No, I didn’t peek. Sin was a local benefactor that owned a roof with semi-working plumbing and electricity underneath. I was broke, and I didn’t want to be chased out of town; offending her was the last thing I’d do. I’ll admit that I was tempted on several occasions, though they were nothing but fleeting flights of fancy.

There was one moment, however, where I was enticed. I was done with the dishes and was sitting at the dining table, letting the time pass. The folding door opened and Sin stepped out of the bathroom fresh out of a shower. She had nothing but a towel wrapped across her torso, with one hand clutching the top and the other holding onto her worn uniform. The moisture still clung onto her tanned skin, shining off a glossy sheen off her body. Her hair was still wet, with droplets hanging off the tip of her blonde bangs. I could see traces of her true, bare figure curving out from the towel she wore. From the clothes she held I spotted a bra strap poking out from within, which meant unless there was a secret underwear compartment beneath the bathroom tiles that I didn’t know about, she was naked underneath that towel.

My imagination ran wild as she captivated my sight. Images formed in my mind that if divulged, would definitely have me kicked out of the house with a vengeance.

Then I realized I was laying gaze at Sin for a moment too long and promptly looked away out of reflex. Unfortunately, Sin had noticed my eyes long before I turned them away from her.

I took a sneak peek at her for confirmation. Sure enough, she was flashing a smug grin that spoke all that it needed to. Evidently, it wasn’t enough for her; she had to add salt to the wound, “It’s okay. I don’t mind. Keep looking.”

I had learned from experience that when caught, the way to deal with it is to own up to it. There is nothing else one could do in these situations. Instant denial is basically an indirect way of claiming guilt. To show shame would be to give up one’s emotional superiority. In this instance, admittance was the only thing I could do. I’ve only known Sin for a day, but I had a feeling she’d use this moment against me. Whether it was for a tease or blackmail, either way, I didn’t like the prospect.

I took her weapon and turned it against her, “Don’t mind if I do,” I shot my eyes back towards Sin and flashed my hardest glare towards her body.

Call me petty; what’s done was done. I worked too. Sin recoiled for a second, surprised by my sudden commitment. She didn’t lose composure, however. In fact, she caught on to my strategy and wasn’t above playing my game. It was written on her expression in plain letters. She wasn’t about to back down any time soon.

Sin hooked a gentle finger beneath the towel, teasing to undo her wrappings, “Want to see more?”

In complete honesty, I do want to see more. Who wouldn’t? I was a red-blooded straight boy staring at a ripe, charming girl of my taste willing to strip herself down for my pleasure. Under any circumstance, I’d say yes before she could even finish the question.

These were different circumstances, however.

And above being a healthy boy, I was also a competitive boy.

I wasn’t a driving force on the battlefield during my younger years. Most of my hours were spent backstage, maintaining equipment, administering first-aid, managing logistics, and reviewing reconnaissance reports from our scouts. Even so, I had to be competent to dispatch an opposition if need be, whether it is for necessity or self-defence. I was trained as hard as any other soldier on duty. I reckoned I was treated significantly harsher, being of direct descent of one of the trainers who practised tough love.

In the end, I wasn’t as strong as the other soldiers, but that was attributed to my age. I was but a child, still. It wasn’t a fruitless endeavour, however. I could fend myself off better than the average adult, and can take reasonably good care of myself.

I also had a prematurely developed body that served as a headstart against all my other competitors of the same sex. Most guys would’ve only begun giving attention to their appeal when puberty hit. I was already cultivating that aspect long before I even realized it.

And it was all done to serve for this very moment.

I stayed in my chair and changed my posture to a wide-legged slouch as I threw an arm over the backrest. With my free hand, I tugged onto Sin’s jersey which I still wore on me and pulled it away from my torso, revealing a big part of my chest to the girl. I stopped my advance right as the sleeve was about to come off my shoulder.

I gave her a wink, “I’ll trade for it.”

Sin was expecting a counter-attack, but not to this degree. She still kept her smug grin, but I spotted a slight flutter from her eyebrows. Even so, she was no quitter. She pulled her towel a little lower, spilling more and more of her freckles into view.

I replied in kind, dragging the jersey’s sleeve every closer towards the edge. I raised my head for good measure, exposing my thick, built neck into the naked air, giving focus to the definition of my collarbone. I didn’t know girls liked those things until I overheard one of the soldiers talk about it during meal times in the mess hall. I wasn’t sure how accurate the fact went, but if it’s an advantage I could use, use it I would.

Sin didn’t stop. She was adamant. I was shocked by her courage. She managed to pull her towel down where it was shy of a few inches from slipping off her body. It marked the first time I’ve ever seen her cleavage. I was gripped by her allure; her freckles extended down to her body, I found out. It peppered a great deal around her breasts, tempting me to see if it did spread down to her unseen nipples. As small of a window it was, I could just about see her abdomen from between her cleavage. There too, the freckles colonized. I caught minor glimpses of her fit physique within, but never a full glance.

For a moment there, I lost my sense of self. I managed to pull my heart back out from the abyss of visual pleasure. Ironically, it was Sin’s cheeky, growing grin that managed to reignite the flame in my chest to call my head back. There wasn’t a shadow of a doubt that she saw herself stand on the upper ground during that moment.

It was a close one. I wasn’t about to give her a second chance, nor any more for that matter.

It was time to release the big guns.

I took off Sin’s jersey entirely, catching the girl off guard. I tensed my arms, pushing all my flesh beneath my skin for her to see. I placed the jersey on the table and sat up straight. Pushing the chair behind me, I stood up at a slow pace, twisting every inch of my muscles under the light. The lotion I accidentally used in the shower managed to help a lot with the gleam. Inch by inch, I revealed my hips and waist and eventually, the pink towel wrapped around my crotch.

Sin’s expression changed. Her pose remained the same, but her eyes were wide open. Her gaze at my body was focused and intense. Her smug smile had long since been wiped away from her face, replaced with a mouth agape with trembling emotions.

I had won the fight; next was to win the war.

I stuck a thumb on my neck and ran it down my torso. It rolled over my collarbone as it made its way down the valley between my chest. I pushed it down to my stomach where it tugged against the skin, accentuating my stiff, hardened abdomen.

My thumb soon reached its final destination, whereby I stuck it in between my groin and the pink towel and pinched it with my index finger.

“Alright,” Sin called out, pulling her towel up as she stood straight back up, “That’s enough fooling around.”

I grinned, “It’s okay. I don’t mind. Keep looking.”

Sin’s face was flushing. She stormed her way towards her bedroom, which was yet another “room” partitioned by wooden panels. It sat right next to the bathroom, with its only doorway being obscured with no more than a curtain that only hung half its height from the top.

She pushed past the curtains and stepped in, but not before shooting a look towards me, “Speak for yourself.”

I wondered what she meant by that for a second. Then, as I took back Sin’s jersey to wear, I checked downwards.

My meat shaft was saluting towards the air, poking out from beneath the pink towel. It didn’t show itself out as it was just at half-mast. It was fortunate, because if any more, there would’ve been no chance for the towel to hide it.

I sat back down, wore Sin’s jersey, and calmed myself down.

I considered this war to conclude in a draw. It was a hard-fought battle.