"Oh! Oh – oh my goodness!" Sarah pulled up her knees to try to hide her nudity, hoping the bubble bath offered some coverage. "How did you – I mean why are you here?"

"You called for me, Sarah. Don't you remember what your friends said? 'Should you need us, for any reason at all'?" with a turn of his wrist, he produced a crystal and began to absent mindedly roll it around his hands, "Surely you didn't think I would allow myself to be excluded from that delicious prospect of invitation?"

Mouth agape, Sarah's mind raced and she suddenly felt very sober. The last time he came when she'd called, it had been to take Toby. But Toby wasn't here, and she was home alone. He couldn't be here for her . . . could he? Plus, she was naked! Could this get any worse? "But I didn't mean to – You can't have me! I won't let you turn me in a goblin!"

"A goblin?" He stilled the crystal in his palm, threw back his head and laughed. "Really! If I were going to steal away with you, my plans would be much different than that." The smile on his face fell a little, "You do know how I feel about you Sarah. After all I offered you, I had hoped that you would think better of me than that."

"So that was real?" She blundered, then, embarrassed by the tactless question, amended it quietly, "I mean – I thought it was just a trick."

The Goblin King looked away to mask a pang of dejection with feigned nonchalance. "I would have thought you'd learned the power of words in my world, Sarah. I always mean what I say."

Silence settled between them. Sarah tried to decide whether this revelation made the awkward situation better or worse and how she was going to get out of her compromising position without him seeing her naked. Knowing that he had been serious all those years ago definitely changed things. Never imagining they would meet again, she had filled her head with lewd thoughts of him. There was no denying that, but where did it leave her? Jareth broke the silence, gesturing to the forgotten wine on the counter next to him. "Do you mind?"

"Um, no, I guess not. But we can't stay in here, I'm . . . not decent!"

Jareth smirked but ignored her. With a roll of his wrist, the crystal orb he had been holding turned into a wine glass that he then moved to fill. His eyes swept over her naked shoulders and he resumed his bemused and suggestive demeanor. "So it would seem I've been on your mind. I wonder if your thoughts are as innocent as they were when we were together last? Would you care to share what you were thinking about when you called my name with such bated breath?"

Sarah blushed and ducked her head to conceal a small smile, feeling like the cat who ate the canary. He's not going to let me out of this easily, is he? Well two can play this game.

Schooling her face into something more closely resembling challenge, she tried to pretend she wasn't naked and muster some self-confidence. Her eyes gave him a deliberate once over, admiring the way his pale gray breeches clung to the line of his hip and thigh. "No, I don't suppose I would."

His grin widened. "Such a pity. And next you're going to tell me you aren't even going to invite me into the bath.."

"You would be correct. Now would you please hand me a towel so I can get out of here? Since I invited you – however accidentally – I guess I should try to play hostess – which means putting on clothes, for a start." No point in dancing around the situation.

Jareth raised an eyebrow and looked like was going to say something saucy but thought better of it. He jumped down from the counter lithely and pulled a towel from the rack. Stepping close to her, he held the towel to himself and leaned over to try to peer down through the water.

"Do you mind?" Sarah shrilled and grabbed at a dangling corner of the cloth.

Jareth just smirked and turned to leave to room. Pausing as he opened the door, he looked over his shoulder at her. "You can't blame a chap for trying," he laughed.

Good grief, what have I got myself into? He's worse than a college boy! Sarah rolled her eyes as she stood up and covered herself with the towel when she heard his footsteps on the stairs. I totally forgot how sensational his pants were, though. Wow! She shook herself, mentally. Seriously though, flirting is one thing, but I can't let this situation get away from me. I've never been one for random hookups, and I'm not about to start now. Though wouldn't that be one heck of a story? Okay, okay. I'm not thinking about this anymore. Be sensible, Sarah.

Figuring it was better than changing back into just her t-shirt and panties in case he came back upstairs, Sarah decided to make her way back to her bedroom wearing the towel. Stepping slowly since her eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness, Sarah slunk down the hall to her old bedroom. Considering her clothing options, she decided on something feminine but casual. Sarah slipped into a tiered peasant skirt and camisole. She couldn't really ask him to leave, but she certainly wasn't going to dress up for him.

Steeling herself, Sarah padded down the stairs and found that Jareth had made himself comfortable in the living room. He was sitting sideways in her father's recliner, one leg thrown over the arm, reading the back cover of her paperback. Sarah tried to avert her eyes from the unapologetically prominent bulge in his pants. She paused to close her eyes and mentally shoo away any inappropriate thoughts before they could develop any further. Coughing lightly to announce her presence, Sarah moved to the couch and tried to surreptitiously slide her discarded jeans behind her, hoping he hadn't noticed. Cellophane wrappers from her childish excuse for dinner littered the coffee table. What a disaster.