Adventuring with Him

I wake up to knocking. I get out of bed and open my bedroom door, but there's no one there. Still, the knocking continues. I smile when I realize it must be coming from the window. I open the curtains to my neighbor and best friend, Joey Williams, sitting on the roof. I open it with a roll of my eyes.

"Joey, it's 3 AM. What the heck do you think you're doing?"

He smiles. "Wanna go on an adventure?" I sigh. Adventure was Joey's middle name. Literally. His parents were archeologists before he was born.

"Depends. Is it illegal?"

"No..." He replies with a sly grin.

"What are we gonna do?"

"That's the fun of it.  I'm not gonna tell you."

I bite my lip, thinking. The last time I joined him, we broke into the local museum. We didn't get caught, but if we had we'd have been arrested. But, the adventures we go on are always fun.

"Yeah, fine. Let me get dressed." He grins as I close the curtain. I grab a hoodie, jeans, and my Doc Martens along with my bag. I don't even bother to put on makeup.  I climb out the window and down the drainpipe. Joey is already in his Mazda as I drop down.

"You ready for some fun?" He asks, still grinning as I buckle my seatbelt.

"Definitely," I reply.

We drive for about an hour when we turn onto a dirt road. "We'll go about a mile this way and stop."

"Ok...but Joey..."

"Leah, it's fine. I've checked it out. This is going to be a totally safe adventure."

"But where are we going?" I say, getting frustrated.

"This cabin I found. It's awesome. I found a bunch of old books that you'd love." He says with a smile. "I found it yesterday when I was running."

"You were running all the way out here?"

He shrugs. "I needed a change of scenery. It's not as fun when all you see are mailboxes, plants, and front porches." Suddenly, he pulls over into the grass and puts the Mazda in park. "We're walking from here." He says. I smile and grab my bag.

I call it my 'adventure bag' because it has everything I'd need on one of Joey's surprise adventures; flashlight, snacks, water, and a lot of hair bands. 

We walk into the woods and it’s anything but silent. The noises of a forest are so familiar at this point that I don’t jump at every sound. The sounds of the forest are like its theme song; the owls hoo-ing, the cicadas buzzing, the crickets chirping...it’s come to be my favorite kind of music. 

At one point, Joey takes my hand in his. You’d think this would be a normal occurrence considering how much time we spend together and how often we’d been told we should date, but this was a first. Joey never makes any indication that he’s in love with me as much as I am with him; or that he even likes me like that.  

Suddenly, he stops. “Do you hear that?” He asks. I hold my breath and listen. It’s silent. I shake my head. “Exactly. It’s too quiet.” Just then, a howl pierces the silence like a window shattering. I look at Joey and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen him scared. 

He pulls me in the direction we’ve been going, but we’re running now. I almost stumble trying to keep up with him. After about two minutes of running, I see the cabin. Unfortunately, I also hear the wolves chasing us. Joey yanks me into the cabin and slams the door closed. He bolts it and I help him place an old cabinet to act as a barricade.  Lucky for us, there aren’t any windows we have to block.

We collapse against the cabinet, panting. The silence is filled by our beating hearts and the thoughts racing through my head. Did he not say this was safe? Did he not tell me not to worry? Should I worry now? Why did he decide to hold my hand? 

“I thought you said this was gonna be safe,” I say quietly. 

“I thought it would be.” He replies guiltily. He looks down and our hands are still intertwined. He quickly takes his hand back and hugs his knees to his chest. “I’m sorry I got you into this.” He says, barely audible. 

“It’s OK. It’s not your fault.”

“I should’ve looked more closely.” I almost laugh. If there’s one obvious thing about Joey, it’s that he’s a perfectionist. He wouldn’t have let himself miss anything.  We hear a growl on the other side of the door; a little too close for my comfort. “If we’re gonna die tonight, I need to tell you something.” I look at him curiously. “I...I love you.”

I play it off as a ‘just friends’ thing. “Aw, I love you too, weirdo.” 

He sighs. “Not just as a friend. I think I always have.”

“You mean...like...boyfriend girlfriend?” He nods. “Wow…”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you and I know you’re probably into someone else, but I needed to tell you at this point. I think about you... constantly.” At this point, we’ve locked eyes. “I want you to be in my life for a long time. I want to be with you. Even if we’re only seventeen, I’ve known you’re the one for me for a long time.” He winces as the growls get louder. “I need to know...do you feel the same way?”

I smile with tears in my eyes. “Yeah. I have for a while.” I say, nervously laughing. He grins and takes my head in his hands. Just as his lips are about to touch mine, the growling turns into frightened whines.

“Get out of here!” We hear a male voice yell. “Get! Get!” After a minute, he tries to open the door to the cabin. “Who’s in there?” We quickly move the cabinet and open the door. “Who are you?” We see that he’s a park ranger. 

“I’m Joey. Joey Williams. This is Leah Jenkins. We were exploring and the wolves found us. Thank you so much.”

“Why were y’all explorin' at 5 in the morning?”

Joey takes my hand. “Because it’s an adventure.”

The ranger escorts us to the Mazda and we’re both quiet on the drive home. When we pull into his driveway, we sit silently for about three minutes before he says something. 

“So...what now?”

“I love you...you love me...I think it’s obvious.” I say, smiling at him. He smiles softly and reaches over the console to kiss me. 

After we say goodnight, I go up to my room wondering what my next adventure with Joey Williams, my best friend, partner-in-crime, and boyfriend will be.