Chapter Fifteen

Coop sat in the passenger seat of Danielle's SUV, alternating between looking outside and checking the map on his phone. "Says it should be up here on the right in about a half a mile."

Danielle nodded. "So is this like a luxury shop?"

Cooper shook his head. "No it's a standard motorcycle dealer. They might have some high end bikes. But most of what they have is what anyone else would be riding. Why would you think…"

He trailed off as he turned and saw the grin on her face as she was trying to stifle laughter, Realization dawned on him. "Cause they have bikes I can ride. You're poking fun at my height, I got it."

She made a little sad pouty face as she chuckled. She went to rub his arm in a mock show of apology but he pulled away and pretended to sulk, folding his arms. After a second they both started laughing.

Finally the dealership came into view, Danielle put on her turn signal and began to slow down.

"Be prepared when we go in there."

Danielle scowled. "Be prepared for what? Animal sacrifice?"

Coop laughed, shaking his head. "No, but these guys are gonna assume we're together. They like to play off guys vanity and desire to look good in front of their girlfriends. I just don't want you freaking out if that happens" 

Danielle nodded slowly, glancing at him before frowning slightly. "Right, makes sense."

Coop took off his seatbelt after she put the car in park. He looked down at her legs, his gaze was making her self conscious. "What?"

He looked up at her. "Huh? Sorry, I was just making sure you wore what I told you."

She then recited the checklist he'd sprouted off. "Something with a firm heel and short laces or straps, boot preferably, the higher the better. Pants with a snug fit, why does it matter?"

Coop nodded towards her legs. "Sneakers can suck when you're on the back and all you have is a little peg, having a heel lets you brace your feet. Long laces might snag, and the higher up your leg the more protection from any hot metal or pavement if—" She held up a hand, repeating his promise on the ride over that they would not crash.

He finished listing off his reasoning. "Pants snug so your leg doesn't catch on anything."

It did not help her anxiety that even her outfit had to be safety minded. He smirked, grabbing her by the shoulders and leading her toward the front door.

"Hey, people ride in flip flops and shorts all the time and are just fine. I'm just telling you what's safest, without looking like some guy's old lady that is."

She looked at him like he was swimming in dangerous waters. "Say what now?"

Coop quickly held up his hands. "It's just something guys steeped in biker culture call their wives, I swear it's not bad. It's a term of endearment 'Hey this is my old lady, she's been with me through thick and thin', it's like that."

He braced himself for a barrage of slaps and or tickling, she nodded, satisfied. "That's not so bad then." She kept nodding and turned back towards the store. "Okay, I'm ready."

They walked up to the doors, Coop opening them so she could head in first, he followed after into the showroom. Coop wasn't three steps past the door before a salesman was walking up.

"Hey, welcome in, my name's Andrew. How can I help you folks today?

He outstretched his hand to Coop, smiling at both of them. Coop shook his hand and politely smiled back. 

"Andrew, my name's Coop, and I'm looking for a new bike."

Andrew nodded that excited salesman smile that resembled sharks circling a school of fish.

"Okay, okay, now are we looking for matching bikes or?"

He pointed back and forth between the two of them, smiling. Dany almost laughed but instead she had the craziest idea. She didn't know where the feeling came from. 

She thought about her and Coop. About the chance that maybe he really had moved on. She couldn't change what she'd done in the past, or how he felt now. But if he had she wanted to feel what it would be like just this once, even if it was just pretend.

Before she could stop herself she had sided up to Coop, linking her arm through his and resting her hand on his bicep. Coop looked down at her, his eyes wide.

She smiled up at him, pointedly making eye contact before turning back to the salesman. "Oh, I can't drive one of these things, I let him handle that. I'm just along for the ride."

Andrew looked at Coop, impressed and smiling. "You're a lucky man, okay, so something with comfortable seats for you and the little lady, what other factors are we looking at?"

Coop was still eyeing Danielle, shock on his face. He looked at Andrew and stuttered. "Uh, Well my first bike was an EX500. It was great to start out on, but by the time I sold it I felt like I'd outgrown it. I've been thinking about switching to a cruiser, maybe getting a Vulcan S."

Andrew smiled and started walking further into the showroom. "Absolutely, we've got several. As I'm sure you know the ergo fit system means we can customize the bike to make it perfectly comfortable for you and your girlfriend."

Coop refused to look at Dany and instead moved to start following Andrew. When he did so he felt Danielle's hold on his arm loosen. His temporary relief was removed when she interlaced her fingers with his, walking next to him while holding hands.

He was afraid to look her in the eye, worried he might give away some hint that he was secretly loving the feeling of her hand in his. Why was she playing this little game? Was it to mess with the salesman?

They walked over to the bikes and Andrew waved his hand over the selection.

"Further down we have the cafe models as well. Now what we can do is have you try some out the way they are and find where you're most comfortable, does that sound good?"

Coop agreed, and they went about tailoring the design to what suited him best, they also confirmed adding the extended seat. The whole time Danielle made a fuss over Coop, stroking his arm, and his ego in front of the salesman.

Andrew escorted them over to a refreshment area. "If you folks wanna hang out here for a few minutes, I'll get the bike ready and we'll let you take a little test drive."

As soon as he was gone, Coop turned to Danielle. "What was all that about out there?"

Danielle tried to play coy, realizing she might have taken things a little far. "I don't know, I figured since you said they were gonna assume we were together it would just be easier to play along."

His face didn't show any sign that he was upset, only curious. He nodded, seeming to accept the explanation. "I'll be right back, gonna use the bathroom first."

Danielle sat down in one of the seats. "'Kay, I'll stay here."

Coop walked down the hall to the bathrooms and she relaxed. Had she almost blown everything? Coop meanwhile marched into the men's room, headed straight to the sink and turned on the cold tap. He splashed cold water on his face, breathing in and out a few times before looking up and catching his reflection in the mirror.

'Is it just a joke to her? Some gag she can pull out for fun.'

He had to shake his head. She wasn't mean spirited, that was why that day on the train had almost ruined him. She was the sweetest, most caring person he knew. She could bust balls as well as anyone, but she wasn't filled with malice. So what did she get out of pretending to be together?

'Maybe…'

He had to close his eyes and grit his teeth as the thought came to him.

'Maybe she changed her mind. Maybe she's trying to show me that things have changed?'

He refused to let himself hope, it couldn't lead to anything good. That door was closed and she wasn't gonna miraculously look at him and fall in love. He grabbed a few towels and dried his face, straightened his hair and walked back out. 

Returning to the waiting room he found she was pacing in front of the large picture window. When she noticed him she turned, her back framed by the sun coming in through the window. She smiled as if she was using her whole body, it was the most beautiful she'd ever been.

She looked down, shaking her head and started walking towards him. His heart began thundering against the inside of his chest. A chill ran down his spine and he swallowed as he watched her come to stand in front of him.

Her smile turned even sweeter, and he was afraid he would start blushing. He knew without a shadow of a doubt there was no way this was what it looked like. Any second she'd bonk him on the nose or kick him in the shin.

But the time between now and then, these precious few seconds, he couldn't help but secretly hope deep down. She tentatively reached her hand up, the back of her fingers grazed his cheek and he held his breath.

She took her hand away, that's when he noticed it, a small piece of paper towel. She shook it and then tossed it in the waste basket next to them. "I can't take you anywhere. It's a miracle you didn't get toilet paper stuck to your shoe."

The laugh came roaring out of him, he just couldn't help himself. He laughed until he was short of breath, tears came down and his stomach hurt. It wasn't even a humorless laugh.

The notion that after all the evidence to the contrary he still held onto that hope she would want to be with him wasn't just laughable, it was hysterical in its audacity. She had a look of bewilderment on her face.

As he bent over from the discomfort in his abs from laughing she placed her hand on his shoulder, laughing at his display. "What is wrong with you?" He brought one hand up to his mouth, trying to stifle the laughter.

With the other he waved her off. "It's nothing, nothing." He managed to settle down, taking a big breath to steady himself. "It just reminded me of something from back in the day."

She was about to press him further, before Andrew stuck his head in the room. "Hey guys, we've got the bike ready to go if you want to take her for a spin."

They stepped out and into the showroom, walking to the back and out through two double doors. There they had the motorcycle parked and waiting, they spoke to Coop real quick and handed him the keys.

He held them up triumphantly and dangled them above her head, smiling. "You ready to try it out?"

She darted her eyes around, as if she was looking for an escape out of there. "Do I have to?"

Coop stepped forward, putting his hands on her shoulders and leaning down. "We'll go around the parking lot first, okay? If you don't like that I'll stop right there." After a second she nodded, Coop climbed on first, then offered her his hand when she climbed up.

Looking back he directed her what to do. "So you see that peg there?"

He nodded at it with his head, she looked down while holding onto his shoulders. "Let me see, yeah, okay?"

Coop nodded again. "Go ahead and slide your foot forward until your heel bumps up against it."

She did so, smiling in satisfaction.

He smiled back placatingly and continued speaking. "If you need to slide forward, tip your toes down and you can just push yourself forward. Just make sure you don't slide back on the seat. To balance yourself you can put your hands behind your back and grip the seat. The way this bike is though it would be easier to just hold onto my sides. If you're really worried you can just hug me from behind if you need to."

As he spoke, she became visibly less nervous. In fact she kinda looked excited. He turned the key in the ignition, and the engine cleanly came to life. He smiled, having missed riding these last few weeks.

He turned and spoke to her in a slightly raised tone so she could hear him. "Once we're going it'll be harder to hear each other. I'll pick up some mics for these helmets today. That way if you ever wanna ride again we can talk to each other. In the meantime if you shout to stop and I still don't hear you, just give me a couple firm taps on my shoulder or sides, okay?"

She nodded, her jaw set in determination. He revved the engine while still looking over his shoulder as she immediately went from gripping the seat to holding his sides, he smiled.

"Here we go!"

He accelerated slowly, anticipating tapping as soon as the tires had completed one revolution, but she stayed strong. He made a few passes in the back lot where there were no obstacles. The bike fit him much better, and even with Danielle sitting on the back he immediately noticed the difference in power.

He ventured out farther in the lot, moving around other vehicles and objects. Letting her get accustomed to the feeling of the bike swaying back and forth. He kept that up for a minute or two.

Danielle was loving every second of it.

Not that she could admit it after being so vehemently against getting on. Even giving Coop a hard time for riding the last three years. Eventually he came to the entrance to the parking lot and slowed to a stop.

He turned his head. "So, have you had enough or do you wanna take a quick trip up the road?"

She leaned in and shouted, a little louder than she needed to honestly. "Okay, but go slow."

He chuckled, nodding his head. "Let's aim for the speed limit."

He took them out slowly, finding he was nervous as well. He had never been worried when riding before; the experience was so freeing the danger was an acceptable trade.

But now he had something precious to him on board. As they went along he found himself looking behind him more and more to assure himself she was fine. He didn't care about showing off or making her heart race anymore.

He would settle for keeping her safe, as much fun as it was he should probably end it here. He started looking for a spot to turn around when she moved. She tipped her toes down and scooted forward, wrapping her arms around his midsection and shouting over the road noise.

"You can go a little faster!" He turned his head, thinking he'd misheard before she continued.

"Giddy up horsey!"

He laughed, if the lady wanted faster, he'd go faster. He found a stretch where there was no traffic and very little obscured spots for vehicles to pull out on the road in front of him. He turned the throttle, climbing a few miles over the speed limit and held it.

Behind him Danielle was thrilled. "This is crazy!" 

Even shouting, Coop couldn't quite make out what she said. He lifted his hand and waved it around his ear to signal he couldn't understand. She was unconcerned, squeezing him just a little bit tighter she laid her head up against his jacket and closed her eyes.

She could faintly smell the leather through her helmet, a crisp and warm scent. She sighed, enjoying the wind rushing past and this closeness, which pretext gave her full allowance of.

As much as she wanted to, knowing he wouldn't be able to hear her, she still couldn't bring herself to say the words out loud, afraid she wouldn't be able to stop saying it until he did hear her, and understood as well.

'I love you Cooper.'

* * *

Cooper stood at her driver side window, leaning on it. "Do you want me to follow you home?"

Danielle shook her head. "How did I ever find my way home without you, as if. Besides I'm sure you probably wanna tear up the road a little bit."

He smirked a little bit, honestly he wanted to go check out the loft apartment. He hadn't even seen the records building in years.

She pointed at his smirk and gave one back. "See I knew it, you're a little speed demon."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I plead the fifth." Holding up his hand as if he was swearing on the bible. "Alright, well I guess I'll see you in the morning then."

She looked surprised. "You still wanna ride in with me?"

"Yeah, it's only three more days. It's more convenient this way." She nodded, her mind elsewhere. He noticed and pressed the issue. "Unless you'd rather ride alone?"

She shook her head in quick jerky movements, her mouth open as she scrambled for words.

"Oh no! I love riding in together." At his smile she corrected herself. "I mean it doesn't bother me."

He stood up, pushing off the door. "Sweet, then I'll see you tomorrow."

She started the car and backed out, waving as she headed off. He entered the directions for the records building into his phone and synced it up to the speaker in his helmet. He set out, enjoying himself and taking his time. He got there in a little over twenty minutes, taking back roads and listening to some music.

He pulled the bike around to the side of the building, a huge roll up door greeting him. He climbed off and set the kickstand. He approached the door and pulled out the code his grandfather had given him at dinner a few nights ago.

He read it quickly, put it in and watched as the roll up door lifted. He climbed back on the bike, riding inside and then turning around, pointing it back out the way he came. He made a mental note to see about getting a different opener installed, one that he could control from his phone maybe.

He lowered the door and surveyed the area. The garage was around forty ft. by thirty ft. Across. More than enough room for his bike and the truck his uncle had offered him. Inside the roll up door on the right there was a continuous wooden work bench running down the wall at hip height. 

The wall above the bench was pegboard the whole way. Back when this area had been all industrial this must have been the garage for the small fleet of vehicles the company used. Coop took one last glance around, then walked over to the steps to the door leading into the building.

While the rest of the structure still had the charm of an industrial building, the side entrance had clearly been upgraded in the last several decades. The Chinese restaurant, 'Moh Kims', was situated at the front entrance. They had most of the ground floor to themselves. Only the entrance leading up to the other levels and the mechanical rooms were inaccessible to them.

Cooper unlocked the security door and stepped inside. The air was a little musty, and the space was several degrees hotter than outside. The stairs were to the right, and the freight elevator to the left. It was the style where one had to pull a rope to open and close the door in order to be able to operate the controls.

Coop stepped inside and shut it, selecting the top floor. It took less time than he expected. Though it was also louder than he thought it would be. He made a mental note to find out when the thing had last been serviced.

Reaching the fourth floor the elevator came to a stop. He lifted the door, looking out into the hallway. The door across the hall and to the left had fresher paint, so he assumed that was the apartment. He took out the keys his grandfather gave him and found the one marked loft.

He unlocked the door, pulling on the handle, he half expected it to fall off the track it slid on.

The space had been converted to a loft specifically for Uncle Jeff. When he first started working out of the country he came back far more often. Though no one minded putting him up when he was in town he preferred to have his own space.

Uncle Jeff hadn't been home in five years at this point. He'd messaged his nephew his blessing, with his hopes that Coop would turn it into a swinging bachelor pad. The door opened mostly without a problem, only making a slight squeaking noise as the wheels moved along their track. He made another note to pick up some grease for the door.

The inside was pretty sparse, the cleaning crew the company contracted for their offices would come and dust once a month. Someone probably should have realized in the last half decade that it was a mostly wasted expense.

Luckily for Coop they hadn't, so that all he needed to do was furnish it and move his belongings over. Anything that he couldn't put in the apartment he'd put in the other rooms on the floor.

Jeff had never been much of a cook, mostly relying on the restaurant downstairs or his parents house for meals when he was in town. The cupboards and fridge were barren.

Even if there had been anything the cleaners probably would have dumped anything after it's expiration. Walking around he took stock of what would need to be taken care of before he moved in.

He would need a new bed obviously. The couch and chair were still in good condition but knowing Jeff he'd prefer to adopt a scorched earth policy. He'd need bedsheets, towels, a bathmat, a shower curtain. Then there were all the kitchen and dining necessities. Thinking about it he went and lit the pilot on the water heater, letting it warm up and making sure the pipes held water.

He jotted down a list, looking around one more time to make sure he didn't forget anything. His hope was to have the loft ready to at least stay over by Monday. That way over the next few weeks he could move his things over and crash here if he had to.

There was a store two blocks down where he was able to purchase many of the items on his list, he walked there and back, not bothering with the bike. The rest of the items he'd worry about later.

He turned off everything and locked the building behind him. Riding away he was so optimistic he couldn't believe it. Almost everything in his life was going just the way it should.

* * *

After leaving Coop at the dealership, Danielle drove the short distance back to their neighborhood. Looking at her console she saw she was getting low on gas. She pulled into the closest station and parked next to one of the pumps.

Getting out she opened the gas tank and then inserted her card. The chip reader was faulty, so she was forced to walk inside to pre-pay. As she was walking inside Anthony along with several of his friends drove past.

One of them pointed Danielle out, causing Anthony to commit an illegal u-turn so he could pull into the lot and up to the pump two rows over from Danielle.

Aaron had told him not to try anything, just track them down. One of his friends had suggested buying an inexpensive tracker like an air tag and placing it on her vehicle. Which was all well and good except they had to find her first.

Anthony grabbed the device, slightly wider than a quarter and three times as thick. He put it inside a small box, one built for hiding keys. It was plastic, with a magnet on the outside, so it would still allow the device to transmit.

It worked by accessing any open wireless connection and pinging the device's location and time to the owner. While the devices were originally intended to allow people to track down lost items, they had come under scrutiny and scandal for their use by stalkers and traffickers.

Anthony opened the car door and crouched down, duck crawling up to the back of Danielle's explorer. Upon reaching the back he grabbed the bumper and used it to swing himself around, placing his back on the ground so he was looking up at the undercarriage of the vehicle.

As he did so Danielle came walking out the front door. His friends inside the vehicle all lowered themselves so as not to be seen. The one in the passenger seat reached over and gave the horn a quick tap.

Anthony was in the middle of placing the hide-a-key on the body frame. The sudden sound caused him to jerk and bang his head.

He dropped the small box and grabbed his forehead, rubbing the spot furiously. By this point Danielle passed the front of her car, coming around to the driver side she opened the door, placing her wallet back inside the center console.

Anthony scrambled to grab the box as she closed the door and approached the rear. He picked up the box and not thinking, he slapped it against the largest piece of metal he could see. It smacked with a resounding clank.

The sound caused Danielle to stop in her tracks, turning her head every which way. Anthony stopped breathing as he realized his mistake, scurrying out from underneath the vehicle and coming up to a crouch at the rear.

Danielle meanwhile bent down, preparing to look underneath the vehicle to see if the sound had come from under there as it had sounded.

Right before her eyes got close to seeing towards the back of the car a horn went off. It was close enough to make her take pause. Turning her head she saw it was from a few rows over, though she could only see the front of the vehicle and its blacked out windows.

Shaking her head after seeing nothing going on she turned back and peered underneath her own vehicle. There was nothing amiss, no shards of metal on the ground or large pools of fluid.

She stood up, wiping her hands though she hadn't actually touched the ground. She proceeded to grab the nozzle and insert it, pressing down on the handle and locking it in place to start pouring gas.

On the opposite side of the SUV, Anthony had his back to the rear passenger side tire. Sweat streaked his forehead and cheeks and he was close to hyperventilating.

Danielle let the process continue and turned towards the front, grabbing the squeegee to start washing her windows. Anthony saw this in the passenger side mirror and still crouched, walked to the back of the vehicle. When she crossed the vehicle to the passenger side of the windshield he went around the pump, putting his back to it.

After a few moments the pump dinged, indicating it was done. Danielle came around to the side of her explorer and removed the nozzle. As she did so Anthony dashed to the opposite side of the bay he was in and around the side of his car to the driver side door, climbing inside.

All of them remained hunkered down until Danielle pulled out of the parking lot. Anthony pulled out his phone and pulled up the app for the device. As he watched Danielle pass a small coffee shack the app sent a notification that it had acquired a signal.

Anthony smiled and closed the app. Opening his contacts he selected his brothers number. He pressed the call button and raised the phone to his ear, it ringed three times before Aaron picked up. "Have you got good news for me bro?"

Anthony smiled, emboldened by his act of bravery, even as he reached down to check for urine stains on his jeans. "I think we have a way to get to them."