Trucker Ch. 05: Reno

Hal made it to Reno by 7 PM, having gone flat out for the rest of the afternoon. Cody had slept some more, ate some sandwiches, leafed through the Black Elk book and then slept again, all the while wrapped up in the motel bed sheet. As they drove into the suburbs of Reno, Cody was in the back doing her hair and makeup.

"We need to take care of fuel and dinner, Princess," Hal called over his shoulder.

"And one more thing," Cody replied.

"A place to stay?"

"Panties, Hal. I want some panties."

"Panties," Hal said, which was a word he didn't say very often.

"I've been wearing nothing underneath for days now. If you want me wearing short short mini skirts for you, I want some panties underneath."

"Okay Princess, fair enough. Let's find a mall with a restaurant and panties."

Cody giggled as she brushed her hair out. "Is there a Flying J in Reno?"

"We already passed it back in Fernley."

Hal spotted a sign for an upcoming TA truck stop and took the exit off Interstate 80. He steered the rig into an open lane with a hiss of air brakes and shut the truck down before climbing out of the cab and fishing in his wallet for the company card. Hal got the main and satellite tanks filling before washing the windows and refilling his DEF tank, then climbed back in the cab and pulled the truck forward into a parking spot.

"I'm going inside to get my receipt Princess, do you want to use the washrooms?"

"Yuck, but yes," he heard her say. Cody emerged from the back, her hair done and fresh makeup. She looked heavenly. She had put on her grey, flippy mini skirt from the hostel, and the t-shirt Hal had bought her.

Hal climbed down from the cab and Cody followed. She hopped down from the running board, and her mini skirt floated up, exposing her smooth, bare ass and the front of her. She quickly smoothed the skirt back down and held it down with one hand as she walked with Hal across the service lanes to the building. Truckers in various stages of refueling turned their heads to watch her as she strutted past in her bare legs and heels, the breeze toying dangerously with her mini skirt's hem.

Hal barged the lineup at the cash to ask for the woman's washroom key and then got in line while Cody went to the washrooms at the back. "Wish me luck!" she giggled, and walked away with her heels echoing on the marmoleum, her hips twitching, and her little skirt swishing from side to side. Everyone in the lineup was male, and everyone in the lineup had their eyes on her.

"I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you walk away," muttered a voice quietly, followed by snorts and chuckles. Hal hoped nobody would notice his huge hard-on. The lineup was quick but Hal got to talking with another trucker about the weather forecast for the Verdi range, and missed Cody's exit.

When Hal returned, Cody was waiting outside the locked cab, her arms folded under her ample chest and the wind fluttering her beautiful hair. From a distance, he could see how short her skirt looked, and how long it made her beautiful bare legs look. The breeze teased her little skirt up in the back, and Hal caught a flash of her bare bum cheeks. His penis rehardened, the tip aching as it rubbed against fabric as he walked.

"Was it a horror show, Princess?"

Cody smiled. "Kind of, but all I had to do was lift up my skirt and squat a li'l." She winked and giggled at Hal's reaction.

"You're a tease," he said.

"It's cooler here in Reno," she said, as Hal unlocked the cab door.

"We're at a higher elevation being at the foot of this range," he said.

"It's refreshing after how hot it was in Nebraska," she said. "I can feel the cool breeze going up my skirt." As she said this, she climbed up into the cab and the wind lifted her skirt in the back. Hal could see right up underneath to her bare vulva.

"Oh god," he moaned. Cody didn't say anything, but reached out and shut the door. Hal walked around to the driver's side and climbed up into the cab. The tip of his swollen penis felt every movement as the fabric of his underwear rubbed back and forth across its slick tip.

Cody had slipped her heels off into her bare feet again. She crossed her legs and pointed her toes slowly, letting her bare feet arch and her bare soles wrinkle. Hal cleared his throat. "Let's head for Meadowood," he said and pulled the rig out back onto the interstate. They turned south on 580, driving past the airport and to the sprawling mall. As in Salt Lake City, Hal had to park the rig on the outskirts of the parking lot, which meant Cody had to walk across yards of breezy blacktop in her little mini skirt. Cody guarded her hemline closely, not wanting her bare bum or vulva to show with so many people around. Hal could feel the tension drain from her when they finally walked in through the nearest entrance and calm air.

"Okay, I'm hungry," she said.

"Food first?"

"Yeah, I've gone a few days without panties, I can survive another 45 minutes."

"I can't believe this is our conversation."

Cody laughed and Hal pulled her gently into his side in a hug. Cody let him keep his arm around her as they came up to the hostess of a generic mall restaurant. The hostess's eyes roamed up and down Cody and briefly flickered. "For two?" she chirped. Cody and Hal nodded. She seated them in a booth, and Cody and Hal flipped open their menus. Hal's eyes glazed over at the inflated prices. He was used to the truck stop fare. Everything here came with an ocean of fries, and everything that wasn't fries was breaded on a bed of wilted romaine lettuce. Hal settled on a chicken caesar salad as the lesser tribulation. To his mild surprise, Cody ordered the "Asian stir fry."

After their server left, Cody slipped off her heels and tucked her legs up to the side on the seat, and pointed her bare toes. Her wrinkled, dirty bare soles faced away from public scrutiny, but from the way her skirt draped around her hips, Hal realized Cody's bare ass was resting directly on the seat.

"Do you still want to model in LA?" Hal asked. Cody looked reflectively up at the ceiling for a moment.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna need a day job and an affordable place to live."

"That's not going to be Santa Monica or Venice Beach," said Hal.

"Where should I live?"

"Pretty much wherever you find an affordable place, but there's some places to avoid."

"Like where?"

"Oh I don't know. Last time I was there, the east side of downtown was kinda sketchy. Also some places east of the airport. I'd have to ask my friend."

"The one with the delivery truck company?"

"Yeah or Rob, who's in the restaurant business."

"Does Rob need any help at his restaurant?"

Hank smiled. "I can ask him, Princess."

Cody smiled and rested her chin on her hands. She pursed her lips suggestively around the straw her in coke and fluttered her eyelids theatrically at Hal. Hal chuckled. "You're welcome," he said.

"And what are you going to do after Oakland and your break? Are you going to keep driving your rig?"

Hal looked up at the ceiling reflectively for a moment. "Maybe," he said. "I was thinking today it might be time to move on. You know, they're coming out with robo-trucks now."

"Robo-trucks?"

"Yeah, trucks that drive themselves. No driver. It's only a matter of time before we all lose our gigs."

"How can you have a truck on a busy road with no driver??" Cody was incredulous.

"Apparently they can, Princess. They're already coming out with cars that drive themselves."

"How long until that happens?"

"I have no idea. When I reach Oakland, I could hit up my friend in LA for a delivery truck gig."

"But won't they use robot delivery trucks?"

"Maybe eventually. And courier companies will use drones."

"So what then?"

"I could go back to installing drywall for my buddy in Macon."

Cody was silent for a moment.

"Nah. They'll probably have drywall robots."

Hal looked at her blankly. "Huh?" he asked.

Cody started laughing. "I'm joking!"

Hal reached over and impulsively mussed her hair.

Their dinners arrived and Cody attacked her stir fry with her characteristic shameless vigor.

"So what kind of modelling do you want to do?" asked Hal.

"Commercial modelling," she said, with her mouth full.

"What's that?"

"Like, product catalogs, eyewear, stock photos, lifestyle shots."

"So, fashion? Like in shows and magazines?"

"I'm too short for that. And my boobs are too big. But I'd love to be in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue like Kate Upton. So that's why I'm going to Cali."

"Have you done anything like that?"

"No, cuz you have to be over 18, but I did some lifestyle photos for a photographer in Buffalo and I put them on Model Mayhem."

"Model Mayhem." Hal said it like he was learning a new word in a foreign language.

"Yeah it's online portfolios and stuff."

Hal nodded slowly.

"That's an interesting name."

Cody laughed. "Yeah I get tons of messages from photographers who do it for a hobby and they're not very good, but you can still get great exposure there and free pics for your portfolio."

Hal nodded slowly again. "This... is all very foreign to me," he said.

"Well, once I'm done teaching you photography, you can sign up there!"

Hal laughed. "I dunno, Princess. I think I should stick to trucking. But what about the ones I took of you?"

Cody sipped sexily from her drink straw and cocked an eyebrow. "Hmmm. Obviously not some of them. But if we had a computer we could put some on."

"I have an iPhone."

"No, babes we need to get the photos off your flash card first, and they take up space."

Hal pondered this fact for a minute. "I have an old PC in Macon but maybe I could just buy a laptop."

"No, Hal, you need a laptop that can handle the images and store them an' stuff and that's super expensive. You can't do that just for some pics."

But Hal had grown rock hard in his pants thinking about the sexy photos he had of Cody, and was imagining them online for others to see. He was no longer thinking with his brain.

"Nah Princess it's good, I have a lot saved up in the bank, and I was thinking of buying a laptop for the road anyway. We could totally pick one up."

Cody looked at him dubiously. "I dunno, Hal. I had to leave mine at home. It was a gift from my mom and I could never afford one myself. When I get settled in Cali and have enough money, I'll buy another and we can upload the photos then."

Hal wasn't happy with that timeline and pressed on. "How much are we talking? Two hundred dollars?"

Cody laughed. "More like one thousand at least. Maybe more. You need a larger, quality screen and lots of storage space, plus a fast processor. And then there's the software."

"Software?"

"Yeah, like Lightroom and PhotoShop. You have to get a subscription to those. It's not expensive."

Hal nodded slowly. "Hmmm," he said, doing the mental math. Cody shrugged.

Cody ordered peach pie and ice cream for dessert while Hal sipped coffee and kept one eye on his wrist watch. He didn't want to admit it to Cody, but he was tired from the extra driving. Cody, recovered from her hangover, was wide awake and energetic. Such was the stamina of an 18-year old, he thought.

Hal paid the bill and they strolled back out into the mall. Cody folded her arms under her chest as she walked, and her very short mini skirt bounced up and down gently with each twitch of her hips, while her heels clicked on the tiled floor. As before, Hal could see heads swiveling to track her in his peripheral vision. She darted into a pharmacy store without warning, and Hal followed. She picked up some toiletries and makeup. Then she turned to Hal and looked at him imploringly, her eyes a mixture of pleading and guilt. Hal smiled and paid for them, which earned him a kiss on the cheek from her.

Back out in the mall, Cody paused outside a leather goods store to inspect a shoulder bag, ruffling through its inner pockets and murmuring approvingly. Hal caught sight of the price tag and noted it was worth as much as a laptop. He glanced behind him absentmindedly and caught a glimpse of something incongruous. He glanced around again, more slowly, and spied a man who looked to be in his thirties. He was standing not far behind them, and appeared to be checking his phone -- except that it looked feigned because he kept glancing their way with flicks of his eyes. The thirty-something man wasn't standing off to the side to keep out of the flow of shoppers detouring around him. Neither did he seem to notice Hal glancing at him. Hal turned back to Cody, who put the leather bag down and turned to leave. They continued on.

Hal was quickly finding out how easily mall shops distracted Cody. They checked a directory sign and found both a Victoria's Secret and a Victoria's Secret Pink on the upper level. No sooner had they turned in the direction of the escalators, Cody spotted an accessories shop with sale bins out front. She grabbed Hal's hand and gently pulled him off course. "Just a sec, I wanna see this," she said.

"I'll wait out here," said Hal, not wanting to encourage her to tarry. Cody walked over to the bins and began digging around in a pile of silk scarves. Hal felt a pang of boredom and impatience until his eyes instinctively went to Cody's little mini skirt. She was leaning progressively further across the bin as she worked through the scarves. Every time she leaned forward, the hem of her mini skirt rose higher, almost exposing her. Hal had lost track of how many times he'd grown hard over the day, but once again he felt his penis swell into a huge boner. He darted his eyes to the left and then to the right, where he caught a movement. Glancing right, he spotted the thirty-something man again.

The man stood a little distance from Hal, and as before, seemed to be checking his smart phone. But this time his eyes were clearly riveted on Cody as she rummaged. Hal was torn between watching Cody and watching the man watch Cody. Hal flicked his eyes back to Cody. She leaned forward even further, and a hint of the creases of her bare bum cheeks became visible. She straightened up and the hem of her mini skirt slid back down. Hal swallowed. He glanced surreptitiously at the man. The man's eyes were glazed over. He made no pretense of looking at his phone but instead stared fixedly at the hemline of Cody's mini skirt.

Hal looked back at Cody in time to see her go up on her tip-toes. Her heels rose up off her mules as she leaned forward and pulled at a scarf in the rear of the bin. The hem of her mini skirt popped up over her limit, and the two inches of her bare bum peeked out. Hal felt his boner twitch and he caught his breath. His eyes darted to the man, who had lifted his smart phone up at a funny angle. It looked as though he might be videoing her, and appeared to have thrown all caution to the wind. Cody straightened up and turned back toward Hal. The man wheeled away and faced the other direction, suddenly back to staring at his smart phone again.

"There's some cute scarves there and I was hoping to find one to tie up in my hair," she said.

"Did you want me to buy one, Princess?"

"No no, it's okay. I didn't find one I like."

Hal and Cody resumed their route to the escalators. Hal glanced to the side to check the reflection in the glass of an adjacent store and made out the fuzzy reflection of the thirty-something man. He was obsessively hooked on Cody and her little skirt. A bolt of excitement went through Hal's abdomen. When they reached the escalators, Hal went on first and let Cody fall in behind him. Hal waited until they were halfway up to the second floor before turning around to face Cody. She looked up him innocently. Over her shoulder, he spotted the thirty-something man below them, looking up at Cody with his smart phone. Without thinking, Hal impulsively slid his hands down around Cody's waist, which was slightly awkward with her standing one step below. Hal gently pulled Cody in and kissed her softly on the forehead. As he did so, he pulled up gently to encourage Cody to lean forward, and make the hem of her mini skirt slide up. Cody stood up on her tip-toes, her bare heels rising up off her mules. Hal knew in that moment that the man could see all the way up the back of her skirt to her bare vulva.

"Stop it Hal," Cody giggled as she swept Hal's hands off her waist and tugged her mini skirt back down. "Someone will see!" She glanced over her shoulder, but the thirty-something man had already slipped his smart phone down out of sight and was staring numbly to his right. Hal took her hand and kissed her again on the forehead.

"Princess," he murmured. He hoped he wasn't crossing lines with her, but in that moment he was too horny to care. They stepped off the escalator at the top and turned in the direction of Victoria's Secret Pink. Hal noted with understanding and a touch of disappointment that the thirty-something man did not follow her into Pink but walked past, looking at her as he did so.

"Yay, time for panties!" Cody sang. Hal laughed as she went to a table full of small, multi-colored rolls of fabric with a sale sign and began pawing through. Hal looked around and spotted a display counter with drawers beneath. Skimpy, stringy forms caught his attention and he wandered over to look. Upon inspection he quickly realized he was looking at an assortment of thongs and g-strings of various colors, some with solid fabric, some with lace and some with see-through mesh. He glanced over his shoulder at Cody who was holding up a pair of full-cut panties. He turned back to the rack and selected several g-strings: one solid white, two black lace and two white lace.

Hal turned back towards Cody who was already walking towards Hal with a few pairs of full-cut white panties she had selected from the sale table. "Whatcha got there?" Cody asked. Hal presented the g-strings to her and said nothing. Cody handed Hal her choices for him to hold while she held up the g-strings one at a time. Each of them consisted of delicate strings converging on a small patch of fabric meant to cover Cody's vulva.

"Oh goodness..." Cody said. She had the same expression on her face as she did when Hal gave her the denim mini-mini skirt.

Hal shrugged. "These look nice," he said.

"Hmm. Well." Cody said after a short time, and then was silent again. Hal knew she felt torn. She needed and wanted normal panties but Hal was buying. Hal was also driving her to California. She gestured to the full-cut panties Hal had taken from her. "Can I at least get two of the white ones in the full cut?"

Hal nodded. "Of course, Princess."

Hal took the g-strings from Cody and they paid for them at the cash, along with the full-cut panties.

When they left the store, Hal glanced left and saw the thirty-something man sitting on a bench further down, obviously waiting for Cody. He immediately got up when he saw her and pulled out his smart phone. Cody put a hand on Hal.

"Hang on a sec," she said. She fished in the bag and pulled out a pair of the white, full-cut panties. Without checking around, she slipped off her heels into her bare feet and then stepped into the panties, one foot at a time. She deftly pulled them up and under her mini skirt, flashing her bare hips briefly.

"Whoa..." breathed Hal.

"Oh my god Hal that feels so good!" Cody exclaimed. "I'm finally wearing underwear again!" She slipped her bare feet back into her heels.

"I thought it would have been the opposite that felt good," Hal mumbled.

"Yeah, maybe for a little while," she giggled.

Hal looked over his shoulder and saw the thirty-something man quickly look back down at his phone.

"Alright, Princess, it's getting late. Time to find a place to park."

"A motel?"

"Nope. We should sleep in the truck tonight."

"What?"

"I mostly sleep in the truck. I don't normally spend every night in a motel. I wouldn't turn a profit doing that." Hal was also realizing the panties and g-strings cost more than one night's motel stay.