Page 24 of The Lost Fae
Pirates stomp their boots, matching the rhythm of the tune. A few clap along and bob their heads. Johanna opens her lips and begins singing, her voice a deep baritone that a few other women immediately harmonize with.
My hand rises to my lips where I cover my smile and look between Lincoln and the group. "They sound lovely."
"That they do," he agrees, but his eyes never leave me.
"Have a drink!" Beatrice pours the bottle out into an entire tray of small shot glasses and walks around passing them out. "Today we cheers to our return to the sea! Our home!" She puts a glass in my hand, though I try and refuse, and then passes one to Lincoln as well.
"It's the middle of the day." I grimace and sniff the drink, knowing very well what I'm about to get myself into if I drink it.
"Who says you can't have a sloshing good party at eleven in the morning, dear?" Beatrice winks and hands me another glass for my empty hand. "Here, have another!"
"Human society?" Lincoln offers the answer to her question.
"I suppose day-drinking technically is a thing that humans do too..."
Before the captain can get too far, Lincoln steals a second drink for himself. He examines the liquid with scrutiny before he shoots one of the shots back. He blinks.
"Damn, that'sgood!"
"Wait! What about me?" I lift the liquid up to my lips and dump it down my throat, trying to swallow before I can really taste it. "Now this one together!" I say through puckered lips.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" I yell over the hoots and hollers of the women and the melody of the guitar.
"Cheers." Lincoln holds his glass between us and I raise mine to his.
"To getting out of this fucking court, so I can take back what’s mine!"
Lincoln cheers. Once I take my drink and look back at him, his is empty as well. Like the gentleman he is, he takes the glasses from me and carries them over to the tray on the ground next to Johanna. All the stomping boots make them clink together, rattling in time with the music.
Women with their first round of shots running through their bloodstreams bounce and dance across the upper deck. Even those at work sway with healthy grins. Lincoln's boots come to a stop next to me and he claps along with the music, giving Johanna healthy praise as her fingers move quickly with skill along the strings.
I can't help but clap along too. Maybe it's the alcohol. Maybe it's the music. Or maybe it's just being in Lincoln's presence that makes this moment feel right. It's totally the alcohol that makes me want to let go of the pressure we are sure to face the moment we get home.
A pirate, the one who we'd seen in the crow’s nest just the other night, pulls her dark brown hair on top of her head and tucks it into a seamless bun. With her hair out of her face, she grins and sets her gaze upon me. Every step she takes toward us is a dance move. She lifts her knee high up, bouncing her hands off it between claps.
The group has turned into a whirlwind of hooked arms and twirling bodies that pick up the extra fabric of their billowing shirts. Chains and metal that hang from their clothes bounce against them and the weapons that remain strapped to their hips. Armed to the teeth at all times, no matter how drunk they may be, or might get.
She continues to move toward me. I glance between her and Lincoln, who doesn't offer either of us a lick of attention. She doesn't ask or offer an arm once she reaches me. Instead, she tilts her head back with a laugh that echoes off the sea and grabs me, pulling me in. One of her arms links through mine as she tugs me into the fray.
I let out a playful scream and reach to snag Lincoln as we pass. Much too quickly, he takes a step back and holds his hands up, shaking his head. His lips move with the unspoken whisper of 'good luck' and then he begins clapping again.
The pirates don't care that I don't know the dance moves, or that I'm still a touch awkward in my lengthy Fae body as I tower over most of them. Someone passes me another drink and without a thought or worry I chug it down. My eyes lose focus. My body becomes more fluid.
I jump and lift my knees just like they do before we enter into the chorus of the song hooking arms and trading partners. The colors of their clothes and the silver of their greying hair make streaks in my vision. The momentum of their prancing carries me from one person to the next.
Though they may have hate in their hearts for the Fae thanks to Barnabus and his bandits, at this party they could care less if I was a bear trying to eat them. They'd dance with me anyways. And I let them.
As the song comes to a close, the crowd parts just enough that I spy Lincoln who already has his eyes on me. Johanna picks up a much smoother melody, one I imagine to be a love song. I lock my eyes on Ziko and sway my hips. My hands trace up and over my curves until they mingle above my head. I move just for him.
There isn't a cloud in the sky that shades us. Sweat drenches my clothes. But as long as Lincoln is looking, I'll be here dancing. The sun moves across the sky as pirates are coming and going from the dance floor. Lincoln remains where he stands, flicking his gaze from my hips, to my breasts, to my face.
When a crew member laughs and wraps her arms around my waist, I don't push her away. I roll my body against her and smile at Ziko and the way his iron-cut gaze flairs. Without missing a beat, the pirate girl grinds against me unashamedly running her fingers down my legs and up my torso. I shout out my approval as the song changes.
Time doesn't exist in this moment. It could be only a few seconds that I remain like this, pinned under his heavy stare, or it could be hours that I dance without remorse. The spell between us remains unbroken until two pirates trip over themselves in drunkenness and send me toppling forward.
I hit against a solid surface, too soft to be the ground. My fingers curl into pink ruffles and I giggle. My gaze moves from my hands up to Lincoln's face. His smile is long gone. His tongue darts out over his lips and he watches my mouth as it falls open while I wheeze out a breath.
