Sly was suffering stoically from a miserable cold.
Of course he, being a big, tough, raised-in-the-streets male, it was impossible for him to admit it. So he sat amid a crumpled mess of Kleenexes, staring at me through red, watery eyes.
"Are you taking anything for that?" I asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
"What, this? Fuck no. It'll go away by itself. I just gotta outlast it."
"Can I get you some Coricidin, or maybe make you some tea with lemon?"
"Ain't got no tea. Don't need no medicine."
"Fine. More Kleenexes, then." I really felt sorry for the big guy.
"Princess, will you for Christ's sake just shut the fuck up! Let it go, for God's sake."
I shut up. Thing is, I really did want to help him. I mean, he's been good to me ever since we became partners. I know, that'll sound strange if I've never told you the back story. After all, he mocked my upper-class background, sarcastically calling me a princess, and then blackmailed me into having sex with him and later with several strangers. But when I had paid off my debt we both realized that I was damned good at it, and, after he made me face up to that fact and that I rather enjoyed it, he offered to partner up, with him getting clients and me satisfying them. Yeah, I know there's a word for that, but I insist that we always refer to him as my 'agent' and our clients as 'clients.'
I consider myself a professional, after all. And I I've kept my job as a copy editor for a very respectable law firm in the city. I love the secrecy and adventure of my night job; it makes the tedium of the day one more bearable.
Oh, and he still calls me Princess, but I've earned his rarely given respect, so it's just a name, now. I like it.
"All right, all right," I reluctantly said. "Suffer, then."
"Better. Look, I ain't just been sittin' here, Princess. I got somethin' lined up for you that I'm bettin' you're gonna like. It'll appeal to your screwball sense of adventure. Plus, it's worth a nice chunk of change, and things have been a little lean lately."
Sly knows me pretty well. Having been involved in the sex trade before, he has a remarkably practical empirical sense of women. He can tell when I'm getting a little stale. He's exceptionally good at handling me, and I don't really mind it, so long as I'm aware of it. Besides, I know his concern is genuine and for me, not just for what I can do for him.
There was a pause while he blew his nose.
"Pirates," he said when he'd recovered.
"Pirates," I dumbly repeated. "What about pirates? There's all kinds of pirates. Remember, I work for a law firm."
"Jesus," he said in exasperation. "What do ya think I mean. Sex-mad software pirates? Horny music pirates? C'mon, Princess."
"OH-kay, enlighten me then, agent mine. What's this between me and pirates?"
"Bunch of spoiled rich bastards, wanna spice up their tired little sex lives. They pretend to be pirates. Like little kids, but with sex."
"Which is where I come in," I said. "Sounds intriguing. Do go on."
"Not much more to tell. They need women to dress up like pirate wenches and be accessible."
"Hmm. I haven't been a wench since the opera job. That was fun. Okay, I'll do it. Set it up."
"Yeah. That's my girl."
"You're supposed to say 'Aye, me pretty.'"
"Fuck."
Hopeless.
I love the city. You can find anything, including sexy pirate wench outfits. I went with a frilly white low-cut peasant blouse, cinched at the waist with a red sash and broad black leather belt that uplifted my breasts and deepened my cleavage. Over that I wore a long, open black leather vest that hugged my waist and flared out over my hips. The short red skirt had a slit up to my thigh on the right, giving tantalizing views of my long legs, which I sheathed in dark stockings and knee-high, high-heeled, shiny black boots. I topped it all off with a broad-brimmed hat with a big feather stuck in it, and wore my long hair down. Heavy on the eye makeup and red lipstick, too, and I was ready to go a-buccaneering for fun and profit.
I was able to get Peter, my favorite Uber driver. Peter has seen me in all manner of outfits and going to strange addresses, so he no longer expresses any surprise when he picks me up. We usually chat about his family. I also like that he's never made a pass at me or expressed any judgement about what I'm sure he realizes that I do. Nice guy, Peter.
He delivered me to the address Sly had given me. I took the elevator up and knocked on the appropriate door. The peephole opened and an eye checked me out.
"Am I at the right place?" I asked in all innocence.
"Aye, me pretty," came the voice from within.
Take that, Sly.
The door opened. I don't know if the original pirates knew about pot, but this place reeked of it. It was dimly lit, but I could make out a dozen or so people, both men and women. They were all dressed as pirates; no surprise there. I had to admire some of the costumes. They were pretty elegant. I doubt that real pirates could have afforded most of them unless they'd just sacked a Spanish galleon full of gold. There were a few eye patches and a parrot or two. A couple of the swords looked all too real for my taste. Screwing up my courage, and burnishing my accent, I entered.
I was immediately greeted by two guys. One took me by my shoulder and turned me to face him.
"Arrr," he said. "What have we here? 'Tis a comely wench, I'll warrant. By what are ye called, me darlin'?"
I smiled. "In Port Royal them as has gold calls me Mistress Vicki. With an i. Them as doesn't have gold I don't talk to. Them as bothers me don't talk any more." I had done my research on pirate havens, you see.
"I be Cap'n Mark. I be the gatekeeper here. By the looks of ye, ye are of the brethren and are welcome. So, Mistress Vicki, 'tis gold you like? Well then, 'tis gold you'll have, me darlin'. Welcome aboard!"
They were quite good looking and quite dashing in their pirate outfits. I have to say, guys in the nineteenth century really knew how to dress romantically. This was already beginning to look promising.