"Hey! Slow it down!"

Nathan grinned as he led the pack.

"Did I just hear something?" he teased. "Hey, Luke, did you hear that, man?"

Lucas smiled as he quickened his pace to match that of his brother's.

"Yeah. I think I heard something, Nate. Funny, it sounded like whining to me. I didn't know we invited any girls to come out and run with us this morning."

They made it to the pier, their destination after three miles of a more than brisk jog along the shore. A few seconds late, Cooper joined them, grin on his face as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Need a wheelchair, old man?" Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"I…I'm…good", Cooper panted.

"You better be. Dude, I swear if you pass out I am not putting my mouth on yours."

"I'm…cool."

"Cool?" Lucas laughed. "I don't know, Coop. You're looking a little soft to me."

Cooper shook it off with an arrogant chuckle.

"Soft? In your dreams, young bucks. I just hadn't run in a while that's all. I'm still the man. Hell, I can still kick both your scrawny asses in the gym."

"Who's dreaming now?" Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I can hang with the best of him. Give me a few days. By next week I'll be smoking the both of you."

"Next week?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah. What? Afraid I'm gonna show you up in front of all the ladies?"

"No, it's just that…dude, I didn't know you ever got up before noon."

"Yeah. What's with that?" Nathan agreed. "The past days you've been up before me."

Cooper shrugged.

"Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf. Maybe this is a newer, healthier beginning. Maybe…"

"I'm not buying it. Maybe Mom put her foot in your ass. What did you do, Coop?"

Cooper just grinned.

"Let's just say Big Sis wasn't too thrilled with the idea of me entertaining overnight female company."

"Deb caught you with a chick?" Lucas laughed. "Sweet!"

"So what are you like grounded now?" Nathan grinned.

"May as well be. I got the usual lecture but uh, I did promise to be more responsible. And I did get my first assignment."

"A shit job?"

"If you call babysitting you knuckleheads at your formal a shit job, then yeah."

"Ouch! Chaperoning, huh? That's a pretty harsh punishment, even for Mom. But the question is, who's gonna chaperone your ass?"

"Me?"

"Hell yeah. You'll probably spike the punch before Tim does."

"Sounds tempting, Nephew, but I made your mom a promise and I intend to keep it. Besides…maybe she's right. Maybe growing up a little wouldn't hurt, right?"

"It's about Sarah, isn't it?" Nathan asked.

Cooper sighed.

"Yeah. I guess a little."

"Mom really liked her."

"Hell, I liked her too but that just falls under the good old 'shit happens' category."

"You alright?"

"Truthfully? Getting there. I mean, I was a mess when she first split. Partied for like 72 hours straight without a wink of sleep."

"You really loved her?" Nathan asked after a minute.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did."

Nathan nodded.

"I get it. I mean, I guess I'd be pretty screwed up if Haley ever left me."

"Haley is a good girl. You're both young but you've got a good thing going. Don't mess it up."

"I won't, man. You can count on that."

Cooper turned to Lucas.

"And speaking of messing up a good thing…what in the hell happened with Brooke Davis?"

Lucas cringed. The dreaded million dollar question.

"It just didn't work out. I mean, she's an awesome girl, everybody knows that but I guess we're not meant to be like I thought we were. We went our separate ways but we're still friends. I'm with Kelly now."

"Did you cheat?"

Lucas looked at the ground.

"Not exactly…"

"Dude…"

"Okay, it's not what you think. Maybe a little bit."

Cooper laughed out loud.

"Is there such a thing as being a little bit pregnant?"

"No."

"Right. And there's no such thing as cheating a little bit either, numb nuts."

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Look, it was a long time ago and trust me, I've gotten enough shit about this from everybody else."

"I'm not here to give you shit, man. I promise. The cheating part? Yeah, that was kind of messed up but you're still a kid and everybody makes mistakes. But I remember a time when you told me you thought Brooke was 'the one'."

"I did think that at the time. Things changed."

"Absolutely. Happens all the time. As great as she is, if you weren't feeling the relationship, then you shouldn't force it. But let me ask you a question. What about this Kelly chick?"

Lucas' eyes instantly brightened as Nathan rolled his.

"She's great, Coop. What can I say? Kelly is awesome. Yeah, she's young but she's so smart and we really connect. We get each other, you know?"

"So you think she's 'the one' now?"

He shrugged.

"I don't know. But I am in love."

"Love is a great thing. You just have to be careful."

"Okay, tell me again how we jumped from Deb making you chaperone the formal to my personal life again? What about you, Coop? When are you gonna settle down?"

Cooper smiled.

"I'd like to think she's out there and that I'll find her one day but who knows? Maybe I'm just forever destined to be that hot single bachelor that all the chicks love."

"Or the pathetic old geezer still hitting on college chicks when you're driving a red Corvette in your mid life crisis", Nathan offered.

"Well my sister and my mother keep pushing me to settle down. Maybe I'll find a nice girl right here in Tree Hill."

Lucas looked at Nathan and smirked.

"I smell trouble, bro."

"Trouble?" Cooper cocked an eyebrow.

"It is your middle name and it does seem to follow you around wherever you go", Nathan agreed.

"I'm a hot guy with a killer personality and broads dig me. I can't help it. And one day, I'll teach you losers everything I know, I promise."

"God help us", Lucas joked as he shook his head.

A few minutes later another runner jogged by them on the beach. Cooper couldn't help but turn his head. With an ass and tits that jiggled like that, who wouldn't take notice? Plus he loved athletic girls. He loved pretty girls. He loved red headed girls.

"I would drink her bath water", he murmured out loud.

Nathan made a face.

"Coop..."

"Now that's what I call hot."

"Dude, that's what you call jail bait. That's Rachel Getina from our school. Remember her from the party?"

"Huh? Oh. Oh yeah. Rachel. Damn. I guess I forgot there for a second."

Lucas slapped him on the back.

"Keep looking at her like that and old Mighty Mouth will be there to remind you. Anyway, enough breaks. Swallow your Geritol so we can run back now."

Cooper gave another glance as the girl made eye contact with him and half smiled as she passed them by in another direction. He shook it off but she sure was hot. Damn the luck. Why didn't any of the girls look like that back when he went to high school?

"Geritol? You wish", he grinned. "You two take your Flinstones and I'll see you at the other end of the beach."

He laughed as he got a head start, the younger two close on his heels. It was a great deal. It was a great visit. Even with Dan's permanent scowl and Debbie Downer-ness and Deb constantly on his case, it was just a great day to be alive and to be Cooper Lee. He had the world at his feet and a bright future in front of him but for the moment he was more than content to settle for the sand at his feet, the ocean at his left and just a little talk among the guys.