After a long night of racing, celebrating, and nearly giving Jinx a heart attack, the crew finally decided to call it a night.

Despite turning down Kane's five-star hotel offer, they still ended up next door, a much more lowkey but still decent boutique hotel, where Jinx, Rev, and Carmen each booked their own rooms.

"Alright, I'm out," Jinx announced, spinning his room key around his finger. "I need actual sleep before I deal with you idiots again."

"You just don't wanna wake up hungover in the same room as Rev," Carmen smirked.

Rev chuckled. "Smart man."

With a few parting jokes and a last round of teasing aimed at Erin and Dax, the three disappeared down the hallway toward their rooms.

Now, it was just Erin and Dax. Standing outside their room.

She glanced toward the door, then turned to him casually.

"You want company for the evening?"

Dax froze. The he laughed. Not just a chuckle but an actual, deep laugh, shaking his head as he pulled out his room key. "Ace, you're gonna have to rephrase that before I take it the wrong way."

Erin blinked. Then, as his meaning hit, her face went bright red. "Oh, for fuck's sake."

Dax was still laughing as he pushed the door open, leaving Erin standing there, equal parts flustered and mortified.

She crossed her arms, muttering under her breath. "You knew what I meant, Carter."

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, get in here before Jinx or Rev come back and make it worse."

Still muttering, Erin stepped inside, but not before giving him a playful shove as she passed. "I hate you sometimes."

Dax smirked. "No, you don't."

And just like that, the night wasn't over yet.

Erin still hadn't fully recovered from the mortification of her own words, and Dax was still grinning like an idiot.

"I swear, you're the worst." Erin muttered, dropping onto the edge of the hotel bed, arms crossed, legs stretched out in front of her.

Dax kicked off his boots, tossing his leather jacket onto the chair in the corner. "Nah, you just made it too easy."

She glared at him. "I was trying to be nice."

"I know. That's what made it funny."

Erin grabbed one of the hotel pillows and chucked it at his head.

Dax caught it effortlessly, still smirking, and tossed it right back. "Relax, Calloway. I got what you meant."

"Yeah, after you made it sound way worse!"

He just shrugged. "I mean, if you wanna rephrase it now, be my guest."

Erin groaned, throwing herself back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. "I take it back. I'm leaving."

"No, you're not."

She peeked at him from under her arm. "You sound very confident about that."

Dax kicked back into the chair, propping his feet up on the low table in front of him. "Because if you were actually gonna leave, you wouldn't still be lying there."

Damn it. He was right.

She huffed dramatically. "You're lucky I like this bed."

Dax smirked. "I'll take what I can get."

A comfortable silence settled between them, the distant hum of city nightlife outside the window, the soft flicker of the bedside lamp casting a warm glow across the room.

Erin sat up slightly, propping herself on her elbows. "For real, though."

Dax raised an eyebrow.

"I just figured you might not wanna be alone tonight," she admitted. "It was a big day. And, I don't know... I guess I just wanted to stick around."

Dax exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah. I get it." He really did. For all the bragging, the teasing, the competitive streak that never died, today was big.

For Erin, it had been about facing something she'd spent years avoiding, driving the Skyline, owning it, not just as a car, but as a part of her past and future.

For Dax, it was watching her do it. Seeing her come into her own, fully, without hesitation. Maybe he didn't want to be alone tonight, after all. He glanced at her, smirking slightly. "If you're staying, though, you better not steal all the blankets."

Erin smirked. "I make no promises."

Dax shook his head, getting up and flipping off the bedside lamp.

Erin grabbed the remote, flicking through the channels, eventually settling on one of the older Fast & Furious movies.

"Alright, deal-breaker question, Carter. What's the best Fast & Furious movie?"

Dax crawled onto the other side of the bed, pulling the blanket over his legs. "Depends. Are we talking actual quality, or just guilty pleasure?"

"Both."

Dax thought for a second. "Tokyo Drift is still top-tier. But if I'm picking a 'turn your brain off and enjoy the chaos' one? Five."

Erin hummed. "Okay, I respect that."

They watched in silence for a while, Erin's fingers idly playing with the chain of the necklace Dax had given her, occasionally glancing at him when she thought he wasn't looking.

Dax, of course, caught her every time. "Something on your mind?" he asked, not looking away from the screen.

She shook her head. "Just thinking."

"Dangerous pastime."

She nudged him with her foot under the blanket. "Shut up."

Dax smirked but didn't push. He just let her be.