“You know,” Johnny said, his voice suddenly very low and he scooted next to the young woman so his knee gently grazed hers, “the best remedy for this sort of…situation, I’ve found, is to release all of the emotions I’m sure you’re feeling in a physical sort of manner.” He coyly wrapped his arm around Izzy’s shoulder, and though Izzy tried to refrain, her lips curled up into a smirk.
“So, you’re familiar with love?” Izzy asked him, tilting her head up so she could get a good look at him. “You know, deep true love?”
“’course I am,” Johnny said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Ladies were constantly throwing themselves at me. Quite pitiful, actually, but what could I do? I was—am—an attractive young man! I have to give the ladies what they want. And there’s plenty of me to go around.” He still had yet to release his arm from her.
Izzy rolled her eyes once again and gave her stranger a flat look. “That’s not love, you know,” she told him.
“Well, what you have, well, had if we’re being technical—wasn’t love either,” Johnny told her firmly.
“And how’s that?” Izzy said, shrugging off his arm and leaning back into her couch, trying to get comfortable.
“Love is in the way you look at each other,” Johnny said knowingly, almost as though he was a teacher instructing a student. “Even when you’re mad at each other or you’re sad or whatever. When you look at someone, anyone, it makes no difference, right? But when you look at the man—or woman, I don’t discriminate—you love, there’s no hiding it. It’s like they say; eyes are the windows to the soul. They do say that still, don’t they?” he asked, unsure.
“Yes, they still say that,” Izzy said with a sigh.
“And for good reason!” Johnny continued. “It’s obviously one of the universal laws that still remain true today! You can’t hide love, love, at least not from your eyes. And, to be honest, you two were not in love with each other. Maybe at one time you were, but not now.” He paused, and then looked at Izzy seriously. “Now, darling, be a dear and point me in the general direction of where you keep the wine. You do have wine, don’t you?”
“Johnny,” Izzy began, giving him a look.
“Yes, love?” Johnny asked, and flashed her another one of his charming smiles.
“Get out of my house.”
3
Johnny frowned at the door that the woman, Izzy or whatever her name was, had subsequently slammed in his face. Where was he supposed to go in a place he wasn’t familiar with? He had been quite overwhelmed, surveying the various contents of the place she had lived in. Devices that played music, sinks that were fully capable of providing water, and other such highly advanced technology. He turned around on the heel of his boot which caused his dark hair to litter his eyes. He quickly brushed his eyes free of the locks, and then glanced skeptically down the stairs. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, began descending. When he reached the bottom, he realized he was right across the street from the beach, and smiled at the recognition. Johnny hastily crossed the paved road and walked into the sand with his boots. Even crossing different time barriers could never change the sea. The sun was setting at that moment, and instantly, he was reminded of the gentle breeze, the swaying of the waves, the sturdiness of his ship.
Johnny Clover was rarely a sentimental man, but when it came to what he longed for the most, he could not help himself. He had yet to find a woman that rivaled his first love, the brilliant, blue ocean, and highly doubted he would ever come across such a person. It wasn’t as though he did not love women; quite the contrary. Johnny firmly believed that regardless of race or size, there was something beautiful about each and every woman. He was quite popular with the opposite sex, and a master of persuasion. The sea, however, continued to baffle him with every roll of her wave, every sparkle that contained her mystery. He would never tire of the sea as he did women; he would never see such indescribable beauty on a woman the way he did with the sea. There was simply no comparison, and he highly doubted there would ever be. However, this did not stop him from indulging in the pleasures the opposite sex had to offer. It was the one thing the sea could not offer: warmth. Of course he felt inside of himself a glow of pride whenever he set sail or faced dangerous peril on the open sea, but the sea could not please him the way a woman could. The sea could not hold him the way a woman could. And yet, his love for the ocean always won out. Something inside of him hoped to find a woman he could start a family with, but he highly doubted he would find her, wherever she was.
Johnny finally tore his eyes from the horizon of the sea and glanced around him. Despite the looming evening, people were still scattered along the shore, playing in the sand, or lying on what appeared to be thick, colorful clothes. Women were barely covered, a fact that did not escape his sharp eyes, and even the men wore less than he was used to. He suddenly felt incredibly overdressed and wondered if he should take off his tunic in order to blend in more appropriately.
A loud bang caused him to jump out of his thoughts. Immediately Johnny swiveled around, just in time to catch a glimpse of a red, metal box sort of thing with wheels attached to it, heading down the paved road. It was then he noticed there were the same sorts of contraptions lined up in the street. Johnny cautiously walked over to the nearest one and touched his fingers to his chin and peered at it quite suspiciously. What, exactly, were these things? A few people glanced at him oddly, but Johnny didn’t seem to notice them. He was too consumed by studying the thing in front of him.
After a moment of trying to figure out what it was, he took a few steps back. Now what was he supposed to do? Normally, if he was in such a circumstance back home, he would stow away onto a ship and wait for the right moment before commandeering the vessel until he made it back to his own. But it seemed that he lacked shelter, and though he would never admit it aloud, he began to worry. He reached into his pockets, trying to grip his rolled tobacco. It was then that he remembered he had given that woman his jacket, and inside those pockets were his tobacco. He wondered if that was a suitable excuse to go back to her room, and then ask her, quite charmingly, if he could stay the night.
“Johnny Clover,” a voice snarled from behind him, causing him to jump once again.
However, it was not the strangeness of the voice, but rather, the familiarity of it. Wincing, he slowly turned around and was met with two startling blue eyes. Willow had always been uniquely beautiful. She was tall and slim, with long, straight red hair and attractively pale skin. Her smile was crooked and mysterious, and freckles dotted a few points in her cheeks. Johnny believed that her heritage was Irish, but he couldn’t quite place her accent, nor did she give him any clues. Details about her personal life were unknown; anyone who knew her claimed that she was some sort of mystic, some sort of witch. Johnny had no idea what she was, but occasionally, she would heal his wounded body and give him a place to stay. Despite using his flirtatious abilities, she consistently refused him, and seemed intent on trying to dissuade him from being so selfish.
“Ah!” he exclaimed. Though the two didn’t particularly get along, it was good to see someone familiar in this strange land. She was dressed as she usually was, with her long hair in two braids, and a pastel colored dress on, this one blue. Her feet were bare; she was used to walking everywhere without shoes, saying it helped her connect more with nature. “Willow! How lovely to see you, dear. Just a quick question, though, if you don’t mind, but where the hell are we, and why are we here?”
“Do you not remember me warning you of your selfish behavior, Johnny Clover?” she asked him in her soft-spoken voice, giving him one of her unreadable looks. “I told you that if you continued to be selfish and not learn the trait of compassion, I would send you somewhere you knew naught of. It would seem you did not listen to me.”
“I thought you were joking,” he told her. “Of course, this was obviously my mistake, but I am happy to inform you that I have learned my lesson and am ready to go home now.” H
e took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, waiting for her to send him back. After a long moment, he opened one eye and frowned at what he saw. She seemed to be waiting patiently for him to give her attention once more. “Well? What are you waiting for, love? No time better than the present, eh?”
Anybody else would have rolled their eyes, but Willow continued to stare at him whimsically. “No, Johnny Clover, you have yet to learn your lesson,” she murmured, her voice a melody. “It is much harder here to learn such a lesson, but you will not return back to your time until you learn it. You cannot be a leader without compassion, without selflessness, and you know better than anybody that pirates such as yourself need a leader. I do hope you find what you are looking for here, my friend, but my time here now is fading. I will be back to check up on you, though.”
“Wait!” Johnny exclaimed, pushing his brows up. His worry finally etched itself onto his sharp features, and his eyes focused on the sole rose in her hand. Flowers were common to see in the mystic’s palms. “Where am I supposed to go? I have no idea where I am; I know nobody here.”
“Which is why your lesson will be harder to learn,” Willow told him, and smiled that mysterious smile of hers. “But your reward will thusly be greater, and more beneficial. As to where you should go, Johnny Clover, let me remind you that it is a universal law that everything happens for a reason. I placed you at this exact moment in time for a reason. Maybe as a starting point, you should return to that place, hmm?” And with that, she completely vanished.
Johnny quickly looked around, wondering if anyone else saw what he had, but the people seemed to ignore him as the chatted amongst themselves. In fact, some people actually gave him odd looks. Apparently, what he was wearing was quite strange to them.
Well, there was no time to fix that now. He turned and crossed the street once again. His eyes lifted up to the stairway, but there didn’t seem to be any sort of change. Johnny proceeded to head up the stairs, and when he reached the woman’s door, he turned and sat down. He had no choice but to wait for her, and he hoped he wouldn’t have to wait for long.
Before he knew it, however, Johnny Clover was fast asleep, leaning against the door in this strange place.
4
The morning came too soon from Izzy’s perspective. The beginnings of the sun’s rays seeped through the blinds of her window, causing her to stifle a groan and turn, hoping to fall back to sleep. She knew, however, that she would not be successful concerning that endeavor; once she was up, she rarely had the talent to fall back asleep. Instead, she forced herself to get up and take a very long shower.
It was in the shower where she finally let out her built-up tears, much like a dam releasing a bundle of water due to the persistent pressure. Her shoulders bobbed up and down as her head hung down. She was sobbing now, something she rarely did, and just let the pellets of hot water hit her back. Izzy prided herself on being environmentally conscious, and she knew that it was bad to be standing around wasting water, but it was as though she was frozen; she couldn’t move until her tears ceased to exist. Now, however, her sobs were dry. Goodness, she didn’t remember ever hurting like this before. Finally, after another long moment, she turned off the cooling water and grabbed a towel, drying herself off before stepping out of the shower.
Izzy walked over to her sink and leaned over slightly, taking her hand and wiping the fog that had clouded the glass. She blinked when she saw her reflection. That could not possibly be her. Though she had just stepped out of the shower, her hair had already turned somewhat frizzy despite its dampness. Her eyes were predominantly red and there were bags underneath, which was probably due to the lack of sleep she received the previous night. At least there were a few more days until the end of spring break; maybe she would return to a somewhat normal state, or at least hoped her looks did. Izzy swallowed and glanced around. She had to get out of this apartment.
Quickly, she exited the bathroom with the towel wrapped around her body and threw on the first outfit she spotted: a pair of sweatpants and a black T-shirt along with cheap, Target flip-flops. Comfort was incredibly important to her, more so than fashion, especially right now. She rushed a brush through her somewhat tangled hair, and then decided to give up and throw it in a high, sloppy bun. She didn’t even want to think about make-up. After grabbing her keys, she decided to throw on an old, black hat she got at Disneyland a few years back, pulling the bill down in hopes to hide her eyes. With that, she exited the apartment, and then turned quickly around to lock the door. Once she had finished, she turned, and nearly tripped over a leg.
Izzy stood up straighter and cocked her head to the side as she pursed her lips, staring at the sleeping stranger she had encountered the night before. In all honesty, Izzy had forgotten about…oh, what was his name? Johnny, that’s right. Johnny something-or-other. But seeing him there reminded her of his statement. Apparently, he thought he was from the seventeen hundreds. Right. She leaned over him, thinking she may smell alcohol on him. However, it had faded into near-nothingness, though the smoke was still rich in his clothing. Which reminded her he had lent her his jacket the other night. Maybe that was what he was waiting for….
He actually didn’t look that bad, Izzy noticed as she continued to stare at him. In fact, now that she looked at him, he didn’t look that much like Jack Sparrow or Johnny Depp. Granted, he was tan and he had those irresistible bedroom eyes, but his hair was darker and shaggier, and yes, his cheekbones were high, but his face was a bit more angular than Jack’s. The lower half of his face held a five o’clock shadow; she highly doubted pirates (if he was, indeed, a pirate) had time to take care of his hygiene. He was taller than Jack too, about five to six inches taller, putting him at about six foot four, six foot five. And he had a bit more muscle on him. He was wearing what he’d had on last night, but at the angle Johnny was resting at, his tunic dipped and Izzy noticed a finely toned chest. And was that a scar?
“See something you like, darling?” Johnny asked with a disarming, mischievous smile though his eyes were still closed. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Oh, shut up,” Izzy said, turning around quickly in order to mask the bright blush that invaded her face. “I just didn’t actually think you would be sleeping outside my door is all.” She began to head down the stairs, which caused Johnny to open his eyes and spring up in order to catch up with her.
“Hey,” he called as he followed her down the stairway. “Where are you going?”
“To get breakfast,” Izzy replied, blinking a couple of times to get used to the sun before starting up walking once again. “Why are you following me?”
“I don’t know,” Johnny said, taking great care to keep up with the woman. “All I know is that I was just resting on me ship and now here I am. You’re the first thing I saw upon arriving here, and might I say, it was quite welcoming.” He smiled at her and she rolled her eyes, slipping through the crowds of tourists Balboa usually had, especially now that summer was fast approaching. Johnny cleared his throat. “Right, well I figured there was a reason I was sent to you, and I want to figure that out.”
Izzy stopped when she reached a local café that went by the name Little Big Planet, and glanced over at Johnny. “I’m having breakfast,” she said after a moment of hesitation. “If you want, you can join me.”
Johnny’s eyes lit up at the offer and he followed her over to a small table. The two sat down, and a waitress immediately came over and handed them menus before asking if they wanted anything to drink.
“Do you have wine?” Johnny asked hopefully, his brow pushed up.
“Don’t mind him,” Izzy told the waitress. “Just get him a coffee and I’ll take a milk, please.” When the waitress had departed, she narrowed her eyes at him. “You just can’t drink at nine in the morning. It looks bad, and it’s bad for you, too.”
“I happen to love wine, thank you very much,” Johnny responded crisply, crossing his arms over his chest. He began to people-watch while Iz
zy scanned her menu. “You know,” he said after a long moment, “I can’t seem to comprehend why the women here are all so…skinny.” He contorted his face in a manner of disgust. “I mean, where are the feminine curves, like yours? Did I miss something in the past three hundred years?”
“Did you just call me fat?” Izzy asked after a moment’s pause.
“What?” Johnny asked, his voice an octave higher than normal. “Now where would you come up with something as silly as that? I was complimenting you.”
Izzy opened her mouth to retort something when the waitress returned to take their order. Izzy asked for a chocolate croissant, and since Johnny wasn’t sure of the different food choices, he ordered one as well.
“Okay, so let’s pretend that I believe that you’re from the past or whatever,” Izzy said once the waitress was gone, narrowing her eyes at him. “Tell me about your life.”
“Well, I’m a pirate,” Johnny said, throwing his arms out as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I pillage and plunder and do roguish-type things. I think I’m wanted on three different continents, and have been nearly hanged twice. The sea is my first and only love, besides of course, my ship. I don’t seem to have very many allies because, for whatever reason, many people don’t trust me, though the number of people that consider me an enemy is quite staggering. Oh, and I love women, and they seem to reciprocate the feeling.”
Izzy stared at him for a long moment before shaking his head. “Right…” she began. “Well, if you’re going to, you know, remain in this time for a while, you should probably learn how to speak to women.”
“Darling, I am surprised!” Johnny said indignantly. “How could you not think I don’t know how to talk to women?”
To Believe a Buccaneer: A Scandalous Adventure at Seas Series Page 2
