Page 10 of Stoker's Serenity

“Thank you, Stoker… for everything.”

“You’re welcome, Serenity.”

He stood and I watched as he shrugged out of his vest, pulled on his jacket and put the vest back on over it. He fetched down his helmet from the coat rack and opened the door to the outside world.

“Goodnight,” he said and I smiled, hugging myself a little, sad to see him go.

“Goodnight.”

4

Stoker…

I wanted to call her the minute I got home but it was pretty much just before the asscrack of dawn. I knew she would likely be showered and asleep by the time I rolled in to my place, two streets off the boulevard in Ft. Royal. Still, it didn’t stop the desire.

I split the difference and shot a text to her phone saying:Made it home. Call you in the next few days. Promise.

There wasn’t a reply. I didn’t expect there to be.

I crashed and crashed hard. When I finally came to, it was pretty late in the afternoon. I checked my phone first thing to a few text alerts.

Rory: Third Place.

Captain: Hope whooped some ass, you missed out. It was beautiful.

Serenity: Thank you for letting me know. I’m sorry I was asleep but glad to know you made it. I look forward to hearing from you. I hope you got good sleep.She’d even included a smiley emoji.

I didn’t text back right away, instead answering the first two texts with a ‘that sucks’ and an ‘I bet. Just got up. Be at the house, soon.’

I dragged my ass into the shower and sighed as the hot water rushed over my skin, easing some residual soreness from my muscles and washing the road down the drain. I didn’t much feel like doing shit today except catching up on laundry and taking my ass to work the next morning.

I got my jeans on just as a heavy knock fell at my front door. I went for it and opened it up to Atlas on the other side. He held up my bass and bounced his eyebrows asking, “Hear you may have hooked yourself a hottie last night.”

I laughed and opened the door wider, taking the soft case from my crewmate and letting him into my house. It was small, a cozy place that’d belonged to my grandparents and had fallen into some disrepair. I was fixing it up, slow but sure, since they’d left it to me. That’s how I’d come to Ft. Royal in the first place. My folks, they lived in Louisiana over by Shreveport. Well, my dad did. My mom died when I was seven from breast cancer, and the grandparents who’d left me this place were her parents.

Atlas let out a gusty sigh and dropped into my recliner. I leaned my bass up against the wall and swung the door to my place shut.

“She’s different, that’s for sure,” I said.

“Aw, yeah? How’s that?”

I went over and dropped onto my couch and looked at him.

“She’s timid, dunno why. Shy, but at the same time brutally honest and unafraid to just say it.”

“Say what?” he asked, laughing.

“Whatever it is that’s on her mind.”

“You got her number?”

“Yeah.”

“You gonna call her?”

“Definitely,” I nodded.

“What else you know about her?”

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