Pirate Anthology deadline -- 23 hours and counting

At least, I think it's 23 hours. Website says deadline is May 23. Does that mean midnight on May 23 or midnight on May 24? Or noon, or 10 AM, or 3 PM on May 23?

I'm taking it to mean midnight on May 24, but here's the thing: I'm not quite done with the first draft. I'll have to make time for a very basic edit, I'll have no time at all to polish. So, do I

a) submit it tomorrow anyway, risking that they'll publish something that is less than my best work,

or

b) hang onto it, finish it, polish it, and save it for an opportunity at a later date?

If I choose 'a', I could be mucking up my reputation in the future. If I choose 'b', I may never have another chance.

How many times in a row can you say "bugger" before your head explodes?

working on short story -- panic setting in

I'm trying to write a pirate short story for the "Cross Bones" Dreamspinner anthology: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/pages.php?pID=7&CDpath=0 (sorry, I don't know how to do links in blogspot), and I'm 2700 words in with a 12,000 word limit, and no porn yet. Am I in trouble? The romantic leads don't even meet until over 1000 words in. Am I in trouble?? The deadline is May 23. AM I IN TROUBLE??!?!?

I've had the story pretty much mapped out on the hard drive and in my head for a few weeks, but I need to stop futzing around and write the damn thing. And then when I do, stuff changes.

Once I'd written the beginning, I thought I might cut most of it, but now I'm not sure, I might need it for later stuff to make sense. But it seems a long way in with no sexual tension yet, no first kiss yet, for a short story.

Eh, just needed to whine/vent.