The Captain

twenty-eight

Night had fallen over the sea like a thick woolen blanket, and I was bone tired. It had been an unimaginably confusing couple of days, and I was more than ready to go to sleep forever.

Settling into Maverick's bed, I barely heard the door open. 

"Um...hello." He sounded unsure. 

Startled, I turned around to find him in the doorway, in all his rugged pirate captain glory, looking like a scared schoolboy, rocking slightly on his heels.

"Captain," I greeted softly.  

"Can we talk for a minute?"

I opened my mouth to answer, instead unleashing a massive yawn. 

"Do you... Can we talk in the morning? There's...just been... been so much..." I gestured vaguely to the space in front of me, unable to encompass the truth about my mother and my feelings in words. 

He nodded, appraising me with a look of both sympathy and something uniquely him.

"I completely understand. Sorry for bothering you," he mumbled, turning to leave. 

I let the words escape before I had a chance to stop myself. 

"You can stay."

He froze and I cursed silently. Cursed him and me and the whole bloody ocean for not making me keep my stupid mouth shut-

"Sorry?"

"Um... If you wanted to. You can stay."

He searched my eyes and I flushed an embarrassing shade of pink.

"Alright."

Slowly, carefully, like he was afraid to spook me, he removed his boots and took off his hat. I forced myself not to stare at his muscled back as he pulled his shirt over his head. 

He sat down on the bed next to me and I shuffled over to make room, not sure how I was feeling about this choice currently, but it was too late to turn back. 

I blew out the candle and settled in under the cover, able to feel his body heat radiating off of him in waves.

The combination of darkness and silence was suffocating as I stared at the ceiling, barely daring to breathe.

"Goodnight, Florence."

A sigh.

"Goodnight, Maverick."

*****

I woke to a heavy arm pinning me to the mattress. Maverick's breath made the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I tried to extricate myself from his limbs. 

Unsuccessful.

Giving up, I eased back down to where my head had been resting against his shoulder and stared at the boards above our heads. 

I needed to make a plan. I always felt better when I had a plan. No matter how big and scary the feelings were getting for the man next to me, I still had to focus on Amelie. I needed to get my share of the treasure and get her and hopefully, we could escape the Kenneth Thompson agreement without too many issues. 

But where were we going to go?

Despite my growing urge to request a permanent spot on the Mermaid's Revenge, I couldn't ask Amelie to commit to that kind of lifestyle, and that wasn't safe for her in the first place. And I wasn't leaving her again, that was for sure.

I sighed. 

Regardless of the infuriatingly irresistible captain, I was going to have to leave. 

He shifted behind me and I snapped my eyes shut. I could tell he was awake from the shift in his breathing, but I tried to feign sleep to avoid detection. 

The room was silent, save our breathing and my thundering heart. Faintly, I felt a hand brush the tendrils of hair off my forehead. My breathing hitched ever so slightly, but that was enough for him.

"I know you're awake."

I blinked up at him sheepishly. 

"Hello."

He smirked down at me for a moment, until we both seemed to recognize the rather compromising position we were in and I shuffled away awkwardly.

"Sleep well?"

"Mm-hm," I mumbled. 

I glanced up at him, hoping to at least be able to talk about some things when someone rapped forcefully on the door. 

"Florence?" It was Charlie.

I cleared my throat.

"Yes?"

"Have you seen the captain? We can't find him."

My eyes widened. I glanced at the half-naked Maverick, to my rumpled state, and back to the door. 

"Um, just a minute!"

Maverick looked at me amusedly as I rushed to pull on my skirt and hastily braid my hair. 

"Why are you getting so worked up? They won't care."

Miffed, I looked at him. 

"Well, I do. And it's not... well it's not proper," I hissed. 

He snorted. 

"How proper was it when you asked me to stay?"

I scoffed. 

"First of all," I threw him his shirt, "I offered, I didn't ask. Second," I hit him in the face with his hat, "I am still technically a lady and I do not want to have to explain to anyone up there about the details of what they're going to assume happened."

He smirked. 

"Ooh, what details?"

I rolled my eyes. 

"You're insufferable."

Finally, when we were both in appropriate states of dress, I opened the door for Charlie, blushing. 

"Sorry. We were, uh-"

"Discussing her mother's treasure. I came in when everyone was still asleep. Is everything okay?"

Charlie looked from me to Maverick, to me, to the bed, to Maverick's left sock on the floor, to me, to Maverick, to me, and nodded. 

"Everything's fine, Cap." He winked at me discreetly before sauntering away.

I grit my teeth. Pirates. 

Ignoring Maverick's chuckling behind me, I walked up the stairs and onto the deck. 

The afternoon passed relatively smoothly. Everyone was still riding the euphoria of finding the treasure, and while they discussed rum and brothels and swords, I was thinking about my sister. 

I hadn't actually thought this far ahead, because I never really believed I would succeed thus far. Should we try to get to France? Just put as much distance between us and the past as possible?

My thoughts were interrupted by Tim's reedy voice. 

"Navy! Royal Navy ship!"

We all scrambled up, and there it was. A ship, no doubt from Port Royal, flying towards us at top speed. 

I snatched Maverick's spyglass and looked at their deck. My heart flipped when I recognized the blonde head. Amelie looked like she'd aged in the few months that I'd been gone, but her eyes were the same. The imposing man next to her, older than I'd anticipated, had to be Kenneth Thompson, as he was the only one wearing a merchant's outfit and not the uniform of a sailor. 

"Doggone it all," Bonnie muttered. 

This wasn't how I wanted to handle this. I'd hoped to sneak away, honestly, but Amelie was right there. In the middle of the great big mess I'd caused. 

Maverick swore. 

"Prepare to be boarded!"