I’m a happily married man with 3 young kids. I have been sharing an office with a woman of the same age who is also married with 2 kids, but she is unhappy in her marriage due to unreconcilable differences and after 20 years of marriage, she is considering seperating from her husband. We have become close friends. And like close friends, we share secrets, we are vulnerable with each other, we tell stories about our experiences, share our frustrations, disappointments, hopes and dreams. We laugh a lot. I miss her over weekends and when she works from home for a few days to catch up on work. She is smart, sweet, caring, inquisitive, brave, interesting, strong and stunningly beautiful. I think about her quite a lot, wondering what she’s doing, wondering if she’s thinking about me too. We hug once or twice a day which I adore. I often wonder what it would be like if we were a couple. I imagine telling her that I love her and the different ways she might react. She might tell me she feels the same way, she might think of us as just friends and that by declaring my feelings for her that I somehow destroy our friendship, it might drive her away. I tell her how I feel all the time, but I always stop short of telling her I love her. Instead I say things like “I love our time together” Even if she did feel the same way, I’m not sure what we could do about it. My marriage is good. Infact, right now, it’s better than it has ever been. I don’t want to end it. If she did feel the same way, would we have an affair and hope not to be caught? I don’t know. Sometimes I’m excited by that idea, and other times I think about the secret and betrayal would nibble away at us. When we are having one of our deep and meaningful conversations I’m gazing into her eyes at her face in my head I’m saying “I love you, I love you, I love you” over and over and wonder if her brain can somehow hear these thoughts. I look for signs of her feelings but she either doesn’t feel the same and is just happy with our plutonic friendship, or perhaps she’s in control of her emotions because doing anything to put someone elses marriage in danger would be abhorent to her. Time is almost up for us. In 1 week she leaves the office we share for another one which is free and in the building with her only client. I don’t want her to leave. I love our time together. I love her. I’m IN love with her. Most of the time I’m content with being her friend whilst being in love with her, but there are moments I crave to know if she feels the same way and wonder what kissing her would feel like.