Uncharted Territory

When I woke up the next morning, I was laying in Josh’s arms, with both of us tangled underneath the covers of our hotel room bed. We were both fully clothed, still wearing the same outfits we’d worn to the beach, and my hair was a tangled mess from having Josh’s fingers running through it and the wind blowing in it.

Though I was awake, Josh was still sleeping next to me, peacefully snoring in the soft way he’d done since we were young and he’d rid himself of his bed wetting habit. I was careful not to move as I didn’t want to wake him, but like he could sense everything I did on some deeper level, his eyes fluttered open only moments after mine did.

“Good morning,” he said, yawning softly as he used his arms to cling me more tightly to his chest. I tilted my chin up so our eyes met and he smiled. “Did you sleep well?”

I nodded my head gently, digging it deeper into his chest as my fingers gripped onto his shirt more tightly. “Did you?”

He chuckled as his fingers began rubbing against the exposed skin by my shoulder. “I think that was the best sleep I’ve gotten in a long time.”

My smile widened, though I had tilted my head back down so he couldn’t see it. I was scared to move, scared to get up, scared to find out what would happen when I did. I didn’t know if this was all part of the vacation bubble that was going to burst as soon as we began packing our things, which would have to happen shortly as our flight was leaving at noon.

“We should probably start packing, shouldn’t we?” I asked, though I didn’t want to know the answer. I clutched on his shirt as tight as ever, focusing on the feeling of his fingers dancing along my skin.

“Let’s wait just a bit,” he whispered back. “I want to hold you for just a moment longer.”

I smiled again, a happy sigh leaving my lips as he wrapped both of his arms around me and pulled me into him, not letting go even when I was as close as I could get.

It was several moments before Josh stirred again, his eyes drifting to the alarm clock on the night stand by the bed. He let out a small groan and loosened his grip on me.

“We should really talk to the front desk about not putting clocks in the room,” he said. “This is supposed to be a vacation, isn’t it?” He paused, letting out another long breath while he reached his hand down for mine. Our fingers met and he continued speaking. “I guess we can’t hold off any longer.”

I knew it meant that we would have to start packing so we could head back to California, where all of our problems so happily lived. It would be like torture getting onto that plane, but I had work and so did Josh, and we’d have to go back to the real world eventually.

Long breaths leaving both of our lips, we sat up in the bed and planted our feet back onto the floor. Our packing began then, and it was a much slower process than unpacking had been. My hands were practically shaking when I folded the last of my shorts into the suitcase and zipped it up.

Josh was still hunched over his suitcase and I rolled mine up to the door before sitting on the sofa to wait for him. My eyes never left his body as I watched him slowly pack up his belongings into one small suitcase that would fit as a carry-on bag.

“What –” I fumbled over my words, almost wishing I’d never began speaking at all. “What’s going to happen when we get back?”

“What?” Josh asked, immediately stopping what he was doing to look at me. His gaze made it even more difficult to speak, but I forced myself to do it anyway.

“With us, I mean.” I let out a long breath as I pressed my lips together. “What’s going to happen with us when we get back? You and Natalie just –”

“Erin,” Josh said, interrupting me as he walked over and sat next to me on the sofa. His hand reached for mine and when they touched I froze. “I don’t want you to worry about any of that, okay? I’ll figure it all out, I promise.”

I nodded my head gently, unsure of what else to say, and Josh reached his arms around me to pull me into his chest. My head fell just below his chin and he rested his head on top of mine while he rubbed small circles on my back. He pressed one soft kiss to the top of my head while he tightened his grip on me.

“I’m gonna figure everything out,” he whispered. “I’ll find a way to make this work.”