Still, not even my parents knew about Josh. They thought I was travelling with girlfriends, and most of my friends thought I was travelling alone. All the lies meant that I didn’t want any photographic evidence of our trip on social media—at least, not until I knew what Josh and I were to each other—if we were going to be together. And not just in a vacationship.

“Uh, the Google folder thing sounds good. I don’t really like being tagged in Facebook pics.” Well, at least that was true.

He didn’t seem to catch on that I was actively dodging bullets. “Sure, no problem,” he replied.

“So,” I said, deftly changing the subject. “The hike today. How long do you think it will take?”

“Looks like a couple of hours.”

“Round trip?”

“I think so.”

Oh, good,” I replied. “That will give us enough time to get back, get clean, and rest up a bit before the party.”

“And what time are we expected there?”

“We’re leaving the resort at nine.”

He nodded. “Did Siobhan tell us what we should bring?”

“She said just a bottle of spirits. They’ll have mixers and snacks and stuff.”

He made his “that seems cool” face. “We can pick up some vodka or rum or something on the way back.”

“Good plan. Okay, let’s get the bill, then get hiking!” I was really looking forward to the hike. Waimoku Falls was supposed to be incredible. When the bill arrived, I snatched it up before he could, and he graciously let me pay it—finally.

*

So, it turned out that the two-hour-return hike was closer to two hours one way.

We left the café and drove straight to Seven Sacred Pools, which was where we would park the car while we hiked. It was also an impressive natural wonder, and I was glad we took the time to see it.

It was a series of volcanic rock pools—seven, if you hadn’t guessed—with waterfalls cascading between them, forming a chain all the way to the ocean. But even though it was an incredible place, we only stayed long enough to see it and take some photos. Two busloads of tourists arrived just after us and dodging tour groups is far less fun than hiking.

The hiking trail started across the highway and headed away from the coast. It was around 9:00am when we started and although the morning was reasonably cool, the hike was uphill the whole way. I knew my bum would probably thank me later—great workout, woo hoo—but it was hating me for most of the climb.

After more than an hour of hiking and no waterfall, I dared to say something. “Uh, Josh?”

“Mm-hmm?”

I thought the best tactic was humour, so I went with, “Are we there yet?”

He threw me a look over his shoulder, a half-smile, half-grimace, then stopped walking and pulled out his phone. “I’ll check the map.” He scrolled and tapped the screen, looking more and more frustrated. “Damn it, no data—and apparently the stupid map didn’t cache.” He frowned at it, as if willing it to tell him something different.