Chapter Three
Toby
The email he received with his ticket for the hot air balloon had a wealth of instructions, and Toby was wide-eyed by the time he finished reading it, and his excitement had dropped from a solid ten to a four.
The small print was clear—yes, folks didn’t often get that far, except Toby liked to make sure he was equipped for every eventuality—if the weather wasn’t conducive to flying, then the event would be postponed and would need to be booked on another date.
Toby then went on to Pierre’s site, the owner of the hot air balloon company, to check out how many times that happened—a lot.
Toby then reached out to Remy, the organizer of the Bucket List Buddies, to double—triple—check that he wasn’t getting it wrong.
He hadn’t, but Remy assured him that he’d done a long-range weather forecast and some predictor thing to book dates that were the higher probability of success for balloon flights.
All that was great, except the hours of waiting were driving Toby batty when he had to be nice to customers and act like he didn’t have ants in his pants.
He’d experienced that once when he’d gone on a picnic date, and they’d stupidly picked an anthill to perch on.
Yes, he could most definitely attest to the wriggling little buggers in his pants, which was how he felt as he smiled and served the next customer.
Count your blessings.
Toby had that on repeat with his waning excitement.
Niall had done what he’d promised and paid for the ticket, and didn’t want Toby to pay him back.
A wonderful blessing. If the Bucket List Buddies event didn’t happen on the planned date—that evening—that wasn’t anyone’s fault.
The weather gods, Toby could blame them, but that felt a little like overkill when he looked out the window at a cloudless blue sky.
Except that meant nothing because it was all about wind conditions, and there, Toby got lost.
He had another hour before he was to ring the designated pilot number to get the update on the flight. It felt like it was a year away.
“Hi Toby.”
The cheery voice of Lydia had Toby forcing more merriment into his own. “Hey, Lydia, you’re looking very summery today.” The dress was a little showier than what she normally wore and revealed more cleavage than usual for her.
She glanced behind Toby, her smile dimming. “No Niall today?”
Toby had a sneaking suspicion that Lydia was interested romantically in Niall. Only she was barking up the wrong tree. They were all gay. Niall was a natural flirt, and Lydia might have—had—taken it the wrong way.
“He’s got a meeting with a marketing company,” Toby explained. “What can I get for you?”
“Oh… erm… I’ll just have a flat white to go, thank you.”
He filled her order and made a mental note to get Niall to somehow, without being obvious, drop into the conversation that he was gay to stop Lydia continuing on a path that would only bring her heartache.
The next hour, Toby didn’t stop, and it distracted him enough that it was five minutes past the time he had to call the pilot before he realized it.
His fingers were shaking as he pulled out his phone, checking no one was looking like they wanted anything.
Happy he had a few minutes, he rang the number he’d put on his phone that morning.
Expecting a person, he missed the first bit of the call as he’d taken it from his ear to check he’d dialed the right number.
Scowling at himself, he ended the call to ring the number again, his palms getting clammy.
“Thank you for calling Pierre. Please listen to the instructions carefully because of a change in launch site. The weather prediction for this evening means that the balloon flight will go ahead. Please arrive before six pm to allow for a prompt departure…”
Toby’s heart rate made his ears buzz as he dialed the number again just to check he had all the details. The new launch site was closer than the original one, Toby checked, meaning he had time to have a shower too, rather than just change clothes.
He was literally climbing the walls by the time he shut the café; he didn’t do his usual clean down, no, he was far too excited for that. He took the time to message Niall to ask him to finish up, then put his phone on charge as he rushed to take a shower.
Dressed in jeans that he’d received compliments on a time or two, Toby dithered over what to wear, recalling Pierre’s warning about sensible clothing choices.
He didn’t want to carry anything, so he considered his options, going for a long-sleeved T-shirt and a hoodie with a zip up the front, he could zip up if it got chilly or tie it around his waist if it got too warm.
Would it be hot with the gas burners?
He wasn’t sure, and after one last check and fluff of his hair, he retrieved his phone to open the Uber app and ordered a ride.
Too excited to even consider grabbing something to eat, he was out the door, waiting at the curb minutes before he needed to.
A part of him was terrified after Pierre’s warning about missing out if anyone failed to get there before the allocated time, that he’d not get there before the deadline, and somehow miss the opportunity to fly.
Calm down, it’ll be fine. He got that he was being overly stressy, but there was little he could do about it. He got like this when he was excited.
In the car, on their way, it didn’t stop him fretting every time they hit a traffic signal, and it turned red, his sneakered foot tapped impatiently. “You could go down Canal Street, then take the turn for Riverside, which would avoid the traffic.”
The driver met his gaze in the rearview mirror, and Toby pursed his lips together when he didn’t look amused.
Toby had bitten his lip and made it bleed to hold back his suggestions by the time they pulled into the parking lot at the lakeside location. There was a line of parked cars all facing a big truck that held what looked like a humongous picnic basket.
Toby gulped. Was that even safe to fly in?
In the pictures, he couldn’t recall it looking so…flimsy?
You can fly, he reassured himself as he exited the vehicle. His animal side was unnaturally quiet, which didn’t help.
A cute guy walked towards Toby as he exited the car slowly, his nerves hitting an all-time high. “Are you Toby Merchant?”
“Y-yes,” he stuttered, his gaze moving from the guy to the basket.
“Wonderful, I’m Remy, Bucket List Buddies organizer. That’s everyone here, so Pierre, our pilot, is just about ready to run through what happens now. I hope you like getting involved.”
Remy was all enthusiasm, and Toby frowned as he walked back to the group of people.
Toby hurried behind. “Involved in what?” Toby sounded much like he was squawking, but his fright at all the possibilities wouldn’t be contained.
Remy didn’t slow down as he glanced sideways at Toby, his smile bright and joyful. “In getting the balloon in the air. It’s an interactive experience. The last two were so much fun.”
How had he missed that? Hadn’t Pierre mentioned he had a team to launch the balloon?
Toby wasn’t awfully strong, and he didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of a potential date—mate. As that registered, something else did. None of the group of fourteen made his senses spring to life.
He’d talked to both Morty and Brad about their experiences in finding their mates. His shoulders slumped, and it took several surreptitious sniffs to lose all hope that his mate was there.
Count your blessings!
“Hello everyone, I’m Pierre, your pilot. To get the most out of this experience, we like to get you involved in getting the balloon in the air. If anyone has any medical issues that would prevent them from helping, let me know.”
Toby suspected the guy got those flying to help keep down the costs. He did a quick calculation, and sixteen times three hundred netted nearly five thousand dollars. They did two balloon rides daily—when the weather allowed—that was not chump change for sure.
The guy was pretty, with a whiter than white smile, yet something about his eyes made Toby wary. His clothes looked like they came from the designer shops that Toby would never be able to afford. The more the guy spoke, the more Toby disliked him. Which was unusual as Toby liked everybody.
By the time the talk finished, Toby had found a bit more of his enthusiasm when one of the alphas came and offered to hold the side of the balloon close to Toby while he had control of the large fans they were using to fill the balloon with air.
He was attractive, dark-haired, with a friendly smile.
“Let’s hope I don’t take off with the balloon,” Burt joked, having exchanged names after the task allocation.
“I’ll cut the fan, don’t worry,” replied Toby, offering his cutest smile, at least according to Niall.
“Make sure you keep watching me.”
He flexed his biceps, making Toby chuckle, only Pierre interrupted, stepping between them to walk to the basket.
“Remy is going to climb into the basket and sit in there while we fill the balloon. Watch how he climbs in and braces himself when seated. This is something you will all need to do when we land.”
Toby’s butterflies turned into bats in his stomach, his mind trying to fathom why they would need to brace in such a manner. It seemed Remy was hanging on for grim death!
Toby’s bird woke up. This isn’t going to be like when we fly.
No shit. Toby was getting that. The romantic flight he had envisioned got replaced with visions of him hanging onto straps while…yeah, he hadn’t quite figured out what they were missing about the landing, but it was something.
“Is there any risk involved?” an alpha, Toby hadn’t caught his name, asked, eyeing the basket now like it might bite him.
“Life is a risk,” Pierre retorted, waving off the alpha's concerns. “Y’all had the appropriate paperwork explaining everything.”
Toby, who had read everything, disagreed. There had most definitely been no mention of risks to life!
There was no more conversation as Pierre basically commandeered the conversation, preventing anyone else from saying anything as he bossed everyone around.
As the balloon filled with air and Pierre walked inside the inflating balloon doing whatever he was doing, Toby’s excitement returned.
The balloon was a sight to behold as it rose into the sky majestically.
A rainbow of color filling the air above them with billowing silk.
The basket slipped easily onto its base, allaying some of Toby’s previous worry.
They were all quickly encouraged to climb in using the gaps at the end of the basket.
The excited chatter increased as people sat in their allocated compartments.
There were five compartments. The middle section held Pierre.
The four other sections held four people each.
In his eagerness to climb into the basket holding no one up, he didn’t initially notice Burt was on the other side of the basket with Pierre’s section between them, making it impossible to speak to him.
The two other alphas in his basket were both vying for the attention of the blond stunner sitting between them, leaving Toby in the seat at the end of the basket. No romantic evening for him!
When they were instructed to stand, Toby rose.
His interest in the others in his part of the basket became secondary when, for the first time, he floated in the sky in his human form.
The perspective was so different from being in his bird form.
He became captivated by the stillness, despite the occasional disruption with a blast of roaring flames to heat the air in the balloon.
The higher they rose, the more contented Toby became as the sky flamed with bold colors in reds, oranges and hues of pink as the sun set.
The air was gentle against his cheeks; he could feel the thermals as the balloon seemed to roam freely. He barely listened with half an ear, resting his chin on the back of the hands he’d rested on the edge of the basket, staring out at the beautiful view.
He might not have gotten an alpha to romance him, but with the sky ablaze, it was its own romance. Gorgeous.
“—If that happens, please don’t interfere. I’ll deal with the landowner.”
“Don’t you have an allocated place to land?”
“No, we just land in a place that looks suitable. Most landowners have no issue with this at all.”
Toby stared at Pierre in disbelief as he passed off the concern the alpha standing next to him was displaying. Clearly, Toby missed something vital with the whole ‘don’t interfere, I’ll deal with the landowner’ speech.
He glanced at Remy, who didn’t look concerned. That had to be good?
Toby had no way of knowing when the balloon started its descent towards a large pasture, skimming over an orchard.
“Everyone, take your seats and hold on as demonstrated by Remy. Don’t worry when the basket tips over, it’s all part of the experience.”
Down on his seat, Toby’s animal screeched, Tips over? How will we stay in the basket? Won’t we fire out? But first, won’t it have to drag along the ground if it tips?
“Dear gods, shut up,” Toby muttered and clenched his eyes closed right as he jerked hard enough that when the basket slammed into the ground, it felt as if he had wrenched his arms from their sockets. Next, they bounced—hard enough to jar bone—along the earth.
And all Toby could hope for was that he didn’t piss his pants in fright! It was a real possibility.