51. How to Float

Briar

It never gets old.

The view from a thousand feet. The vistas of Wine Country. The river, cutting a winding path through Lucky Falls. The sun is beginning to set, casting a warm, golden hue over the vineyards below us.

We're standing at the edge of the basket, Hollis on one side of me, Rhys the other, Gavin behind me. I point to the edge of the hills, a little town beyond. Maybe, just maybe, my childhood home. I can't really see it, but I can imagine it's there. "That's where I grew up."

"With your dad and brother?" Gavin asks, like he wants to picture it perfectly.

"Yeah. We were quite a trio. We were Sea Dogs fans though," I tell them. All three guys wince at once as if they've been mortally wounded. "But hey, at least they like hockey."

"Small consolation," Gavin mutters.

I laugh, then tell them more about my family. How my dad and brother came to all my soccer games growing up, then helped me with my rehab when I tore my ACL. How my brother encouraged me to learn yoga and Pilates, then how my dad suggested I study exercise science in college, catching them up to the present day and my dad's obsession with cats, and my brother's work helping me launch Flow and Flex Fitness. "And now Griffin helps me with my app. In exchange, I give him yoga for better sex tips."

"A fair trade," Hollis says with a laugh.

"What about your dad?" Rhys asks, then chuckles when he must realize how the question sounds.

"No yoga tips for him. He, however, does usually give me gruff life advice any chance he gets," I say, looking Rhys's way.

"What sort?"

"Focus on business. Business won't hurt you. Business won't leave you," I say, and while I don't want to dwell in that romance is awful space, it's also part of who I am. "And that romance can really let you down."

Maybe I ruined the vibe, since everyone goes quiet, thoughtful.

"It's good that we're friends then. That we made a vow," Hollis says.

"We won't let you down," Rhys seconds.

"We'll keep our promise," Gavin says, a solemn swear.

"I know we will. I believe that, guys," I say, a small hitch in my throat. For a while I thought working for rival teams would lead to a divide between them and me. But it hasn't at all. Instead, we've all become better friends, and I don't want to lose their friendship. "I feel like I can really depend on you guys. And I hope I'm not going out on a limb, but it almost seems like the three of you are even better friends after the last few days?"

It's a hopeful question. Maybe too hopeful.

But Gavin grunts out a yes, while Rhys says absolutely and Hollis echoes them with we are.

My heart swells with gratitude, especially when vulnerability shines in their eyes, both for me and perhaps for each other—for this unusual bond the four of us have formed in the cottage.

We all go quiet, soaring above Wine Country as the sunset paints the world below with warm oranges and deep purples.

"So, you can fly," Hollis observes a few minutes later, then runs a hand down my arm. He glances back at Clara, who's looking the other way.

"Maybe someday I'll take you all for a ride," I say.

Rhys takes his turn, sliding nimble fingers along my shoulder. "I'd say you are."

"I'm glad you're not flying right now, Briar," Gavin says in a low voice, then runs his nose along the back of my neck.

I tremble in his arms. "Why's that?"

Hollis lets his fingers drift over my hip. "Because we like it when you can let go. When you're not worried about everything you have to do."

Isn't that what they've been teaching me this week? How to surrender? "With you guys I don't want to be in control," I say, an admission that's not easy to make. But I do it anyway, like I've been opening up all week. Sharing.

"Good. Just enjoy yourself with us," Rhys says, his voice thrumming over my skin as he slides a hand over my belly, then gently travels up one breast.

I glance back at Clara. Hot-air balloon rides are for families but also for lovers. We know the drill with lovers. Look away and give them a moment.

A moment is all I will take. Leaning back into Gavin. Enjoying Rhys. Savoring Hollis.

Up here, I'm floating. Up here, I can just feel. Hands on my hips, lips on my neck, a deep voice near my ear as Gavin asks, "Later, what do you want us to do to you?"

He ropes his arms around my waist, holding me tightly as the others touch and kiss me. Like that, surrounded and safe, I answer, "I want to…surrender."

I look down at the tiny houses and vineyards, their colors fading to shades of orange and pink as the day comes to an end.

And the night begins.

After we land in a field, Clara drives us back to Hot Rides in her hot pink van with a stencil of a balloon on the side.

Once she pulls into the lot outside the hangar and cuts the engine, I startle.

My father's on the other side of the asphalt, leaning against the hood of his restored Ford Mustang, waiting for me.

His eyes flicker with questions.