It took him seventy-three minutes to stand up and walk over to her. Nine dance partners. Ten songs.

The boy in the blue tie had asked her twice.

Seventy-three minutes of feeling his eyes on her. Not minding that they were.

She stopped when she felt him beside her. Her skirt fell against her legs. Swirled out when she turned to him.

She was panting. Still smiling. Her heart was pounding and she was alive. Brought to life like Wash was tonight.

His arms were folded across his chest, making the shoulders of his jacket strain. His sheep’s clothing was about to burst.

He wasn’t looking at her. He was looking around the room. “Ain’t one girl here purdy enough to dance with who ain’t already with someone.”

River looked over her shoulder to follow his eyes.

Kaylee was standing at the buffet table with Simon, laughing. They were eating strawberries.

She looked back at him.

He was looking at her now. “You’ve been with someone since you walked in the door. Got sick a’ waitin’ my turn.”

He cleared his throat.

She smiled.

Then she took his hand.

***

If there was one thing that Jayne knew how to do, it was to kill a man. If there were two, it was to kill a man and to…

Well, the third was how to dance.

Not that refined kind of shuffle-shuffle dance that they taught you in finishin’ school or wherever the doc had gone. Jayne’s dancin’ was the grab an’ swing kind. The fun kind. The kind that brought River up against him real nice an’ made her skirt swing out when she went away again. The kind that made a body feel like they was either flyin’ or fallin’ or both, but it was great either way.

He was pretty certain that more’n a few eyes were on the two of ‘em. Mal an’ Zoe had seen him dance before, but they was the only ones.

An’ he knew he didn’ exactly look like a twinkle toes.

Didn’ seem to surprise River, though. She kept up with him real nice, smilin’ an’ laughin’. She had taken out the comb that was holdin’ her hair back. The way she’d been danc