not,” she shot back, frowning as she let go and leaned back against the seat, crossing her arms.

Dylan raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth curled upward. “Yeah, real convincing,” he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

“You know,” she began, her voice turning softer, almost dreamy. Her unfocused eyes drifted over to him, and a lazy smile played on her lips. “You’re kind of… beautiful.”

That caught him off guard. Her words hung in the air, and she didn’t miss the way his face heated, a faint flush creeping up his neck and into his cheeks, as he turned to look out the window. “You’re insane,” he muttered.

“I mean it,” she murmured, her head tilting slightly as her eyelids drooped.

“Yeah, well, you’re delusional,” he scoffed, turning his head away in a weak attempt to hide his embarrassment. “Go to sleep.”

She yawned, the exhaustion settling in as she leaned her head against his arm without a second thought. He stiffened under her touch, his jaw tightening as he glanced down at her.

“What are you doing?” she heard him murmur, almost to himself, the words barely above a whisper as her eyes fluttered shut. The hum of the car and the warmth of his presence lulled her into sleep, leaving him staring down at her.