Noah winds up his window once I'm in the car and presses a button that immediately makes my seat begin warming up. I melt into it as we pull into the street.

"Good day?" I ask him.

"Are we going to having this same conversation every evening?" He muses. I scoff at him; I was merely being polite. "It was decent. I got to work on a Range Rover that only came out last year. How was your day?"

"Better now that I'm here," I sigh, sinking further into the seat. He goes quiet, and I elaborate: "In the heated seats. Your car. It's nice."

"Long day?" He observes. I watch his fingers twist around the gear-stick and tighten when he pulls the car into fifth gear.

"A lot of meetings."

"And a bit of eyeliner to go with them?"

I blush, having forgot about that briefly. I haven't looked at myself yet, but thankfully I trust that Chelsea wouldn't make me look like a clown.

"We'll probably skip dinner tonight. Do you want me to swing through the drive-thru?"

"Please," I breathe. I see him nod in my peripherals, and he swings round the roundabout once more before taking a different exit. "Thanks for driving me around. I can give you some petrol money tonight if you'd like."

His lips purse.

"How many times am I going to have to tell you that I don't mind driving you around?"

"You see cars all day. I just thought you might get a bit sick of them."

He grins and shakes his head. There's that dimple again, deep set into his cheek.

I recognise the drive-thru from Sunday morning, but this time as we pull around to it two bright orange cones stop us in our tracks. It's closed. Noah sighs and drives past them, to the car park.

Watching him reverse into a parking space should not be as sexy as I find it, but the skill of it all and the lip that's sucked into his mouth when he pulls the handbrake up makes my hands clench.

"Guess we'll have to go in," he smiles.

"At least I'm not getting crumbs in your car." I nudge him. We walk to the entrance side by side.

"You've already got your hair all over it anyway. I can't go five minutes without pulling a ginger hair out of the vents or some shit."

I laugh. His eyes follow my hands as they run through my hair, pulling it over my shoulders so it frames my face. He holds the door open for me, and we use a quick-pay machine to order our food. I pay before Noah can, grumbling about petrol and driving and letting me use his hoodie so he doesn't have room to argue with me.

We take the food back out to his car and I sink back into my seat - still warm from the drive.

I don't even wait for him before diving into my fries, putting three in my mouth at a time.

"You put food away like a dude."

"Don't be so sexist," I laugh around the mouthful. I hand him his burger, and try not to look at the way his legs are spread out wide in the small space under the steering wheel. "So what does game night entail?"

"It's a little lame," he warns me. "We get drunk and argue about monopoly, for the most part. I hope you're ready for a hangover tomorrow."

"I'm decent at monopoly."

"Decent isn't good enough if you're playing against me," he winks. I almost swoon.

He reaches his hand out and I blink at it briefly before reaching into the bag of food and pulling out his fries. He takes them wordlessly.

"You're all talk, Noah."

He turns in his seat, outwardly looking me up and down until I'm squirming in the seat.

"I'll go easy on you," he decides, stating it quietly as if it's a secret. "Since you're Matt's sister and all."

Right. That.

We talk casually about work and Matt's friends while we finish our food. Noah shoves all of the rubbish in the back seat before driving us back home using a shortcut.

I have to rush to get ready while he picks up Matt from work and only manage to get on a video call with Chelsea as I'm straightening my hair.

She grins, smile wide and teeth sparkly white, as she answers. Her hair is pinned up into curlers and there's a clay face mask covering her pale skin.

"Your make-up looks great. It's not too much - I think the eyeliner looks fit."

"You would, you goth bitch."

"Oh ha-ha." She drawls. "I'm so jealous of your freckles."

We go through some outfits in a rush after my hair, settling on a pair of loose trousers and a V-neck cotton shirt that clings to my figure. I had to convince her away from a bodycon dress I wore when I was eighteen, and she calls me boring.

I know when Matt and his friend arrive because there's a sudden burst of noise downstairs, and I quickly brush through my hair once more in the mirror.

"I'd fuck you, Mads. Stop panicking."

Chelsea is lying on her bed now, painting her nails green so they match the strip in her hair. Her feet wave around behind her, clad in neon pink socks. The face mask has dried a light grey colour, completely washing her out on camera.

"Maddie?" Matt calls up the stairs.

"Down in a minute!" I call back in return.

"You know," Chelsea sings. "You didn't tell me that your brothers housemate looks like a bloody model. Like, damn hot."

My cheeks burn under the makeup I'm wearing.

"I'm going now."

I hang up before she can try to embarrass or pry information out of me further, and try to shove my make-up and appliances in the cabinet under the sink so they aren't in the way. There's hair on the bathroom floor that I attempt to shove into a corner with my foot, but it's useless. There's too much of it.

The boys will have to cope.

The living room is full when I get downstairs and I feel exposed as I walk through the door to greet everyone.

"My sister, Maddie," Matt introduces, and I get everyone's names in turn.

Matt pats the couch where there's a small space left between him and Noah. I try not to let my face burn as my calves brush Noah's knees when I walk around him and drop down next to his body.

Our sides press together.

"You didn't have to dress up," Matt says quietly, thankfully only for my ears. "It's casual."

I scowl at him and hit the side of his leg with my own.

It's casual. I casually want your housemate to eye-fuck me all night, thank you very much.

Noah's arm snakes from where it's squished against my side and travels around the back of the sofa. I swear I feel one of his fingers briefly brush against my hair.

One of the two women in the room, both sat in front of the TV, smiles at me and holds out a pink can. The swirly writing along the side of it tells me it's pre-mixed gin and tonic.

"Thanks," I say, reaching out to grab it. "It's Sara, right?"

"Yup." She's pretty, with her deep auburn hair and puffy lips. Her glasses fall down her nose and she pushes them up with one finger. "Matt speaks very highly of you."

I feel him stiffen next to me and nudge his arm.

"You do?"

"He didn't mention how pretty you are." The only new boy in the room drawls. He's sitting on a beanbag I didn't know they owned, with his legs spread wide too. He winks when I look over to him, eyes dropping to the deep V off my cotton t-shirt.

"Shut the fuck up, dude." I'm surprised, because it's not Matt's voice that says it, but Noah's. "And put your fucking eyes away before Matt rips them out."

His hand touches my thigh, and my head shoots up to look at him. He recoils immediately. The guy who spoke, Dan, is already on the defense, muttering about compliments and toxic masculinity. I know the thigh touch was meant to be a comfort after being ogled, but my skin still burns under my trousers from his touch.

I open my can of gin and let them argue it out.

"We should play something new to get to know you better, Maddie," the other girl, Skye, says politely, also sipping on a can of gin and tonic.