Come on baby (Amos) -- KEEP

[Sonja Gwen Kane]

Today was absolutely perfect for a ride. Warm weather, slight breath, and beautiful light cast by the sun that was just falling out of the top of its arc in the sky. This was all ruined simply by the situation Gwen found herself in. She worked very early shifts, around 6 AM sometimes, so that she could get out before rush hour, but this day had been an exception as a customer had just had to be so damn interested in purchasing some unfinished rings. And so now she was stuck in traffic, slumped over the handle bars of her bike and breathing in car fumes. What a fantastic Monday it was, she thought with a sigh, flipping her hair to the side and straightening herself as the line of cars in front of her started to move forward.

There was only an inch difference in her position by the time she stopped again. The bike wasn’t even in drive anymore; she’d switched it to neutral because she only had to push it forward with her one foot on the ground and it would save gas. She might piss off the drivers behind her when everything started to move again and it took her a few seconds to get moving faster than a crawl, but she had a feeling that this wouldn’t be the case for a long while. Part of her just wanted to walk home, but there was no way she’d be able to walk her bike home, as she couldn’t really ride it on the sidewalks.

Just as she’d expected, it took a good half and hour for the traffic to get moving and soon there was a good three car’s empty space of road in front of her. She switched her motorcycle back to drive, ignoring the sudden honking from the car behind her. “I’m going,” she muttered, twisting the throttle, “I’m going.” But no, she wasn’t going, nothing was happening. Frowning, she checked the gear, making sure she actually had set the bike to drive, before opening the throttle again. Again, nothing. “Fuck…” she hissed, switching the bike off then on. “Come on baby.” Gwen tried to start the engine going, but it just wouldn’t work.

By now, a few cars had chimed in with their own horns, pushing an annoying buzzing into the woman’s ears, but she couldn’t do a damned thing to get going. “Sorry!” she called to the driver behind her, turning to wave at him. Grunting, she jumped from her cycle, set it to neutral then pushed it, with a bit of difficulty, to the side of the road. Once she was out of the way and off to the shoulder, cars immediately started to zoom past at dangerous speeds. She watched them for a while, glad that at least she didn’t own a car that had stalled out, that would have been even more painful to deal with. With a shake of her head that tossed the hair that poked out from under her helmet, she guided her bike down the road a bit to a part of the shoulder that was wider. Burke would have to come pick her up and he would need enough room to park his truck.

Now with the kickstand of her bike out, she sat down and wrestled off her helmet, revealing dark hair that was plastered to the sides of her face by sweat. Pushing these annoying locks off of her cheeks, she pulled out her cell phone and her fingers immediately brought her a new text message window but she exited out of this and opted for simply punching in her friend’s phone number; he wasn’t one for texting and wouldn’t get back to her for a few hours, yet she needed him as soon as possible. Sometimes Burke didn’t even pick up his phone when it rang, confusing her as to why he had a cell phone in the first place, though she supposed that if she called him enough times he’d answer eventually. Thankfully, he answered on the second ring but his confused voice on the other end was barely able to be heard. “Gwen?”

“Yeah, hey,” she smiled softly, glad to hear his voice.

“Gwen?” he asked again, “I can- -you.”

“Burke,” she said, a bit louder, “move somewhere else, you’re breaking up…” His voice grew fainter and more chopped up so that she couldn’t understand what he was saying. Then suddenly the call was disconnected and all Gwen could hear was that annoying beep beep beep. “Goddamn,” she growled, slamming the phone shut then pushing it into her pocket. So, she was effectively stuck, not knowing any other mechanic’s number or such as she relied so heavily on Burke’s expertise, seeing as it was always free of charge. Hopefully, someone driving by would be willing to pick her up. With a deep breath, sucking up her courage, she got up from her bike then stood to the edge of road with her hand up, looking to flag someone down to come and help her.

[Amos Artan]

The traffic today has been beyoung sucky, in an hour he'd barely managed to move his car forwards more than a couple of meters. Unlike the other drivers Amos is not the kind to lose his cool over something like slow traffic. What would be the point? Yelling and swearing and making a lot fo noise isn't going to make the cars move forward faster. Luckily his turn is coming up so he can get out of this damned mess. Finally out of it Amos notices that the cars have started to move at a more reasonable pace. "Typical. Line always starts moving once you're not in it anymore". Getting out of the car Amos pauses to stretch out his back, his spine popping a few times. He is always careful where he parks his car. Somewhere out of sight but at the same time a place where, if someome was snooping around it, people will notice. He has had problems with youths try to break into his car before, since then he has fitted a rather loud alarm into his cars that turn on UV lights to hurt vampires and a high pitched siren that hurts the ears of humans and wolves. His car stands out, it's a rare sight to see an American muscle car in London these days, a stolen and in good condition car could bring the 'owner' a fair amount of money.

Every now and then he glances back at where his car had been parked, even though he knows that it's broad daylight and there is hardly anyone around there is always that nagging little feeling that something would happen to his car. It was while walking and glancing back at his car that Amos almost walked into a parked motocycle, stopping soon enough to not completly walk into it but does hit his knee against the wheel. He cringes as pain tingles through his leg. "Ow". Ginger;y he steps back and takes a look at the object he had walked into. "What's a moterbike doing on the sidewalk", the question been more to himself than anyone else. It suddenly clicks that there must be someone with the bike, no one would just leave a bike on the sidewalk. He looks up to see the owner of the bike, suddenly feeling rather self-conscious about having walked into the vehicle. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was walking. This may sound like a stupid question but why is your bike up on the sidewalk?". Sometimes he can be smart, sometimes he can be an utter moron.

[Sonja Gwen Kane]

Nobody down here cared about some stranger stranded by the side of the road, they just wanted to get where they were going, and fast. Most people, she guessed, were going way over the speed limit; if she tried to step in front of someone to stop them, she'd get run over. Because of this, she was giving up trying to flag anyone down, only waving feebly to whoever would spare her a glance. With a sigh, she stuffed her hands into her pockets, grasping her phone. She would have to try to call Burke later and hope that he was within range this time. She had the thought that she could walk her bike somewhere else, maybe to find a garage, but that would really hurt her arms after a while, and what if it only made the situation worse? Plus, her parents had always told her that if she got lost -stranded in this case- then she would do best to just sit where she was until someone found her.

With her back turned to her motorcycle, she didn't notice the man approaching it until she heard a hard thud and his soft exclamation of pain. "Hey!" she half-shouted, spinning around to catch the would-be-thief. He wasn't a thief though, had merely ran into her bike, not been watching where he was going. A soft blush crept onto her cheeks, thinking that she shouldn't have shouted at him, even if it had been understandable, she didn't want anyone messing with her baby.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was walking. This may sound like a stupid question but why is your bike up on the sidewalk?"

Not a stupid question at all, really, it wasn't common practice, or even legal, for someone to park a motorcycle on a sidewalk. "She- It just stalled out on me," she frowned, moving away from the edge of the road and back to her bike and the stranger. "I couldn't really just sit in the middle of traffic with it, might have gotten me shot." A bit of a grin pulled at her lips at this, amused by how true it was, but she didn't let the expression grow, feeling a bit disconcerted.

For a moment she was quiet, reaching out a hand and stroking the leather seat of the bike. "Do you know the number I could call for a tow?" she asked, "My regular mechanic won't pick up." The rouge in her cheeks grew again, seeming to think it was a bit silly that she relied so much on Burke not to know any other garages' numbers, and she was also noticing how attractive this stranger was. How she wouldn't have liked to hug that body...

[Amos Artan]

He is slightly taken back by her shouting 'Hey' at him, but he would have done the exact same thing is someone had walked into his car. He blinks a few times before regaining his composure. "Oh so you're the one that was holding up the traffic before?". A smile tells Gwen that he is just poking fun at her for stalling her bike and that it wasn't a serious accusation. "Kept me waiting in my car for a good hour or so". Amos shakes his head slowly. "Ah well, only harm it did was make my knees stiffen up a bit from been bent for so long so no harm done in the long run". Oh, there he goes starting to ramble again, a little nervous habit of his though why he's nervous Amos can't quite figure out it's probably because he didn't expect to be talking to anyone today who he hadn't been planning to talk to and just randomly talking to someone on the street is such an out-of-character thing for him to do.

"Hell of a place for your bike to choose to stall out, couldn't have chosen a side street or a time when it's less busy, machines always choose the worst time to break down and stop working, always at a time that would cause the most trouble for the user". "Yeah I've got the numbers of a couple of places that do tows. I don't use them that often as I usually work on my cars myself, mostly I take the cars to mechanics if there's something wrong with the actual insides of the car that I'm not willing to mess around with. Why don't I help you wheel your bike away from the curb and out of the way? Take it over to my car that's just back there. You can wait there til the tow comes".

[Sonja Gwen Kane]

"Oh so you're the one that was holding up the traffic before?"

Gwen shot the stranger a half-daring smirk, not so keen on being made fun of, even if it was all in good humor. At least he let it go in a few sentences, apparently disconcerted with what he was saying or by how much he was saying; she couldn't quite tell if it was one or the other. Not that she was any longer paying attention to what he was saying, too busy studying the shape of his lips.

"Hell of a place for your bike to choose to stall out, couldn't have chosen a side street or a time when it's less busy, machines always choose the worst time to break down and stop working, always at a time that would cause the most trouble for the user."

This pulled Gwen out of her slight trance and a soft smile spread over her face as she lifted her hand to run a finger over the soft surface of her bottom. "I suppose so," she paused, glancing at the subject of their conversation, "It has been a fantastic bike so far though, rarely has any problems. Mm, though I guess she is getting a bit old. Might be time to find a replacement in a few more years..." A shrug accompanied the end of her sentence, demonstrating her lack of commitment to this. She would loathe scraping her current bike, having become so attached to it, but there was only so much she could get Burke to do for free before the damage the motorcycle sustained was irreversible and parts needed to be completely changed out.

"Yeah I've got the numbers of a couple of places that do tows. I don't use them that often as I usually work on my cars myself, mostly I take the cars to mechanics if there's something wrong with the actual insides of the car that I'm not willing to mess around with."

Gwen's slight smile turned into bit of a grin at this, glad to have bumped into someone who shared her enthusiasm for autos, though she suspected that he was more knowledgeable about them because he actually worked on his own cars. She would never be that confident working on her bike, too afraid that she'd take out the wrong part and then put it back wrong or damage it and render the bike immovable, just a hunk of metal and plastic. That's why she had Burke around to stop her from doing that.

"Why don't I help you wheel your bike away from the curb and out of the way? Take it over to my car that's just back there. You can wait there til the tow comes."

"Oh, thank you, that would be helpful," she replied, sighing softly in relief that she could get bike to safety and up and running again soon; it was her only mode of transport.

After switching her bike into neutral, she held onto one handle and the seat while the man grabbed a hold of the opposite handle and the back of the seat. Together, and not without a bit of difficulty, they rolled the bike over to the stranger's car where Gwen was careful not to bump against while she positioned the bike as close as she could to the other machine, thinking that would be the safest place for it. However, once her hands were free, she stuffed them in her pockets, and not knowing if she was allowed to lean her back against the car or not, she stood up straight and still.

"You didn't stop for me, did you?" she asked, already knowing the answer. "Though it would have been very nice if you had, everyone else driving down here won't even glance at me. I could have been stuck here for ages," with a sigh, she turned to look over at the man, smiling just slightly. "I'm Gwen by the way," she said, holding out a friendly hand to shake. "Gwen Kane."

[Amos Artan]

"Cars I can handle going fast in, but bikes I've never felt all that comfortable on. Probably the fact that on a bike there's nothing between you and whatever you hit. I've managed to escape serious injury once already so I'm not about to go tempting fate. It's just waiting for me to get on a bike one day and then I'll skid on a puddle or something. It's always something stupid and small that does you in after you've been given a second chance". "It's probably nothing big that's made your bike stall. I can't know for sure without taking a look at the engine and all the wiring. If you've kept it in good condition up to now and there have been hardly any problems then I'd say you can get some more years out of it. Keep on top of things and it'll be fine". "I know I've had some hard times getting rid of a few of my cars, even when one was totally written off I still wanted to keep it 'just incase I could fix it' even though I knew it was beyound repair".

"Oh, thank you, that would be helpful"

"No problem at all, I've got nothing to do for the rest of today so you're not keeping me from anything, I was only going to go to the house and tinker around with some things that need to be fixed but they're not important so they can wait a bit longer".

The bike is heavy, but at least it's not a car they're trying to roll off the street, a bike is much easier to steer. He watches the bike come near his car out of the corner of his eye, like Gwen careful to not let it scrape against the body or bumped into it. He wasn't one who would go nuts if a scratch appeared on his car but better to avoid the issue totally. Unlike Gwen who stands straight, Amos casually leans against the driver side door. He then motions that she can do the same. "If this car can survive been parked on the streets of London it can survive a couple of people leaning on it"

"No I didn't stop just for you, I didn't even see you were there until I walked into your bike, guess it's just one of those things that happens and turns out to be good for both involved. You get to meet someone who knows about vehicles and I get to meet talk to someone I don't know, which is good because I don't usually do that. I'll be glad if you get out of here before sunset. A stranded woman is the perfect target for vamps". Amos takes her hand and returns the hand shake, without thinking giving his real name. Usually he'd give a fake, or a variation of his name. "Amos Artan". The introduction accompanied by a smile.

After introductions Amos takes out his mobile and calls one of the mechanic contacts in his phone. He gives the address and his name. Done he turns to Gwen. "There, tow has been called and they should be here within an hour or so. You got a way to get back to your place after your bike's been taken?".

[Sonja Gwen Kane]

Gwen grinned softly at the man's mentioning of having met someone so accidentally who shared his enthusiasm toward these machines. For him, she was was sure that it wouldn't really be so difficult who was crazy about cars as he was. But for her, you didn't seem many people who rode motorcycles, especially not in the city, mostly because of the issues with safety. So far, she had managed to completely escape getting in any sort of accidents on her bike, had only scratched up the paint and dented the metal the slightest bit. She knew that she was just lucky.

"I'll be glad if you get out of here before sunset. A stranded woman is the perfect target for vamps."

Her head turned a bit to glance at him, the side of her lip twitching as she lifted a hand to push her hair over her ears, hiding the gold and diamond earrings she wore. This wouldn't help much though because even if she took off her gold bracelet and put it in her pocket, she couldn't hide that she had on a rather nice blouse and dress pants. This wasn't the smartest attire for riding, but she had forgotten to bring a change of wardrobe like she usually did for after work, having been in a rush that morning to get going. Before her clothes hadn't seemed like such a huge of deal, yet with the comment that the man had made about vampires, she suddenly felt vulnerable in them, very exposed.

Thankfully, these thoughts didn't stay with her long as the stranger took a hold of her hand, offering up his name, "Amos Artan."

"Nice to meet you Amos," she smiled, nodding softly in acknowledgment. Don't worry, she told herself, you've got your new friend to protect you. Grinning again, despite of herself, she repeated his name, putting a bit of a Spanish accent to it. "Amos..." Yah, it definitely sounded better that way.

Finally feeling comfortable, Gwen let herself relax her back against the car, looking over to the road as Amos took out his phone to call her a tow truck. "There, tow has been called and they should be here within an hour or so." She almost giggled a bit at this; he was her kind of man, quick to state the obvious just like her.

"You got a way to get back to your place after your bike's been taken?"

"None what-so-ever," she sighed, her fingers finding their way into her hair and wrapping themselves up in it, "I could walk, but that would be a good 10 miles and I wasn't planning on quite that much exercise today." Realizing what her hand was doing, she dropped it to her hip, thinking it looked a bit silly. "Why are you down here anyway? You don't seem like the sort of person who would enjoy this part of town."

[Amos Artan]

"I wasn't trying to scare you or anything, I've just got an inbuilt distrust of vampires, also I'm around wolves a lot so their hating for the vampires has tended to have rubbed off over the years. Besides vampires tend to go for the more vulnerable looking women and frankly even dressed in a business attire you do not look anywhere near vulnerable. You certainly look like you could kick some ass if you were put in the situation, or perhaps just looking it is enough to make people think twice before trying anything. Still, better to stay indoors or be with other people than alone when it's night time. If I do need to go out at night I usually carry a knife with me, something small and concealable, good thing about knives is that they work well against all three species that inhabit this town. Not that I go around looking for people to get into scraps with, the knife is purely for the possibility of something happening". The last thing he wants is to come across as some psycho who goes looking for vampires and wolves to kill off.

Amos laughs softly at Gwen pronouncing his name. "Yeah I'll admitt it's a strange name, got me teased all during school the most popular name to call me was Amy. But you know how kids are, they find something different about you, latch onto it and that becomes the target of their teasing until they either get bored or find someone new to pick on. Though it often works to my advantage that people tend to think that it's just an alias and not my real name. In fact you're one of the few people who I've given by first name to without trying to hide it as something else. Usually I'm careful who I give my name to. Call me paranoid but I like to stay safe".

She has no way to get back to her place and here he is with a perfectly working car. "Well I could always give you a lift to where you need to be. Like I said I've got nothing that needs to be done for the rest of the day so it's no hassle to me". "Well I guess you could call me a glorified receptionist. I work in an office environment for the head of the business for whome I do reports and the like, sometimes I'm sent out around town to pick things up or drop them off. But with my back and knee problems it's the best I can do when it comes to a job. I was just finishing off a job and on my way to get some lunch when the traffic got backed up".

[Sonja Gwen Kane]

A smile couldn't be stopped from spreading across Gwen's lips when Amos mentioned that she didn't look vulnerable, feeling that it was quite the compliment. Though in all reality, if you did look vulnerable, you wouldn't make it very far in life, seeing as there were so many people looking to hurt you at every corner. Riding a bike instead of a car lessened her sense of protection, but she loved her motorcycle and would never want to get rid of it, even if she happened to get shot while riding it. She might just have to start wearing a bullet proof vest if that happened.

As for being made of fun of for having an 'interesting' name, well Gwen could relate, it was the reason that she'd changed what people called her. Sonja had gotten her plenty of jokes and ridicule thrown at her, with very few compliments about how unique such a name was. However, with a name like Gwen, most people wouldn't even bat an eyelash when you introduced yourself, it was nice.

"Well I could always give you a lift to where you need to be. Like I said I've got nothing that needs to be done for the rest of the day so it's no hassle to me."

Gwen muttered a soft thank you, glad to have met someone so generous. It would have been easier for him to let the tow truck take her back home, but Amos was such a gentleman.

"But with my back and knee problems it's the best I can do when it comes to a job. I was just finishing off a job and on my way to get some lunch when the traffic got backed up."

Poor guy, she thought, him being so young and having problems with his spine and stuff. And now she making him stand here; it made her feel a little bad, though she supposed that he would say something or make some indication when his joints started to bother him.

"It is lunch time, isn't it?" she asked quietly, distractedly, dropping a hand to her belly, not having yet realized that she was growing hungry. She actually hadn't eaten for a good seven hours, though she supposed that she could just one more hour before feeding herself, it wasn't as if she was starving. For a few seconds she was silent, looking away from Amos to the road. "You talk a lot, you know?" she half-grinned, turning her eyes back to the man. Usually she was the one who talked more, being a rather social person, but this Amos sure was a chatterbox.

[Amos Artan]

Maybe part of him is tired of not having someone to talk to, not having someone to just hang out with, not since his encounter with the vampires has Amos really gone out and done anything that would be concidered socialable. Before that he could always be found at the pub with his mates having a good time and a few drinks; making jokes and just generally messing around. Now. Now he is quiet, reserved and much less sociable. Where once there was a youthful joy it has been replaced by a more adult fear of the world around him. He is less likely to do things that are not thought out, pretty much every part of his life is planned so he knows how it's going to happen. Though he has become accustomed to this lifestyle he has to admitt that at times it does get boring; just sitting around the house after work and on days off doing little things to fill in the spare time and the company of another person is always a good thing to use.

"Since it's around lunch time why don't you come with me to get something to eat after the tow has come to pick up your bike? You've had a crap day what with your bike breaking down in the middle of the road holding up traffic, why not grab some lunch. We'll go somewhere it's busy so you don't feel unsafe or anything just incase you're thinking that I'm acting all kind and cool as an act". Amos frowns just a little at having to say that, but then again people can never be too careful these days with the kind of environent London is, there are people around who would use this as the perfect situation to try to kidnapp someone like Gwen. "And by saying that I've probably just made you think that I am some kind of weird creeper".

"I do? I've never noticed really and you're the first to point it out. Guess since I don't go out that much when I do get the chance to speak to someone I just keep going since the next time I get the chance could be far off. Sometimes I don't know when to stop, and what not to say to people. Please tell me if I'm boring you".

[Sonja Gwen Kane]

For the first time in quite a while, Gwen had managed not to scare off her new acquaintance quite yet. Part of it she supposed was because he was talking so much, not really leaving her much room to interject with anything weird. She couldn't even get herself to stare at him because she felt that annoying heat of blush creep onto her cheeks and she didn't want to look desperate to him, because she wasn't; he was just fun to look at. Plus, that might actually be the thing that did scare him off, if he thought that she was being a bit creepy.

"Since it's around lunch time why don't you come with me to get something to eat after the tow has come to pick up your bike?"

With a soft nod, Gwen looked up to Amos, then said, after he had finished speaking. "That would be awesome, I'm kind of starving." Her stomach gurgled softly as she said this, as it always did when she talked about being hungry, and again her hand lifted to calm down the aching pains in her empty tummy. This man was so nice, damn, almost too nice. Seriously, he suggested that they go somewhere crowded so that she wouldn't feel uncomfortable around him, and she also suspected that it was also so that she could just disappear if she didn't want to stick around anymore. So chivalrous.

"I do? I've never noticed really and you're the first to point it out. Guess since I don't go out that much when I do get the chance to speak to someone I just keep going since the next time I get the chance could be far off. Sometimes I don't know when to stop, and what not to say to people. Please tell me if I'm boring you."

A broad grew on the woman's face as Amos spoke, loving how excited he was to speak so much. She half expected him to start speaking ridiculously fast and end up panting because he'd forgotten to breath while he talked. It was really very entertaining. "You're not boring me at all," Gwen nearly laughed, shaking her head. "you're actually very amusing. I don't see why you don't talk to more people, you've got a lot to say. Well, I suppose that some people could get peeved by not having a chance to speak themselves, but I'm alright with that."

[Amos Artan]

"Great. Since we're in the West End it shouldn't be that hard to find somewhere to eat and it's still fairly early so places shouldn't be too crowded. Tow should be here in ten or so minutes, they said an hour but the place I called isn't too far from where we are so it shouldn't take them more than twenty to thirty minutes to arrive". Talking to Gwen is probably the most Amos has smiled in a good while. He couldn't help but smile, something about talking to her just made him do it, probably the fact that she was willing to give him the time of day to have a conversation and not just snubb him off once he's agreed to give her help.

"You're not boring me at all"

"Good good, last thing I want is to be boring you". There was a slight and sudden fear that that is coming across as slightly needy in the way that he is constantly appologising for talking to much or if he come across as too forward. Mentally he tells himself to reign it in a bit. "Oh I need your a contact number off of you to give to the driver to call you when your bike is ready". A few minutes later the two truck pulls up along side the sidewalk where the two had pushed Gwen's bike, he signals the driver even though it is obvious that it's them he had come to help. He gives the driver the number Gwen had given him and then takes out his wallet to pay for the towing fee. When the bike is loaded up on the trailer Amos turns back to Gwen and walks to the car. "Well that's your bike dealt with, he said it should be done in a day or so and you'll get a call. So should we get going to lunch? Anything in particular that you'd like to have?". He unlocks the doors, getting into the car and starting it, the engine making a nice soft purr. "I was so excited when I found this car a few years ago. Sure it was just a shell then but with a bit fo care and patience it's really turned into something great".

***

He drives them not far up the road, sure they could have walked but Amos thought that Gwen might like to be driven. "There's a Chinese place I usually go to not far from here, but it's up to you". "Oh and incase you're wondering yes I do remember your number from when you gave it to me to give to the tow truck driver, photographic memory, but most of the stuff I do have stored in my brain I don't remember until I have to. Like it gets filed away and only comes out when needed". He parks the car beside a strip of small cafes. "Any of these take your fancy?".

[Sonja Gwen Kane]

"Good good, last thing I want is to be boring you."

Softly shaking her head, Gwen looked down at her bike, half-smiling to herself. No, it was almost impossible to bore her, because she was so good at amusing her own self, especially when there were other people around. Even if conversation between she and some else just stopped, leaving a slightly awkward silence surrounding them, she could always break the tension just by staring at them long enough and usually causing them to burst out laughing. That was always fun. She could imagine that she wouldn't have to employ this around Amos though, seeing as he was so good at filling the quiet by himself.

"Oh I need your a contact number off of you to give to the driver to call you when your bike is ready."

"Right," the woman said, turning her eyes over to him and reciting the number for him, her thoughts drifting to Burke for a moment, wondering where he was that he didn't have a good signal on his phone. She supposed that she would have to text him later, though it was probably no big deal, he might just be by a forest or something.

Soon the tow truck was pulling up on the side of the road and Gwen moved away from her bike so that she could restrain herself from slapping at the man as he loaded it onto the truck. She guessed that she could be too possessive at times, but if it kept her stuff safe, then she was fine with it. She was even possessive of her money, so she didn't go shopping often, and she was rather glad when Amos pulled out his wallet to pay for the tow for her. It was strange that he should do this for her, but she supposed that he had a much larger salary than her, so she wasn't going to complain, though her conscience was probably going to prompt her to offer to pay him back eventually.

With her bike safe on the truck, Gwen followed Amos to his car, wondering if she wanted to get into a stranger's auto and let him take her wherever he wanted. "Anything in particular that you'd like to have?" "Food," she told him, glancing over the car's roof to him and grinning. Alright, she would let him drive her wherever; he seemed very trustworthy. Slipping into passenger side, she settled her helmet on her lap and buckled up, though she only remember this when she saw Amos do it herself as it had been a good month since she had ridden in an actual car.

"I was so excited when I found this car a few years ago. Sure it was just a shell then but with a bit of care and patience it's really turned into something great."

"It is very nice..." she mumbled, running a hand over the front of the dash, not really knowing what she was talking about. The car sure did look nice at least, perhaps once her bike stopped working, she would trade it in for some sexy little German car, that was, if she had enough money for it.

They only drove for a little while, as everything in this part of town was pretty close together and were soon pulling up in front of a row of cafes and other shops. "Oh and in case you're wondering yes I do remember your number..." Gwen lifted an eyebrow to this, smiling widely. "So this is why you didn't let me tell the man my number all myself," she joked, punctuating her words with a little giggle, "I see what you're doing."

Now that they were pulling into the parking lot, the woman glanced around the place, not being familiar with this part of town. "Any of these take your fancy?" Honestly, she didn't care at all where they went to eat, just want to fill her belly with something, even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich would be satisfying. "Why don't you chose somewhere?" she said, unbuckling herself and turning to look at Amos.

[Amos Artan]

Her simple one word answer of 'food' to his question of what she would like to eat causes Amos to laugh softly. "Alright, food it is then. We'll find something for you, shouldn't be that hard since there's a good range to choose from". It rather surprised him that Gwen was so willing and ready to trust him enough to get into his car, but he hasn't given her any reasons to distrust him; he'd helped her move her bike off of the road, called and payed for the tow and is now taking her to lunch. Of course being his usual pessimist self Amos can't help but think for a moment that she could be using him, milking his kindness. He glances at Gwen for a second then back ahead at the road. No. She's genuinly glad that you've helped her and she's not trying to con you or weazle anything out of you.

"It is very nice..."

Another smile forms. Okay he is pretty sure that Gwen has little knowledge of cars or she would have said something about it since it's rare to see American muscle cars in London. "Yeah she sure is, just wish I could take her out at night more often without having to worry about it getting trashed or stolen or both. It's not the money the car is worth that would upset me but the fact that I worked on this car for weeks,every piece I put in place myself more or less. Be a damn shame if this car fell into the hands of anyone who would want to wreck it'.

"So this is why you didn't let me tell the man my number all myself" "I see what you're doing"

While it was a joke Amos gets the feeling of needing to defend himself, but is able to surpress it. If Gwen was been serious her tone would have been different and there wouldn't have been that giggle. "And next I'll be asking for your address so I can give you a lift to your place. Ah the pieces are all falling into place, excellent, but now my sneaky plan has been found out, curses".

"Why don't you chose somewhere?"

"Alrighty then". He had been turned away from Gwen, now he is turned back around and find himself looking right at Gwen who is facing him. For a few seconds he just sits there kind of starting before blinking a few times and snapping himself out of whatever state of mind he was in. He gives Gwen a kind of awkward smile then exits the car and stands near the front to wait for her to get out also. When Gwen has joined him Amos walks them to a cafe that is small but busy. "Here. Just like I said, a place that is busy so that you don't feel like I'm trying to get you isolated away from people for any reason. Take your pick of what's on the menue an get anything you want".

[Sonja Gwen Kane]

Gwen can't help but worry about her bike when Amos mentions that he wouldn't want his car falling into the wrong hands. She tried to never let her bike out of her sights or somewhere that she didn't exactly know where it was. The only person she really trusted to take care of her cycle was Burke, but he seemed to currently be indisposed, so she hoped that the mechanic that had picked her bike up was careful with it or skillful enough not to damage it. She might just be paranoid now, but she did love that machine, she'd named it for goodness sakes, though she'd never tell anyone that because it was a bit embarrassing.

"Ah the pieces are all falling into place, excellent, but now my sneaky plan has been found out, curses."

This made her forget about her bike for the moment and she let out a mirthful laugh that she had to cut of by placing a hand over her mouth, feeling that it had been quite to a bit to loud. Really, she had just laughed out a nerves, having had a stressful day and not being a hundred percent comfortable around this man yet. He was still a stranger, but she hoped that they could change this.

Now that they had parked, Gwen waited for Amos to turn the car off, staring at the seat by her thigh. When she looked back up, hearing that the vehicle had gone silent, she found him to be staring at her and she lifted an eyebrow to him, sort of questioning him what he was thinking. He soon shook himself out of his strange trance, smiling a bit awkwardly to her. She grinned to herself then slipped out of the car after him, tucking her helmet under the seat so that it wouldn't get stolen before closing the car door so that Amos could lock it up.

Gwen moved over to the man then followed him to a busy, yet cozy, looking cafe. They had to have good food there, judging by how many people had flocked there. However, she wasn't so concerned that she would be left alone with Amos, in fact, she really wouldn't have minded that, he was very good at talking so there wouldn't be any quiet moments between them.

"Here. Just like I said, a place that is busy so that you don't feel like I'm trying to get you isolated away from people for any reason. Take your pick of what's on the menu and get anything you want."

"You're sweet," she smiled, turning to Amos for a moment. She couldn't help but say it, it had been on her mind since she'd met him and he'd offered to help her. Next she supposed that she'd be telling him how nice his hair was. It made her feel so silly, perhaps she would just have to keep that to herself.

Forcing her eyes to move away from the man, she stepped away from him and approached the counter, staring up at the menu and deciding what she wanted. None of it was very expensive, so she wouldn't feel too guilty if he paid for her meal, though as she'd thought earlier, she'd probably feel the need to pay him back eventually, somehow, perhaps she'd take him on a ride on her bike, that would be fun for the both of them. Her stomach demanded more attention at the moment however and she ordered herself minestrone soup and a coffee, because it just sounded so good right now and she supposed that it was a bit chilly outside.