Hot Air, Cool Breezes

Nothing from the Twilight Series or Ms. Meyers works belong to me!

BPOV

It was early October already; the leaves were just beginning to change to their wondrous glory. Sprinkled in with the green leaves of the mountains, were some bright reds and yellows. Each morning I wake, open the curtains and check the progress of the change. The view outside my window was so spectacular I'd never take it for granted; unlike my friends from the area, they thought I was being a bit melodramatic about it all. There were never any season changes that could compare with this where I came from.

During the past couple of weeks, Ian and I had spent a great deal of time together. He came to North Country on the nights I worked late and would walk me back to the house. Our time together was spent discovering more about one another. On several occasions I would make him tell me stories about his past, he'd chuckle and say 'another story Bella…no wonder you're an English major.'

It turns out that he and Drake liked to indulge in outdoor activities quite a bit. He owned a jet ski and Drake owned a couple of snowmobiles and whenever they were home in NY State, they would take advantage of their time to ride the toys. Ian couldn't wait for the first snow; he wanted to take me to his home so he could have me ride on Drake's snowmobile. I tried to tell him that snow wasn't something I appreciated, but he claimed that was because I hadn't been treated to all the great things about it.

Today I had to work the morning at the store, afterwards Ian and I would spend the day together. Roxanne was in the shower, so I ran downstairs to have some breakfast while I waited my turn.

Being early in the house on a Saturday, there was no one around, everyone was sleeping. Walking into the kitchen, I made the coffee for everyone and grabbed some bread to make toast. As I was preparing my meal, I kept getting the feeling that someone was watching me. It was a faint feeling, but one that kept me turning around to see if anyone had joined me. Shrugging my shoulders, don't let your imagination get the best of you, I thought. You just haven't been up this early when no one else was awake.

The coffee finished so I put my bread in the toaster, grabbed a cup and sat at the kitchen table. Enjoying a quiet cup of coffee with nothing but my thoughts was actually a treat; usually there was always someone in the kitchen. The morning looked so beautiful I decided to take my breakfast out on the deck. As I was going out the door something caught my eye, quickly turning around, my eyes scanned the room but there was nothing. Odd, I could have sworn that something had moved. Just creeping myself out.

Repositioning one of the chairs so it would get the morning sun I sat and relaxed. The sun wasn't as strong as in the summer but it was warm enough to keep me from getting a chill. My back was to the door so as to face the mountains in the distance, smiling I thought of the coming weeks. Roxanne and Drake were planning a huge Halloween party for the house. She was possessed with the planning and wanted to take me for costumes.

Suddenly I felt someone sitting beside me, being engrossed in my thoughts I never heard the door open. "Good Morning Bella, you look nice." Derrick said. Oh God, not this guy! He smiled at me, but it wasn't a warm smile…it wasn't even his goofy looking smile. I felt a shudder run through me. "Derrick." I said turning back to the view rudely. I couldn't be nice, it would only encourage him to stay and that was the last thing I needed.

"You and Ian seem to be hot and heavy, what's the deal with that?" he asked as he moved his chair so I had to look at him. This was getting ridiculous not even being terse helped dissuade him. "My relationships don't concern you Derrick." I stood up and started walking towards the door, "Good bye." "I'll be seeing you Bella" I heard him call out as the door closed.

His advances had diminished as Ian and I had become closer and I actually thought he had decided to stay away. Apparently I was wrong, he was just waiting for an opportunity to catch me without Ian. When I entered my room, Roxanne was dressed and standing in front of the mirror applying her makeup. "Hey, where were you?" she asked casually.

"I went down for a bite to eat. The house is kind of creepy when no one's up." I said while grabbing my things for the shower. "Speaking of creepy, Derrick ran into me downstairs, that's why I came back."

She turned around and looked at me concerned, "He didn't try anything, did he?" She stood facing me waiting for an answer.

"No, he was just being a pest." I said waving my hand in dismissal. "Look, I have to get ready for work, so I'll see you later." I said as I went into the bathroom.

"Okay! Hey…Drake and I are going to wait for you and Ian this afternoon. We'll all do something fun."

"Sounds good," I shouted out to her as I turned on the water. While taking my shower, I kept thinking about the creepy feeling of someone watching me. Thinking back on the feeling I had in the kitchen made my skin crawl. I adjusted the water so it was warmer, trying to shake the feeling. 'Cut it out, you're just being silly' I thought.

While washing my hair I vowed to catch up with Charlie, Renee and Jake. It had been weeks since I had spoke with any of them. Spending so much time with Ian had distracted me from calling them; Renee was sent photos and a couple of quick emails but I really needed to call her before she sent out the National Guard.

Quickly getting dressed, I threw my jeans and Royal Blue turtleneck on before beginning the process of blow-drying my hair. Smiling I remembered the last time I wore this sweater; Ian just stared at me before approaching me for a kiss. Although the sweater was a turtleneck, it had an oval cut out just below the neckline that went to just above my cleavage. The sleeves were kimono style but the torso was snug fitting. Remembering how he grabbed my hand and twirled me around, 'let me see' he said. Then he lightly ran his finger up the oval cut out, gently touching the exposed skin. I couldn't speak and my knees went weak for a moment. He just smiled and said 'you should wear this sweater more often, it really looks great on you.'

Hoping he wasn't downstairs, I ran down grabbed my things and left. I wanted to surprise him when he came to the store later.

John was standing in the main area of the store when I came in. "Good Morning Bella," he called as he continued adjusting a display.

"Hey Boss, creating a new focus point for the customers." I said as I approached the table. Looking to see what he was setting up I chuckled, the display was covered with an array of titles that all had to do with ghosts…monsters…weird VT anything to promote the Halloween theme. "Well it looks like someone has gotten into the spirit." I said going behind the counter.

"That's retail, you need to keep up with the times and promote the current holiday." John smiled as he walked over with a book in his hand. He put it down and came around to set me up with the orders I needed to process today. "There are quite a few orders here that need to be handled carefully. They are from long time customers who are serious collectors, so make sure to use the gloves when packing their books." He said pulling the orders he was referring to from the stack.

"Hey speaking of that, I never asked how it went with that big order." I asked as I skimmed through the papers.

"What big…oh, yeah. It went well, a young man came in to pick them up. It took us two trips to his car. He was an odd one," he shrugged his shoulders. "For some reason he made my nerves edgy…there wasn't anything particularly menacing about him, he was just a kid. About your age," he said as he walked back to the display.

"Well, do you think they'll come back?" I asked.

"You never know, it would be nice, but being in retail as long as I have you learn not to count on anyone's loyalty these days." He responded as he finished with his display. "I'll be in the back paying bills if you need me."

I began the process of picking and packing the on-line orders. This was one of my favorite jobs because I really enjoyed seeing what people were ordering and reading. It introduced me to new titles and I kept a pad by my side so I could jot down books that looked like they would hold my interest.

Time passed quickly as there were many more customers now that business was picking up. During my packing process I was interrupted several times by customers who would enter the store. Before I knew it, my shift had ended and it was time to leave. Ian hadn't arrived yet, so I went back to the counter to wait. Straightening it up, I noticed the book John had left earlier. 'Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture', staring at the cover my hands started shaking. It had been so long since I had given vampires a thought, I didn't know if this was a good thing or not.

Just then I heard someone enter, "Are you ready to go gorgeous?" I turned to him and he rushed to my side, "Bella, what's wrong?" He was holding my face in his hands, as I looked into his face and saw all the concern and worry, I knew then that not thinking about vampires was a good thing; a very good thing.

Putting the book on the counter, I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. "I'm fine now, let me get my things."

"Bella, you scared me. Are you sure you're okay? You're face, I don't know how to describe it…you looked scared and sad all at the same time." He said as he picked up the book looking at its cover. "Is this what scared you?" he asked perplexed as he looked at me.

"Ian I'm fine," I said taking the book from his hands and placing it back on the counter. "You startled me when you came in, that's all. John, I'm heading out" I shouted out while staring into Ian's eyes.

"Have a great day kids. It's turned out to be a beauty." John stated as he came out of his office.

Ian's expression still held worry as he stroked my cheek. He looked up at John and said, "We plan on it, Bella will tell you all about it tomorrow." He smiled as he took my hand and led me out the door.

"We will huh, what will we be doing?" I said as we walked up Church Street.

"The first thing we'll be doing is this," he pulled me into him and began kissing me. His tongue slowly defining my lips as they parted for him. "Now" he said as he pulled away "we'll be heading to the park to meet Roxanne and Drake."

"Okay, but are you sure you don't want to stay here and kiss more?" I asked him teasingly.

"Yes, but you need to eat." Pulling my hand so I kept pace with him, he continued, "Besides you know I can't resist that sweater. I'm afraid, that we would cause a scene in the street." He chuckled.

"Good...food, I'm starved. What's for lunch?" I couldn't help but smile about the sweater…wise choice on my part.

"You'll see. Now, would you like to really tell me what was wrong when I came into the store?" he asked seriously.

"Nothing, honest. You startled me that's all." I lied, it's not like I could tell him what was going on in my head. "Look, there they are" I said pointing to Drake and Roxanne.

They were settled under a tree with a blanket and some bags. Caught up in their own world, they never saw us approaching. I ran forward and jumped to the ground, grabbing one of the bags. "Hey you two. What's for lunch…I'm so hungry." Ian came up and sat beside me pulling the bag from my hand.

"Slow down spunky. I'll get you fed." He began pulling things out of the bags and placing them on the blanket, he rummaged through them until a big smile came to his face. "Okay, this is what I was looking for" he pulled a cup out of the bag, put a straw in it and handed it to me.

Clapping my hands and grinning I said, "You are too good to me! A Chocolate Milkshake! YEAH!" I took the shake from him and started drinking it right away. It was perfect, I was very particular about my milkshakes they couldn't be so thick that drinking it through a straw was impossible, but I also didn't like them when they were too thin that drinking it was like drinking a glass of chocolate milk.

"Slow down, you'll get a brain freeze," he said laughing. "Besides, you should have some of these too" he said as he held out a container of chicken fingers. Watching my face, he smiled when I grinned at what he had bought. "Better than hot dogs?" he asked.

"Much, much better." I said as I leaned over kissing him on the cheek.

"No displays of public indecency. We're in a park with kids, keep it clean." Drake said laughing as Roxanne shoved him to the ground.

"You should talk, before you guys came I could barely keep him off me." She said as she took one of the bags to get something to eat.

Between bites I asked, "So what's up after lunch?"

Roxanne looked to Drake and Ian, "I don't know they won't tell me. They definitely have something planned though; these two are terrible at trying to hide things. They get that devilish look and grin too much. So guys, what's the deal?"

Drake handed Roxanne her drink and said, "Just eat Rox, you'll find out soon enough." He picked up his own lunch and started eating.

We sat and talked while we ate enjoying the late afternoon. After lunch, I moved closer to Ian and leaned against him while we watched all the people in the park. I glanced over and saw a swing set, "Hey, wanna push me on the swing?"

"Sure, I'd be happy to. Come on", he grabbed my hand helping me up. We walked over to the swings, as I sat down he started pushing me. Laughing I urged him to push me harder. Soon I was flying in the swing with my feet out and pumping to get more height. It got to the point where he couldn't push me any longer so he walked around to the front and watched me smiling the whole time.

Flying and loving it, the height of the swing was about equal with the tallest part of the set and I was beaming. My feet were pumping to keep the height, but I was beginning to feel unbalanced. Holding tighter to the chains, I stopped pumping but it was a little too late, the swing was shifting from side to side now as I felt myself falling. Landing in the sand I started laughing.

Ian came running up helping me to my feet brushing me off. "How on earth could you fall off a child's swing? Are you hurt?" although he was concerned he was laughing.

"Yes, I'm fine" I said between gasps of air. "That was wonderful and I didn't get hurt. Do you know how good that is, maybe I'm not such a klutz anymore", smiling up at him while he held my shoulders.

"Too bad, I would have liked the opportunity to kiss it and make it better."

"Don't let that stop you…kiss away." I said leaning into him. He pulled my face up to his and kissed me, his lips left mine as he continued kissing my cheeks and forehead. "Public place remember," I said sighing.

Hugging me to his chest, he rested his head on mine. "You're right, we need to get back to the house anyway. You need to change into something warmer." He took my hand and we walked back to Drake and Roxanne to clean up and head for home.

When we got into the house, I turned "So warmer huh, any other hints you want to give me."

"Nothing loose, warm and snug is appropriate. Comfortable shoes, sneakers would be best. You also might want to pull your hair back." Smiling at me he said, "Go, make it quick, we're going to be late."

Roxanne and I ran to our room. Clothes were flying everywhere as we rushed to get back downstairs. We tried to guess what they had planned before deciding to just enjoy ourselves. Dressed in jeans, turtleneck and a lined hoodie, I was ready.We headed back downstairs and the guys were waiting at the door.

"Let's go." Drake said putting his arm over Roxanne's shoulder.

Ian leaned into my neck kissing me lightly behind my ear and whispered, "I liked the sweater better, but you still look great." Oh...this boy made my blood race, I didn't care where we were headed as long as he was with me. Tugging on his arm, I pulled him outside following Drake and Roxanne.

As we strolled down the street, I wondered where we were going and realized we were approaching City Park. More people were crowding the walk heading in the same direction as us. I didn't recall reading about any events planned for this weekend, and then I saw what it was. There were hot air balloons all over the field. "Oh my, Ian this is wonderful." I gasped. It was beautiful, early twilight had descended and the balloons were illuminated by lights highlighting the different shapes and colors.

He held me tighter to his side as the crowds gathered to enter the park. "I'm glad you're excited, we're going up in one. Drake and I made reservations a couple of weeks back."

Roxanne came running over, "Bella, we're taking a hot air balloon ride. Can you believe it?" I've never seen her so excited; she was like a little kid.

"Well if you run off like that again you aren't going anywhere." Drake smiled. She jumped up in his arms wrapping herself around him. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise." She replied excitedly.

As we came closer to the balloons I was in awe. They were lined up on each side of a path, tethered to the ground. The hot air was blowing up in plumes of fire keeping the balloons inflated. The colors and shapes standing out in contrast with the sky, some were the average balloon shape, but there was one that was like Noah's ark, animals and all. I just walked the path with Ian by my side looking up at all the balloons, mesmerized.

We approached a man behind a podium and Ian handed him the tickets. He directed us to a young girl who guided us to the balloon we would be taking for a ride. It was a balloon with a big frog on it, one side showed the front of the frog and the other side showed his backside. I grinned from ear to ear thinking how much fun this would be. As we approached the balloon she said, "This will be your captain and his assistant."

There before us was a friendly looking man with glasses; hat and a smile that made his eyes squint. "Hi I'm Dave and this is my wife Duanette. We're going to be taking you up and my ground team will follow us and get you back here when it's over. The preliminaries will take a couple of minutes as I explain what needs to happen, you will all be helping get us off the ground and then again when we land. It's a great evening for a ride, so you'll really enjoy this."

After giving us our instructions we all climbed into the basket and prepared for our ride to begin. Take off was a little scary as the basket lifted off the ground swaying slightly, but Ian held me tight. Once we were higher I felt more comfortable and turned in his arms, "Ian, this is wonderful. I've never…it's great." I sighed leaning into him and he cradled me to his chest.

"Bella, you make me want to do things like this for you. I've never been romantic, but when I read about this, I just had to bring you." He tilted his head down and kissed me so passionately I was left breathless. We turned and glided through the evening watching the sunset from above the ground. The wind blowing against our faces, the leaves in various shades of red, yellow and orange with the sky darkening as the sun dipped below the mountains, making everything magical beyond compare.

During the ride we had champaign and toasted to the beauty around us. Duanette and Dave told us about their many flights and stories of people they encountered along the way. All too soon the ride was ending and we were nearing our marked destination for the ground crew to meet us. We slowly started descending and Dave instructed us on landing instructions again. The balloon was descending quicker than I expected and drifting slightly. When we were within feet from the ground the basket started swaying more as Dave managing the burner to adjust our landing. Our job was to begin positioning the sand bag ballasts to weigh down the basket.

When we hit the ground the basket tumbled over and the ballast sand bags dislodged and fell against me. I felt something snap my arm, I screamed out in pain. I watched as Ian struggled to disentangle himself from the balloon and ballasts, while I tried to see what was wrong with my arm. Dave made it to my side first and tried to help me get my arm free, he lifted the sand bag away from my arm and I immediately screamed again from the movement. Oh my God the pain, was excruciating.

"Hold on Bella, I need to get your sleeve out of the way" he said as he tore my sleeve open. Dave's face drained of color as he looked at my arm, Ian was finally free and by my side. I saw his eyes move to my arm and the look of shock scared me. I looked down and saw my bone jutting out and blood everywhere. The smell of rust and copper hit me and all went black as I lost consciousness.