Chapter 25

Harold Lowe's POV

Never.

Never had I laughed so much in one night.

All those other people aboard don't know what they're missing!

The music, the singing, the people.

Those factors combined to create a narcotic mixture of pure elation.

She collapsed into my arms, dizzy from all the spinning.

"Would you like to sit back down for a bit?" I gasped.

Jamie grinned and nodded in assent. "Yeah. That might be a good idea."

"Come on, you've already danced your little heart out."

We dropped upon the bench, trying to catch our breaths.

I felt so exhausted, but I was also at my happiest. With her...I just felt so...alive.

Joe jigged over to our seats and raised a thumb in congratulations.

"EXCELLENT. Just excellent, mates. I'm utterly speechless. You need to show me some of those moves-Harry...that-that flip! It was bloody brilliant!"

"Thanks," I nodded humbly.

He then turned to Jamie with a broad smile, "And YOU, little missy! You put the very professionals to shame. I worship the ground you walk on! Where did you learn to move like that?"

"My father - he loved to dance."

"Ah, then the man taught you well, dear."

He saluted a goodbye and wandered back to the violinists.

With a content sigh, Jamie emptied the last of her drink.

"How many glasses have you exactly had?" I questioned with a smile.

"Hmmm, I dunno. I'm still sober though, aren't I?"

"You tell me."

She smacked me in the arm gently, pealing with laughter.

"I just turned nineteen on the 10th of April, so I don't think a little celebratory drink would hurt."

The 10th? That was only two days ago...

"What? Why didn't you tell me? Happy belated birthday."

The angel grinned shyly and murmured a silent word of thanks.

Somewhere, a clock suddenly chimed two. Ah, if only I could freeze this moment for eternity.

"Goodness, you think we've had enough merriment for one night?"

"Too much merriment," she chuckled.

After a few greetings of goodbye, we made our way back to the officers' quarters.

"That flip really was impressive, by the way."

"My dad taught me when I was still young."

My dad. I haven't said that word in ages.

"Y'know, I don't know too much about you."

"There's nothing much to me."

She stopped to a standstill and glared at the waves roaring past below.

"Harry, I'm sure your life story could be turned into a silent film."

"Well, your story could become the next best-selling autobiography."

A gentle breeze chilled the air, but besides that, all was quiet.

The silence was overwhelming.

"Jamie? Are you alright?"

I noticed that she was trembling like a leaf.

Crossing over to her side, I saw tears running down those rosy cheeks. She looked so afraid. So frightened.

It was the same expression that she wore when I first met her, only this time, I could see no pursuers hunting her down.

"Jamie? Love, please, what's wrong?"

My heart was pounding vigorously. I was scared to death, myself.

Loosening her tight grip on the railing, I entwined my hand tightly in hers.

Suddenly, the glaze in her eyes melted away. She let out a sob, and threw her arms around me in an embrace.

She buried her face in my shoulder and let out a muffled cry.

"Harry...I'm scared. I'm scared that I'll lose you."

Lose me?

My knees gave way and we collapsed in a heap to the ground.

"Jamie, why would you ever be worried over such a thing?"

"You mean so much to me. So much. I've never cared for a person like this before. But every person I've ever cared about in the past...they always slipped right through my fingers...my mum, papa, Meg...If I were to lose you, I just couldn't-I couldn't imagine..."

She trailed off in another sob, her voice choking in the mass of tears.

"My Jamie...you worry over the silliest things. I'd never leave you. That'd be the death of me."

My fingers skimmed through her hair and down to the nape of her neck.

"Never...I'm never leaving your side, no matter how much I may annoy you. That's a promise you can expect me to keep."

Those sparkling sapphires emitted a glow similar to the lights of a lighthouse.

Her hand rested against my chest. Against my very heart.

Suddenly, our lips became one.

In that moment, nothing else in the world mattered.

The very ship could have sunk right beneath us, and we would've still been oblivious.

Heaven could have crashed from its domain, and we wouldn't have realized a thing.

There was only one fact that I was absolutely certain about.

Just as there will always be stars in the sky, I will always love Jamie Anderson.