In Another Life

60

 I had to keep in mind that we were all leaving tomorrow and I would probably never see him again. Sam looked down and eyed our hands, but didn't say anything, just raised his eyebrows a little. "Okay, everyone pile in. We have to hurry." There were two back rows of seats, so Colby piled in first, then me, then Tara. Behind us was Sam, Kat, and Jake. "Why do you guys get to sit next to your girls and I don't?" Jake asked, leaning forwards in his seat. "Um, I'm not his girl," I said automatically, blushing as soon as the words came out. Colby gave me some kind of look that I didn't understand, but didn't reply. "Yeah, whatever, still not fair," Jake said, sinking down in his seat a little. Tara turned around and grinned at him, tilting her head. "You get to sit next to me all the time baby. How about we make Colby buy us ice cream after the hot air balloon as a thank you for letting him sit next to Terra?" Jake's face split into a wide grin, his dimple indenting on his face deeply. "Yeah, okay. Thanks bruva!" Colby's head spun from Tara to Jake, then back. "Wait, what? I didn't-" "Yeah, it's the least you can do really, Colby. Thanks," Tara said, smiling sweetly at him. "Well fuck," he muttered, laying back in the seat. "Guess I'm buying ice cream." "YEEESSS, ICE CREAM!!," Jake yelled, beating the back of Tara's seat. She laughed and shook her head. I was quiet most of the trip, just going between listening to the others talk about random things, and then being inside my own head, wondering if this was my life right now. We finally made it to the designated spot, and everyone piled out of the SUV. "You ready Princess?" Colby asked, holding his hand out to help me down out of the vehicle. I placed my hand in his and smiled. "As I'll ever be." "Are you scared of heights?" He asked, as he kept my hand in his and we followed the others towards the massive balloons that were deflated, lying on the ground. I shrugged. "Maybe a little. I've never been on anything higher than a Ferris Wheel." The workers were milling around the balloons, getting them ready to inflate. My heart sped up as I watched them. I was a little scared of heights and we were about to be...well, I didn't know how high, but really fucking high! I chewed my lip and looked around anxiously at the others. No one seemed as nervous as I felt. Denise caught my eye and waved from where she was standing by Tara. I gave her a small smile and waved back. "You don't have to do this, ya know?" Colby said softly, while he studied me with those soft blue eyes that I loved so much. I took a deep breath and smiled. "No, I want too. When am I ever going to have another chance like this? I can't say no. Take chances, right?" He laughed a little and nodded. "Right. Okay, let's join the others. We have about an hour before they have the balloon ready, but we have to go over all of the rules, and have the traditional champagne toast before we go up." "Champagne?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "Is the driver of that thing going to have champagne too?" I did not want to get into something that someone who had been drinking was going to be controlling. Literally, putting my life into their hands here. Colby just shrugged. "I don't know, but I doubt it. If he does, it'll be be a sip. Stop worrying so much. Just live in the moment." Yeah, okay, live in the moment. Until our living is ended drastically by a hot air balloon falling hundreds of feet out of the sky to our fiery deaths. My hands were shaking a little, and Colby squeezed my palm gently. "It'll be okay. I promise. You're going to have an amazing time. You'll love it. Okay?" I took another deep breath and nodded. "Okaaayy." My friends and I stood around with the group talking nervously about what we were about to do. The only ones that seemed unbothered were Sam and Colby. Even Brennen seemed nervous. "Tell me why I'm doing this again," he said, as Sarah leaned into his side. He put his arm around her and hugged gently, looking at Sam and Colby questioningly. They laughed. "Because you're gonna have fun and experience something that you've never done before. You're all about loving life right?" "Yeah, that's exactly the problem. I love my life. I'm not ready for it to end yet," he replied, glancing at the massive balloons that were half way erected. "But you've been in helicopters and stuff. Seriously, we did this with Elton. You guys are going to love it. There's nothing like being above the world, drifting through it, and admiring all the beauty. It's breathtaking," Sam said, a faraway look coming into his eyes, and he pulled Kat closer to him. Soon, it was time and we gathered with the workers and the instructor for the champagne toast and the Balloonist prayer. We all raised our champagne flutes as the instructor started to recite it. "The winds have welcomed you with softness. The sun has blessed you with it's warm hands. We have flown so high and so well that God has joined you in laughter and set you gently back into the loving arms of Mother Earth." We clinked our flutes together, yelling "Hear, hear," and laughed before sipping the sweet tasting, bubbly drink. I could feel the heat from the propane burners when the instructor pulled the cord. "Are you all ready? The trip will last about an hour and half. There are no bathroom breaks," the he joked. We all nodded. "Let's do this!" Colby exclaimed, pulling me with him onto one of the balloons.