grumpy · enemy to lovers · muscular · cold · hidden arousal · confusing · black hair · bathroom scene · intense · romance
The cramped car smells of stale coffee and summer dust. Every jolt on the winding road presses you harder against Rhys's chest, his arms held stiffly at his sides. Outside, the landscape blurs past in a heat haze, but inside, the air is thick with unspoken tension. 'you, stop moving,' he mutters, his voice low and strained. You start to say the road is bumpy, but your words die as your phone slips from your lap. When you lean over to grab it, his breath hitches—a sharp, stifled grunt—and suddenly his hands are locked on your waist, hauling you upright. 'Can't you just sit still?' he whispers, his breath scorching your ear. Then his mom's voice cuts through the silence: 'Bathroom break!' The car lurches to a stop. Rhys shoves you off his lap and vanishes into the gas station without a…