Off-Limits

The Morning After

Lena’s POV

The morning sun hit the apartment windows like a harsh spotlight, but it couldn't warm up the freezing cold air that seemed to live between Ethan and me. I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, pressing my fingers against my lips. I couldn't stop thinking about last night. I couldn't stop remembering the rough, desperate sound of his voice when he said he had wanted me for years. I couldn't forget the way his hand felt tangled in my hair, or how close we came to kissing.

Every single time I tried to tell myself that none of it mattered, my heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.

When I walked out into the kitchen, Ethan was already standing by the counter. He had his hockey bag packed by the front door, ready for early practice. He was wearing his team zip up jacket, looking tall, serious, and completely closed off. The warm, playful guy who had confessed his deepest secrets to me just hours ago was completely gone.

"Morning," Ethan said. His voice was flat, smooth, and carefully polite, the exact same voice he used to use when we were kids and he was just my older brother's boring teammate. He didn't look me in the eye. He just poured a cup of black coffee and stared into the mug like it held the answers to the universe.

My chest tightened with a sharp wave of anger and confusion.

"Morning," I muttered back, pulling a mug from the cupboard. I poured my coffee with hands that were shaking just a little bit. "You're up early."

"Practice starts at seven," he replied stiffly, turning away to check his phone.

I stood there, watching the broad line of his back. It drove me crazy. He was acting like nothing had happened. He had opened a giant door between us last night, showing me a hidden world of feelings I never knew existed, and now he was slamming that door shut and locking it with a heavy iron chain.

"Ethan, stop," I said, setting my coffee mug down hard on the counter so it clinked loudly.

He froze, slowly turning his head to look at me. His dark eyes were guarded, completely blank. "What?"

"Don't do that," I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest. My face felt hot, and my voice shook with frustration. "Don't act like a stranger. Don't treat me like you’re just my landlord. Last night you told me you wanted me for years! You touched my face, and now you're acting like you can just turn those feelings off like a light switch?"

Ethan’s jaw clenched tight. A muscle ticked sharply in his cheek. He looked around the quiet kitchen, running a hand through his dark hair before meeting my gaze.

"I have to, Lena," he said, his voice dropping low, sounding tired and strained. "Because if I don't turn it off, everything falls apart."

"Why?" I demanded, taking a step closer to him. "Because of Marcus?

"Yes," he said, his voice sharp and hard. "Marcus is my best friend. He trusted me enough to let his little sister stay in my home when she had nowhere else to go. If I cross that line with you, I am betraying his trust. I won't do that, Lena. I won't be that guy."

“So you’re just going to pretend nothing happened?” I asked, struggling to understand Ethan expression.

He paused, his expression unreadable. “I think it’s better if we keep things the way they were, Lena.”

I let out a humorless laugh.“Then why tell me how you felt in the first place?”

"Just... go to work, Lena," he whispered, his voice cracking slightly. "We'll talk about this later."

Before I could say another word, he grabbed his gym bag, walked out the front door, and let it click shut behind him. I stood alone in the quiet kitchen, feeling more defeated than I had ever felt in my entire life.

The rest of the day at the arena was a complete blur. I couldn't focus on the schedules, I couldn't smile at the players, and my mind kept looping back to Ethan's cold words. He was willing to sacrifice everything, us, his feelings, everything, just to keep Marcus happy. But the worst part was that he was making that huge decision entirely on his own, without ever asking what I wanted.

By the time evening rolled around, I walked back into Ethan's apartment, my feet aching and my heart feeling heavy as stone. The apartment was completely dark and quiet. I kicked off my shoes by the door and started walking down the hallway toward the kitchen to get a glass of water.

As I passed the living room archway, I heard the low, familiar sound of Ethan’s voice talking on his phone near the big windows. He must have just gotten home from a late team meeting.

"Yeah, everything's fine here, Mar," Ethan was saying into his phone. His voice sounded calm and steady, but there was a strange, heavy tension in the air.

I stopped walking, pressing my back softly against the hallway wall, listening without meaning to.

"Are you sure Lena isn't driving you crazy?" Marcus's voice crackled loudly through the phone speaker. He laughed lightly. "Thanks again for watching out for her, man. I know she can be stubborn. But I trust you completely to keep my little sister out of trouble."

My breath caught in my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart dropping down into my stomach.

On the other side of the room, Ethan went completely silent. He didn't answer right away. The seconds ticked by, heavy and suffocating. I waited, holding my breath, praying that Ethan would tell Marcus the truth, praying that he would finally stand up for us.

"Yeah," Ethan finally replied, his voice sounding hollow and dead. "You've got nothing to worry about, Marcus. Everything is under control."

The words cut through my chest like a knife. You've got nothing to worry about. To Ethan, keeping me safe meant keeping me away. To Ethan, protecting our secret was more important than fighting for us. He was ready to throw away everything we felt just to keep Marcus happy, and he didn't even care how much it hurt me.

Hot, angry tears blurred my vision. I pushed myself off the wall and stepped out into the living room, letting my heavy footsteps echo on the floor so he would know I was there.

Ethan turned around quickly, lowering his phone from his ear. His dark eyes widened slightly as he saw the angry, tear-streaked look on my face. He ended the call with a quick tap of his thumb and dropped the phone onto the coffee table.

We stood ten feet apart in the dim, glowing light of the city skyline. The air between us felt thick with broken promises and unspoken pain. Ethan stared at me, his chest rising and falling fast, his face locked in that unreadable, stone cold expression that always drove me crazy.

He looked at me for a long, heavy moment, studying my face with eyes full of a sad, desperate finality, before he finally opened his mouth and said the words that shattered my heart completely:

“Maybe you should find somewhere else to stay.”