“Inching the towel back...”
Not a classic phrase, so far as I know, but it brings images of massage parlors to my mind. Or, surgical draping for the less prurient.
I’d guess there isn’t a Chinese massage parlor operating in America right now. Lol.
Oh, okay. Bear in mind no one can read your mind. Standard English communicates and that’s to your (and your reader’s) advantage. JMO.