The city lights blurred past the window as I sank deeper into the passenger seat, the hum of the engine steady beneath me. I hadn’t planned on getting a ride from him tonight, but the thought of walking home alone in the dark felt worse than climbing into a stranger’s car.

He didn’t say much at first..just one hand on the wheel, the other resting lazily by the gearshift, eyes fixed on the road. But every now and then, I caught him glancing at me, like he was sizing me up, weighing something he wasn’t ready to put into words.

The silence should’ve felt awkward. Instead, it felt charged, like...