Trauma of the Forest (Meadema)

~ Chapter 3: Discovering the Forest ~

Hand in hand, as they often did, they walked through the forest. The leaves crunched under their shoes and the surroundings filled with the sounds of all kinds of birds. After every few steps, Viv rubbed the back of Beth's hand with her soft thumb. Such a nice feeling. Still, there was no better feeling for Beth than the feeling she got when Viv touched her.

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The fourth date, a walk in the woods, after the first dates had been a great success. And now? For the first time, it was visible to other people how much they cared for each other. How well they actually suited each other, without them ever having thougt of that.

For the first time a visible signal to the outside world that something was blossoming between the two. That something in the chemistry between the two was changing. First from enemies to buddies, but now a change from buddies on the field to friends off the field, and perhaps even on the way to more.

Viv had made another move. Viv had grabbed her hand and wouldn't let go. Hand in hand, they walked through the forest. A lump had shot through Beth's throat, her hand filled with all sorts of tingling sensations. Viv's cold hand, stuck in her warm hand.

Viv, who had said in an open conversation after the second date that it would probably take a while before the outside world would be able to see that something was changing, was now the Viv who had taken Beth's hand. Had Beth already stirred something in Viv in this short time? Had something changed?

Strangers were passed, but this Viv, who had made it so clear that she wanted to take it slow, to keep her developing relationship with Beth a secret, did not let go. She held Beth's hand tightly, even tighter the moment a stranger passed, as a kind of signal that Beth should not withdraw her hand.

Beth had looked up at Viv, to look at the emotion in her eyes, hoping that Viv didn't notice. She had expected to see some fear and uncertainty in Viv's eyes, but no, nothing, only pride radiating from her eyes.

And the tingling didn't go away, the magical feeling in her hand only grew stronger. From that moment on, she knew for sure. She never wanted to let go of this hand, always hold on to it. This was the hand she would one day hold, the moment she got down on one knee. These were the fingers she wanted to have rubbed over her every moment they lay together. This was the ring finger, on which she would one day slide a ring.

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Beth looked at Viv cautiously, hoping she wouldn't notice. 'What?', Viv laughed when she of course did notice Beth looking at her. 'Nothing', Beth giggled. 'Nothing? Come on tell me. I know there's something in your mind'. Afraid to say what was going through her mind, she made up a lie. "Just an inside joke," she lied. 'An inside joke? You sure?', Viv asked with an undertone.

'Okay fine, I'm just enjoying your finger running over my hand, but I don't want you to stop now that I've said it', Beth said sweetly. Viv looked away, a light blush appearing on her cheeks. Shyness? For Viv it was normal. She was never one for romantic moments, not even with Beth, although those were her own words. According to Beth, there was no better romantic than her Vivi.

Viv thought hard about what to say. At a loss for words, she decided to bring Beth's hand, still intertwined with hers, to her lips and give it a soft kiss. It gave Beth goosebumps. Viv's lips on her body, absolutely sunkissed.

They walked on, enjoying the silence. It seemed as if they were getting lost in the beauty of nature. They arrived at a small bridge, where Beth leaned slightly over the railing, looking around to take in the beautiful nature.