Page 24 of Stoker's Serenity

“Good enough for the rest of you?”

“Stoker’s never done us wrong, Captain,” Marlin said and I tossed my head in a nod of appreciation.

He threw me some chin in acknowledgment.

“Cool, let’s bring this to official order, then.” Cutter leaned forward and picked up his gavel, knocking it against the arm of his electric chair.

The meeting was smooth, quick, and pretty uneventful.

I couldn’t wait for it to be over so I could call Serenity back. She’d called me just as I’d been about to drop my phone in the basket kept behind the bar during our church meetings. I’d answered just long enough to ask her to let me call her back.

I was stopped by a hand clapping down on my shoulder. I turned to the captain who was checking in with me.

“You need any help, you just say the word,” he said.

“Appreciate that, Captain.”

He smiled at me and gave me a shake before moving off to the bar himself to get a drink. I went for my phone and took myself, and the call, outside.

Fridays were tough for me. First, I had church with the captain and the rest of our crew, then I had band practice.

Still, I had a couple of minutes I could eek out to talk with my girl. I said bye to the guys and went outside where it was quieter, and I could hear Serenity talk and dialed her up, dropping onto the seat of my bike as the call rang through.

“That was quicker than I expected,” she said by way of greeting. “How was it?”

“Can’t say, it’s the way it is.”

“Ah, I see.” And to her credit, she dropped it, just like that. “So how was the rest of your day?”

“Real good, actually. Probably another week on this job, maybe a week and a half,” I told her and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hopeful for another night like last night. Just with maybe clearing a few more bases. I’d kept it to kissing and a little dry humping, but goddamn, did I have a set of blue balls this morning.

“I hate that commute for you,” she said. “But I’m glad you’ll be closer even if I don’t get to see you.”

“All you gotta do is say the word and I’m there,” I told her and didn’t miss the smile in her voice when she said, “Okay.”

“When’s your next day off?” I asked.

“Sunday, I switched with one of the other girls so she could take her little girl to a doctor’s appointment.”

“Heeeey, mine too. Think that little Honda of yours is in good enough shape to make the drive on out this way? We’re having a barbecue and later a bonfire on the beach.”

“You know, I’d like that. Would you mind if I brought Linny?”

“More the merrier.”

“What time?”

“As early as you can get here. I don’t want to miss a minute I could be spending with you.”

She laughed, and murmured, “Okay, let me call Linny…”

“Okay, great.”

I went to band practice, we tore some shit up, and I figured it was going to be a new and interesting kind of hell getting through my Saturday when all I could think about was Serenity’s soft skin and those lovely big brown eyes staring up at me.

* * *

I tooka ride with the club on Saturday. It helped clear my head some, being on the back of the bike. I couldn’t help it, though. I found myself increasingly irritated that I couldn’t just break off and go see her. I was like a lovesick puppy, but I couldn’t bring myself to be any kind of upset about it. My masculinity just wasn’t that fragile.

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