Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 3

leaning over the side and gathering up the rope the balloon was tethered to.
    At the gate, Jamie hooted and hollered and her apparent enthusiasm for the situation made my face flush even more.
    "I guess." But I wasn't. Nothing could prepare me for this.
    Ben started up the gas again, letting the balloon rise, but this time he didn't take his hand off of the gear. The world below began to get smaller; even Jamie and Tim, the trucks and the carnival, appeared miniature as we rose higher and started to slowly drift towards the east.
    When Ben let off of the gear, I could barely hear Jamie's voice as she waved at us from the ground. I leaned my arm out of the basket, flashing her the middle finger, not knowing if she would see it or not. Jesus, why did she make me do this? But I think I had leaned over just a little too much, the height made me dizzy and the world began to spin. God, maybe I am scared of heights.
    "How far does this go?" I whispered as I stepped away from the side, only to be caught off guard by the sight of the fascinating evening sky; a gorgeous yellow and orange hue on the horizon as the sun began to set. "Whoa," I breathed.
    "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Ben asked behind me.
    I felt my cell phone buzz in my pocket with a text message, but the view of the world ahead distracted me. This had been the first time I'd ever been up so high, and I had no clue what to expect.
    "Yeah," I answered before noticing the lush green trees below with a stream cutting through them, running across the open field.
    Just then, Ben stepped next to me and settled against the side of the basket, looking out at the open land spread out around us. My heart lodged in my throat and there was that slight tremble in my legs again. For a moment, I had forgotten what I was up here for.
    "Three miles," he said.
    "Huh?"
    "Our landing point is the corner of 52 nd and State. About three miles from here."
    "Oh." I think I'd forgotten everything.
    "You're Chase, right?" he asked.
    "Yeah," was all I could manage.
    There was a little laugh, followed by, "You're in my Info Tech classes?"
    "Yeah."
    Damn, couldn't I say anything else?
    Ben stepped away a moment, and the hiss of the gas invaded the quiet, open air. Once he let off of the gear, he came back to stand closer beside me. "I didn't know you were from Sommersville."
    "Huh?" I turned to him in surprise.
    "Sommersville Heritage Days. You are from town, right?"
    "Oh, yeah, well my folks live here now," I said, desperately trying to fight down the hysteria so I could, at least, have a decent conversation.
    "I see," he chuckled. Could he tell that I was nervous?
    "What about you?"
    He dug in his shirt pocket and retrieved a business card. "My pops owns Wilber Amusements. I've been riding in hot air balloons since I was little. I love it up here," he said, flashing the card before putting it away.
    Wilber was just a short ten minute drive across the county, and from this height I could spot its water tower springing up from the ground.
    "That's cool."
    He turned to turn on the gas. The flames rose up into the center of the balloon keeping us aloft. This little trip was turning out better than I'd thought. Now I knew he lived just ten minutes away, and that he loved being up here in the vast skies on a balloon.
    I continued to look out across the open land, admiring the flourishing wilderness below. When Ben stepped close again, his arm brushed against mine as he folded his hands over the side of the basket, and I stilled.
    If I could just get a little closer... I found myself edging near, trying to break my nervousness and the small space between us. My phone rattled in my pocket again, but when he flicked his eyes in my direction, I held his sparkling gaze, uncaring of who was trying message me. It was probably Jamie, anyway.
    Not wanting him to see the flush in my cheeks, I turned my attention back to the skies. The sun had disappeared behind the distant clouds, highlighting the sky red and gold. It was too perfect... and too quiet.
    "It's not that bad up here, is it?" he asked.
    I nodded. "It's awesome."
    A slight chuckle escaped his lips before the hiss from the gas invaded the calm.
    We'd drifted past the stream; the green overgrowth replaced by large fields of wheat spreading out as far as the eye could see. Just then, I spotted a large animal skirting across the acreage. "There's a deer," I said, pointing it out for him.
    "Yeah?" Ben cut off the gas and hovered close. Unfortunately,