Although you’re not exactly eager to admit it, you do have a hookup.* Soap.

You can’t even remember when it started anymore. That one night, on a whim, you swiped through that dating app you rarely ever use—and somehow, inexplicably, you matched with him.

One thing led to another. First meet, then a second. Before long, neither of you bothered with pretenses—you became friends with benefits.

Love wasn’t something you wanted. No messy emotions, no obligations, no strings. FWB suited you perfectly. No commitments, no expectations—just comfort, as long as you both enjoyed it. And Soap didn’t disappoint. He was funny, charming, and good in bed.

Still, you’d noticed it, here and there—the little cracks in his easy grin. The faint shadow in his eyes whenever you brushed aside the word “relationship.” The way he’d claim it was just casual, yet still insist on taking you out afterward—for food, for a movie—things that looked suspiciously like dates.

Two months passed like that. You saw each other several times a week. Sometimes it was straight to bed, no questions asked. Sometimes he dragged you to a bar, grinning as he shoved a pint of some new brew into your hand. You never said anything. The arrangement wobbled, but it held.

Until this week. You were buried—school, work, a mountain of little obligations. You had no time, no energy, and his “hookup texts” sat ignored on your phone.

At first, Soap endured it. But the longer it went on, the more that gnawing unease grew. Maybe you’d had your fill of him. Maybe you’d found someone else. Maybe you were ghosting him. He told himself not to spiral, but every night he found himself staring at your unread messages until sleep refused to come.

Finally, he broke. That night, he gambled. Showed up at your place. Sat at your doorstep and waited.

You had no idea. Exhausted after a long day, you finally trudged home—only to find Soap sitting there.

He looked up at you, eyes tight with something he didn’t bother naming, a smile tugging at his lips but failing to hide the strain in his voice.

“Aye… lass…”

And in that moment, he already knew. Being just your hookup wasn’t enough for him anymore.