They didn't talk very much on the drive back to Pine Hills. The radio was on and the road was dark except for the long reach of the headlights stretching ahead of them. Sometimes he heard Michelle singing along to the music, her voice a low whisper under the vocals. She still wore her grey shirt with nothing underneath. Standing next to his car in the parking lot, he'd played with the idea of pulling that grey shirt off her and making her ride the whole way home naked. She had met his gaze, waiting for him to open the car door for her, and he suspected that she had known what he was thinking. Maybe she even wanted him to do it.
But he just pulled the door open and she climbed into his car. He closed the door behind her. Why hadn't he stripped her? He considered the question as he walked around to the driver's side. His heart was beating fast and his cock was more than halfway erect. He wanted her to be naked. So why didn't he strip her?
He pulled onto the highway, thinking that he still could. He could ask her to take her shirt off, and she most likely would. His cock was now close to fully erect. If he asked, she would toss her shirt in the back seat and ride all the way home naked. She would even let him reach over and feel her body while he drove.
So why didn't he tell her to take off her shirt?
Because of that look in her eyes. That look she gave him as he walked to her side of the car, the look that urged him to do something reckless. That look that said she was ready and willing to play. He had seen that look in her eyes and he had reacted to it, and in fact, he was playing with her. He was playing with her by making her behave. He would make her keep her clothes on for now.
It would make it even sweeter when he finally did strip her.
They passed through Pebelton. Four miles back to Pine Hills, and then what? Her car was by the school, but he didn't want to fool around with her there. Not with Daryl still on duty. Greenholt Gardens was off limits since Nick didn't work on Saturday. Maybe he could take her home? Sneak her in again and make love in his bedroom? He mulled it over and although it seemed a little tame, he couldn't think of a better idea.
"I want to show you someplace," Michelle said.
"Where?"
"I'll give you directions when we get close. It's a place I like to go."
"Okay."
She didn't offer anything more, and he didn't ask any questions, only followed the road patiently to Pine Hills. A mile away from the city limits, she spoke again, "Take the next right."
He slowed. Ahead, he saw a turn branch off from the highway and curve to the right. He put on his blinker and followed it.
"When we get to the bottom, turn right."
The road they were on intersected a second road. Charlie turned right. It took him a minute to remember when he'd been on this road before. He recalled that it drove up a bit, then down, curving left and right, until it reached a small lake with a campground. He had gone camping there a few times when he was in elementary school.
But Michelle wasn't interested in driving to the campground. After a couple minutes of uphill driving, she said, "Take the next right turn."
Charlie saw a light pole on the corner of the next intersection, illuminating his next turn. He turned right. He saw another light pole in the distance, and as he travelled around the next curve, he could see a line of lights going up the hill, marking the path of the road. They passed through a dense forest of pine trees, following the road as it slowly curved to the left and then to the right. Through a break in the trees, Charlie could see a long, narrow bridge ahead, crossing over a shallow ravine. The bridge had lights leaning over the span, with a light pole about every twenty feet. Charlie could see a slow river passing underneath. On the other side of the bridge, the road disappeared around another curve, heading further uphill.
"Here we are," Michelle said. She pointed to the left, just before they reached the bridge. "You can park there, on the side. It doesn't look like you can, but people park there."
"Okay." No one was parked there now. Charlie pulled off the road onto a flat stretch of dirt. The car bounced on the uneven surface. He pulled in front of a tall tree and put the car in park, leaving the engine running.
"Have you ever been here before?" Michelle asked.
"I don't think so."
"It's called the Hanson Bridge. This road is Hanson Road."
"You come here?" he asked.
"Uh-huh."
"When? In the day?"
"No," she said. "Mostly at night. I like the way it's all lit up."
"You come here by yourself?"
"Uh-huh. Don't worry. I don't usually get out of my car. I just drive over the bridge, and look at it. Honestly, I'm pretty obsessed with it."
"Really?" Charlie leaned back and looked at the bridge through a gap in the tree. "There is something striking about it, isn't there. It's so long and thin. And the lighting is interesting. I wonder why they decided to use those smaller kinds of lights?" Charlie thought it would make a good location to film a scene. A young couple, taking an evening walk from one side of the bridge to the other. Stopping in the middle to lean against the railing and look down at the river. He thought it would make a great setting. The camera would love it. But what film would it be in? "I wonder why they built a fancy bridge like this way out here?"
