Okay, thought Lena, so it hadn't been a date. Jaxon came late and they only talked business and he sat there with a pained expression, brows knitted, through her entire presentation. She had barely managed to keep a straight face when she brushed his leg with the side of her foot — that was by accident, she told herself — and he recoiled like a snake had struck at him. He had been so obviously trying to avoid contact with her that there had to be something wrong. Was he recalling her long ago off-color remark? She didn’t think he was gay; Harper would have told her that. His discomfort had been so great that Lena had considered leaning in and licking his cheek to see if he would fall off the stool. But, she had to admit, she really wanted this man to fuck her. His eyes, the dimple in his chin, the way his slim hips moved in jeans were all invitations to an evening of doggie style. More than one evening would really be the bomb. Maybe a lifetime of those manly hands reaching around her to cup her breasts and tickle her nipples while his dick searched inside her to find all the special places her past boyfriends had never bothered to look for.
Jaxon had insisted on this balloon ride; he had said it was to make her understand what was really appealing about his product. How annoying! She had worked as hard on her presentation as she had on anything in her whole life, just to make sure she could spend more time with him, only to have him brush it off in that kind of squinty “little boy digging his heels in” manner that some Southern men had. A Brooklyn guy would say, “No fucking way,” and she was totally over that style, but Jaxon’s way of doing it was annoying in a way that made her want to try harder to win him over.
Going up in a balloon was going to suck. If she threw up, it would mean dribbling her puke down the side of the wicker basket, splattering the grass below, or getting some of her stomach contents on the top of a tree. Lena didn’t want to throw up in front of Jaxon. Barfing in front of a client was unprofessional; barfing in front of a man she wanted to make her howl while smacking her ass was far worse. She considered that she might not throw up if she went there with an empty stomach. But without food and drink, she’d get dry mouth and not be able to talk, and maybe her vertigo would be worse.
She met Harper for lunch at Sav’s Grill — Lena was always a sucker for African food -- where they shared each other’s peanut goat and tiage and she told Jaxon’s sister a G-rated all-business version of the date.
“Look,” Harper said when it was done, her lips pooched into a smirking pout. “My mom depends on Jaxon to keep her going. He needs to stay on point the best he can. She’s had a lot of heartbreak with her health, and my dad being a deadbeat and leaving. Our family can’t afford for Jaxon to get his heart broken.”
Lena was so surprised that she couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping. “And you’re telling me this why, exactly?” Apparently she had not been convincing in the least about her saintly intentions toward Harper’s brother. Served her right for dropping out of the drama club in high school.
“You’re a sweet girl inside, Lena, I realize that, but you’re more forward than the kinds of girls Jaxon has dated before. He might get a little overwhelmed and get the wrong impression.”
“What would the wrong impression be?”
“I don’t want him to think you’re interested in him if you’re not.”
Lena was surprised; this bitchiness was coming not even from left field, but from left of left field.
She said, “You act like I’ve never had my heart broken? I’m a sweet girl on the outside too, so, I mean, what the fuck, Harper? I’m not breaking anyone’s heart. That’s not me. Tell Jaxon not to break my heart before you tell me not to break his. He’s so fucking uptight, I doubt he even likes being in the same room with me except when it’s business. So there’s not much risk.”
Harper’s answer was a tight-lipped smile.
Lena continued, “I haven’t had a boyfriend in as long as I can remember, Harper. I was raised right. I’m not playing around all the time. Is that what you think Brooklyn girls are like? Holy shit.”
“Well, I don’t know what to think,” Harper replied.
“Me and your brother, the problem’s the opposite. He doesn’t like me at all.”
“Which is why he’s taking you on a balloon ride.”
“That’s only business.”
“Then should I come along too?”
Lena felt her belly churning, wanted a drink to sooth her nerves. But the bourbon the other night had gone down as easily as mother’s milk, and she didn’t want to be that comfortable with liquor, or she’d be her parents all over again.
“No, don’t come along, Harper. We don’t need a chaperone for a plain old business meeting. And you don’t have to protect your brother from me like I’m some streetwalking slut.” She got up. “I thought we were friends, and I don’t have any friends around here except you. I guess I have to go make some. Fuck this.” She popped open her wallet and threw a couple of twenties on the table. “Meal’s on me.”
It was impossible to storm out of the restaurant on stilettos; as she clicked her way to the exit cursing Valentino. And as she turned the key in her car, she thought to herself: why was Harper warning her? What did she know about her brother that Lena herself didn’t know?
****
“Well, this looks sturdy,” Lena said as she nudged the side of the wicker basket with her tennis shoe. Tennis shoes, ankle socks, tan jeans, green blouse, denim jacket, and Brooklyn Nets baseball cap: that seemed like a sporty outfit that wouldn’t get in her way while she was throwing up. Her small clutch purse was overstuffed with her wallet, her phone, her car keys, and a flask she had filled with bourbon she didn’t want to drink but was afraid to leave behind.
The basket had room for maybe six people to stand close together. Inside were a motor, a cooler, and a bench with a lid that could lift. I hope there's a lot of barf bags in there, Lena thought. The balloon itself was bright red with yellow, blue, and white triangles, a large painting of a mountain surrounded by green trees, and the Pie in the Sky logo in white.
“It’s sturdy,” Jaxon assured her. He was wearing a polo with his company logo, jeans, and sturdy leather tan hiking boots. His hair was tousled, his eyes were bright, and his muscles were showing. Lena hoped he didn’t notice her looking at his crotch, and waited till he turned to adjust the controls on the tank. Yep, that crotch looked solid – not that she'd ever find out if Harper had her way. And not that she should since this was supposed to be a professional relationship. Her stomach fluttered as the valve opened and fire and gas streamed out, making a dull rumble. When their conveyance tilted suddenly, she grabbed the rim of the balloon basket with both hands, letting her clutch fall to the lightly carpeted bottom. Things clinked inside.
Jaxon knelt and picked up her clutch. “You’re safe. I’m a professional. I’ve never lost anyone out of a basket.”
“No one just…” She let go with one hand, grabbed the clutch. “No one just lurches out of fear and topples over the edge?”
“No, of course not. Then again, when I was in a bad mood I threw a naughty child out, but he landed safely in a pond.”
“You… you what?”
“He almost drowned, but EMS was nearby.” Jaxon gave a slight grin. “Just messing with you. Hot air balloons are extremely safe when they have skillful pilots. Okay, we’ll get moving now. Hang on to the edge with one hand if you feel unsteady, and you can sit down on that bench there if you get dizzy, like you said.”
“You’re fucking with me,” said Lena. She lowered herself to the seat. Did Jaxon have a sense of humor after all? She couldn’t blame him for messing with her; it was something she would have done.
Benny the older man who piloted the helicopter, and a slim, fresh-faced red-haired girl arrived in a small SUV to crew the takeoff. Both were wearing Pie in the Sky polos. The balloon takeoff point was further out in the field than where the helicopters were parked.
"The winds are ideal today," Jaxon explained. "We should be able to get a good altitude for a view of the park, and I expect to be able to hit our ideal landing point near Cave Run Lake, where I tend to set down with customers who book the balloon for the day. Technically I shouldn't land there, but I take the park rangers out on Boone Two when they're searching for missing people."
"Boone Two?"
"My smaller copter."
"Okay. Well, can't we use the fact that you help park rangers as a way to promote you?"
"It's kind of an under-the-radar thing right now."
"Then let's get permission from the National Park Service. Geez, you need to tell people how great you are."
"I don't know about that."
"Put out some feelers about it."
"Feelers?"
"Feelers."
Jaxon shrugged. "Uh, okay, whatever feelers are, let's put some out. Now, Benny and Janine will come behind us in the Niro, which has the tarp in the back. It's a hybrid, so it doesn't pollute the parks with fumes. They'll steady the basket on landing and spread out the tarp to protect the balloon when we deflate it."
"Okay," Lena said. "I see you have great safety procedures." She looked over the side at Jaxon's two employees. Benny grinned at her.
"How's your autorotation today?" she asked the older man.
"I haven't done that in years," he answered.
"Okay, never mind. How you doing?" she asked the red-haired girl.
"I started learning the clarinet at school," said Janine. She had about the broadest country accent Lena had ever heard.
"You like that?"
"No, it sucks," said Janine. "I wanted to learn the flute, but only the popular girls get to do that."
"Any chance of hitting power lines?" Lena asked Jaxon. "You know, and exploding in a fireball of blue flame and getting burned down to the bones in seconds flat? Or something?"
"Not too many power lines in this area," Jaxon said. "That's why I fly over the National Forest."
Finally, they got under way. The balloon basket swayed as it rose, and she closed her eyes and concentrated on sending positive vibes to her stomach, but with him standing and her sitting, she also had a fantasy of opening her eyes and seeing his dick pointing at her. Enough, she told herself. Just remember his ass is great too.
Lena remained seated, clinging to the rail, listening to the puffs of the hot air motor or whatever it was called, for at least ten minutes as Jaxon described what he was doing to gain altitude. Eventually, using a gentle hand, he lifted her from her near-fetal position on the bench and steadied her at the rail of the wicker basket.
A little while later the ride smoothed out as they came over a broad expanse of trees in fall colors: golden orange, citron, and banana yellow leaves carpeted the treetops below them. Lena had expected to shiver in the cold wind, but there was no wind and the sun was warm on their skin.
“Why is there no wind?” she asked, the sour taste of panic rising up her throat. “Shouldn’t we feel wind?”
“Not when we’re flying with the wind. Same speed means no wind.”
“Oh. Neat.” She forgot the flask of bourbon in her clutch and put her attention into watching the landscape pass by. As she listened, Jaxon offered a steady narrative of the history of the park and its landscape features, including walking trails, rivers, lakes, and a famous natural arch. He talked about Daniel Boone, for whom the forest was named, and about the efforts to re-introduce native predators to the area, including red wolves and bears, in order to control the population of deer. He mentioned the time he had seen some men goose-hunting and called the ranger station to report it.
“We all have to do our part to keep the forest nice,” he explained.
“It’s all about the forest,” Lena said. “Yep, it’s all about the forest.” This sparked an idea. “That’s a slogan. Pie in the Sky Tours — it’s all about the forest. Yeah, I like that.”
Jaxon was pointing at a distant blue ribbon of river as she said this, and stopped short. “Uh huh. I mean, pie and forests don’t quite go together, but it’s better than ‘Pie in the Sky is Your Eye in the Sky.’”
“I was joking about that one.”
“Really? I thought you meant that.”
“Okay, maybe I did, for a second.”
Jaxon knelt, lifting the cushion of the small interior bench. “By the way, I notice you aren’t throwing up. I did promise you a smooth ride, and now you see I can deliver what I promise.”
“Pie in the Sky Tours — a great ride, we promise.”
Jaxon grinned, the first time she had ever seen him do that. Maybe this guy wasn’t such a cold fish after all. “You’re on fire today, Ms. Bosko.”
Because you’re so hot, she thought. But she didn’t say it. Really kind of almost, though. She tried something else instead. “I was thinking what my mother used to say, Serce, które kocha, zawsze pozostaje młodym.”
“What’s that, Russian?”
“It’s Polish. It means, the heart that is in love always stays alive. Looking at the colors, and feeling the sun on my face, I think I’m in love … with the forest, I mean.”
“That’s the reaction I was hoping for when I brought you up here. You can’t be in this balloon basket and not fall in love! That's why I think, anyway. Here, you’ll love this, too.” He handed her an unlabeled bottle. “Handmade ginger mint tea, made special for us by my momma.”
Lena unscrewed the bottle — wobbled a little doing it — and carefully took a sip of the delicious brown fluid. “Oh, this is fucking great. Tell your mom I love her, too.”
Jaxon came up slowly, steadied himself and looked out over the landscape. “On that ridge there, you see the hill with the two elms? Just down a little ways there’s a bat cave. That’s where they found the Indiana bat, which is an endangered species. People used to spelunk in that cave all the time, but now the park rangers want to protect the bats, so you can’t go in anymore.”
Lena gulped the tea, then lamely considered the prospect of needing to pee while half a mile high in a balloon. “They used to what now? Slam-dunk?”
“Spelunk.”
“Junk in the trunk?”
“Spelunk. It’s what you call exploring caves. This forest has the most caves of any… wait up, look there.” He pointed in another direction. Wobbling across the basket, Lena just saw something four legged and brown entering the trees.
“That was a coyote. They always run away from people, but when the sun goes down, you can hear them howling.”
“Uh… No thank you.”
“Well, you could always look up the sound on the Internet, then.”
That reminded Lena — she wanted some promotional images. She took out her phone and began to shoot panoramic photographs. Then she began a video. As she slowly moved her phone, she announced, “Here I am in a hot air balloon with Jaxon Wheeler of Pie in the Sky Tours. That’s the Daniel Boone National Forest below us, and Mr. Wheeler is a little like Daniel Boone himself, right Jaxon?”
She turned the camera’s eye to Jaxon, who offered a handsome grin. “He’s my role model, Miss Bosko.”
Lena turned the camera to show her own face. “This is Lena Bosko from Brooklyn, and all I can say is….” She gave a war whoop.
“Yep, that’s ready for the Internet,” Jaxon said when she was done. He made some adjustments to the controls. They drifted downward a bit.
“Well, I can put it on Facebook to show everybody what I’m doing. We’ll get a professional for the real stuff.”
He looked a little sheepish about it. “You think I’m ready to have my face on the Internet?”
“You’re photogenic as hell, Mr. Wheeler.”
He sipped his tea, said softly, “And if you don’t mind me saying, so are you.”
Lena felt herself heat up at those words. The uptight man she’d been with before had turned into a real charmer, his words as good as his looks. Was something possible between them?
She would never find out in a balloon. “Maybe we should head back?”
“Not yet,” said Jaxon. He again fiddled with the knobs and levers and whatchamacallits. “In fact, we could…”
A loud pop, and the balloon basket suddenly rocked and tilted.
“Shit. I should have watched the altitude. Hang on.” He adjusted the knob on the air tank, and it uttered a dull roar. Shortly the balloon descended and moved clear of the trees, headed for a meadow in which several deer rapidly fled for cover when they saw the approaching vehicle.
"Oh my God! We're going to crash!" Lena threw herself onto the bench, clutched the rail. Her momentum caused her to bounce off the bench and slide ass-first to the floor of the basket.