We had our first kiss during that dance, and never in my whole life had I been kissed the way Braden Miller kissed me. His hands tangled in my hair and his lips softly pressed against mine. He barely put any tongue into it, but it was the most erotic kiss I’d ever had, only ever matched by future kisses from Braden. I felt that kiss in every fibre of my body, and I knew then and there that I wanted every single thing he had to offer me.
I started to fall in love with him that night, propelled by the way he looked into my eyes and the way he kissed me.
Being in his arms again like this had me remembering all of the good times we had, every little romantic thing he’d do for me to show me that he cared. We had a lot of wonderful moments, before we fell apart.
Was it fair to completely shut him out for the one mistake he’d made during our time together? A mistake that had been made when he’d just lost his mother and was beside himself with grief?
Granted, it was a big mistake. Ahugemistake, and forgiving wouldn’t come easily, but Braden had made it perfectly clear that he’d be patient.
And in that particular moment, with his hands still on my hips and our bodies flush together; all I could think about was how badly I wanted to lose myself completely in him.
I wanted to turn off all of my fears and insecurities and escape into the way he loved me; into the way I loved him.
The song ended andFor The Outlawsby Moonshine Bandits kicked on, the bass vibrating the dance floor. Tessa screeched and ran at me, the grin on her face ecstatic. She dragged me to the centre of the oak floor, and we started rapping the verses back and forth. Braden watched us, an amused grin on his lips and his eyes lighting up.
Back in the day, this had been a regular occurrence, Tessa and I going nuts over songs we loved and singing like it was karaoke night at O’Riley’s bar. Braden would watch our antics with a bemused smile.
Every single body was on the dance floor, which wasn’t all that surprising considering the oldest guests invited were my mom and Tessa’s dad—and both of them could out dance us all.
They reminded us of that fact whenCountry Girl (Shake It)by Luke Bryan pumped out of the speakers and they started to do the cowboy boogie together, practically burning up the dance floor with their moves.
“Oh snap! Look at Dad and Sue! I think they’re challenging us to a dance off!” Tommy laughed into the microphone, the music fading as he spoke and returning as soon as he stopped.
Those of us brave enough to remain on the floor formed a line and joined in. I danced beside Tessa and Braden, with Brock on Tessa’s other side and Krista on Braden’s right. It was hard to keep up with Bill and Mom, but every single person on the dance floor was having a blast trying.
Mom’s experience came from years of beauty pageant concerts and dance competitions, so her talent didn’t surprise me. Luckily, she had passed on her love of dance—and her rhythm—to me. She’d enrolled me in dance classes as soon as I could walk, and I had no problem keeping up. Tessa struggled a little bit more, forever off rhythm by half a second, but she knew the routine like the back of her hand from years of dance parties in my living room whenever she slept over.
Bill though, Bill surprised me. “I didn’t know Papa Armstrong could dance!” I exclaimed to Tessa, delighted with the whole thing. She seemed every bit as surprised as I was by this development.
When Everly Daniels joined us on the dance floor, Tessa made room for her between us. She fell into step effortlessly, her gaze focused on her fiancé as he stood just off to the side. She kept motioning for him to join her, but he shook his head, an indulgent smile on his face as he held his hands up. “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that,” he joked, backing away to the sidelines.
We continued to dance, the songs rolling from one upbeat country tune to another. I only paused to down champagne when I got thirsty.
An hour, maybe even two hours, passed and Tessa’s dad stepped up to the microphone. The DJ stopped the music, and everyone turned to see what the big deal was. “Alright, now I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with theDance of the Unwed Sibling,” he started, pausing to let the words sink into the crowd.
“Hell no, Dad!” Gordon and Tommy’s protests came quickly, and Bill chuckled into the microphone, his eyes twinkling.
“This tradition was intended to embarrass the happy couple’s older, unwed siblings by forcing them to wear ugly socks while dancing to raise money for the bride and groom. Gordon and Tommy, Tessa’s older, unwed brothers, get your asses out on the dance floor. Sue’s got your ugly socks, hand knitted by Myrtle Henderson herself!” Bill grinned wickedly, scratching at his auburn beard. I snorted with laughter—Myrtle Henderson was nearly ninety-eight years old and still knitting up the storm. I think everybody in town had something hand knitted by Myrtle, myself included.
“Come on Dad!” Tommy grinned, shaking his head.
“Lord knows, you two knuckleheads have embarrassed Tessa enough, so it’s time she got some revenge. Your dancing skills should suffice.”
Gordon and Tommy tugged on the florescent coloured woollen socks while the opening rift forBoot Scootin’ Boogieplayed. Sue tossed fuzzy blue cowboy hats at them.
While they couldn’t dance, Gordon and Tommy certainly knew how to entertain. Guests were throwing down crisp bills like crazy. I clapped along with everyone else, praying that Tessa’s videographer was getting this all on film.
When I looked back out to the dance floor, I saw Braden laying down with a twenty-dollar bill between his teeth. Tommy saw him and danced his way over. He dropped down over top of Braden and did some kind of horrifying stripper inspired dance move, shaking his chest in Braden’s face before he leaned down and grabbed the bill with his own mouth.
I was doubled over, my stomach aching from laughing so hard.
“Was this your idea?” Tessa asked me, tears in her eyes, her cheeks flushed and glowing.
“Nope, I think it was all Bill,” I answered, lifting my eyebrows, impressed. “Possibly with a little help from my mom.”
Another two hours passed. The cake was cut, multiple bathroom trips with a drunk bride were made.
The champagne kept flowing, and I had gotten further and further away from the guilt I’d felt over Alex. It wasn’t that I no longer felt bad, because I did…but the alcohol just made me focus on thegoodthings, like how much fun I was having at Tessa’s wedding, with Braden, with the way he was looking at me, and the feeling of his hands on my body as we twirled around the dance floor to Lee Brice’sI Don’t Dance.
