In Another Life

62 (Colby's POV)

I watched Terra tense up, and grip the side of the basket tightly, preparing for the landing. I could tell she was nervous again. Watching her give in and see her surroundings had been so amazing. Her face lit up with childlike fascination, her aqua eyes going wide as she forgot her fear, and stood in amazement. I think that image would forever be ingrained in my memory, even if I never saw her again. I didn't want her to be scared, so I stood behind her, pressing my body against hers to steady her. I wrapped one around her waist tightly, and gripped the side of the basket with my other hand. I almost laughed when I saw her bend her knees a little, anticipating a harsh impact. Instead, it was no more than a little jolt before the basket was planted firmly on the ground. "Oh," she said in surprise. "That was nothing. I thought we were going to hit hard." I laughed, and stepped back from her a little, since we weren't moving anymore. We all piled out of the basket, and milled around the open area, while I called Jake to see where they were. "Bruvaaa," echoed through the phone when he picked up. "Bruvaaa," I drawled back, grinning. He was such a crackhead. "Where are you guys?" "We just landed. I don't know where we are though." I rolled my eyes. "Jake, let me talk to Tara." I heard he rustling as he handed the phone over to her. 'Hey Colllbyyy," she chirped. "Hey, I'm trying to figure out where you guys are so we can meet up. You wanna just meet somewhere for lunch?" "Yeah, that's fine. Where though? I have no idea what's around here." "I'll call you back," I replied. I ended the call, then started searching for places to eat close by. "Ah yes, they have a Chipolte pretty close. That okay with you guys?" I asked, looking up at everyone. "Yeah brother, fine with us," Sam replied, answering for both him and Kat, as she nodded. "I'm down," Denise said, looking at Terra with a grin. "I'm so down. I freaking LOVE Chipolte," Terra said enthusiastically. Of course she did. Was there anything about this girl that I didn't like? I called Tara's phone and told them all to meet us at Chipolte, giving the address so that they didn't go to the wrong one. "See ya there!" Tara exclaimed, then ended the call. I looked back over to the balloon and saw it deflated on the ground. For some reason, it made me sad. It was like a metaphor for how this trip was going. While we were in the air, I could forget about the fact that the trip was almost over, and just enjoy being in the moment with my friends, with Terra. But now, seeing the once massive and beautiful balloon that carried us through the air, deflated and forlorn lying on the ground...our trip was coming to an end. I felt like I could relate to that balloon right now, because I felt a little deflated myself thinking about that. "You okay?" Terra's voice snapped me from my musings. I looked down into her eyes, and smiled just a little. "Yeah, I'm okay. Ready to go eat?" "Hell yea I am. Being scared to death really works up a girl's appetite," she joked. "You did great though. Once you gave it a chance. How did you like it?" She sighed, and glanced over to the balloon as the workers started rolling it up. "It might be the most amazing thing that I've ever done in my entire life. I loved it. I almost cried, and shit my pants, but I will remember that forever." I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her against me, feeling a little sentimental. "Me too. I can't believe I have to go back to LA tomorrow. It's all gonna be over," I sighed. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and lay her head against my chest. I guess she was definitely feeling more comfortable with me now. That made me happy. "I don't want it to be over," she said, her voice muffled by my chest, but I thought it may have sounded thick, like she was fighting tears. "Hey you guys, the Uber is here. We ready?" Sam asked, calling out to us and pointing towards the car that had just pulled up. "Yeah, we're ready," I said, pulling Terra away from me a little so that I could look into her face. "Let's enjoy it while we're here, okay? We'll talk later." She nodded, and sniffed, then we followed everyone to the car. Thankfully, Chipolte wasn't too far from where we had landed and it we made there in a matter of minutes. My stomach was growling by then, angrily declaring that it wanted food, and it wanted it now. Terra would giggle every time my belly decided to yell at me. "It just knows you're going to Chipolte and is telling you to hurry up," she joked, patting my stomach. I liked it when she joked around with me. She seemed so relaxed. The others were already there when we arrived so we got our food and managed to figure out a way that we could all sit close together. We talked as we ate, about the balloon ride, how much fun we had on the trip, Terra and her friends chiming in with how unbelievable the entire thing had been. "I hate that we have to go home tomorrow. I'm not ready. This has been the best trip of my entire life," Terra said sadly, glancing around the tables until her eyes met mine. "Same. I'm not ready for it to be over. Unfortunately, I have to be at work the day after tomorrow, so vacation over," Sarah replied. "And so do you actually, so don't forget. It's your first day," she said, pointing at Terra. "You work? What do you do?" I asked, curious because she hadn't mentioned it at all. She shrugged a little, and her cheeks tinted pink. "Just a side job, until I finish college. I'm not sure what I want to do yet, but this is going to help me pay the bills."