Can sad people be hot?

I'm working on a story right now that in my mind is hot but I wonder how others will perceive it. It involves that seductive desire of sex with an ex. In the story, the previous relationship involved dominance and submission. The heroine's current relationship has fallen apart yet she is still living with her ex lover as neither can afford to move out. She is flirting with her ex online and eventually meets up with him. They discover that the d/s spark between them never really went away. She was and is the 'top' and taking it on again feeds her with empowerment. There is an overall tone of sadness as she is still working out her most recent relationship conundrums. Her experience with her ex allows her to feel beautiful in ways that she hasn't for a while. In many ways, it would be way easier to rewrite the story with her being single but something tells me that's not as realistic. Also, I like exploring the complexities of dominance - that sometimes even dominant lovers get themselves into relationships wherein they are not in control. So she has to struggle against that image of herself to connect with her past. I believe that real hotness comes from real situations. I just hope this isn't a little too real. (She says as she goes off to do another rewrite before submitting the story to an anthology...)