Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 3

an idiot in front of him.
    "Well, you could always find out," Jamie chuckled. "Come on, Chase, we've been standing here for an hour now. Can we just go before it closes?"
    The sky began to glow a beautiful golden hue, signaling the start of evening. There wasn't anyone else in line, but if we didn't hurry, I was sure we'd miss our chance. I just couldn't get over my damn nerves.
    "I don't know..."
    "Egh, you're so shy. I bet you can't even talk to him without..." she flicked her eyes at Tim who gave her a curious stare. "Hey, give me some cash."
    "I only have fifty bucks for the ride." Tim motioned to the balloon on the other side of a truck.
    "Fine, I'll take that." She ripped the bills from his hand and waved them in front of me. "I bet you fifty bucks you can't even get on the balloon with him."
    "What?" Tim protested.
    I felt tense just thinking about it. "I-I'm not--"
    "Chase, if you pass this up, you may never know. Or... I could just go right in there and talk to him for you," she said, in a matter-of-fact way. Knowing Jamie, she would do it.
    "No." I had to find some courage, though the butterflies in my stomach said otherwise. "Fine. I'll go," I huffed, yanking the cash from Jamie's hand.
    "Yay!"
    "My money? Babes," Tim turned to Jamie. "Why my money?"
    "Don't be such a whiner; I have more in my purse." She slapped at his stomach.
    They were behind me, arguing about the bet, as we approached the balloon ride again and stood at the gate. This would be it. The thought of standing less than a foot away from each other in a cramped basket made my heart thump with apprehension. At least my friends would be there with us, right?
    "Hold on." Jamie grabbed my wrist. "There are a few details--"
    "What details?" I barked.
    "Well, that is a lot of money. You need to just go for it, you know. Don't just talk to him the entire ride. Kiss him."
    "That's worse, don't you think?" Tim spoke up.
    "Yeah, I-I'm not really--" I twisted around, ready to go back to the carnival.
    "Ohmigod, Chase. You've had six months to find out, now it's time to just throw everything out and do it," she said, grabbing my shirt sleeve and yanking me back to the front of the gate.
    Ben approached, his gorgeous smile spread on his lips, and my knees threatened to give out. "Are you ready now?"
    I gulped. "Yeah," and handed him the cash, our fingertips barely sliding against each other's and I could feel that flush rushing to my cheeks again.
    After stuffing the bills in his apron pocket, he unlocked the gate and let it swing open. I had to find some courage. I had to fight those damn butterflies from making me speechless. It had never really been this hard for me, but when I was around Ben I really couldn't control my emotions.
    When I entered the gate, I kept my eyes on the brilliant balloon trying not to think about Ben, who had walked back to the basket and braced against it as it moved. Although the balloon was tethered to the ground, it still jerked in place.
    It wasn't until I was at the basket, prepared to jump inside that I realized that Jamie and Tim hadn't followed. I turned to see they were still at the gate, now closed.
    "Hey," I hollered. "Aren't you coming?"
    "Naw. We'll take the next one." She waved then embraced Tim around his sides.
    The next one? But there weren't any other balloons in sight.
    I was really getting nervous. My hands began to tremble, and I could hear my heart pound in my ears. Why me?
    I caught Ben's curious stare. "Are you scared?"
    The thought of going up into the sky, alone, with Ben? Yeah. "Not really." What a lie.
    He smiled before hopping inside the basket, then held out an offering hand to me. "It takes a while to get used to, but it's really great once we get up in the air."
    Right. Maybe he thought I was scared of heights? That was certainly better than knowing the real reason why I probably appeared to be freaking out.
    I took his soft, but callused, warm hand and about tripped over the side of the basket as I jumped in. What an embarrassment. He caught my arms, helping me straighten my shaky legs before turning his attention to the burner in the center of the basket.
    The gas hissed, sending a tall, orange flame into the balloon. I felt the balloon rise above the ground and I grabbed the sides of the basket before he turned off the gas and let it dip down. What? Is he teasing me?
    "Sorry," he said with a grin. "I just thought you should know it's kind of loud."
    "Yeah it is."
    "Are you ready?" he asked,