Thanks to all the reviewers! ('specially for waiting so long for the mush, heehee, of which there will be more of course in later posts) Enjoy! :)
As far as questions that ppl had and stuff:
*Someone mentioned that they would like some W/E stuff so I added it in to what I already had written ;) (since the summary did say a lil W/E).
*And then someone asked how to do italics and bold, etc. And to do that, you have to upload your story as html. Which yes, you can do if you have Word. To upload as html: Go into whatever story your typing on Microsoft Word and copy it onto a blank document so you can save it again. When you save it this time, click on the option 'Save as web page' or 'Save as html' (which should be under 'File', just like 'Save As' would be) and it will save it that way. Then, whenever you click that document to upload, it will do the italics and everything too. (took me forever to figure this site out, so I know how it is, lol, got on to post for my first time here for like 5 minutes and ended up on 4 hours just trying to figure out how to do it. Hope that helped!)
Chapter 10
"Elizabeth?" Will began, staring out at the ocean contemplatively.
"What is it?" she asked absently, glancing back at The Black Pearl and then forward, as if trying to calculate their progress.
"There was something…" he trailed off and turned to face her. "Did you notice anything different back in Tortuga? Jack seemed…strange."
Elizabeth gave him a look at this comment.
"Well, stranger," Will corrected himself, recognizing her point.
"You think there's something between him and Gin," she stated, matter-of-factly.
"Yes!" he exclaimed, surprised that she had noticed it as well. "And I'm…a little worried about it actually. Well…about Gin."
Elizabeth nodded her understanding. She knew the way Jack Sparrow treated women as well as he did. "Will," She stepped over to him and took his hands in hers. "Gin is far too intelligent to ever fall for Jack's said 'charms'." She made miniature quotation marks with her fingers.
"You're right, I know you're right," he agreed, pulling her into an embrace. "I'd much rather worry about us."
She pulled her head back and looked at him. "And what constitutes worrying in our relationship?"
"Well, I…" Will hesitated. "I know you've probably been wondering…why I haven't proposed yet."
She glanced down, avoiding his eyes. "I never said that."
"I know you didn't…it's just this feeling I have." He sighed and pulled her closer, covering he mouth with his in a gentle kiss. "And to be perfectly honest," he said after drawing back. "I have no idea why I haven't."
"Maybe your pirate blood is stronger than you think," she suggested, pushing his hair, which hadn't been pulled back into the usual ponytail behind his ear.
Will glanced back at the ocean again. "Maybe."
* * * * *
His best instincts had him avoiding this. Had him ignoring the issue all together, in fact. Had him back in his own cabin, far form hers, sleeping off any drink he may have consumed that night.
Instead, here he was, had to be three o' clock in the morning at least, pacing outside her door, trying to work up the courage to actually knock.
He had considered leaving. Many times actually. But every time the thought crossed his mind, he would think of the next day being the same as the previous two; having to watch her walk around on deck, perfectly aware of that awkward silence that had grown between them since her little revelation.
Shaking his head and collecting himself, Jack lifted his fist and rapped softly on the door.
No answer.
Probably fast asleep, like any sane person would be, he told himself, resorting to knocking a little harder.
Not that he had ever considered himself among the sanest of society.
He knocked a third time.
Still no answer.
Just when he was preparing to bang loudly on the door, it swung open to reveal Gin, hair a tad disheveled, giving the person standing in her doorway a frustrated, confused look. When she realized who it was, her eyes widened and she stepped into the hallway, closing the door halfway behind her.
"Jack," she greeted him, her blue eyes searching his, "what are you doing here at this hour? It's the middle of the night."
"I know that, I…" he trailed off, exasperated already. "Look, I know you feel something here, this isn't just me."
"Jack-"
"No, now, lemme finish or I'll," He gestured toward the stairs, "I'll just end up going back to my cabin without even sayin' what I came 'ere to say."
Sighing, she crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, arching an eyebrow at him.
When he was sure she wouldn't protest his speech, he went on. "Look, I know I'm not the most…" he trailed off, deciding to rephrase. "I'm nothing like this Lieutenant yer fixin' to marry back home, but I…I've never felt this way before, and the least you can do for me is clear the air so things aren't so strange between us. If not just to let me get some sleep."
"Well, I don't know how to make things better," she told him honestly.
"You could have mentioned you were engaged before," he suggested.
"That…" Her brow furrowed. "That is…neither here nor there." She shuffled her feet. "Not at this point anyway."
"No," he agreed, "I don't s'pose it is."
An awkward, almost unbearable silence followed and Jack took the opportunity to examine her appearance. Her hair was down again, and she was barefoot. Anamaria had obviously had another, less appropriate nightgown for her to borrow, as the one she had on was quite different than the one she had been wearing when he had brought her to the Pearl. This one was far more sheer and the film of sweat that had developed on her from the warm sea air made it cling to her breasts. He swallowed hard.
"Jack," she began, shakily. "This can't…ever be anything. You know that."
"That's yer father talkin'," he snapped, being a little more harsh than he intended to be.
Gin didn't cringe. "Maybe," she conceded. "But he's right. And nothing is going to change the fact that even if we did start something here, there isn't any possible way that we would be able to finish it, and I doubt that you would ever want to finish it."
"Depends on what you mean by 'finish'," he grinned, lightening the mood slightly.
The comment did not seem to help the situation much. "I mean proper courting. Marriage. Speaking with my parents, which I am quite certain would not go well."
"Do you always follow all the rules?" he inquired, taking a step forward.
She stared him in the eye, watching him move closer. "Yes. I…I think we-"
"You think too much." He reached up and cupped her face in his right hand, softly caressing her cheek with his thumb and effectively shutting her up. She eventually managed to look back up at him. He was already leaning further toward her.
When his lips finally covered hers, she welcomed the kiss. She had not been kissed since she was eight years old and her best friend Jonathon had dared her to try it with him 'just to see what it was like'. Needless to say they had both pulled back after only a few seconds and had not spoken since.
This was different. Very different. The single most wonderful sensation she had felt since...ever. His tongue slipped into her mouth and began exploring the confines of it and she responded immediately, moaning softly and meeting it with her own.
The moan seemed to encourage Jack and he drew her closer, anchoring his hand in her hair and wrapping his other arm around her waist. Her own arms snaked around his neck, bringing them chest to chest.
He felt the lower half of his body...responding to the kiss and broke it softly. She furrowed her brow, confused, her lips bruised from passion. He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to control any urge that reared its head. "This could end up going a lot farther, real quick," he told her, "and if you don't want it to, I need to know."
She stared up at him, her eyes showing a torrent of emotions and he wondered briefly if she was thinking about her parents and the good Lieutenant awaiting her back in England. In the end, her heart seemed to win out over her head and she grabbed one of the lapels of his shirt and backed up, dragging him back into her cabin.
* * * * *
*waggles eyebrows* Now, do your part ppl and give me feedback!!!
