The message arrived at 10:47 PM.
Ethan had been staring at the same line of code for ten minutes when his phone buzzed.
A message from Chloe.
“You home?”
He stared at the screen.
Then immediately hated how fast his heart reacted.
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Finally:
“Yeah.”
A few seconds later:
“Can I ask your opinion on something?”
Ethan smirked.
That was Chloe’s favorite disguise.
Opinion.
Advice.
Work question.
Anything except what she actually wanted to talk about.
“Sure.”
The typing bubble returned.
Then vanished.
Then returned again.
Finally:
“Have you ever liked someone and not known what to do about it?”
Ethan froze.
The rain outside suddenly sounded much louder.
He read the message three times.
Maybe four.
Every possible interpretation raced through his mind.
Was she talking about Ryan?
Someone else?
Or…
No.
Don’t assume.
The most Scorpio thought imaginable.
Five minutes passed.
No response.
Across the city, Chloe stared at her phone.
“Come on…”
The truth was she hadn’t planned to send that message.
She’d been thinking about Ethan all evening.
Thinking about the subway walk.
Thinking about his smile.
Thinking about how difficult he was to understand.
Then the rain started.
And suddenly she wanted answers.
Her phone buzzed.
“Yes.”
She blinked.
That was it.
One word.
Classic Ethan.
A second message appeared.
“Usually because the risk feels real.”
Chloe sat up slightly.
Then another.
“If you don’t care, it’s easy.”
And another.
“When you do care, everything gets complicated.”
She stared at the screen.
Reading each message twice.
For the first time, Ethan wasn’t hiding behind sarcasm.
Or short answers.
Or emotional armor.
For the first time…
He was actually letting her see inside.
Meanwhile Ethan stared at his own messages wondering if he’d said too much.
Scorpios were excellent at many things.
Vulnerability wasn’t one of them.
The typing bubble appeared again.
“That’s actually a really good answer.”
Pause.
“You sound like someone speaking from experience.”
Ethan laughed quietly to himself.
If only she knew.
Outside his apartment window, rain continued sliding down the glass.
Inside, he found himself smiling.
A rare event.
Then Chloe sent another message.
“Want to grab coffee Saturday?”
The smile disappeared instantly.
Not because he didn’t want to.
Because he did.
A lot.
And suddenly it felt important.
More important than it probably should.
He stared at the screen.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three.
Across the city Chloe watched the message remain unread.
“Come on, Scorpio…”
Finally.
The typing bubble appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Then:
“I’d like that.”
Chloe smiled.
The kind of smile nobody else saw.
A few moments later she set her phone down and looked out the rain-covered window.
Neither of them realized it.
But this wasn’t another late-night work conversation.
Or another office interaction.
Or another project meeting.
This was their first real step outside the office.
And everything changes when that happens.
To Be Continued…
Next Episode:
Episode 6 – Saturday Coffee
No coworkers. No project deadlines. No excuses. Just two people finally meeting outside the office.