n the third night, the thief returns to the princess. He made her a promise, after all. And a promise you make to a magical princess living in a tower is a sacred, special promise,” I tell Alexa, immediately getting into my story.
I’m sitting in the dark corner of an airport bar, sipping on a Coke. It’s not a major connection, so there isn’t a lot of people here. Hell, the bartender looks positively annoyed he’s working tonight, and worse, he’s looking like he’s upset I’m here, sitting in his bar, ordering his drinks, reminding him of the futility of his job.
It’s good to be back in the States. Real service-oriented people, us.
I focus on Alexa. “In the dead of night, the thief takes the long, hard trek to her high, faraway tower, and he makes the dangerous climb up to her window.
“This time, there are no snares, only the princess, waiting for him. And still as radiant and beautiful as ever. Try as he might to focus on his mission to steal her fabulous jewel, his eyes feast on her beauty.
“She’s delighted to see him return, and she comes to greet him when he arrives, hugging him tight. Her beauty ignites him yet again, and the horny thief immediately wants to take her to bed.
“But the princess makes him wait and tells him that she must explain something to him. So he listens.
“The princess begins, ‘I have been imprisoned. Forced to stay here by my wicked father,’ she says, and she begins to tell the thief about her life. ‘He wanted to keep me here, all by myself, so no man could come and claim me.’ But the problem is, now that she’s known the love of the thief, she can never again go back to the life that she knew before. She knows now that she could never be happy. That before, she only thought that she was happy. Now she knows that she wasn’t.
“And then she takes his hand and leads him back to the cushions and throws of her big, soft bed. She invites him, entreats him to make love with her, and by this time, he doesn’t need a lot of encouragement. Our thief is pretty completely encouraged. This time their lovemaking is even more powerful, more romantic. She’s taken the thief’s heart, like this.”
Alexa approves. “Very sweet. Lucky him.” She murmurs.
“Or lucky her,” I suggest. “After all, he wasn’t the one who’s been a prisoner all his life.”
“Fair point there.” I hear a sigh.
“When they reach the most ecstatic moment together and the fall into each other’s warm embrace, their lovemaking is complete and they’re left with nothing but arms of tenderness. They lie back in the billows of her bed, sweating, panting, used up but content to have one another. She sits up slowly and says, ‘as you have managed to please me so much, I will allow you to take any one thing you wish from this tower. There are all manners of treasures here, lavish gifts from my father hoping to buy my silence and consent. You can have anything you desire here, but only one thing.’
“The thief already knows that the princess’ belongings are so unbelievably luxurious that just from this room alone, her possessions could make him as wealthy as a king in an exotic, foreign land. His eyes sweep the room with the trained gaze of a professional thief, all too used to assessing the value of items on the fly.
“Yes, there’s the jewel, the special jewel he coveted for such a long time but if the princess means what she said about him having any one thing he wants, then surely there could be something even more valuable in here than the jewel.
“Furthermore, he knows that princes from all over the world have tried to earn her love, sending her gold, and precious gems, hoping to impress her. The princess shows a remarkable disdain for these worldly goods. The thief feels almost greedy, staring at every single thing in front of him. This will easily be the most rewarding heist in his life — and he wouldn’t even need to steal anything, he’s being gifted it.”
Alexa interrupts, and she sounds rapt in attention. “I bet there’s a catch somewhere.”
“No catch, at least none that the thief can spot. He knows the princess, he’s the one man who’s managed to get in this close with her, even if they’ve only known each other for two nights. He can sense that she’s being truthful here.”
“Oh, man, then I was right, he’s the lucky one,” Alexa triumphantly says.
“Okay, okay. So yeah. The thief slowly stands up, as the princess stretches her arms out, telling him he can have anything he wants. And what does he want? Well…”
I pause and lick my lips, enjoying the suspense that I’ve plotted just for this story.
Alexa tuts in disapproval. “That wasn’t even as long as the previous parts of the story, Jagger! You can’t stop there.”
“Oh, but, I can,” I tell her firmly. “Shhh. Do you want the story or not? If you do, you’re going to have to wait a little longer. Another night. After all, I’m already in the States again, I’ll be flying back into the city soon. Consider this untimely break a chance for me to recharge my batteries.”
She’s so cute when she’s denied her story. “The ending’s really obvious, anyway,” she says, raising her voice in faded outrage. “You might as well tell me now.”
“Oh? Maybe there’s a twist ending,” I suggest. “We could hear the rest of the story over drinks at this new cocktail bar I’d like to check out, down on Teller Street. Been there before?”
“No,” Alexa laughs. “That sounds fancy.”
I raise an eyebrow. “I didn’t think there was anything that would strike you as fancy.”
There’s a pause on the other line, but eventually Alexa says, “I want you to tell me the rest of the story. That’s non-negotiable.”
“Alright, alright, fine. I guess I’m going to have to order another Coke. I’m sitting in an airport bar and I feel like the bartender hates me.”
She laughs. “I bet he does. Hates how good-looking you are, too.”
“If you think you’re so clever, why don’t you tell me how the rest of the story goes?” I prompt Alexa.
“Of course, the thief makes a big fuss about wanting every single item in the place, but even his greedy ass is smart enough to know that his heart’s desire is sitting in bed next to him. He picks the princess, of course, and they run off together, living happily ever after,” Alexa finishes for me.
“Not quite. I mean, he does pick her, yeah, but they’re still stuck in a tower! He’s got to carry her down the climb down. It’s a dangerous one, made even more risky by the fact that he’s carrying her on his shoulders but, in the end what matters is that he has the most precious treasure in the room. Her.”
“So exactly what I said, then,” Alexa giggles.
“And then, they lived happily ever after.”
“Sounds to me like he only took her so he can ransom her off,” Alexa says, the giggles getting to her again. “You know, that was a way better story. Obvious as day, but I liked it a lot. And this one really was a love story. Thank you, Jagger.”
“You’re very welcome. Now that I’ve told you another story, you’ve got to give me an answer. Will I get to see you again?”
“Not for many years, not until a thief comes to rescue me from this tower,” Alexa jokes, her usual trick to deflect something like this. “Okay, fine. Yes, I’d like to see you again. If you want to.”
“Of course I want to, that’s why I asked,” I counter.
She sounds happy and excited, but I end up thinking about how she was at the beginning of the call. Something was bothering her, alright, even if she tried to play it off as just having a lot of thoughts. I know I care about her — something that people who know me would not always expect that I do about women I desire — but her being bothered bothers me, too. Still, it’s her business. If she doesn’t want to talk about it, I’m not going to push.
“I’m thinking about how you told me that first story and we ended up, you know… playing on the phone together. Adult play,” Alexa flirts. “Do you think we might do that again? Not on the phone, but in person.”
“Pretty sure I’d rather be atop you, pinning you down, and kissing you all over, rather than detachedly rubbing my cock as you watch,” I tell her.
“Sounds hot to me, actually,” Alexa laughs. “I mean it.”
“Okay, damn. You’re a wilder, kinkier girl than I realized.”
“Than you realized?!” Alexa practically yells. “You’re lying if you say that you only discovered that now.”
“Hah!” I laugh. “You’re right. Fuck. Goddamn, now you’ve got me wishing that I wasn’t at this bar, getting ogled at by the bored bartender.”
“It’s for the better, really,” Alexa answers. “I’m going to bed now. You should get some sleep, too. Captains can’t play if they’re tired.”
Imagining her right now, I’m envisioning her in a large, lush bed, wearing just a silk nightgown, biting her lip as she presses her phone to her ear, whispering these sweet suggestions. Goddamn.
“That’s a worthwhile point,” I tell her. “I need some sleep, and so do you. Let’s call it a night. So it’s concrete, right? I’ll see you when I’m back?”
“Yes,” Alexa says, “I’m looking forward to it,” but her pause seems odd when she tells me, “Goodnight. Captain.”