“Sure, laugh,” Rick groused. “You need to check in with someone before we head out? Do you have a car here? Riding your bike? There’s a Waffle House over on Memorial. About ten minutes from here. Want to follow or meet me there?” Rick offered.
“I think I’d follow your ass just about anywhere. Need to take care of my bike first. Looks like Vick’s gone off and left me to deal with everything. Give me fifteen minutes, then I’ll follow you over. That way, you don’t have to bring me back to my shitty hotel room.” Coop winked at Rick before kicking his leg over the bike and starting to push it toward the trucks off to the right. He bobbled his helmet before it crashed to the ground. “Shit.”
Rick moved up and grabbed the headgear off the dirt. “Doesn’t look worse for the wear. Let’s get this all taken care of. Suddenly, I’m starving.”
Holy shit! How had he caught this guy’s attention?He wasn’t built or anything. Just a grunt who was getting a degree and officer rank. College hadn’t been a forgone conclusion for him until he talked to that recruiter and got the scholarship. His family couldn’t afford to send him to college, well, maybe the community one.
Shaking his head, Rick looked in his rearview mirror and saw Coop’s truck on his ass. Yeah, that’s a position he could get behind or in front of or…Rick focused back on the road. It wouldn’t take long to get to the restaurant.
Glancing in the mirror again, he saw the outline of Coop’s bike in the truck bed and felt spiders crawling up his back. Like when he jumped for the first time. Yeah, it was like leaving your stomach behind on a rollercoaster but not. He’d been nervous during jump school last summer. He’d love to go to Air Assault after graduation. But there was no way he’d get selected. He was pretty sure he was opting for Infantry so someday he could earn his second set of wings. Having that slot in jump school last summer was a godsend. He’d be going to his first unit with something on his chest.
Pulling into the lot, Rick watched Coop park next to him. When Coop started toward Rick, he quickly got out and met him at the front bumper.
“Ready to eat?” Coop asked.
Rick felt shy all of a sudden and damn if those spiders weren’t back. Why couldn’t he have butterflies like a normal person? Was he channeling Ron Weasley? Shaking his head, he gestured with his right hand. “After you.”
Chapter Four - Coop
Coop loaded the bike into the back of Vick’s truck with a little help from Rick. He kind of liked that the man wasn’t hesitant to jump in and do whatever was needed, even if he didn’t really know what he was doing. It got the task completed faster, and Coop agreed to follow Rick over to the Waffle House.
It wasn’t the most romantic place in the world, not that they needed that, but it would work all the same. There was a booth open in the back and Rick slid in across from him. Coop tried to hide the disappointment from his face. The man wasn’t nearly close enough, and Coop was so horny. He always got worked up like that after a good race. Well, after any riding, actually. Rick seemed nice, and he was certainly sexy, so he’d do. Rick would be an easy, fun time.
Rick peered over the top of the plastic card menu with his big brown eyes. “What’re you having?”
“You.”
“I mean to eat.” His cheeks pinked so nicely. Coop would not be able to resist flirting with him.
“Still you.”
Rick put the menu down. “Stop. We’ll get to that. Food first.”
Rick’s tone went from bashful and flirty to commanding faster than a gate drop at a race. Coop’s response was instant. He liked it. A lot. Familiar heat stirred in his groin. Time to order and eat fast so he could have Rick to himself. “Grilled chicken with hash browns, smothered and covered.”
“That sounds good. I think I’ll have that, too.”
“I normally eat way better than this. I’ll totally have to work the hash browns off.” Coop slid the menu across the table.
“Me too. But once in a while won’t hurt.”
“True.”
A server took the order and the menus, leaving Coop to stare across the table in silence. This wasn’t the way a hookup usually went for him. He had to say something, but he felt caught in Rick’s chocolaty eyes. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Uh...so are you from around here?”
“I have an apartment with a roommate off campus.”
“Campus? You’re in school?”
“Yeah. What about you?”
Coop had never been much good at school. He’d been on a dirt bike before he ever thought about school, and that had been his education. Mostly. He had a G.E.D. for whatever that was worth. His mother had brought tutors galore to homeschool him, but he spent more time on the track than studying. He wouldn’t let it make him feel inferior, though. “I ride.” He held up his hand like it was a foregone conclusion. “Generally, I live with my folks down in Savannah, but I’m meeting my coach, Dane, at his place tomorrow. Or I’ll crash at Vick’s. I have to get some practice time in with Dane before the season starts, and that’s soon. Too soon. It’s like southeast of here near, get this, Cross Swamp.” Coop chuckled. “The names people come up with.”
Rick didn’t laugh. “Oh.” He glanced down at the table. Coop wondered what he was thinking, but before he could ask, the server was back.
She slid two water glasses on the table. “Food will be up in just a minute, y’all. Can I get you anything else?”
They declined. What Coop wanted wasn’t something she could bring him. Maybe no one could.
