Ocean of Memories

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Cora screeched loudly as our lips met. I almost joined her, but then something wonderful happened.

Electricity surged through my body as I gripped his shoulders. It was magic. Our lips felt like they were meant for one another, but I was more than the physical side of things. There was a connection through our lips and mouths, that went deeper. It went to our hearts. I could feel it, and he could feel it too.

He pulled away first, a little breathless. "Wow," he remarked.

"What?" I asked.

He studied my face. "For a first-class girl, you sure can kiss."

I laughed. "For a p-" My eyes widened at what I had almost said. "I-I mean, for a.. Person of limited means..."

He winked. "For a poor boy, you can say it."

Smiling, he and I turned to go and follow Cora. I expected him to let go of my hand, after all, the game was done. But Jack didn't. He continued holding it, and even though that was perfectly non-sensical and scandalous, it felt wonderful.

The truth was, I felt like myself around Jack. And I hadn't felt like that in a long, long time. I could feel my heart, still vibrating in my chest from the magical kiss we had shared. And I couldn't wait to see what we were about to do next.

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I was going perfectly crazy. I was sure of it. Why else would I be in steerage with a man I hardly knew (not to mention kissed), a little girl who insisted on me coming and a bunch of other passengers from multiple countries that I barely even knew. No one could really understand what one another were saying. And somehow that seemed okay.

Jack grabbed Cora's hand and my own and pulled us toward the front of the ship. The sun cast a magnificent sort of light on the deck, and on us.

"Look!" Cora cried loudly, and we both followed her fingers down into the water. "A dolphin!" She shrieked. I smiled brightly and Jack nudged me. "There's two! Three!"

They jumped out of the water like in a story. I wondered for a moment if today was a fairytale, Jack was the prince, I used to be a damsel in distress. I wondered if maybe he was secretly an angel. I wondered a lot of things, but mostly I wondered why I made myself feel the way I did when I looked at him.

Something came over me, and the funny thing is, it didn't make any sense whatsoever. I laid my head on his shoulder. It had truth and validity, but no logic. Yet somehow that seemed okay with Jack. It seemed okay to do the wildest things.

He squeezed my hand and my heart fluttered. For the past 12 years all I had thought about love was that it broke. It burned. It ended. But maybe that's not the truth about love at all. Maybe love is something that we need to just accept.

Jack whispered in my ear, "You know, I've only known you for a day."

I looked up at him and smiled. "I know." I paused, then bit my lip. "It doesn't matter."

He put his arm around me, and as he did so I realized something. This was the first time I didn't care what people thought of me- the first time in a long time.

I couldn't believe myself. But somehow, Jack made me feel like I could go anywhere, do anything- absolutely and completely fearless.