Right Next To Me

Chapter 36 The Sweetest Thing

Chapter 36 ~ The Sweetest Thing

We woke up early for the hot air balloon activity and because I was really hungry. I ate the cold food we ordered last night while Dylan took a shower. We were driven to an open field were the huge balloons are being prepared. The sky is still tinged with purple and orange. The sun will be up in a little while. We would be air borne by then. I can’t wait. It is our first time to ride a hot air balloon.

The morning air is chilly. Good thing, I put on some leggings and a long sleeved shirt. If my clothing fails to keep me warm I can always use Dylan’s arms. The gentle wind is blowing my hair in my face so I had to put it up into a bun. Seth took one look at me and he started laughing. “What’s so funny?” I tugged at my hair trying to fix it. My hair gets unruly because of static.

The bastard just keeps on laughing. I bopped his head with my bag. “What?!?” I demanded. He is already turning red and almost choking but he still will not stop. He motioned at his neck. “I am going to chop your head off if you won’t tell me what is going on.” Sometimes, I really have to resort to violence to deal with these guys.

Dylan was further away observing how the guys prepare the balloon. He noticed the commotion and paid attention to us. His gaze landed on me and his eyes grew wide. He gasped and motioned at my neck, too. “Sorry.” He whispered after a second and gave me his puppy dog face.

What the effy is on my neck? I took out my compact and used its mirror to check. “Dylan! What the fuck?!?” I screamed in horror. I have a huge hickey. Well, there are actually two but they sit side by side so it looks like one humongous red mark.

Cranky Boy went over to me and gave me a hug to comfort me. I seriously want to cry now. I am so embarrassed. This is the first time this happened, the huge one I mean. Dylan marks me but they are usually hidden. I buried my face in his chest, too embarrassed to look at Seth.

“Dude, you should sign on the surface. Here’s a pen.” Topless Boy teased, offering a pen. My foot uncontrollably kicked him in the shin. Yeah, it was uncontrollable. A reflex reaction. “Owww! Cate!” His face became red again while he tried to massage the area I hit, gritting his teeth.

I heard camera shutter sounds and I turned to look at a laughing Liam, with his camera aimed at me. “You will delete those photos or your thousand dollar hi-tech camera will accidentally fall off the hot air balloon later.” I venomously warned while trying to grab the camera. He didn’t mind my threats and even studied his shots proudly. We’ll see about that later.

I tied my scarf around my neck after that. I also swore never to go outside without checking myself in the mirror. Better yet, I will never again dress up using the night light. I could not tell if Dylan is really sorry or really proud of his work. He was grinning when he thought I wasn’t looking. That cranky bastard.

When the balloon took off, I forgot my irritation immediately. The view is amazing from the top. We saw vineyards as far as the eye can see. I spotted people riding horses and checking the vines. Hmm, I never imagined being a vineyard owner but they look cool.

Majestic hills slightly tower over flowing streams. The meadows and the lakes are spectacular. The flowers are starting to spring from the ground giving color to the earth. I wanted to collect clouds and put them in a glass jar, if only I can.

I could not throw Liam’s camera overboard because he took beautiful pictures of me and Dylan against this beautiful backdrop. I didn’t want to waste those memories.

We descended an hour later. The balloon ride was exhilarating. We all could not stop raving about it. I am glad that Dylan is happy. I wanted to make his birthday memorable by doing things we have not done and by taking him to places he would love to see. It doesn’t hurt that his best friends are with us even if they love teasing me. The giant hickey is the favorite target for today.