Page 11 of Pirate

The closer they got to the ship, the brighter it got from the large overhead light coming off of the tall mast.

Pirate was no expert on ships or boats, but he was impressed by how big it was in person. The wood frame and white sails reminded him ofThePirates of the Caribbeanmovies or watchingMuppets: Treasure Islandas a kid.

There was even a wooden plank lowered down to the pier for loading and unloading.

“Oy!” A man in a pirate costume came walking down the plank. He had his pirate patch pulled up on his forehead so he could use both eyes. A skull and crossbones was on his leather hat. Pirate pulled Sophia slightly behind him as the man approached them. “Are you the couple who just called? Sorry, I forgot your names.”

Pirate was about to deny it, since they weren’t, but Sophia suddenly piped up with, “Yes! This is Pirate—get it?Pirate ship!—and I’m Sophia.”

“Good to meet you, ma’am, sir. You’re right on time. We were just about to cast off. I just need your signatures here.” He handed them a clipboard, to which both of them signed. “All right, let’s get to it.” He nodded towards the plank he’d just descended. “I need your licenses or some form of ID. You still looking to pay by credit card?” Pirate and Sophia handed over their IDs. Sophia also gave him her black credit card that Pirate had seen her use multiple times on this trip. “I’ll go take care of the paperwork. Head on out to the bow. There’s food and drinks there.”

“How long will the ride take?” Pirate asked as they headed up the plank. He kept a steady hand on Sophia so she didn’t fall in the water.

“About two hours. We do a loop around Alcatraz and go under the Oakland and the Golden Gate Bridges.”

Sophia suddenly squealed. Pointing up, she giggled. “There’s a crow’s nest!” She turned to the employee. “Can we climb up there?”

The man shook his head. “Sorry, miss. Employees only up there.”

“Damn,” she sulked.

Pirate guided her towards the front of the ship. As soon as they were out of the employee’s earshot, he bent and whispered in her ear. “You are seriously certifiable. We’re taking someone else’s reservation!”

“They hadn’t paid for it yet,” she argued. “And you heard him. They were about to take off. They would have missed the boat regardless.”

“I think this is a ship,” he corrected.

Sophia rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Ooh! Calamari!” She rushed over to the food table.

Pirate followed. The crew, three that he’d seen so far, started their procedure to depart. As far as he could tell, they were theonly ones on the ship other than the employees. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. They knew nothing about this company or its crew. Just to be on the safe side, Pirate snapped some pictures of the ship and the pier sign. He texted them to Keys with anin case I wind up deadmessage.

He also pocketed a sharp knife from the food table.

As soon as they started out, the large overhead light turned off. Sophia jumped as they were plunged into the darkness of the night. But it didn’t last long as thousands of twinkle lights were turned on. They were strung all around, from the captain’s cabin to the two tall masts, around the rim of the ship, the edges of the white sails, and even the crow’s nest that Sophia had wanted to climb.

“Oh, wow…” She breathed out, taking it all in. The lights reflected off of the water as they set sail.

There was a bench that faced forward. After filling up a plate of food, Pirate guided her over to it. The cool air from the sea felt good to him, but Sophia soon started shivering. He reached into the backpack he’d put at his feet and pulled out his winter coat. Laying it over her, she snuggled into his side.

“Thank you.” She curled her legs up under his coat too. After a heartbeat, she added, “I mean it, Pirate. Thank you. I really had no plan when I left yesterday and it’s actually been fun having you with me.”

“It’s Tuesday,” he reminded her. “We left on Sunday.”

She let out a light chuckle. “The days all blur together.”

It might for her, but he was going to have some explaining to do when he got back to Mount Grove. Principal Rockland had not been happy when he’d called out another two days.

“It’s funny.” She tipped her face up towards the moonlight.

“What’s that?” he asked huskily. He’d known Sophia for months, basically since Jumper and Jasmine had gottentogether. How was it that he’d never noticed how beautiful she was before this moment?

“I haven’t really felt…comfortable around men. Not in a while, anyway. Not since…” Her voice trailed off.

He knew when she was referring to. Jasmine and Sophia had been kidnapped seven months ago by a rival MC and two deranged farmers wanting to start up a dog fighting ring in the area. The VDMC had rescued them, but it had taken some time for Sophia to get back to her perky, sassy self. She’d even seen Dr. Rutenberg for a time following the kidnapping. Jasmine had too, but her concentration had mostly been on Jumper’s health following his head injury.

“Why men?” Pirate inquired. The two men who had taken Sophia and Jasmine hadn’t touched them. Though injured, Jumper somehow had still had the wherewithal to order Aerial to protect Jasmine. It was due to Aerial being taken with Jasmine and Sophia that the club had been able to track them down so quickly.

Pirate had never been kidnapped. He also wasn’t a woman. After hanging around the ol’ ladies and picking up on some things his own mom had said over the years, Pirate understood that women had to view the world differently. There were some situations they could never take for granted. After being kidnapped, it was understandable that Sophia would say she’d been uncomfortable or paranoid.

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