Promise Me This (Between Breaths 4)

“That’s quite a story you just weaved for the poor lonely bridge,” I said, turning my camera and flashing it in his direction. I took shot after shot of him relaxed and gorgeous with his sleepy eyes and messy bedhead, before he finally raised his hand to protest. “How do you know so much about it?”

“My brother used to hang here with friends. You know, doing stupid kid stuff, like climbing up on the bridge to walk to the connecting tracks about a mile down the road and feel the vibration of the trains roaring by,” he said, looking off in the distance. “The bridge stayed down because of the dried-up river, but it was patrolled by the sheriff in town because there were a couple near accidents.”

I leaned back on the bumper and imagined a younger Nate. Then pictured a bunch of drunk teens trying to experience a high by the tracks.

“They finally got smart and raised the bridge for good. That’s when it became too hard to cross it,” he said. “But that’s also when I started to seek this place out by myself. Did it a couple of times just to sit and think.”

“It is peaceful around here, just looking up at this thing in all of its glory.”

“You mean looking down at it,” he said, hopping off the hood of my car. “I used to climb up there and look down at the world. Now, that was a sight.”

I couldn’t help my jaw from hanging open at his words, but it made sense for a daredevil like Nate. “Now I’m connecting the dots.”

“Want to see?” There was challenge in his eyes and I swallowed roughly. I bet photos from up high would be amazing.

“How . . . how do you get up there?”

“C’mon, I’ll show you.” He reached for my hand and I slid my fingers in his. I was getting used to holding Nate’s hand, the rough pads of his fingers, the smooth weight of his palms. I’d told Nate earlier of my slight fear of heights and as we neared the structure that loomed in the sky, my knees started knocking.

Trudging through the grass to the foot of the bridge, he turned to me. “Think you can climb this?”

I shook my head, my heart pounding. “I . . . I don’t know.”

“I’ve got you,” he said, leaning in and wrapping his arms around my waist. It felt safe and warm and good. Too good. He positioned me in front of him, nudging me toward the concealed iron steps that went all the way up top. “It’ll be worth it. I’ll be behind you the entire way.”

He suddenly lifted me and plopped me down over a smattering of tall weeds that had become overgrown. I squealed, then got my footing and looked up. The stairs were solid and my heart rate evened out as I began travelling upward. I knew not to look over the sides and having Nate so near helped me stay focused.

Nate kept his hands glued to my hips as I navigated overgrown vegetation to reach the top. I stopped all at once on the second to last step to catch my breath and his forward motion almost caused me to topple over. I felt his chest and hips slide up against me.

“Give warning if you’re gonna stop, Blue.” His voice was rough and close to my ear. I could feel his heart hammering at my shoulder blades. As he adjusted his hands to my waist, I felt him lengthening and pulsing behind me.

My shoulders unwound as I reveled in the contact, which in turn awakened the longing inside of me. A moan caught in the back of my throat and he pressed into me once, then twice.

We stood perfectly motionless, catching our breath, and basking in our closeness. I imagined him slipping his hands around to my breasts, which were now heavy and swollen.

“C’mon, let’s see this view,” he said, lifting me again so easily and pushing me over the threshold to the wooden beams.

My feet were uneasy as I looked down the length of the tracks. I knew my question was completely irrational when I asked, “Are you sure trains don’t cross anymore?”

“If one does, we’ll just jump out of the way.” Then I heard the rumble of a laugh travel through his chest as my lips trembled. “Kidding, Blue. It’s not even connected, remember? The bridge is raised at the end of that loop, look.”

My gaze journeyed to where he pointed and I saw the place where the tracks stopped and met air. I blew out a breath and then stared to my left.

“Whoa.” I cautiously stepped toward the railing and took in the remarkable view.

“Nice, right?” he said, beside me.

“More than nice,” I said. “Spectacular.”

It was all laid out before me. Both sides of town and even the cities beyond. I raised my camera from its strap around my neck and immediately began snapping. “What’s the view like at dusk?”

“You can see the next city’s lights,” he said, resting his elbows on the ledge. “But I wondered last night if it would be too dangerous to bring you here in the dark. I didn’t know how overgrown it would be or how many images you’d be able to get.”

“Good thinking,” I said. “This is perfect.”

I turned the camera and began shooting Nate, with the framework behind him.

“Will you knock it off?” he said, laughing.

“Nope,” I said. “My camera, my shots.”

“Oh yeah?” he said, grabbing my hands and pulling the strap from my neck. “How do you like it?”

He angled the camera toward me and took a shot. I didn’t like my photo being taken, go figure, so I hid my face and then advanced on him, attempting to cover up the lens so he’d stop. He slung the strap around his neck and it slinked to his chest as I play fought him and then pretended to bite him to relinquish my camera.