There was a long silence. Sophia was peripherally aware of the mechanics fidgeting, wanting reassurance, afraid they'd upset her."I can guarantee that...it's the first time the Warlock's been painted in at least ten years. I certainly never bothered." Bren was the first to speak, and his mild voice didn't even disturb the reverent silence."He's perfect." Sophia said softly. She couldn't look away, barely realized that she'd spoken at all. The Warlock was parked in its own space, gleaming. Of course the girls lost. We had a little dance party and battle off. All the usual fun shit on the first night of summer. The drinks were drunken and everything was just so enjoyable. We didn't have much to drink, only about 2 glasses each person. So we were all pretty sober by about 2:30am.The 6 of us got really tired at around 4am, so we decided to hit the hay. I was almost halfway asleep when I heard my door open. I slowly got up, and saw Steph standing there. She walked to my bed and. "I was right in sending you away, sir," Hunter said."That was a given. You might think I was upset by that, but I was more amused than anything else. I don't think you were wrong in staying for the second ambush. I also think that you didn't just hold off the inevitable. That understates your performance. You held together a force of men who were so tired that I imagine they just dropped to the ground when it was all over. Your men performed admirably, but that was because you demonstrated the. " He smiled, tugged on a lock of her hair and leaned down for a quick kiss. "Go get 'em, rock star." He watched her go and turned to Evan. "So, you come to all her shows?" Evan nodded. "Not all, but I come when I can. It's a little easier now that I'm at college and on my own schedule." "I heard your parents aren't real crazy over her and the music," Brody said. He was curious to find out more about that particular issue. "To put it mildly." Evan rolled his eyes. "It's stupid." "It is," Amira.