The steel in Peggy's voice may as well have been a bucket of ice water dumped over Steve's head, or maybe even a slap across the face. He reeled back, snatching his hand away from her as if he'd been burned, horror stamped all over his face. It wasn't that her words were particularly brutal, but her tone spoke volumes. He'd obviously crossed a line, obviously made her uncomfortable, though he was having a hard time putting together the reasons she might be reacting like this. Had he been too pushy? But he'd only asked - well, begged, really, but he'd left the ball in her court, he hadn't demanded or forced.
So maybe it was that she'd changed her mind, that she just didn't want to, with him.
Either explanation was deeply upsetting, and Steve sucked in a ragged breath as he backed away from her. "Sorry," he said, his voice still thick and rough. "Sorry, I didn't mean to - I'm - " He fumbled behind him for the bathroom door, as desperate to get away from her as he'd been to touch her just moments ago. He couldn't face her, not when she wanted nothing to do with him right now. Escape was his only option, even if he had no idea how he was going to get through this on his own. His whole body ached, and what he wanted - needed - more than anything was someone else's touch.
That clearly wasn't an option, however, and so he'd have to figure out a way to deal with it on his own.