When a man and a woman make the mistake of admitting a ual attraction to one another...?

can anything be salvaged of the friendship or relationship? Let's say you let your emotions take the wheel for a moment... let's say one had a couple of drinks and said things that were inappropriate... let's say one or both talked about it further the next day and because of the "rush" of emotion said a couple more things and now one or both regret it after further, reflective, rational thought. Nothing has happened physically at all. Can you say: We're both adults, let's forget this happened? Or is a relationship that is very valuable now tainted and ruined?