She stands frozen, her heart racing as he says this final word. Part of her wants to believe him, to think that she's truly that irresistible, but another part knows the truth: it was never about her looks for Uncle Nick. Swallowing hard, she forces herself to turn away from him and walk back to her room, closing the door softly behind her. Her fingers tremble as she reaches down to remove the last vestiges of her arousal, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes.

Closing her eyes, she buries her face in her pillow and tries to forget about everything that just happened. But no matter how hard she tries, the image of him standing there, telling her she's too young and not interested... it burns like acid on her soul. She wants nothing more than to be able to go back out into the hallway and apologize again, beg for his attention, prove herself to him. But she knows that would only make things worse.