Chapter 263
Her slender legs carried her forward in an instant, bringing her so close that she now stood only a few inches in front of Theo, ruthlessly invading his personal space.
Without granting even a moment's pause, Aldraya then lifted herself onto her toes, drawing her expressionless face closer to Theo's.
The distance between their noses narrowed rapidly.
And in the midst of this pressurized approach, another unavoidable sensation flooded Theo.
It was not a threat or violence, but a fragrance.
The scent did not come from perfume or soap, but emanated directly from Aldraya's body, perhaps from a faint sheen of sweat or the natural essence of her skin.
It was warm, faintly sweet, and deeply intimate, intoxicating Theo's sense of smell in a way that shook both his concentration and his resolve.
That aroma felt like a final weapon, softening resistance from within.
Theo felt cornered, not only physically but also sensorially.
His rational choices seemed to evaporate under the assault of that scent and the forced closeness.
With a decision that felt made under duress, he finally gave in.
His left hand, which might have been used to restrain Aldraya's shoulder, instead moved toward the girl's steadily approaching face.
Not to strike or shove her away harshly.
His palm pressed against Aldraya's lips, gently pushing her face back just enough to create a sliver of distance, while simultaneously stopping the momentum of lips that were clearly intent on claiming his own.
Still holding Aldraya's face with his left hand, at that dangerously close distance, Theo stated his conditions.
His voice came out slightly breathless, mixed with fatigue and reluctant acceptance.
He declared that he would agree to the request to shower together, under one absolute condition.
As long as Aldraya did not do anything strange in the bathroom.
"Beyond that, there's a main rule: we are not showering naked."
Hoooooh!
"We'll keep our clothes on—shorts and T-shirts.
They'll get wet, but that's fine. That's to avoid any unwanted situations."
Realizing that his reluctant consent opened the door to an extremely risky situation, Theo quickly tried to erect as many safeguards as possible.
After stating the first condition, he continued by laying out a series of additional rules before they actually moved toward the bathroom.
His voice grew firmer, attempting to reassert the authority that had momentarily wavered under Aldraya's physical and sensory pressure.
Among all the declarations and rules he voiced, there was one condition he emphasized as the most important, the foundation of this entire forced "agreement."
Theo clearly stated that the shared shower he was permitting was not a shower in the full sense of the word.
That meant the process would not involve exposing or baring their bodies to one another.
To ensure that, clothing had to remain on.
Thus, the scenario Theo imposed was that they would shower while still wearing their clothes.
The fabric would be soaked by water, growing heavy and clinging to their skin, but its primary function was to act as a barrier, a symbolic protective layer preventing direct skin contact and preserving the remnants of privacy and propriety.
In Theo's logic, as long as a layer of cloth still separated their skin, as long as naked bodies were not openly visible to one another, the potential for "something inappropriate"—his vague term for further intimacy—could be minimized.
It was an awkward and uncomfortable compromise, a solution born of panic, meant to satisfy Aldraya's desire while desperately guarding the moral and psychological boundaries he believed must not be crossed.
"Why does a situation like this feel even more intimate than when everything is truly naked?"
It did not take long for that strange routine to begin.
Within minutes after the heavily conditioned "agreement" was spoken, Aldraya and Theo were already standing inside Theo's private bathroom.
The room that was usually filled only with the sound of water and silence was now occupied by the presence of two figures bound by an unnatural compromise.
They stood facing one another, separated by no more than one or two steps, atop ceramic tiles that were beginning to warm under the steam from water that had yet to flow.
Across from him, Aldraya perfectly maintained her flat expression.
There was no nervousness at being in an intimate enclosed space, no anticipation, nor any hint of embarrassment.
Her face was a blank canvas, reflecting none of the strangeness of the situation unfolding.
Yet it was precisely that absence of expression that became her weapon.
Her clear, empty, unblinking gaze locked straight onto Theo, watching him with an undisturbed intensity.
That gaze, coming from such close range in a space slowly filling with hot steam, had an extraordinary effect.
Aldraya did not need to utter a single word.
Her constant, meaning-laden stare alone was enough to intoxicate Theo's senses.
It created immense psychological pressure, a total and undivided attention that nearly overwhelmed him.
Theo struggled to hold on, to keep his expression neutral and controlled, but beneath that gaze—so innocent yet piercing—amid the increasingly hot and humid air, his defenses felt steadily eroded.
"At a glance it seems simple, but that's exactly where the risk lies. And now that I think about it, I look pretty disheveled too."
Within the rising haze of steam, the clothes they wore became a silent statement of their respective stances.
Aldraya stood in a plain white short-sleeved T-shirt, or perhaps more accurately, a faded pale gray.
The shirt was extremely simple, without logos, text, or fashionable cuts, made of thin cotton that, while not transparent, would faithfully cling to every contour of her skin when wet, revealing the slender slope of her shoulders and the hidden lines of her body.
Below, she wore black or dark gray athletic shorts, ending just above the knee.
The cut was neither tight nor overly loose, with a practical elastic waistband and not a single feminine detail or decorative fold.
Her entire appearance reflected pure firmness and functionality, a choice that gave no consideration to aesthetics or allure.
For Aldraya, this was not about how she looked.
It was purely about achieving her objective.
Being in the same space as Theo.
This shared shower was, to her, a ritual of togetherness, a neutral activity whose essence lay in sharing space and time.
Facing her, Theo wore clothing that was equally ordinary and not designed for this situation.
His T-shirt was dark gray, slightly loose, and clearly well-worn, evident from the stretched and faded texture of the fabric.
It was everyday wear, not clothing meant for bathing.
His shorts were dark brown training shorts, cut close to the knees so they did not expose much of his thighs.
The design was plain, unadorned, suitable only for being worn around the house.
Theo's choice of clothing was not a statement, but an act of pragmatism—and perhaps an attempt to normalize a situation that was anything but normal by dressing as he usually did.
The contrast in intention behind their clothing choices was stark.
Aldraya, in deliberate simplicity, seemed to strip clothing of all social meaning, reducing its function to nothing more than a basic barrier per their agreement, while focusing her entire essence on the experience of "togetherness."
To be continued…