AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He thought of all those swashbuckling movies where the pirate would seduce the woman. She would fall into his arms, helpless and weak, ready for whatever came next. Drunken kisses, wenching, making love with reckless abandon in the hopes that you might find someone to stay with for a while… or longer.
All those episodes and movies were fantasy, and not real life. Reality was hard and he couldn’t see any of that in his future without his life changing dramatically. That single thought wasn’t as scary as it once was, which surprised him.
Perhaps you take a chance,Will mused, glancing at Calista’s frowning face once more and smiling to himself.
She hadn’t caught a thing and even though she was frowning, she didn’t appear mad… just frustrated. She didn’t quit, throw down the fishing reels, or stomp off like he’d seen others do. Instead, she reeled it in to make sure her jig and bait were still present before dropping the line once more. She didn’t give up when she wanted something, and hoped that applied to several aspects of her life.
Persistence… and he liked that.
Will knew he couldn’t let on much more to the others that he was interested in her, because there were already questions among the crew. Jared wanted to know why he’dloaned her the kindle – and Marie’s question had left him reeling.
“What happens to us if you decide this life isn’t what you want anymore – and you get all weirdly domesticated because of Orange?” Marie had said in a hushed whisper, pulling him aside. “We’re all business partners, remember? This is our company, and we hold equal shares. We have an obligation to our team not to leave them high-and-dry. So, if something is changing with you, with your life, we need to discuss this sooner rather than later.”
“Nothing is changing, Marie,” he’d promised quietly.
Those words had been true then – and still rankled him as he realized that they would be true years from now.
He wasn’t some gentle man to coddle a ‘girlfriend’ or woo some simpering female. All the stupid dating games, the romantic fripperies, and romantic idealism just weren’t in him. He wasn’t an ogre or a caveman, but rather he felt the part of a lonely man much more… and even more than a pirate somedays.
Will sighed heavily.
That evening,he stood at the railing along the back of the ship just like before – waiting. A part of him thought about going down to knock on her door, inviting her to join him, yet something within him vehemently said ‘no’.
He was scared of rejection.
He was frightened of getting his hopes up, and a very pessimistic portion of him kept whispering that she wouldn’t show.It was very easy to believe that voice,he mused silently to himself, still waiting… only to hear a footstep behind him, tensing immediately.
“Hello,” he said simply, knowing it was a jerk-move, not even turning around to greet Calista, but rather staying elusive.
“What is it…” her voice began, only to see her move beside him out of the corner of his eye, her profile clear in the moonlight. “What is it about this place, this environment, that makes the unthinkable even possible?”
There was a confusion, a wistfulness in her voice that caught him by surprise – and admiration. He had thought the very same thing when he first stepped on board, like he was finally finding himself. Having grown up on ships during the summers with his father as a boy, this wasn’t too far a stretch for him, despite the monumental tasks that hit hard at times.
Being out here was elemental, basic, almost defined… and that scared some people, having them leave the safety of land behind. Others, however, were drawn and always returned to the ocean, needing that indescribable oneness that couldn’t be explained.
“What do you mean?” he asked, wanting her to elaborate to see how she was processing things, to see what she was thinking.
“I should be terrified of the water, yet I feel alive,” she admitted, and he turned to look at her profile, seeing her close her eyes and take a deep breath. “I should be panicking over my deadlines, my work, and somehow - I feel strangely free. A part of me is wondering where the order is, the organization, the need for structure in my world… and craving this wild freedom that is only pressed into place by the sun rising, setting, or the winds in the sails…”
Her voice trailed off as she looked at him, meeting his eyes. He saw her gaze rake over his face, having removed hiscostume, and stood there in the breeze in just a t-shirt and jeans instead of the heavy garments, wig, and elaborate hat.
“And I should be avoiding you, backing away, and giving myself space to come to terms with a life I’m still struggling with – but I’m not. Combined with the bitter resentment of death detouring my path, a new world being forced upon me,” she whispered, her voice catching as her eyes searched his. “… I’m here, Will, and I can’t help it.”
“You were happily married,” he murmured in understanding, feeling a pang of jealously and something akin to pain lance through him. He wondered what that felt like to have someone so close to you, a friend that was all your own, someone you could tell anything, that promised to stay by your side despite it all… and realized that comfort had been ripped from her.
She was stronger than he ever gave her credit for – and felt slightly ashamed at that fact. He assumed she was uppity, that she would break down weeping at the slightest hiccup, unable to cope. That wasn’t her in the slightest, and he’d caught glimpses of her personality, drawing him out here against his better judgement.
“I was,” she admitted, her voice cracking as she stood there, looking almost fragile in that moment. “He was enchanting, lively, a white-knight that wanted to save everyone… and was killed in a freak accident.”
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, meaning it.
He was too.
The idea that any person would have their world torn from them, their confidant and friend taken, was something he didn’t wish for anyone. He knew what it felt like to wake up suddenly and everything had changed – permanently. No, he didn’t wish that for any person, and it was a fact of life.
“Me too,” she replied almost instinctively, he realized. She must have heard those words a thousand times, just like he’d heard exclamations about his scarred ear and face. Facets of a new reality that you couldn’t flip off, yet so hard to face.
… Oh yes, he understood that shocking pain that was so very different, yet just as visceral.
