I took a deep breath before answering, the kind that felt like it scraped my lungs on the way in. "The more contact we have, the more powerful my ability becomes, and the easier it is to both sense and manipulate my switches," I said carefully. To make it clearer, I told her what had happened with my father, how a simple touch had amplified everything beyond what I had expected.
She was silent for a long time. Too long. Her hands stayed clenched in her lap, her shoulders rigid, and I braced myself for the explosion I was sure was coming. When she finally spoke, it was with a calm that caught me completely off guard.
"You mean sex."
The word landed between us, heavy and blunt.
"Not if I don't have to," I replied quickly. "If I can do this without resorting to that, then I won't go that far. I don't want to cross that line unless there's no other choice."
