I get up from the bed, walk into the bathroom, and close the door behind me. I walk up to the tub, and I see a nozzle. I turn it, and the tub instantly fills with nice hot water. Magic must make it possible to do this. The convenience of magic integrated with society is one of the best things. It really changes people's lives, and when all the little things stack up, it starts to get big. I unequip my armor and give myself a whiff.

I definitely have a bad smell. I dip into the tub, and as I do, it fills with soapy bubbles that are also filled with cleaning magic. It feels good too. It relaxes all the muscles in my body. I roll my neck and shoulders as I soak in the tub, and my joints pop. I hear a knock on the door and a small voice. "Can I come in too, Zern... I'd like to take a bath as well..." I sigh and ignore her, hoping she'll go away. She doesn't, though. She takes my silence as permission.

I turn my head and watch her walk into the slightly steamy room. "Sally... I don't know what your planning, but I'd prefer it if you consider what you are doing. Suppose you have then go and think about it some more." She walks up to the bubbly tub and looks down at me. She is wearing a frustrated look, and I can tell she is unhappy with my words. I don't know what is happening, but I don't want to do anything like that after only knowing each other a day.

Many men would call me a pansy, gay, or a prude. You have to take into consideration what Sally has been through. She likes me, but he also has a lot of shit to unpack, and being with me sexually isn't going to help. "I understand what you explained earlier. I want to show you that I don't think that way about you..." She says that last part very slowly and begins to take her clothes off. She is trying to prove something that doesn't need to be proved right now.

She isn't ready for this, and both of us know it. The question is, why is she even attempting it. In my thoughts, I forget the current situation, and she sinks into the tub as well. Her legs are on top of mine, and she sighs. I can feel her shaking in fear. "Why are you doing this, Sally? You need way more time to work through your issues than just a couple of hours. You are already in the tub so I won't kick you out, but this is the limit." She stops shaking and relaxes.

She has an incredible fear of physicality, it seems. Saying that calmed her down, took a lot of guts to go this far. So she might recover quicker with a good friend to support her. "I'm sorry for making you worry about my state of mind, Zern. It means a lot to me that you don't treat me like a piece of meat. I never thought I'd have someone like you in my life, thanks to my past. You don't see me as others do. It makes me feel weird inside... It makes me feel a way I've never felt before..." She is falling hard.

We might have something happen in the future, but as of now, there isn't going to be anything. I'm also a little scared of sex, to be honest. As a man I get looked down upon for being a virgin at 20 years old, my sister is an excellent example of someone who makes fun of me. I just can't be that vulnerable with someone. If I'm not in absolute control of everything I can control, it terrifies me. Sexual feelings and action are something that compromises that.

In a way, it's cowardice not wanting to be that vulnerable, and in many ways, I agree. "Sally, I want you to know I'm not comfortable with sex either. You need to know that feelings and things related to liking someone scares me." She looks at me from across the tub and gives me an understanding look. She also tilts her head for me to continue knowing there is more. "I don't like the lack of control that comes with things like that. Without that control, I feel absolutely powerless and weak." She understands in her way.

She didn't control what happened to her, and she has lived a life I couldn't survive through. She scoots through the water and comes to my side of the tub. She leans her shoulder on my shoulder and stays quiet for a few seconds. She finds my hand under the water and interlocks her fingers with mine. "Sometimes surrendering to such things can help find something you didn't know you needed." Wise words from the 103-year-old half-elf.

I don't know how to do that, though. No one likes to feel that way. I look her in her blue-green eyes and see her staring into mine. She starts to lean forward and slowly closes her eyes. Women sure are slick at getting close when you don't expect it. She is trying to both help me and help herself with this action. I'm not sure how I should respond. It doesn't sit well with me. Doing this doesn't feel right. I turn my head as she watches with half-lidded eyes.

She stops her approach and settles back into her position. She was very open right there, and perhaps not doing anything with that will hurt her more than help. I have to watch out for my feelings and thoughts, too, though. "It hurts me that the one I want doesn't want me... I get that you are rejecting me because of my issues and yours, but that doesn't make it sting any less." She speaks words from her heart, and I sympathize.

Suddenly, I feel her move fast and grab my head with her hands. She leans all the way in real fast and steals a long kiss from me. She shifts her body on top of mine and straddles me. She slowly moves her lips and runs her tongue along my teeth. I almost push her off of me, but I place my hands on her back and bring her in closer with my hands. I open my mouth, and she swirls her tongue with mine.

Her breasts are squishing against my chest as she does things to my mouth I never experienced before. I close my eyes, surrendering to the pleasant feeling of her technique. I feel her hands slide down my head and glide down my torso. My member is a large one, and she is heading straight for it. As a tall man with large proportions, it's an easy sign of what's under the hood. I feel her hand touch it, and I snap back to my senses.

I grab her shoulders and push her away. I was a little rough in the separation, but not enough to hurt her. "Geez, Sally... You were going to take it all the way, weren't you..." As my blurry eyesight clears, I see her shaking body and the fearful nature of her posture. She wasn't ready for any of that, and she still tried to do something. She is either messed up more than I thought or likes me too much. I stand up from the tub and grab one of the towels. "Take some time before you come out of the bathroom, get your head straight. I need time to get mine." She looks away in shame and nods her head.

I exit the bathroom with a towel around my waist, and I sit on the bed. That was the first time another person ever touched me like that. I'll admit it felt great for the brief second it happened. Her hands were super soft, but she and I aren't ready for any of that. I take a deep breath and plop the rest of my body onto the bed. I place my arm over my eyes and sink into the darkness that it provides. Sally is much more complex than I thought she was.

She has an extreme fear of men being physical in any way but is willing to push herself for me. While I appreciate the gesture, it still isn't healthy. Sally has been through horrors that will affect her for a very long time, do the same stuff that causes her psychological trauma is extremely dangerous. I don't put my friends into places like that. I hear the bathroom door open and listen to her soft footsteps reach the bed.

It'd before the best that I sleep on the floor or something. After that fiasco, it's not a good idea to share a bed. "I'll sleep on the floor tonight. Next time we are at an inn, you get the floor." I announce the plan to Sally, and she doesn't respond. I uncover my eyes, and I look over at where she sat. I see that she is wrapped in a towel and has curled up into a ball. Her face is buried in her knees. I take one of the pillows from the top and bring it down to the ground with me.

I take one of the blankets too and set everything up. "I'm sorry, Zern... I just thought..." She stops talking and curls up even more. Letting her sort it in her head is a good idea, if I say anything related to what happened it might make her hurt more. So I'm going to try to get some shut eye.