"You have a lot of spunk! I like that!" the man said with a huge laugh. He held out his hand, for which Adam shook with a grin. "I always picked up my best girlfriends of the side of the road. It is the wheels. Motorcycles are babe magnets!"

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Those days are over Joey. Now we have our own toys." She walked over and hugged him. "But boyfriends are nice to cuddle. It is hard to cuddle motorcycles."

"Well, you made it just in time. Dinner is ready," Joey announced as the crowd gathered around the grill.

It was a nice dinner for Chuck and Adam. They got to meet some great people and it seemed that they fit perfectly in with the crowd. For Adam, it was a chance to really escape what was on his mind. Joey was a medical intern with a specialty in emergency medicine. He worked out of San Diego and must happened to get a rare day off. Adam would have never guessed that Joey was in the medical business. The other people there were also from very prestigious backgrounds and just came to the coast to go to school and experience the West Coast life. It was refreshing to Adam after having to deal with some serious issues. But soon it was nearing eight o'clock and it was time to head back home.

"I really am thankful you gave me a ride," Jessica said again to Chuck and Adam as she hugged them both.

"It was no problem. The dinner and the company was great!" Chuck replied, returning the hug. Adam nodded in agreement as he hugged his new friend.

"I would like to have a chance to repay you for your kindness," Jessica said, but both boys made it known that she did not owe them a thing. They walked out to the car. Adam was walking around to the passenger side of the station wagon when he spotted a stream of something coming from underneath the car.

"Could you lend me a flashlight?" Adam asked as he bent down to see what the liquid was that was leaking heavily out of the old car. Chuck immediately reached in through the back window and grabbed a flashlight. He shined it on a green substance.

"That is not good is it?" Chuck grimaced at the sight of the leak.

"Nope, that is anti-freeze and it looks like you might need a water pump my friend," Adam said, looking up underneath the car. He had Chuck lift the hood to double check to see if it was a simple hose leak, but his first diagnosis was correct.

"I bet you can't just fix it easy to get it back home can you?" Chuck whined again.

"That is a negative. We are going to need to get a new pump. It is easy to put in these old cars, but it is just that we will have to get it and the parts store is closed," Adam said with a sigh. He knew that Jason was going to throw a fit with him if he knew where they were and that they were at a total stranger's house. He closed his eyes, trying to think of a solution without having to call someone. Chuck's parents were bowling and would not be back until at least nine.

"We can give you a ride home. Just leave the car here and I can put a pump on it in the morning," Joey's voice boomed from behind them.

"I can't inconvenience you like that," Chuck answered. But Joey would not hear of anything less.

"I consider you a friend and it is what I would do for any friend of mine. I will go and get the pump and put it on in the morning. You can pick it up tomorrow after school," Joey replied. "I enjoy working on cars so it will be fun for me."

"But you need to rest since you have to go back in to the hospital tomorrow night. Plus we will have to insist on paying you for the parts and time," Adam chimed in. But Joey was very verbal that he was going to fix the car with no charge. After realizing that they were losing a battle with Joey, the boys agreed to his generous offer.

"Good, I will take Adam home and Joey, you can run Chuck home," Jessica said as she went back to the garage to get the extra helmets. Adam did not like the idea of wearing a helmet, but it was apparent that Jessica was going to insist on it. Besides, he had never been on a motorcycle and he was kind of excited about the chance, no matter what he had to do. Chuck was a little leery of getting on the motorcycle, but Joey managed to convince him that the bike could handle his larger size.

"That way I can explain to your father where your car is so he will not worry. We should get back about the time you said they would get home," Joey said, putting his helmet on and fastening it tight. Soon they were on their way back to Chuck's house.

Jessica however did not put a helmet on. She looked back at Adam. "So this is your first ride on a motorcycle? Well I hope that it is a great experience. It will make you feel free. That is why I don't wear anything on my head. I know that it is stupid, but I ride to be free."

Adam loved her phrase. It reminded him of how it felt to go and drive his Trans Am on the open road. It made him feel like he was floating on air sometimes.

"Hold on!" she said as the ride began.

Adam was amazed at just how free riding on the motorcycle felt. He loved the feeling of the air hitting him in the face and not being strapped into a vehicle. As Jessica glided the machine up and down the hills and leaned around the winding curves, Adam once again felt free. He even held his hands up like he was on a roller coaster.

Soon, the motorcycle turned into the Kramer driveway. Adam was hoping to have her let him off at the end of the driveway so he could walk back to the house, but he figured he might as well be honest about his arrival home. After dismounting the motorcycle and placing the helmet on the hanger, Adam smiled at Jessica.

"How was that for your first ride?" she asked, her eyes glowing in the light of the security light.

"I loved it! You are right! It does make you feel free," Adam said in amazement. He was considering getting one himself, but the thought easily escaped his mind. He secretly knew what the answer to that request would be. "I really needed that experience."

"Everyone should experience it. I had better get going since it is getting late. Don't make yourself a stranger!" Jessica said, waving to Adam. Then she disappeared into the night. Adam just stood there, taking in the experience of his first motorcycle ride. It had truly been a great day. He turned to walk up the steps to the house when he noticed one of the curtains move by the back door.

Just as Adam entered the house, he heard Jason call out. "There you are! I was wondering what you were up too. So did you get your wetsuit fixed?"

Adam walked into the kitchen, where his brother was getting a glass of milk. "It is fine. We just went down by the beach and stuff. Then we stopped and helped out a young lady on the side of the road and took her home."

"You mean the person driving the motorcycle?"

"Her name is Jessica. Chuck's car broke down at her boyfriend's house so she gave me a ride home while he gave Chuck a ride home," Adam answered. He did not want to let out too much information.

"I could have came and picked you up."

"I know Jason, but she offered and I did not want to be a rude guest."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't..." Jason started to say, but Adam cut him off.

"I know, I shouldn't have been on a motorcycle, but I have never been on one so it was a chance for me to see what riding on a bike was like. I wore a helmet and she was a great driver. I can do the same damage in a car. I have proven that fact already," Adam fired back. Jason was about to argue, but he knew there was no use in pushing the matter. He did not want to make his brother feel like he was being his boss.

"Mom called. She said that after tomorrow you could go back to school. She wants that medicine to have a change to really kick in. So I was thinking, maybe after getting our schoolwork finished we could hang out together," Jason said as he took a sip of milk.

"I think that I am all right enough to go back to school. I kind of want to get back to a normal schedule," Adam replied. He really wanted to get back to be around his friends.

"Oh...okay. I don't think mom would mind if you feel that you are up to it. I just thought... oh never mind," Jason commented as he put the empty glass into the sink.

Noticing his brother's reaction, Adam sighed. "Honestly, I am fine. I just want to get back to living life. If I even feel the least bit bad, I will let you know."

"Promise?"

"You will be the first to know."

"Okay, we will go back tomorrow," Jason said, walking towards the stairway to the upstairs. He still seemed a little down for some reason. Was it possible that he just wanted to spend some time with his him, Adam thought to himself? Wondering if Jason felt left out, Adam decided to make another suggestion.

"I heard you mention that you wanted to hang out?"

Jason stopped in his tracks and turned to face his brother. "I thought about it. Why?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"I thought it would be neat to go hiking up around the caves at Cedar Falls."

"You mean just me and you?"

"I thought it would be fun since we always like to go up there when we were younger. I figure that after your surgery you will not be able to get out much so I thought it would be nice to get out and do something together," Jason explained.

It was true. Jason did want to spend some "brotherly" time with him. Feeling guilty about leaving him out lately, Adam accepted the invitation. "That sounds great big brother! I didn't know that you missed me that much."

Jason just grinned and rolled his eyes.

But Adam was on a roll. "Just think, my big brother misses me. And here he always says that mom and dad should have just got a dog! You can't live without me." Adam jokingly poked his brother in the arm.

"A dog would have still been nice, but I just figure that since I am stuck with you, I might as well make the best of it," Jason said, jokingly poking Adam back. "Time to hit the sack! We have a long day ahead of us."

Adam agreed as he turned off the bottom floor lights. He was going to finally do it. Adam was going to talk openly about how he was feeling to his brother tomorrow. No more holding back, no more secrets. If there was anyone on earth that he could talk to about anything, it was Jason. His brother had never let him down when the times got rough.

Content with his decision to finally come clean, Adam slept well that night and looked forward to what the daylight would bring.

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.