Gentle Forest

Chapter 43

I came down from the mountain completely exhausted. By the time we reached the house, the sky had already darkened. Aiden, who carried me, headed straight to the bathroom without seeking my consent. It was challenging to even stand on my own, so I stood under the shower as he held me gently.

A stream of hot water washed over my
body after rolling in the dirt. Aiden looked down at me with worried eyes as I struggled to breathe. As the heightened excitement subsided, my condition seemed to worsen even further. It was expected, yet a sudden irritation led me to bite my lower lip painfully.

"Are you okay?"

Aiden's caring voice was not welcome right now. As I nodded honestly, Aiden cleaned my body contemplatively. I clung to him, waiting silently for the soothing touch on my aching body, hoping for relief from the overall pain.

He carefully supported me against the wall due to my continually weakening legs and gently wiped my body. It took quite a while to meticulously handle even the mess inside. Occasionally, our actions shifted from kissing to hesitantly exploring each other's bodies.

It was unclear whether it was a continuation of the shower or an extension of intimacy. The absence of any embarrassment in touching each other felt strange.

"Can you eat it?"

"Yes."

Aiden, seemingly deciding that I couldn't swallow anything but porridge, diligently prepared a bowl.

While boiling the white porridge in front of the induction cooker, he turned his shoulders and continuously stretched his muscles and waist. Given the effort he put in, it was understandable. When he noticed my gaze, he blushed and quickly looked away.

"Even though you're an athlete, your stamina is unbelievable..."

Aiden chuckled at my somewhat husky voice

"You are also amazing for accepting it."

"Is that a compliment?"

Nodding in agreement, he gracefully handed me a bowl of porridge. After eating and meticulously scraping the bowl, I eventually took fever and pain relievers. Unable to sit up any longer, I crawled into bed before the porridge could fully digest.

Aiden followed, gently removing the hair stuck to my forehead due to cold sweat. My head felt heavy, throat sore, and intermittent pain between the spine, tailbone, and buttocks occasionally caused shivers.

"On our last night, dealing with this..." I spoke like an elderly person, and Aiden, hugged me tightly. With my face buried in the nape of my neck, I closed my eyes, feeling his breath moisten the nape of my neck. After a while, he lifted his face, gazing somewhere beyond. Following his gaze, a round full moon hung high enough to brighten the forest.

Gazing at the stars that densely filled the night sky, i blinked back tears. The distant view kept losing focus, but the light remained vivid, perhaps reminding him of the ridge where we first kissed. Aiden's spontaneous and observant nature persisted, unchanged from then to now. The change was in me. I began my love affair, which i had no idea about, clumsily and secretly with a person of the same gender. It was truly an amazing change. Aiden had finally achieved his first love, which he had cherished sometimes weakly and sometimes strongly. My vulnerability to his deep-seated emotions was not solely due to my struggle with loneliness.

"My father's estate in New Jersey has a cottage."

Aiden whispered that this place and the night sky resembled that place.

"Is it far?"

"From here, yes."

"What about from New York?"