“Stand under the water.”
M looked at S timidly.
“Like we talked about…”
He did as he was told.
The water was lukewarm. He felt exposed.
He looked up at her in anticipation, wincing as she reached for the tap.
“Close your eyes.”
He slowly lowered his eyelids. His hand instinctively covered his genitalia.
“No…”
He let his hands hang at his sides, his muscles fraught with tension.
“Deep breaths.”
He tried to focus himself, breathing.
“One…”
He breathed in apprehensively. She reached out to hold his hand.
“Two…”
He held the breath in his chest for a moment, his grip tightening around her hand.
“Three…”
He exhaled as deeply as he could, steadying himself with a pause.
She turned the tap to its coldest setting. He yelped.
“Ow!”
Icy water shot out of the fixture over his head, pelting his body in freezing, continuous streams.
“Huu…”
His body was shuddering, his face anguished in pained horror. He felt a desperate panic as she let go of his hand. He tried to shield himself from the torrent.