What?

Ethan stammers, stunlocked by those two words. He knew he should have showered.

Alex gives Ethan a small frown, but her expression still has traces of playfulness. “It’s not that bad, but…” she narrows her eyes, “you should take one. If you want me to touch you that is.”

“Uh…” Ethan pulls his arm off her, quickly rising to his feet. “I’ll run home an-”

“No, no,” Alex cups her chin in her hand, looking up at Ethan with her big eyes. “There is a perfectly good one upstairs. You’ll use that.”

The matter of factly way she says it makes Ethan’s mouth dry. Despite being three years older than her, he feels like she has him at a complete disadvantage now. “R-right,” he tries to keep his voice steady, his nerves flaring up. “I’ll just-”

“But,” Alex’s smirk morphs into a devious grin. “you’ll have to pay the fare for it first.”

“Fare?” Ethan blinks, feeling her advantage growing by the second.

“Mhm,” Alex nods her head, the grin not wavering. “If you want to use my shower, you have to strip down naked. Right. Here.”

Ethan swallows audibly. “S-strip. Are you seri-”

“I’m very serious.”

Ethan’s hand quivers, his fingers tensing. She was serious. Despite her tone, her expression, she was very serious. Suddenly, Ethan wasn't sure if he regretted not showering anymore. He wasn't sure of the opposite either, but now…

“Oh, Ethan. Are you shy?” Alex’s tone is barely just not cruel. “We both know why you came over tonight. You were ready to show me your naked body anyways, what’s the issue now?”

She makes a compelling argument. So compelling in fact, Ethan feels control of his hand return, and with it some measure of composure.

“And if I refuse?” Ethan is shocked he managed to get through the sentence without stuttering.

“Then there's the door.” Alex nods towards the general direction of her front door. “But if you walk out on me, I’m like to never forgive you.”

“How fickle of you.”

“I prefer the term ‘capricious’.”

Nervous, Ethan takes a long moment to think about it. His feelings were difficult to parse out. He could strip, take the shower, and then almost certainly fuck her, but doing so would cost him some measure of dignity. Or, he would keep his dignity, walk out, and try to fuck her again later. Would she respect him if he did as she asked? Would he respect himself? Was the loss of a little respect worth some pussy? Was he even assured they would have sex? Would this set the tone for their dynamic moving forward?

Ultimately, why Ethan chooses what he does next is due to many factors, but he does choose.