𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚁𝚒𝚍𝚎- 𝙱𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚡 𝚈/𝚗
𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢: 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚈/𝙽 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙱𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚀𝚞𝚒𝚗𝚗 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗. 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢’𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝—𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛.
The car hummed softly as we cruised down the empty stretch of highway, the orange glow of the setting sun spilling over the horizon. Brian was behind the wheel, his left hand resting lazily on the steering wheel while his right hand drummed against the console in rhythm with the playlist I’d queued earlier.
“You’ve got good taste,” he said, nodding to the song.
“Of course I do,” I teased. “I had to balance out your eclectic taste.”
He glanced at me, his lips quirking into a smirk. “My taste is perfect. I just appreciate variety.”
I rolled my eyes, leaning back in my seat. The road stretched endlessly before us, and for the first time in weeks, it felt like we had a chance just to breathe. No cameras, no crew, no chaos. Just two friends and the open road.
I turned my head to watch him, his face softening in the glow of the dashboard lights. His hoodie was slightly wrinkled from the long day, and his hair was tousled in that effortlessly messy way that always made him look annoyingly good.
“You’re staring,” he said without looking at me.
I jolted, turning quickly to face the window. “I am not!”
“You were,” he teased, a quiet laugh escaping his lips.
We’d been driving for hours, heading back to the city after a small day trip together, just the two of us. It was comfortable—easy, even. But occasionally, I caught myself overthinking how his arm brushed mine when he adjusted the radio or how his voice dipped when he laughed at one of my dumb jokes.
The car jolted suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“What was that?” I asked, sitting up straight.
Brian frowned, his hand tightening on the wheel as the car sputtered and lurched again. “Uh-oh.”
“Uh-oh? What do you mean, uh-oh?”
“I mean…” He guided the car onto the shoulder of the road, its engine coughing one last time before dying completely. He sighed, throwing the gear into park. “That.”
We both stared at the now-silent car, the headlights cutting through the growing darkness.
“Well,” I said after a beat. “This is… inconvenient.”
Brian chuckled, though it sounded more exasperated than amused. “You don’t say.”
He reached for his phone, tapped the screen, and dialed a number. He talked quickly about the situation and, with a simple “thanks,” he hung up.
“Triple A?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” he said, wiping his phone one last time. “It won’t be for a few hours until they arrive.”
“Great. Stuck in the middle of nowhere. This feels like the start of a bad horror movie.”
“Relax,” Brian said, flashing me a grin. “If a creepy guy with a chainsaw shows up, I’ll protect you.”
“Good to know,” I said, rolling my eyes.
The night settled around us, the quiet pressing in. We both sat in the stillness for a moment, waiting. There was no sound except for the occasional rustling of leaves and the hum of distant traffic far off the highway.
“You know,” Brian said after a while, his voice quieter than before. “I don’t hate this.”
“Being stranded on the side of the road?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
He chuckled, glancing at me for a brief moment. “No. Just… being here. With you.”
I felt my heart skip, but I tried to play it cool. “Well, I’m excellent company.”
“That you are,” he said, his tone softer now. His eyes flicked to mine, lingering for a moment longer than usual.
I swallowed, the tension between us palpable. It was as if the world outside the car had faded, leaving just the two of us in this little bubble of silence. His gaze felt heavier as if he were waiting for something.
“I like you,” he said, his voice low but steady. “Not just as a friend or someone I work with. I like you, Y/N. A lot.”
The words hung in the air, and I felt my heart race. For a moment, I couldn’t find my voice. When I did, it came out soft and hesitant.
“I had no idea,” I said quietly, a small smile tugging at my lips. “Because I like you too. I have for a while.”
His eyes lit up, a wide grin spreading across his face. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” I said, feeling a warmth spread through me.
He reached over, his hand brushing mine gently on the console. I turned my hand over, letting our fingers intertwine.
“Well,” he said, his voice a little lighter now. “Guess this breakdown wasn’t so bad after all.”
I laughed softly, squeezing his hand. “You’re unbelievable.”
“You like me anyway,” he teased, his thumb brushing over the back of my hand.
“Yeah,” I said, leaning back with a contented sigh. “I do.”
The quiet stretched on as we sat there, waiting for help to arrive. The space between us felt charged now, like something had shifted. I could feel his gaze again, pulling me back from my thoughts. He leaned closer, his face just inches from mine.
I didn’t pull away. Instead, I let the moment, my breath catching as I realized how badly I wanted this.
He closed the gap between us without another word, his lips brushing against mine in a slow, hesitant kiss. It was soft at first, just a whisper of contact like we were both testing the waters. But when I kissed him back, a little more sure this time, the kiss deepened, slow and sweet.
When we finally pulled away, we both breathed a little heavier, smiles tugging at our lips.
“Well,” Brian said, his voice barely above a whisper, “that was a nice distraction.”
I laughed softly, still feeling the warmth of his lips against mine. “Yeah, it was.”
A flash of headlights broke the moment, and we both turned toward the sound of approaching vehicles. Help had arrived, and with it, the reality of our situation. But as we pulled apart, I couldn’t help but think that the night wasn’t so bad.
𝙰/𝚗: 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝! 𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎!!
