Pirate Pleasure

Chapter 4

I wake up in Chris's place - the captain's quarters. It's a pretty decent space, about twelve feet by twelve feet.

Once I sit up, I notice that I'm lying in his hammock, and there's a few drawers and chests behind me. In the center of the room, there's a table with two chairs. In one corner I see a curtain. I assume the toilet must be behind there. Chris is across the room at the kitchen area, which includes a sink, one small cabinet, a microwave, and a stove. He's intently stirring a pot of something steaming on his stove with a wooden spoon. I catch a whiff of the food, and it smells amazing. I can see why pirates steal spices all the time.

I look down and notice that I'm all clean now. My muddy, smelly clothes are gone and replaced with a dress that a wench in an Alestorm music video would wear. I check my wounded ankle, and I discover that it's tightly wound in pristine bandages. I take a little peek underneath my bandages and see that my severe wounds are all stitched up. If I've been with Chris all this time, that means he bathed me and even saw me naked. Oh no, please no. I don't care if Chris is a pirate. I don't want him seeing my junk! I need to get out of here quickly.

I place my feet on the floor and try to stand up. Within one second, the pain is too intense in my right ankle for me to stand up. I plop down to my knees with a thud, which makes Chris notice me. He places his spoon down on the counter and walks over to me. His shoes click against the wooden floors.

I look up and I see Chris looking down at me. "Yer a saucy little wench aren't ye?" He asks. "I thought ye would never wake up. I pumped pirate grog into yer blood stream to make sure ye be sleepin'. Then, I fixed yer wounds. A total of thirty stitches were put into ye, to be exact."

I'm blown away by the medical skills of this greasy pirate. I'm too dumbfounded to say anything, so I sit in silence for a few seconds. Finally, Chris scoops me off the ground and throws me over his shoulder. He begins to carry me towards his table.

"W-what are you doing?" I ask in a squeaky voice.

"Ya-ha-ha-har," chuckles Chris," I have a very special surprise for ye, young lady." Chris sets me down on a chair ever so gently and lets me wait in silence.

As quick as he can, he pulls out a tablecloth and lays it out across the table. Then, he sets the table with wooden silverware. Even though he's a pirate, he can still set a table pretty well. Just when I think this can't get any better, Chris grabs a long, skinny candle from his counter and places it in the center of the table. He takes off his pirate hat for a moment and grabs a spare match from inside it. He lights the candle and begins to pour a dark liquid into the deep mugs. He grabs the pot from the stove and a ladle from a drawer.

"Tell me when," Chris says as he scoops the creamy soup into my bowl. When the bowl is completely full, I croak out "when."

Chris serves himself the soup and dark liquid and sits down across from me. I can't believe I didn't notice his attire until now. Chris is in clean clothes and he has his hair slicked back. It even looks like he took a shower. The term "shower" is almost a foreign word to pirates. Who has time to bathe when they're robbing people on the seven seas?

"Wow," I say, " you really cleaned yourself up for this dinner, didn't you?"

Chris takes a big swig of the dark liquid before replying, "I only be cleanin myself up for the most special of wenches."

What? Did Chris Bowes just try to flirt with me? Butterflies tickle my gut overwhelmingly. I try to change the subject by saying, "So... what are we drinking tonight? Eh?"

"That be grog," Chris replies," the drink of true pirates. Mix a little of rum and water and spice, and that's yer grog!"

I nod to acknowledge what Chris just said and take a sip of my grog. It's not too bad. This alcohol seems to taste even better because I'm underage - teenage rebellion at its finest.

I put down the heavy mug and grab my spoon to take a sip of my soup. I blow a little on it to cool down before taking a bite. Chris watches in excitement like he's waiting for me to judge the flavor. To my surprise, I'm amazed. This pirate can really cook!

"Chris, this is so good!" I exclaim as I shovel more into my mouth, "Thank you!"

Chris stares at me for a few seconds before he blushes. I just made Chris Bowes blush. The excitement is overwhelming. THE Chris Bowes blushed at me. I giggle like an idiot out of excitement.

To try to put an end to the awkward silence, I tell him, "Chris, um, thanks for saving me when me ankle was cut open. I was just laying there like an idiot and now I'm as good as new, thanks to you."

"Oh it not be a problem at all," Chris replies, "I was so delicate when I was washin ye and stitchin ye back up. Ye seemed so fragile and delicate. Ye slept for so long because I put ye too much grog into ye. I was afraid ye be dead."

"Well, I'm okay now, so I think I'm ready to go home," I reply.

"Oh ye won't be goin home," Chris said as if that was a preposterous idea. "Ye gotta complete wench training! And since yer ankle be hurt, ye can't proceed with it until it be healed. Yer gonna stay with me and I be nursin ye back to health. Don't worry Cap'n Chris'll take good care o' ye."

My humongous appetite suddenly shrinks to almost nothing. I have family and a life back home! Can I just give it all up now to become a wench? I look up at Chris, who is eagerly waiting for a reply, and I take a deep breath in. I smell the salty air and remember that as long as I'm here, I'm safe with Chris. I can have these candlelit dinners with him every day for the rest of my life if I wanted to!

Finally, I tell him, "Okay, that's fine, and I can't wait to be a wench for you. But can I go back to sleep? That grog made me drowsy."

"Aye, sure," Chris says as he picks me is and holds me over his shoulder again. We make it over to his hammock and he asks, "Brooke? I, um, be pretty tired too. Mind if I sleep with you?" I don't really have an option because this is his bed so I just say, "Yeah, sure."

Chris rolls over into the hammock with me on top of him. He has me in his arms locked in a tight bear hug. I think I might be starting to like Chris, even though he and his friends abducted me. I let my body lay limp on top of Chris's, and I rest my head on his chest. I hear his strong pirate heart beat evenly as I drift off. Chris kisses me on the forehead, and that is what made me sleep the best that night.