In Another Life

61

Denise, Sam, and Kat climbed into the balloon that we were in, while Jake, Tara, Sarah, Brennen, and Kenzie went into the other one. "See you on the other side!" Colby yelled, reaching his hand towards Brennen. "Here! Take my heart. Keep it safe," Brennen pretended to throw something to Colby, and Colby reached out into the air and pretended to grab it. "Forever," he said, then they both laughed. I just shook my head, watching their interaction. We had plenty of room in the oversized basket that we were standing in, but I stayed as close as possible Colby. The basket jerked a little when he pulled the cord again, lifting itself off of the ground. I shrieked just a little, because it caught me off guard, and threw my arms around Colby's waist, hiding my face in his chest. The smell of him, and his leather jacket invaded my senses, making me forget that I was scared for a second. His arms came around, and his deep, rumbling chuckle resonated through my ear pressed against his chest. "I've got you Princess," he said softly, squeezing me gently. I looked up into his eyes, as the balloon lifted higher up. The heat from the propane tanks were warming my face, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't why I was overheating. That intense blue gaze was overwhelming, clogging my senses until I didn't see, feel, or hear anything but him. Kat shrieked and laughed, breaking the spell that he had caught me in, and I looked over to her. She was hanging on to Sam, laughing, as she looked over the edge. "I'm so excited! This is amazing!" Denise was standing next to me, quiet, as she looked up into the balloon with wide eyes. "That's kinda freaky," she murmured. I looked up, seeing the rainbow colored emptiness that was only powered by hot air, and nodded. "Just a little," I said, my voice cracking. I think that I might more scared than I originally thought. The higher we got, the more nervous I got, watching us go higher than the trees, way up until I could see miles all around us. "We are in a fucking dog basket, going two thousand feet into the air," I moaned. "What in the hell was I thinking?" The basket that had seemed so massive and sturdy when I first entered it, now seemed flimsy and weak. My stomach was churning and my heart was doing flips in my chest, getting more intense with every foot that we rose. "Hey, just take deep breaths. We'll stop rising soon, and you can just enjoy it." "Enjoy it?" I whimpered, tears starting to form in my eyes. I felt like I was overreacting and I didn't want to come off as a wimp in front of them, especially Colby, but this was something I had never experienced before, and it was scary as fuck! I knew that he and Colby were all about the adrenaline type things, and loved doing crazy stuff, seeing how far they could go, but I had never had that chance. My life was boring and safe. The only thing I did that even constituted as unsafe was go exploring in the abandoned places around my county with my girls. This was WAY above that level. I hid my face in his chest again, really hoping beyond hope that my stomach would stop. Hurling all over Colby Brock is not the way I wanted him to remember me. It seemed like we would never stop rising, so I inhaled his scent deeply, taking calming breaths to steady myself. "Hey, take a look," I heard him say, along with all the "oohs" and "aahs" from the others. We had finally stopped rising and were just coasting along in the sky. I peeked out from his chest, and saw the others with amazement on their faces looking around. Why couldn't I show Colby that I could handle this type of thing? Why did I have to be such a wimp? Ugh, I was disgusted with myself. I could change this though. I could do it. I looked out towards the vast landscape and my breath caught in my throat. The view was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Breathtaking. I felt like I was part of it, like I could reach out and touch the tops of the trees, even though they were too far away. I felt the stillness of the crisp morning air, and the warmth of the sun on my skin. "woooow," I whispered. It felt like a whisper was needed because it was quiet up here, peaceful. Eventually, the wind blew us over the the landmarks that were specified in the website, and I got excited, laughing gleefully as we passed over Disney World. "Oh, I'm going there one day. It's on my bucket list," I exclaimed, pointing down to the attractions. "You've never been to Disney World?" Colby asked, wonder in his voice. I shook my head, keeping my eyes on the amazing view below me and around me. My nerves were completely gone now. I was completely caught up in the awe of it all. Denise, Kat, and I started pointing out things, like the Epcot center, and the bodies of water below us. "I'll take you there one day," Colby murmured quietly, standing beside me and he and Sam watched us take it all in. "What?" I asked, sure that I had misheard him. He smiled and shook his head. "Nothing. Just thinking to myself." I furrowed my brow, but turned back to the view. If he hadn't said that, then I would embarrass myself asking if he did. If he did say it, then it was probably and accident since he didn't want to repeat himself. Better to act like it didn't happen. It was eventually time to land, and the instructor saw a place, so he started lightening the air from the balloon, taking us down. "Prepare for a bumpy landing," the instructor replied. The nerves came back as we descended a little faster, the ground coming up to meet us.