Ethan:
I feel her arms surrounding me... and for a second I don't react.
My body stands still, as if trying to understand what's going on.
I slowly look down, her hands are on my abdomen... open, firm, pressing with a need that I did not expect from her.
That gesture... Coming from Clara... It feels different.
I swallow hard.
I feel how she gets closer, how her body sticks to mine... How she inhales my smell, as if she needed it. Her fingers barely move, they cling a little more, as if that hug is getting stronger... more real.
I stop what I was doing, the plate is set aside.
I take a cloth with slow movements and dry my hands, trying to keep the calm that I no longer have inside. My breathing changes, everything changes.
I turn slowly. I stand in front of her and I see her.
Her
