But his paranoia is catching as half an hour later the balloon has drifted nearer and is travelling parallel to our route. It’s close enough for us to see its white and orange diamond pattern and we can also make out several figures standing in the basket.
‘Okay, I don’t like the look of that at all,’ says Luc. He reaches down into the footwell and takes out the binoculars. I pull over to the side of the road as he looks through the lenses, adjusting the focus.
‘There are two, three, four people in there, as far as I can make out. And they’ve got a pair of binoculars trained on us too.’
‘What?’ My heart speeds up and I hear the blood whooshing in my ears – a far too familiar sensation.
‘We need to hide.’
I look around. It’s a clear bright day and we’re travelling on probably the only road for miles around in a metallic grey vehicle that’s glinting like a beacon in the sunshine. We may as well have plastered a big sign across our roof that reads ‘come and get us’.
‘Do you think it’s the army?’ I ask.
‘It would be a bit weird for the army to travel around in an orange balloon, but we can’t take any chances. I don’t want to hang around and find out.’
‘Me neither.’
‘Let’s find somewhere to hide and let’s do it quickly.’
‘We could drive back the way we came,’ I suggest. ‘They must have to go with the wind and they won’t be able to turn as quickly as we can. I saw a track about five minutes back there. Maybe there are some trees we could shelter under.’
‘Do it,’ he says.
I perform a clumsy seven point turn, sweating and apologising as I do so. Luc puts his hand on my arm and leaves it there.
‘You’re doing great. They’re probably nothing to do with us anyway. We’re just doing this to be on the safe side.’
‘Thanks, I’m okay. It’s just, after those raiders and Grey and the army and everything.’
‘I know.’ He leans over and kissed my cheek. Even in my terrified state, I blush and my heart beats double time for a whole new reason.
‘I’ll put the shockplates on this time, just in case.’ I turn to look at him and he holds my gaze. I look away first, a jumble of emotions coursing through me.
‘There!’ He points. I look and see the roof of an old barn.
‘Brilliant.’ I rev the engine up a steep bank and through the trees. There, we find just what we’re looking for – a dilapidated grey stone barn surrounded by trees. It’s really just one wall and a roof with a couple of rusted supports at the front. I park the AV under its concealing roof and turn off the engine. We sit in silence, listening to the faint ticking and clicking of the tired AV as it cools down.
Hunger distracts us from danger, so we spread the rug out on the grassy barn floor and feast on crackers with marmite and apples from a nearby tree. We pick some juicy blackberries from a hedgerow next to the barn and gorge ourselves silly on them, until our hands and tongues are stained purple.
Luc takes the binoculars and creeps back on to the road to search the sky for our floating friends. A minute later he returns.
‘I can’t see them.’
‘Do you think they’ve gone?’
‘I don’t know, but we should wait here for a bit, until we’re sure. They won’t be able to spot us from up there anyway.’
‘God, that was scary,’ I reply. ‘I was so convinced they were after us.’
‘A hot air balloon can’t really compete with the AV. Let’s just chill here for a bit.’
We lie side by side on the rug in the cool shade of the open barn, listening to the wind sweeping through the long grass.
We don’t speak and my heart thumps in my chest. I can’t feel the ground beneath my body and yet, at the same time, it feels like I’m connected to the earth itself.
Luc’s hand is so close to mine that I feel the heat from his skin. And then he moves it the thousand miles required to hold my hand. I don’t know how long we lie here like this, just holding hands. It could be seconds or minutes, but I feel as though I’m dreaming when he reaches over and pulls me towards him. My hair falls across my face, on to his and he smoothes it back as he stares at me with his beautiful blue eyes and kisses me.
Everything is in this kiss. All the fear and excitement, the anguish and relief. Pure emotion and release. First love. We shed our clothes with eagerness and shy smiles. Luc’s body is hard and muscular to the touch, exactly as I imagined it would be. He kisses my throat and my ear, making me melt into him and discover feelings I never before knew I possessed. It’s a revelation that feels as natural as breathing. I’m like a goddess with a new power and I feel strong. Our gasps and sighs are raw with passion and I’m embarrassed and excited by their strangeness.
‘I love you, Riley.’ Luc sighs into my neck. His words are manna.
‘I love you too.’ I hear the unconcealed joy in my voice.
We stay in the barn all day and all night.
The following morning, I come to in a haze of deliciousness. It’s the first time in weeks I’ve awoken without instantly feeling the heavy realisation of Skye’s death. Instead, I open my eyes to Luc’s perfect sleeping form. He’s lying on his front, with one arm flung over my body and its weight feels so pleasing to me I almost laugh out loud. Instead, I content myself with a satisfied smile and all thoughts of anything other than the past twenty hours are obliterated.
I replay it all again in my head, savouring every detail and wishing I could confide and confess to someone – a friend, or even Ma perhaps. Or Skye. I need someone to rejoice with me at my new found love, to analyse the possibilities and to reassure me everything is as good as I know it is.
Soon, Luc wakes up, diverting me from my reverie. He smiles a sleepy smile and pulls me towards him. We kiss again, slowly, deeply, sweetly and I feel his hands on my skin.
Wish that we could stay here forever.
It’s no good – there are too many things calling us away from here, too many responsibilities and dangers pressing down on us. We drag ourselves away from the love nest we’ve created and make it back onto the uncertainties of the road.
Thankfully, we see no sign of any army vehicles or of yesterday’s balloon. We’re motoring in a blur of love. Luc is driving and playing with my hand at the same time. I can’t stop myself from leaning over to kiss his neck, distracting him in any way I can. It’s taking all of our willpower and common sense to keep going, to not stop the AV to jump on top of one another. Neither one of us is concentrating on the road too much.
‘You know I wanted that to happen for years,’ Luc says with a big grin on his face.
‘Wanted what to happen?’ I know full well what he means, but I want to hear him say it again.
‘That.’ He looks at me as if I’m dense. ‘Us. I’ve wanted you for ages, Riley.’
I swoon ridiculously at his words. Wanted me. Luc Donovan wanted me.
He carries on talking. ‘I was convinced you weren’t interested. You never paid me any attention; you more or less ignored me.’
‘I didn’t ignore you.’
‘Well, not ignore maybe, but you never talked to me.’
‘I was shy.’
Luc laughs. ‘No you weren’t.’
‘I’m always shy around people I really like. I’m too scared of looking like an idiot.’
‘I like it when you look like an idiot, it’s cute.’
I punch him in the arm.
‘Ow! You want a fight?’
I punch him again, this time softly on the cheek. He swerves the car to the side of the road, slams on the breaks and grabs my arms, pinning them by my side. Then he kisses me hard and we lose all track of time again, oblivious to any of the possible dangers around us, just revelling in the luxury of finally being together.