Hal chose a nearby diner for breakfast the next morning. It was after an awkward sunrise dance in which he got up to shower and then kept his eyes averted from Cody, first while tiptoeing back from the shower with a towel around his ample self, and then while Cody got up, carefully guarding the hem of her night shirt. Hal knew if he stole any glances he was sure to see something and he neither wanted his penis hardening when he wasn't dressed, nor Cody catching him watching her.
He dressed while she showered. She dressed in the bathroom with the door closed. Hal imagined her slipping on the flimsy blouse, with no bra, and sliding her mini skirt up her bare thighs, with no panties underneath. He desperately wanted relieve the tension building in his penis but didn't dare with her so close. It didn't help when she stepped out, in bare feet, freshly showered and wearing her little mini skirt and blouse, which she again tied up under her breasts.
They stepped out into the parking lot as the sun was topping the horizon and headed off across the blacktop, past lines of rigs (many already idling) towards the diner. The fierce winds that buffeted Rawlins so often were serendipitously calm, and Cody was able to manage her mini skirt against the gentle breeze as the hem fluttered it around her bare thighs while they walked.
In the diner, Cody predictably ordered a breakfast bigger than most truckers. After the server had taken their orders, Cody slipped off her heels into her bare feet again.
"You must not like those heels," said Hal. Cody shrugged. She was quiet, which Hal realized had been bothering him since they'd left their room.
"Not much for shoes," she said, and stirred her coffee round and round while staring out the window.
"What's wrong?" asked Hal. And he hoped it wasn't him. He also hoped she hadn't somehow looked at the photos on the camera while he was showering -- and seen the one where you could see all the way up her mini skirt.
"Just thinking about home," she said. Hal nodded sympathetically.
"You want to go home?" he asked. He realized he was hoping she didn't.
"No," she said softly. "I don't think I'll be able to for a long time." She lifted a leg absent-mindedly under the table and pointed her bare toes. Her toes accidentally brushed Hal's leg. Neither said anything.
Hal looked out the window, looking at his rig across the blacktop. "Want to take some photos on the rig?" he asked, shyly.
Cody raised an eyebrow, smiled and shrugged. "Okay," she said.
Hal couldn't wait to get through breakfast, and hurried things under the pretense of hitting the road. Cody kept shrugging and smiling. Back at the rig, Hal had the camera out and ready. Cody looked at him, her chin down and eyes wide. Hal looked at her. She stood by the rig, the fingers of one hand gently holding the hem of her short mini skirt down against the breeze.
"Heels or bare feet?" she asked softly.
Hal's face reddened. "Bare feet?" he asked. Cody nodded shyly and slipped off her heels onto the pavement.
"Where do you want me?" she asked.
"How about you get up on the running board and hang onto the mirror?" he asked. Cody gingerly stepped up on the running board and took hold of the large side mirror. She stood up on her toes. Her bare soles stretched into an arch, and her calf muscles tautened.
"Like this?" she asked. Hal caught his breath and swallowed. Cody's mini skirt was made shorter by her elevation up on the running board. Hal nodded and raised the camera.
The breeze fluttered her hem as he clicked, and the back of her skirt teasingly jostled up and down. Cody vogued, lifting a knee, pouting, smiling, and flipping her hair. Glancing around him quickly, Hal kneeled low before looking at Cody again through the camera's viewfinder. As he expected, he could see twin slivers of bare cheeks become visible under Cody's miniskirt. He clicked.
Her smooth, soft, bare legs caught the morning sun, and the breeze caught her mini skirt. As it danced, Hal could see flashes of Cody's smooth, bare ass. His stomach did a flip flop as he tried to concentrate on making photos.
Cody pushed her butt out just as the breeze lifted her mini skirt's hem up particularly high. Hal could see Cody's puffy pussy glistening in the morning sun as he clicked. Hal's chest tightened again in excitement, and he paused and put the camera down.
"What?" asked Cody. "Is it my feet?" Hal coughed, trying to answer.
"My feet are too dirty, aren't they," she said.
Hal's hand went to his chest, and Cody realized it wasn't her feet.
"Oh, oh Hal!" she exclaimed jumping off the sideboard and skittering on her toes to his side. She knelt by Hal, who dimly watched the shape of her thighs change. He felt softness pressing against him. Instinctively his hand snaked out and pressed her soft cheek into his while he tried to catch his breath. Cody let him hold her cheek while he breathed.
"You ok?" she whispered.
Hal nodded faintly. "Mm hmm," he said, trying to calm his breathing. Cody turned slowly and pressed her nose into Hal's cheek. Hal's hand continued holding Cody's cheek. He felt her nose slide against his cheek as her lips brushed lightly and then more firmly. He realized she had softly kissed him on the cheek.
They crouched together by the truck for a few moments more.
"You gonna be ok, Hal?" she asked.
"Yeah... yeah. Let's hit the road. We have a long way to go."
They stood up together. He opened up the passenger door and couldn't help but watch Cody as she climbed up into her seat, still in her bare feet.
Cody seemed unaware of how much she had been showing under her mini skirt during the shoot, because she carefully guard her skirt's hem as she climbed in. Hal wasn't able to look up her skirt this time, and part of him felt relieved that he was spared any further angina. He became worried about what he would say if she asked to look at the photos, or what she'd do, especially because the road was long, and she'd inevitably want to amuse herself. He put the thought out of his head and surreptitiously tucked the camera down beside the driver's seat.
After they pulled out onto the highway and were westward bound again, Cody found the Black Elk book. As before, she fell asleep reading it. For Hal, it was a win-win: Cody got extra sleep and Hal could concentrate on making up for lost time on the road. He inched the rig over the speed limit as much as he dared. Like many drivers, Hal was monitored by the company through GPS tracking. The twin evils of being followed remotely were his speed limit and his arrival time. He could neither speed, nor tarry. That meant making up for lost time would put him in a pickle, so he did his best to avoid it.
Cody had reclined her seat again and at some point had rolled onto her stomach. Hal snuck glances at how high her mini skirt crept as she softly snored. About an hour later, they blew through Rock Springs. Cody kept drifting in and out of sleep, so Hal decided to keep driving. He glanced at his watch and decided that perhaps they might have a late lunch.
She woke in time to have lunch in Evanston, just before the Utah border. Cody, having slept on her tummy side, stretched her legs straight out behind her and then kicked them up in her special pose, toes pointed hard, as she arched her back in a big stretch.
"U-unh!" she went, mouth open.
At the diner, Cody picked at her food. This was in sharp contrast to her appetite of the previous day.
"What's on your mind, Princess?" asked Hal. "Are you tired of the truck stop food?"
Cody looked out the diner window for a moment. "Nope," she said. "Sorry for being quiet. I'm just feeling bad about everything."
"What do you mean?"
"Bad about leaving my mom without saying goodbye. Bad about taking advantage of you. Just, bad."
"Well, you're not supposed to feel bad about hitching a ride," he said. "I'm okay with that, and I guess we have an arrangement anyway about photography."
Cody shrugged. "I know but I'm still imposing, and I don't want to get you in trouble."