He took hold of my hand and together we hurried to a spot near the band where other couples held one another close and did a bouncy sort of strut in unison. "I have to put my arm around your waist; is that okay?" he checked.
I hoped to high heaven that I wasn't blushing as I nodded that it was fine—much better than fine. He held me so close that we were cheek to cheek, ankle to ankle. The dance was fast which didn't leave time to feel too awkward and before I knew it I was smiling so hard that my face ached a little. At one point Thad began turning us in dizzying spins without ever letting go of his hold of me.
How had I come to this? This morning I'd expected a quiet day. Now I was on the greatest luxury liner of all time, out in themiddle of the ocean, spinning joyfully in the arms of the person I'd been longing for over the last seven months.
Everything was perfect.
Excerpted from A Novel of the Titanic by Suzanne Weyn
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