Chapter 6: Such a Dweeb
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Eric didn't expect the water to be so warm. When he had followed Donna to California, the ocean had been anything but warm and pleasant. Now, Eric felt his muscles relax as he waded into the turquoise water. Mitch and Hillary had moved up the beach a short distance, but their laughs carried to Eric's ears as they splashed each other.
Nothing had prepared him for just how beautiful the Bahamas truly were. The small brochure that Eric's boss had passed around the office didn't come close to showing the serenity of the islands.
Even though Eric wasn't much of an outdoorsman, he'd been to a few of the lakes near Point Place and even out onto Lake Michigan a couple of times. Compared to those, the water here was impossibly clear and inviting.
God, this is amazing! Why didn't I take up insurance sooner?
When the water came up to his chest, Eric let himself float, bobbing up and down with the gentle waves. As he reclined, he looked toward the beach and saw Jackie lying on her stomach on a towel. Megan was by her side, and he thought the two of them would fit perfectly on some magazine cover. Jackie had those big sunglasses on again and Eric couldn't be certain, but he had the feeling he was being watched.
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"Isn't this weather just amazing? I don't think I've ever been somewhere quite so perfect!" Megan looked over at the her new friend with a grin.
Jackie didn't turn her head away from the water, but said, "Yeah, it really is something else down here. I needed this little vacation way more than I thought."
"Amen to that. You should try sitting in a cubicle and taking phone calls all day long."
Jackie thought about how she'd do in a job like that. Jackie Burkhart's no quitter, but I'd probably send a phone through a wall within a week!
As she looked out at Eric Forman bobbing like a cork, she found herself thinking about what it would be like to have to put up with him on a daily basis. Jackie pictured him playing with G.I. Joe's at his desk, or pretending that his stapler was a lightsaber. She'd probably be stuck rolling her eyes whenever he talked about his beloved Star Wars, or some other geeky thing.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized that's exactly what she'd done for a big chunk of her life. Jackie had grown up in the scrawny kid's basement, and he was tied to nearly every fond memory she had.
Jackie hated to admit it to herself, but her long-time secret "friend" had always provided the glue for when her life started to crack, even if he didn't know it himself.
"Hey. Earth to Jackie. Did you hear what I said?" Megan was eyeing her curiously.
Jackie snapped out of her daze and looked over at the charming woman. "Sorry, I must've zoned out for a second. What were you saying?"
Megan started to speak, but then looked out to where her petite friend had been looking. "Were you checking out Eric? Not that I blame you, but I didn't think he'd be your type."
"Excuse me? Checking out Eric Forman? You must be joking! I was just lost in thought, that's all." Jackie blushed at the accusation, but Megan let out a friendly laugh.
Megan looked out toward Eric, who had floated a bit further from the beach. "Like I said, Jackie, I don't blame you. Eric's a pretty nice guy. He's always saying something funny, and he's never been the least bit crude to me. Besides, he's not exactly bad to look at either."
Jackie was more than a little surprised by the unexpected praise for him.
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"Hey, Eric!" Eric turned his head toward the voice to see Mitch wading toward the beach with Hillary whispering in his ear.
"We… uh, we're gonna go back to the hotel for a while. I've gotta make a long-distance call, if you know what I mean." Mitch shot his friend an exaggerated wink as Hillary took his hand and rushed him out of the water.
Eric couldn't help but laugh and wave at the quickly retreating couple. Mitch reminded him of Kelso in more than a few ways, but particularly in his unashamed enthusiasm for "doing it".
I guess some things will never change.
Intimacy hadn't been at the top of Eric's list of priorities since things with Donna blew up in his face. He'd thrown himself in to his new insurance job whole-heartedly, hardly noticing that the old basement gang split up without much commotion. The days of sneaky sex, hazy circles, and ruthless burns were replaced with phone calls, water coolers, and cubicles.
"It hasn't been all bad, though," he said aloud, narrowly avoiding a mouthful of saltwater.
Tiny fish were darting between his legs as Eric wiggled his toes in the sand. A warm breeze had picked up and was tossing his hair around as he watched the small fish swim in perfect unison. Eric noticed other fish, varying in size and color, swimming in and out of view around him. He thought that whatever he'd missed out on after Donna left just had to be worth it. This place really was paradise, and he wasn't about to sit around and let it pass him by too.
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"So you two must be pretty close, huh?" Jackie asked, finding herself increasingly curious about Megan's opinion of Eric.
Megan looked up at the sky as she thought about what words to use. "You know, I wouldn't say we're that close. Before we ended up being roommates here, he and I had hardly had any one-on-one conversations. I learned more about him when you talked about your friends than he's ever told me."
"Really?" That wasn't exactly the answer Jackie expected. "I assumed he'd have been making sure everyone knew just how depressed he was after Donna left. It's clear I was more than a little wrong. The Eric Forman I remember didn't exactly go around casually rubbing lotion into women's shoulders."
Jackie lowered her sunglasses so Megan could see her playful wink. Megan realized she was talking about her and Eric from the day before. "Then what was he really like?"
"He was just… there. When everything else felt like it was going in a million directions at once. And then he was gone and everything kinda fell apart. I don't really know how to put it."
Jackie struggled to explain what she meant. She started drawing circles in the sand as she attempted to fill Megan in on a few of the details of Eric's life that she had omitted in her earlier stories from the basement. While she naturally added details about herself to keep things interesting, she told her new friend all about his love for the girl-next-door. Megan listened intently as Jackie described a relationship that had more ups and downs than a Six Flags roller-coaster.
Megan was told about about how Eric had hung on to Donna even when he was getting walked all over. Jackie admitted that it was really clear in hindsight, but the two of them had seemed like a perfect match at the time. Megan shook her head and groaned when she was told about the rocky engagement and the wedding that never happened. Both women ended up staring out at the ocean as Jackie described Eric's grand plan to run off to Africa for a year, even mentioning her phone call to him just before he left.
"So that's the Eric Forman I knew. He was such a dweeb, but he was always there when someone needed him." Jackie had been watching him for a while as he moved closer to the beach and appeared to be watching fish swim around.
Megan peered at Jackie thoughtfully, studying her with big brown eyes. "I'm surprised you two weren't better friends. Everything you've told me makes it sound like you would've gotten along if you both weren't so focused on who you were dating."
"I don't know about all that, Meg. But I guess he's the only person from that whole group who really gets what it's like to give everything to someone and have them just throw it away." Jackie rolled over onto her back and settled into a comfortable position to catch some more rays.
And he's the only other one who ever cared about having a solid, committed relationship…
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The sun had moved overhead, and Eric was starting to regret not eating during breakfast. His lone cup of coffee didn't do much to keep his stomach from growling as he shuffled back toward the beach. Eric had left his watch in the hotel room when he stepped out for a walk, but he guessed that it was now well into the afternoon and hoped he could at least get a late lunch.
Megan and Jackie were still tanning on towels from the hotel, and Eric briefly considered side-stepping them completely on his way back to the hotel. However, he had decided during his swim that he'd put the awkwardness of the morning behind him, and he caught the two ladies' attention.
"I sure hope you two haven't been lying here too long. It'd be a shame for you to look like lobsters for the rest of the trip." Megan and Jackie both rolled over at the sound of Eric's voice, and looked up to see him still dripping saltwater as he stood before them.
"I'll have you know that I've never gotten a sunburn in my life." Jackie grinned with pride at the fact.
Eric gave her a knowing look. "It must be pretty hard to burn the devil herself."
Megan couldn't help but laugh at Eric's comment and the shocked look on Jackie's face. Jackie sent him her classic glare, but she knew how to appreciate a harmless burn like that.
"Are you heading back to the hotel, too? We saw your pal Mitch practically running that way a while ago." Megan asked.
"Yeah, I was thinking about heading back and grabbing some lunch. And I may have kinda forgotten to bring a towel…" He waved his arms as if to display his damp state.
The ladies got to their feet and gathered up their towels. Jackie thrust hers toward him and said in a friendly tone, "Here. You can borrow mine, I suppose. Unless you're afraid of my devil germs getting on you."
Eric saw her grin as he thanked her and took the towel. He threw it over his shoulders and started walking back up the sandy path toward the hotel as the two slightly pink women joined him on either side.
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The three of them ate a quick lunch of fish and rice and, with none of the other group members in sight, decided to head back to their rooms to rest. As Jackie watched Megan and Eric head toward the door she'd slid a note under the previous night, she turned to climb the stairs to get to her room on the second floor. As she turned the silver doorknob and entered the cool hotel room, she pulled the big sunglasses from her eyes and set them on the small table to the left of the door.
Jackie kicked off her simple sandals and ran her fingers through her dark hair. Lying in the sun had sapped her energy, and she decided that a cool shower would be just the thing to rejuvenate her. As she stood in the quaint bathroom and waited for the shower's temperature to adjust, her mind wandered to her plans for the rest of the week.
Who'd have thought I'd end up hanging out with Eric Forman and his coworkers? This isn't exactly what I had in mind for my vacation in Paradise, but it's been good so far.
She ran her hand under the thin streams of water and decided the water was nice and cool how she liked it. As Jackie stepped into the colorfully-tiled shower, she began to plan out her outfit for the evening in her head and wondered what the group would be getting into next.
First thing's first, I've got to get my hands on a nice piña colada!