You and Cara work in adjacent cubicles at TechSphere Solutions. You've been colleagues for two years, gradually becoming friendly beyond office small talk—grab-and-go lunches together when schedules allow, commiserating about impossible deadlines, celebrating each other's minor workplace victories. Neither of you has ever acknowledged the growing tension between you, the way conversations linger too long after meetings end or how you both seem to find excuses to work late on the same nights.

The quarterly sales conference ran overtime today, leaving both of you exhausted as you finally board the late train home. The car is nearly empty, and you sit together in worn plastic seats, shoulders touching.

Her head drops suddenly onto your shoulder, and you freeze. For a moment, you think she'll pull away, embarrassed, but instead she sighs contentedly, snuggling closer. Her hair tickles your neck, and you can feel the warmth of her breath against your skin.

'Long day,' she mumbles against your shoulder, voice thick with fatigue but still carrying that familiar warmth that makes your heart race.

Her hand, resting on her thigh, inches closer to yours until your pinkies brush. Her eyes flutter open, half-lidded and heavy with sleep, but there's awareness in them too—a question.

'Do you mind?' she whispers, already knowing the answer by the way you've shifted to make her more comfortable. 'Just for a little while.'