Becky sat on the couch, her eyes fixed on the clock on the wall. It was almost midnight, and still, there was no sign of Ethan. The apartment felt too quiet, too empty without him. She knew he was in his office, working late as usual, but tonight, it felt like there was something different about his absence. It wasn't just the silence. It was the weight of what had happened between them.
The near kiss. The raw confession. The pull that had almost shattered every rule they had.
And then, nothing.
She had spent the entire day avoiding him. The morning had been spent in her room, trying to bury herself in assignments, but even that hadn't helped. Her mind kept returning to him. To the way his eyes had softened when he admitted he wanted her too. To the way his voice had shaken when he said the words he shouldn't have. She knew it wasn't enough. She knew they couldn't go there, but still, it felt like something inside her had shifted. Something that couldn't be undone.
She heard footsteps in the hallway, the soft click of the door handle turning. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart racing as the door creaked open.
"Becky?"
Ethan's voice was low, cautious, like he wasn't sure if he should be here.
"Yeah," she replied, her voice barely a whisper.
He stepped into the room, his tall frame casting a shadow across the floor. He was dressed in a dark sweater and jeans, his hair slightly tousled, as if he'd been running his hands through it in frustration. He looked tired. Tired in a way that made him seem older, weighed down by something he couldn't shake.
She didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. Her heart ached just seeing him, but the distance between them felt insurmountable. They had crossed a line—a line that shouldn't have been crossed—and now they were both standing on opposite sides of it, unsure of how to move forward.
Ethan cleared his throat, the sound filled with hesitation. "I know we… we haven't really talked about what happened."
"You don't have to," Becky said quickly, her eyes avoiding his. "We both know it's impossible. It was a mistake, okay? Let's just forget it."
"No," Ethan said firmly, stepping closer. "It wasn't a mistake. Not for me."
She looked up at him then, meeting his gaze. His eyes were intense, almost pleading, and for a moment, she felt like she was drowning in them. "Ethan…"
"I've tried," he continued, his voice steady despite the storm inside him. "I've tried to stay away. I've tried to keep my distance, to remind myself that you're off-limits. But every time I see you, every time you're near me, I can't help it. I can't stop myself from wanting you."
Her breath caught in her throat. The confession hit her like a tidal wave, sweeping her under. She wanted to respond, wanted to tell him that she felt the same way, but the words wouldn't come. They both knew the gravity of what they were saying. They both knew the consequences of giving in to what they wanted.
"I'm sorry," he said, his voice softer now. "I never wanted to make you feel uncomfortable. I never wanted to put you in a position where you had to choose between me and your mom. But this… this thing between us… it's not something I can ignore anymore."
Becky stood up slowly, her legs unsteady beneath her. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff, with nothing but the unknown below her.
"I don't want to lose you," she said, her voice trembling. "But I don't know what this is. I don't know what you want from me."
Ethan took another step forward, his eyes never leaving hers. "I don't know what I want either. But I know that I can't keep pretending that I don't care about you. I can't keep pretending that I don't feel something when you're in the room."
She felt a tear slip down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away. This wasn't about tears. This was about something far more dangerous. This was about wanting someone who was never meant to be hers.
"I know," she whispered, the words catching in her throat. "I know how you feel. I've felt it too. But we can't… we can't do this."
Ethan's face softened, his expression filled with regret. "I know," he said quietly. "But it's not that simple. Not for me."
Becky shook her head, trying to push the lump in her throat down. "It's too complicated. It's too messy. We can't keep doing this, Ethan. We can't keep crossing lines that we can't undo."
He looked at her, his expression unreadable. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The only sound in the room was the distant hum of the city outside.
Then, finally, Ethan spoke. His voice was rough, like it had been dragged through a storm. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You already have," Becky said, her voice barely audible. "We both have. But it's not too late to stop. It's not too late to pull back before we make this worse."
Ethan's jaw clenched, and for a second, she thought he might say something—something that would change everything—but instead, he just nodded.
"Alright," he said quietly. "We'll stop. We'll go back to how things were before."
Becky swallowed hard. "I don't think we can."
He didn't respond. Instead, he turned and walked toward the door. When he reached it, he paused, looking back at her one last time. "Goodnight, Becky."
She nodded, watching him leave. The door clicked shut behind him, and she was left standing in the silence.
She sank back onto the couch, her hands trembling. She had told him it was over. She had told him they couldn't do this. But deep down, she knew that wasn't true. She knew that there was something between them—something undeniable—and she didn't know if she could ever let it go.
The apartment was too quiet. Too empty. She tried to ignore the ache in her chest, the longing she could no longer deny.
But no matter how hard she tried, she knew the truth.
She had crossed a line.
And she didn't know if either of them could ever go back.
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