Travel with Me - V (aka Kim Taehyung) BTS COMPLETE

Chapter 4 - The perfect picnic

Chapter 4

Marley POV

I negotiated getting Sophia dressed while butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Dressing a wiggly preschooler was enough to distract me from what was about to happen but only for a few minutes. As soon as her clothes were on, she wanted to go back to cartoons and normally she didn't watch this much TV, but today was the exception. I had too much on my mind. But I busied myself by doing a few chores, making a snack for Sophia, and before I knew it, it was time to load into the car and set out to meet him.

Half of me felt ready, the other half of me was terrified. Not because he was a celebrity. I'd met him when I didn't know so I felt like we'd already gotten over that and been able to talk a little without that hanging over our heads. But I felt nervous, worried and excited at the thought someone wanted to spend time with me again. Matty was my everything through high school and I hadn't really looked at other boys. Here was a man and my heart was fluttering like a teenager again. The only problem was, that he was who he was and I was me. I sighed, trying to ignore the thoughts ticking through my brain. "Let's just go and have a nice time and see what happens," I thought as I buckled Sophia in and turned the engine on.

20 minutes later, we pulled up and I turned the car off, walking around to open the back door and unbuckle Sophia. The park-like setting stretched out in front of us and in both directions, vacant land of houses that had long ago disappeared and was now deemed heritage land. Trees were scattered making many tiny little places to while away the afternoon in almost seclusion. People walked dogs here but not very often, you could find fruit trees left to grow unattended and forage to your hearts content. I knew it would be fairly private for us to enjoy for however long we had together. Grabbing the picnic rug from my car, we walked towards the trees.

A few minutes later a black SUV pulled up next to my car and the back door opened. I wondered if the driver, and I guessed there was likely security, would come too but only one figure started to walk towards me and my heart sped up. Dressed in a baseball cap, white branded t-shirt, grey track pants, and carrying a large basket, he was the very description of low-key and boyfriend rolled into one. Apart from the fact he could devastate you with a look, he could pass for someone out for some exercise but I found it quite sexy, especially the way he strode. He was looking at the ground, maybe in an attempt to stay undercover but when he was close enough to make out his facial features, he looked up and when our eyes met, his seemed to come to life, his smile stretching out across his cheeks. My smile in return was automatic and it felt amazing to do that so freely not to mention to see him again.

Sophia stood at my side, grabbing my top and watching as he arrived next to us. "Hello again," he said greeting her first.

"Hello man," she replied, earning a huge laugh from V.

"You can call me Tae," he said, tousling her hair and looking at me with an expression I couldn't read. "And hello again Marley. I am very happy we could do this today. You look beautiful."

I blushed at his compliment having not heard that from a man in what felt like a long time."It's a very nice surprise for us too. Shall I call you Tae as well then, even though you introduced yourself to me as V yesterday?" I asked as we spread the picnic rug out on the ground, placing the basket on top.

He indicated a place to sit on the rug, reaching for my hand to guide me down next to him. As I settled on the rug, he squeezed my hand briefly before letting go, the ripple effect spreading through my chest so that I had to take a deep breath.

"V is my stage name, Kim Taehyung is my full name, Tae is who I am to friends. You can call me any of those but I like Tae," he answered carefully, beginning to unpack the basket. I realised what a chore it was to choose his English words and wondered how long he had been learning.