Chapter 26
Sophie
I didn't even pretend to cook for my Friday night dinner with Davis, instead ordering pizza delivery from Slice. I knew what I was capable of, and focusing with him in my kitchen wasn't it.
He'd shown up at my door, freshly showered, and it had been all I could do not to climb him like a tree.
He just smelled so good.
Maybe Davis spotted the greed in my expression, because he dropped his bag at his feet and pulled me into his arms, leaning against my front door to shut it.
"Is there anything on the stove?" he mumbled in a rush.
"Nope."
"Good," he growled, capturing my mouth in a hard kiss.
Any thoughts of congratulating past me for good judgment dissolved, just like my knees, under his onslaught.
I gave as good as I got, my eager hands gripping his shirt, slipping beneath the soft cotton to explore the firm slabs of muscle I'd discovered Wednesday.
Davis boosted me up, kneading my booty as I slid against his fly. I groaned, more than ready to find a more comfortable, ideally horizontal place that would allow me to explore him fully.
The sharp rap at the door behind his head startled us both, and I pulled away, breathing hard.
"Slice of Heaven," a young voice called through the door.
Davis let me slide down his body, and I straightened my shirt, smoothing back a few stray strands of hair, trying to look less like I'd been ready to find my own slice of paradise before we were interrupted.
Davis muttered under his breath, gesturing vaguely toward the kitchen, and disappeared as I opened my door with a broad smile to cover the fact that my nipples were still announcing my arousal.
Nothing to see here, folks.
Thankfully, Becca was on delivery duty, and she couldn't care less about my brazen chest.
"One meat lovers pizza, extra-large," Becca said.
"That's us," I chirped cheerfully, signing my receipt. "Thanks, Becca."
"'Night, Sophie."
She skipped down the stairs toward her car, and I melted against the door frame, the aroma of sausage and pepperoni making my mouth water. Davis appeared from the kitchen with plates and drinks, and I met him on the couch, flipping the delivery box open.
"Dinner is served," I said grandly.
Davis plowed through four slices. His single-minded determination shouldn't have been sexy. It probably meant he'd skipped lunch, but I wanted to believe he devoured dinner in record time because he'd rather be kissing me.
If I'd known how good Davis was at sex, I would have climbed aboard his grumpy train a long time ago. Then again, it hadn’t been for lack of trying. The man was impossible to read. Luckily, I was finally getting the hang of it—I suppressed a smug smile—and reaping the benefits.
I couldn’t believe my luck. My happiness. With Davis in my corner, I was feeling ready to tackle another flight in Bee-gonia. His solid presence, his belief in me, helped me feel at ease.
The future might not be certain, and safety was never guaranteed, but when you had love in your life, living every minute was more important than lingering in fear.
***
Bee-gonia, with her cheerful blend of colors and freshly serviced burner, should have filled me with anticipation.
But all I could access was dread. I glanced at Davis, silent beside me as I parked at my favorite launch spot, trying to draw my strength from him.
The prospect of another flight had seemed like no big deal last night, but today I was reminded that it wasn’t only myself I was putting at risk: it was Davis.
"You ready for this?" I asked, hoping to hide my own misgivings.
He didn't need to know his pilot was scared shirtless. I held back a snicker at the image that popped into my head, me piloting with my tits out. Davis would most definitely like me shirtless. Just not with fear.
My moment of levity helped me push past my nerves, sliding from my SUV and yanking on my leather gloves.
"Ready," he said, following me to the small trailer that housed Bee-gonia's basket and envelope.
He helped me lift and carry the basket into position and maneuver the bag containing the hot air balloon's envelope five feet in front.
I unsealed the bag, and he and I walked it out, spilling Bee-gonia's nylon to the ground from skirt to crown.
He watched as I rolled out my fan, then listened as I explained inflation procedures to him.
Jo drove up a few minutes later, her travel cup in hand. "Where do you want me?" she asked, and I nodded to the crown line. "Sounds good. Before I forget, keys?"
"Thanks," I said sheepishly.
While we’d start out tethered to the SUV, if all went well, I wanted to take Davis on a real flight. I'd had one flight where I'd forgotten to pass my rig keys along, and memories of Jo’s sprint beneath the balloon, ready to catch my key ring, still made me smile.
I'd taken Jo, Gwen, Izzy, and Eve up a few times, enough that all were well versed in the basics of inflating the balloon. Jo held on to the long line at the top of the balloon, ready to secure it while I inflated the envelope with cold air. She’d be ready to hold it steady when I fired bursts of hot air from the burner into the envelope to bring the balloon upright.
Davis held the skirt at the base of the envelope open, and I pulled the rip cord to start the fan before following the rest of my launch procedures, hanging my burner, and lighting it to test. Once the envelope had inflated enough, I helped Davis cut the fan and wheel it back into the chase rig.
"I need you to put weight on as soon as I get the basket upright," I told him.
He nodded, and I yelled, "Ready!" to Jo.
She braced herself against the long lead rope, and I fired the burner. Two short bursts, then a sustained burn to heat the envelope until Bee-gonia started her tilt upright.
"Weight on," I reminded Davis when he seemed caught up watching the balloon's bobbing sway above us.
I fired a few more bursts of heat into the envelope as Jo walked her crown line in. She handed it to me, and I secured it against the basket.
"Ready to go for a ride?" I asked Davis with a broad grin.
With Bee-gonia inflated and ready to go, my earlier fears faded away, the old excitement I associated with flying catching me in its grip.
I'd flown hundreds of times. We had a gorgeous morning with great visibility and still air.
I couldn't wait to share the peace of flight with Davis.
He swallowed, his throat bobbing, before nodding.
"Thanks, Jo. I appreciate you helping us launch today. You've got your radio and the keys?"
She nodded, and I turned back to Davis, who looked unnaturally pale in the dawn light. "You okay, Davis? I'm ready for you to climb in. Throw one leg over the basket. Your momentum should help carry you from there."
He gripped the top of the basket, pressure turning the tips of his fingers white, but he scrambled in without a word, landing beside me.
I fired the burner. "Thanks, Jo. We'll stay tethered for a few minutes, then I’m thinking a short flight. Weight off."
Jo eased back, and I fired the burner, heating the envelope until the basket lifted a few inches from the ground.
Davis froze next to me, and I reached for his hand, twining our fingers together.
"Easy, Davis. The skies are gentle today. We’re tied to the SUV, so we’ll only go up as far as the tether allows."
He squeezed, cutting off circulation in my fingers, and I winced. "Do you want to hop out? I can always do the test on my own."
"No." He let go of my hand, easing some of my worries, but his jaw remained taut.
"Bee-gonia's burner checked out fine," I soothed, running a hand down his arm, frowning at the tension that hardened the muscles beneath my fingers. "You trust me, don't you? I wouldn't let you get hurt, Davis."
Maybe it was a rotten thing to do, calling on his trust, but it had the desired result.
Davis's gaze met mine. "I do trust you," he said, heaving a sigh.
"If you're not comfortable, I can do the flight on my own," I assured. "Do you want to stay for now?"
He gritted his teeth and nodded. He humbled me with his trust. I’d had no idea he struggled with heights. Yet he’d still volunteered to fly with me. The rush of love for him nearly knocked the breath out of me.
"We'll go up to about ten feet. If it's too much, we'll land again, and you can hop out. Easy-peasy."
"Deal."
I pressed the handle on the burner, trying to give us enough heat to rise without popping up higher than the limit I'd given Davis. The burner roared, and we lifted until we hit the threshold I'd promised.
Grasping Davis's hands in mine, I squeezed, watching him carefully. "What do you think?" I asked.
His color was better, but my stoic farmer could still be hard to read.
He took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly, and released my hands, peering over the side of the basket.
Jo stood a few feet below us, ready to provide her weight if I landed to let Davis out. She waved up at us, and I heard Davis sigh.
"Let's go higher," he said.
"You sure? It’s not a meatloaf moment?"
He shook his head.
I gave us enough heat to rise fifty feet and paused. I was proud of him for facing his fear, but there was no reason to push it. He’d offered to come to support me, and I’d never repay that by hurting him.
"You good?"
Davis tilted his head. "It's surprisingly gentle. Not that different from an elevator."
I grinned. "And when I'm not running the burner, very peaceful," I said, gesturing to the ground below us as we rose.
“What do you think? Ready for a real flight?” I asked.
“Sure.”
We drifted down, and I detached the tether, passing it to Jo. “Davis and I are headed out. Thanks for crewing, Jo. See you on the ground?”
Jo and I exchanged final instructions, and she waved as we rose, untethered. Davis gripped the basket, and I slid a hand over his, squeezing. “You okay?”
“I’m with you.”
My heart melted at his simple answer. The trust he offered.
I focused on flying, listening to Bee-gonia's burner for any issues. Slowly, my shoulders relaxed, as I gained faith that whatever hiccup I'd had last time wasn't going to repeat itself.
We flew over fields and houses, most of Campfire still snug in their beds this early on a Saturday morning. Birds twittered in the trees as the sun rose higher over the mountains, bathing the town below in gentle light.
Davis slid behind me, wrapping his arms my waist, and I sank into him, enjoying his heat at my back in the morning chill.
"Is it always this calm?" The note of awe in his voice made me smile.
He was hooked. I could sense it. Once the initial fear had worn off, he'd hung over the basket edge, pointing out landmarks below.
"Depends on who's in my basket," I said. "I usually take larger groups up and sometimes children."
"Hmm..." he hummed, his exhalation into my hair sending a shiver down my spine. "I think I like it when it's just us."
"Me too." I burrowed back into him.
His arms tightened, keeping me close, until I had to fire the burner again.
When we'd flown for forty minutes and reached the outskirts of town, I radioed Jo, “Bee-gonia Actual to Bee-gonia Chase, we're ready to land. I think I can make it to Ray Hearon's field to set down. Can you please confirm we've got his permission to deflate there?"
"Sure thing, Bee-gonia Actual." A few minutes later, Jo radioed again. "Ray's good with it. He only asked that we watch out for his flowers."
"Thanks, Jo. Shouldn't be a problem. See you on the ground."
"You ready to land?" I asked Davis, watching for any signs of nervousness.
"I'm good. What do you need me to do?"
"Not much, bend your knees to brace for impact. Jo should be there to put weight on. I need to let the envelope cool before either of us gets out, which usually takes a few minutes, then it should be quick work to deflate and pack up."
I let us drift to the ground, thankful we'd lucked into calm winds. Even a mild ground breeze could make a landing bumpy.
Jo wrapped her arms over the edge of the basket, adding her weight as we touched down, and I grinned at her. "Thanks, Jo."
"Good flight?" she asked.
"It was beautiful," Davis answered.
Jo and I handled packing up with the ease of experience. Davis was bonus muscle, helping me maneuver the basket back into my rig before shutting and locking the doors.
"Now what?" Davis asked.
"I treat you both to breakfast," I said with a grin.
He reached for my hand, and I reveled at the easy affection between us.
Peace akin to the lightness I felt piloting filled my heart.
Davis and I had come a long way. From gruff encounters where I felt like I was the last person he wanted to be around, to daring to hope that I was the first woman he wanted to see every day, I felt closer to him than to anyone else in my life.
I’d been slowly sharing pieces of myself, until it felt like he held my whole heart in his big hands.
Sharing this last part of myself had left me with no safety net.
Nothing held back. And Davis had accepted this part of me as easily as he’d rolled with everything else, leaving me feeling confident in my place in his life and his in mine.