“I think you are.” Gavin jumped in. “I know you’re racing Arena now, but I’ve seen you on the street.” He winked at Coop, referring to the illegal street racing he’d done around the country from time to time. He hadn’t even thought about hitting the street circuit since meeting Rick and doing so well in Arenacross. “And Rico has too.”
“Rico? Rico Dominichi?” He had been another street racer and landed on the Apex team for Supercross. He had been tearing the dirt up the last few years, and Coop knew him pretty well before he’d managed that new ride.
“Yep. BikeMax is connected to Apex in a few ways. So when we started talking about you, we asked Rico. But I’ve seen you ride moto too. That’s what I like. You know how to ride. Anywhere. Any track. And that’s what you can help Nate with. Adjusting as the track changes. From moto to Supercross or just throughout the day.” That was true, and Coop couldn’t argue. As the day of racing progressed, the track would break down, and if you wanted to finish well, you had to adjust, pick the best lines. And stay on the bike.
Coop slapped the seat of the one 250 bike. “This is Nate’s?”
“Yes. And you can talk setup with Joe.” Gavin nodded to another man. This one was obviously in charge of the mechanics. Three younger guys were fiddling with the bikes, but Joe was directing them.
He stopped and stuck his hand out to shake. “Joe Fischer.”
“Nice to meet you.” Cooper had heard of Joe. He’d been around the industry for a bit, and he was making a difference with BikeMax. “Glad to be working with you.”
They chatted about bikes for a few minutes before a racer, dressed in his pink and yellow gear, walked up. “Well, you seem to know your bikes.” He stuck his hand out. “Nate Keller.”
“Well, I guess you’re the man of the hour,” Coop said, trying to keep things light.
But Nate scowled. “I don’t know about that. I feel like I’m…never mind. I’m glad you’re here.”
And he would need to work on the kid’s confidence, too. Well, that was something he knew about. “Okay. Want to give this a shot then?”
Nate gave a nod. “We’re up on the track in ten.”
“If the bike’s ready, let’s go.”
They waited at the starting line for their turn to practice on the track. Johnny had handed Coop a set of binoculars and an iPad before they headed out. The iPad was connected to the sensors on the bike, allowing him to see how Nate was performing at different parts of the track. Coop wasn’t unfamiliar with the technology, though he normally let his coach and mechanic deal with that. Now he was the coach, so he better get on board.
“At least Ryker and Nichols aren’t racing.” Nate fidgeted with his helmet.
“Hey. So what? You’re here to race. Doesn’t matter who else’s on the track. Hell, Sarah Bolster will still be there.”
“Is that supposed to give me encouragement?”
Sarah was very good. The only female racer to make a name for herself and stick with it in the pro series. “What I mean is, it doesn’t matter. Your job is to do your best. Race the track, not the other bikes. Right?”
He got another scowl. “But I want to win.”
Cooper gave a sigh of relief. He had wondered if that kid actually cared about winning. “Of course you do. Or you wouldn’t be here. But for today, we want the best performance we can get, regardless of how you finish. But if you ride your own race, stay on the bike, make the changes you need to as the day goes on, you’re going to finish well.”
“Changes?”
“The track is going to break down. Probably not as much as Supercross, but enough. Conditions change, ruts get deep. You have to be able to decide in the moment what line you’re on.”
Nate nodded. “Okay. I can do that.”
“I’m here to help with that. So get that helmet on. We’re up.”
Coop watched the guy, and he was good. He had talent and instinct. Maybe he only needed pointers on adjusting to the track throughout the day and handling that, as suspected. Dealing with change was something Coop knew about. Not only on the track but off. Some were better than others.
The biggest was Rick, not to mention the best. Not only hot as sin, but gushy inside. They both craved love and sweetness, and that’s what it was when they were together. When it wasn’tsmoking hot sex, it was the cuddling afterward. They both had hard, adrenaline-filled jobs, so it had been like a balm doing nothing but playing house with Rick while he was injured. Most of the time anyway.
Coop wondered when he could manage a call to see how things were going for Rick. Drew said he was sending Julia, so that was going to be fun for Rick. From what he knew of her, she would totally distract him and his whole family from the heartbreaking stuff. She was a whirlwind. But even with that, Rick needed him. He was enjoying his time with Nate already, but he couldn’t wait to fly out to see Rick. To comfort him and give him that love and sweetness he needed.
They called it a day soon enough, and Coop took the tablet back to the hotel room to study the performance so they could figure out where to improve the next day. That was the only time they would have, and he had to make it count.
After grabbing some quick food, Johnny dropped Coop at the hotel with an early-as-fuck pick up time the next day. He walked in and grabbed his bag, fished for comfy clothes, then jumped in the shower. He hadn’t had any calls from Rick, so he wasn’t sure if he should be worried or not.
He sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the phone. “Fuck it.” He tapped the screen for Rick’s number.
