Uncharted Territory

I had no idea where Josh was taking me when we hopped into his car, but I was so excited I felt like a child at Christmas time. We might as well have been going to Disney Land as excited as I was, and I was thankful that Josh had the music turned up in case I started squealing.

When we pulled into the parking lot alongside the beach, I knew immediately where we were going. Mine and Josh’s moms had brought us there a few times when we were younger, and I distinctly remembered Josh throwing a tantrum or two when we had been there.

I’d been to the Santa Monica Pier more than once in my life, including quite a few times with Josh, but never once on a date, especially not on a date with Josh.

Josh turned to me, his hand resting on the shift as he placed the car in park. His eyes met mine and he clearly saw something written all over my face.

“We can go somewhere else if you’d like,” he said quickly, not taking his hand off the steering wheel. “I just thought –”

“No, Josh, this is perfect,” I answered, cutting off his words with a shake of my head. “I love it.”

He smiled back at me and took my hand across the console. “Let’s go then.”

He gave my hand once last squeeze before he stepped out of the car and came around my side to open the door for me. I stepped out with a smile and he took my hand again, keeping it close to him as we made our way onto the boardwalk.

It was already starting to get dark, but luckily the place stayed open late, presumably for people just like us. I didn’t know exactly where Josh was headed as we walked slowly along the pier, eyeing all of the shops and small eateries along the way.

We laughed and talked the entire time, and it felt like we’d never been apart. I felt like I was 10 again, before Josh became famous and our lives changed. Before he’d met Natalie and walked down that long road with her that seemed to last forever. I felt calm and peaceful, and it was like I’d never been happier than I was in that moment.

Several shops and unhealthy snacks later, I knew we’d have to be heading back soon. It was getting late and Josh and I both had work in the morning. As much as I wanted to stay with Josh all night and forget about the world, we both had responsibilities that we had to get back to.

We had both turned to the opposite side of the pier, headed in the same direction though we didn’t dare speak about it.

We were walking hand in hand, with my head resting on Josh’s shoulder, when he stopped us both in the middle of the walkway. His head turned to the carousel a few steps over before he looked back at me with a smile.

“Remember the last time we rode that thing?” He asked, his eyes locked on mine.

I chuckled, nodding my head softly. “You threw a fit because you couldn’t ride the white horse.”

Josh glared at me before laughing himself. “It was faster than the rest of them.”

“Whatever you say,” I responded as I shrugged my shoulders.

Josh pressed his lips together then squeezed my hand tightly. “You wanna ride?”

“Aren’t we tall?” I asked, laughing as my lips turned up.

He shook his head quickly before pulling me in the direction of the spinning horses and not giving me any say in the matter. He got two tickets for the ride, and a few short moments later, the gate was open and we were surrounded by kids racing to get to the horse of their choice.

“You take your pick,” Josh said as he pointed to the porcelain horses with his free hand. “I’ll take whatever’s next to you.”

I spotted a free white horse towards the back and moved immediately towards it, guiding Josh with his hand that was wrapped around mine. We reached the black horse and I pet its fake nose before turning to Josh with a smile. “I think this one’s calling your name.”

He laughed at me, and I moved to the brown one next to it, grabbing onto the handlebar while I slinked my foot into the metal rest. I was just about to heave myself onto it when I felt Josh’s hands on my hips, and he was lifting me up and helping me onto the beast.

I smiled at him and he hopped onto his. Our eyes met and he laughed again. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for ten years.”

His eyes were locked on mine and he had the most brilliant smile gracing his lips that all I could do was smile back. “You finally got your white horse.”

He smiled at that, and then the horses began moving up and down as awful music began playing all around us. Kids were laughing and smiling as they waved at their parents, who were taking their pictures from behind the golden fence.

It went on for several moments like that until the ride began to slow before eventually coming to a complete stop. A voice overhead signaled that it was no safe to get off, and Josh hopped off his horse quickly before moving over to help me off of mine.

My foot was stuck in the metal strap and I nearly fell onto Josh before he steadied me and dropped me to the ground, a small smile on his face as he kept his hands on my hips.

He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to my lips, holding it for a short moment while I let out a sigh. When he pulled away, he had a smile on his face as he held me in his hands. “That was even better than I remembered it.”