Uncharted Territory

Usually I would have woken up just from the sunlight peaking down on my face, but that morning I instead had the pleasure of waking up to the sound of Josh tripping over the coffee table next to the sofa.

“Shit!” he shouted, causing me to shoot up from the bed, rubbing my eyes as I looked at him.

He was hunched over and holding onto his toe while he jumped up and down. His eyes met mine and he gave me a sympathetic smile. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. Just go back to my bed.”

I looked out the window and found that it was light outside, which probably meant I should have been awake anyway.

“That’s okay,” I said, shaking my head as I flipped off my covers and hopped out of bed. “Are you alright?”

I walked over to him and he sat down on the sofa, folding his right leg over his left one so his toe was up in the air. He rubbed the tip of it with his thumb before looking at me with a smile. “Just stubbed my toe. I’ll be fine.”

“Well, I know how much of a baby you can be when you get hurt,” I joked, smirking at him.

He glared at me, a small smile on his lips. “That was one time, Erin. I was six and you hit me with a whiffle ball bat.”

“You should watch where you put your head.” I shrugged my shoulders and stuck my nose in the air, which caused him to laugh.

“You should have watched where you were swinging.”

He stood up and moved towards the small kitchen island where he had stashed a bottle of water and took a drink. I watched him for a moment before I stood up myself and began walking towards him. “So, what are we going to do today?”

Josh clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth, turning to me with his lips twisted. “Well, I had some surfing lessons planned for me and Nat, but I can cancel them if you don’t wanna do that.”

“No, no,” I shook my head quickly, holding my hands up in front of me. “Don’t cancel. That sounds perfect. I’ve always wanted to learn how to surf.”

Josh smiled at me – that warm, welcoming smile that felt like home – and nodded his head. “Good. Let’s eat breakfast and get ready then.”

After room service and a quick shower for each of us, Josh and I were heading down to the beach, where a surf instructor was already waiting for us. He had a truck, which he had parked on the beach, that was labeled Brooks Bros Surfing, and it was filled to the brim with surf boards and wet suits. It didn’t look like the most professional surfing establishment in the area, but it was exactly the sort of thing Josh always went for. Natalie would have thrown a fit about it, I assumed.

The instructor was no older than Josh and I, and he had blonde, curly hair that was beached from the sun, along with a perfectly toned body from spending his life out on the water. He greeted us each with a smile while he shook our hands.

“I’m Sam,” he said, his accent thick with something I didn’t recognize. “You’re Josh and Natalie, right?”

“Erin, actually,” I corrected for him, and luckily he didn’t ask any questions.

“Great,” he said, nodding his head enthusiastically. “I’ve got a great morning planned for you guys. You picked the perfect day to surf. The waves are beautiful today.”

Josh looked at me with a smile before Sam guided us to the back of his truck. He gave Josh and I each a quick look over for our sizes before pulling out two wet suits and two boards that ended up fitting us perfectly.

The water wasn’t the least bit chilly as we stepped out into it, and I was thankful for small favors, because I soon found from paddling that I would be exhausted much more quickly than I expected. I really should have gotten into shape before the wedding.

After we’d made it out into the deeper parts of the water, Sam had us each sit on our boards while he gave us simple instructions, which sounded a lot easier said than done. Josh picked up on them easily and was able to stand up on his board with no help at all.

It was obvious after my third time trying and failing to stand on the board that I was going to need much more help than he would. Every time I tried to stand up, I just fell back to the ocean, water clogging my nose each time. I tried not to let it show how frustrated I was getting, and luckily Josh didn’t say anything about it, which was miracle on its own.

On my fourth try, Sam hopped off his board and moved over to mine, trying to hold it steady while he treaded in the water. He looked up at me with a smile, while he flipped his blonde hair out of his face. “Don’t worry. If you fall, I’ve got you.”

I smiled back at him, nearly swooning when the gorgeous man spoke to me. If nothing else, it would have been worth it just to stare at him all day.

I stood up on the board and tried to plant my feet firmly, sticking my butt out and bending my knees the way Sam had shown us. I thought I nearly had it, and my eyes caught Josh’s while he smiled at me, but I got excited too soon, and went falling backwards again, this time crashing straight into Sam’s arms.

“It’s alright,” Sam said, smiling as he held me in his arms and slowly let me sink into the water again. “I told you I had you.”

My smile widened and I blushed an impossible shade of red before clutching onto my board again. I looked back towards Josh, who was sitting comfortably on his board with his arms folded across his chest, while he glared at the two of us. When he noticed I was looking, his face quickly changed to a smile, which looked just a tad bit empty.

“You almost had it,” Josh said, shrugging his shoulders while he smiled. “Next time, I’m sure.”

I nodded and smiled. “Probably not, but thank you.”

Josh and I stayed out on the boards with Sam for hours, until I thought I wouldn’t be able to move my arms ever again. My body ached in places I didn’t even know could hurt, and I was still far from being a pro surfer, though I could stand on my board for several seconds without falling.

The sun was high in the sky when Sam announced it was time for us to head back, and the three of us paddled out and took off our gear, lying back in its rightful place in Sam’s truck.

“You’re a real natural,” Sam said, smiling as he shook Josh’s hand. He reached out for my hand and beamed at me as he shook it. “You did an excellent job today, Erin. Hopefully I’ll see you back soon.”

I smiled back at him and he hopped into his beat up old truck, driving off with his arm hanging out the window. Josh all but glared at him as he drove away before turning back to our hotel with his arms folded across his chest.

“What’s got your nose turned up like that?” I asked, taking a few quick steps to catch up to him.

He looked over at me with his head cocked to one side, like I should have known. “Don’t worry. If you fall, I’ll catch you,” Josh mocked, his voice a few octaves too high to come anywhere near Sam’s accent.

“He was just being nice,” I said. “He probably felt bad for getting my name wrong.”

Josh clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth before shaking his head. “I’m guessing from the way he was staring at your ass the whole time that that probably isn’t the reason.”

I chuckled at him, tilting my head to the side. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re jealous over surfer boy.”

Josh pierced his eyes at me, his face growing impossibly tighter. “I’m not even going to honor that with a response.”

“Wasn’t that a response, though?”

“He thought we were together, Erin. I told him when I made the reservation that it was for me and my wife. He thought you were my wife and he flirted with you anyway, then proceeded to take my money. It’s the principle of it is all.”

“I’m sure he could tell we weren’t married. He must have known something was up when I had a different name. He probably thought we were having an affair.”

Josh huffed, tightening his eyes as he watched our feet walk across the sand. “Let’s just forget about it, yeah? As long as you don’t leave with him like Natalie left with Mark, I think we’ll be okay.”

My heart stung my chest, because I suddenly realized what the whole thing was about. I had almost completely forgotten that Josh had his heart broken, because he never really acted like it, and it hurt when I remembered that he did. I hated that anyone can hurt my best friend like that, because he was the last person in the world that deserved it.

“I’ll never leave you, Josh,” I said softly, my voice hiccupping in my throat when I realized how it sounded.

Josh looked over at me with a small smile that could barely be called a smile at all. He just stared at me for a long moment with his head tilted to the side. “You swear?”

I nodded my head and his smiled widened as he reached his arm over to place around my shoulder. He pulled me against him with my head hitting the divot in his arm, and we walked like that the rest of the way to the room.