Unexpected Harmony

Everyone clapped as the couple made their way to the center of the dance floor; once the clapping died down, the DJ started "Eyes on You," by Chase Rice. As they moved around the dance floor, Bryce smiled and couldn't help but think to himself how he wanted that someday. He smiled, then glanced towards Claire, and was surprised to see she had turned and was smiling at him too.

As the song ended, the crowd clapped, and Steve moved to stand beside the bridal party as the DJ requested Katherine's father come to the floor. As the music and lyrics of Bruce Springsteen's, "When You Need Me" filled the tent, Katherine and her father danced, causing many to tear up as Katherine's father did. With their song done, Steve moved back to the floor and shook his father-in-law's hand and kissed Katherine as his mom moved to the floor, and danced to The Beach Boys', "God Only Knows."

With the traditional dances done, the entire wedding party moved to the dance floor as the DJ announced that once the bridal party dance was done, dinner would be served. Claire grabbed his hand, and they made their way to the floor; she stopped and turned towards him, placing her hand on his upper back as she felt his arm wrap around her waist, gently pulling her closer. "You wanna do the junior high dance where there is room between us?"

Claire laughed as "I Get by with a Little Help from My Friends" began to play; he took ahold of her outstretched hand and said, "Nah, I think we can dance like adults." As he gently moved them in a small circle, she closed her eyes enjoying the moment. As the second chorus started, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. As she did, he quickly averted his eyes, which she quickly realized had been glancing down her dress. She glanced down at herself and realized the dress wasn't pulled up as far as it had been she looked back up at him and smirked, "If you let me pull my dress up, they look better."

Bryce's face turned to a look of horror and embarrassment as he stammered, "I'm...uhhhh...sorry. I didn't mean to stare."

She quickly glanced around and with her back to the crowd and them being closer to the DJ than the crowd, she rose up onto her toes, kissed him on the cheek, and said, "Don't apologize, it's fine...the compliment is nice."

Bryce wasn't sure what to say, but as she eased off her toes, she gently rested her head on his chest as he tightened his grip around her waist a bit as the song continued and they gently swayed to the music. As the song ended and the crowd clapped, they stepped away from each other and he smiled at her, "You're a pretty good dancer."

She smiled, "You're not so bad yourself." They each walked their separate ways and made their way to the bridal party table, taking their seats while the DJ explained dinner procedures, then making their way to the buffet for dinner."

***

The rest of the evening flew by with little chance for them to interact. After speeches by both fathers, Sara, then Sean, and the cake cutting, the party got started with the DJ transitioning from soft dinner music to dance and party music. Periodically they would catch each other looking at each other, smile at each other and then resume their conversations with other wedding guests. Bryce couldn't help but notice that as much as he would get caught looking over at her, he caught her just as much. These moments caused him to begin questioning her actions along with his own; as much as he tried to tell himself that she was just a friend looking out for him, her reaction when she caught him staring made him think it was something more. As the night slowly began to wind down and people began to trickle out, he promised himself that once the wedding was over, he would message her and see if they could spend some time together.

Around 10:15, he made his way down the hill slightly to the fire pit and he found Katherine's dad who got his attention. Bryce walked over and was offered a cigar from his traveling humidor. Bryce gladly accepted and after cutting and lighting the cigar, made his way over to one of the high-top tables and leaned against it, sipping his bourbon and enjoying the spicy smoke that filled his mouth. As he looked up at the stars and thought more about the "after" of the wedding, his thoughts were interrupted by Claire, "There you are, want some company?"

He turned and smiled, setting his cigar down in the ashtray, "What you mean there I am?"

"You disappeared; I was afraid you left."

He laughed, "Nah, I promised Steve I'd stay and help pack up."

"Awww, that's sweet. Kat said they have to get all the food and drink out tonight?"

He took a puff of the cigar, savoring the smoke, then making sure to blow the smoke away from Claire; he said, "Yeah, I think the plan is to load it in Steve's car, and his parents' car's, then they will get sorted out in the next few days."

He ashed his cigar and she looked at it, "So what is the point of these?"

He laughed, "It's a sophistication thing, plus the nicotine goes a long way for not inhaling."

She nodded her head, "My ex smoked on occasion, but they never looked like that, and they smelled terrible, that smells good."

"Well if his cigar choice was anything like his bourbon choice, they were probably shitty."

She laughed and gently took the cigar from his fingers as placed it between her lips, "Like this?"

Seeing her pink lips wrap around the cigar, his mind couldn't help but go to the gutter, so he simply nodded and said, "Just a little puff, don't inhale." As she drew the smoke into her mouth, he said, "Okay, now hold the smoke in your mouth for a few seconds before exhaling."

She listened to him and did as he said, before gently placing the cigar back in the ashtray, "Almost like biting into a peppercorn."

He smiled and offered her a sip of his drink, and picked up the cigar back up, "Yeah, this one is peppery, the ones I usually smoke are a little smoother, but they are cheaper than this one." She laughed as he placed the cigar back between his lips, but before he could draw, the taste of her strawberry lip balm flooded his mouth, causing him to smile and wonder briefly what her lips would taste like on his.

As they stood looking at the stars, Claire smiled and said, "It's so pretty out here. Back home, it is too bright to see the stars."

Bryce couldn't help but look from the stars to her, "That it is. Claire, about earlier, I'm truly sorry."

She laughed, "For what? Looking down my dress? Like I told you, I appreciate the compliment, most guys anymore see me as a mom, which I am, and wouldn't trade that for the world, but it is nice to be appreciated as a woman too."

He nodded, "You are more than just a mother, you're a beautiful woman."

She laughed and stole another drink from his cup, then squeezed his arm, "Thanks, that means a lot."

They spent the next 20 minutes talking about Bryce's job as a software engineer which was becoming more of a supervisory role, rather than the code writing he loved, then shifted towards her job as a child advocate for the federal court district. Their conversation flowed naturally into life, talking about aspects of Claire's divorce and Bryce's break up; never feeling like they were forcing anything. As the clock neared 11, the DJ started "Don't Stop Believing," the song they both knew was the last of the evening. They began to make their way to the tent, Bryce placed his hand in the small of Claire's back as she passed, guiding her up the dark walk, and causing her to sigh, thinking to herself, "That feels nice."

With the last song over, they immediately transitioned into clean up. The groomsmen all began to carry the leftover alcohol up to the kitchen area where it would be loaded into the cars and the bridesmaids began to clear centerpieces and linens. By 11:30, the site looked like a wedding had never occurred, which caused everyone to begin loading the vehicles so things could be taken back to Steve and Katherine's and also Steve's parents. In another 10 minutes all of the food and drinks were loaded, and the hotel's shuttle arrived for the last trip.

Bryce began to look around for Claire and found her down at the parking lot talking to Katherine and Steve. As he walked up, he heard Katherine say, "Why won't you just stay the night?"

"It's only 3 hours and I quit drinking 2 hours ago."

"But you don't even have to get back for the boys."

"I know, but I can get up in the morning and get things done before they get dropped off."

Bryce walked up, "Everything okay?"

Katherine sighed, "Maybe you can convince her to stay. She's gonna drive home tonight."

"Seriously? Still? You won't get home until like 2:30."

"Seriously guys, I'm fine. How about I text you both when I get home."

Unsure of how far to push it, Bryce gave her a concerned look, "Are you sure you're okay? I'm sure you can get a room tonight at the hotel. Hell, I'll even pay for it."

Claire laughed as Katherine pointed at Bryce as if to say, "See he's right."

"I promise you; I am fine. Now let me leave so I can get home at a somewhat reasonable hour."

Katherine shook her head and hugged Claire, "PLEASE be careful and text me as soon as you get home."

"Alright, Alright. You are a beautiful bride!" She moved onto Steve hugging him, "You take care of my girl, you got it?"

Steve chuckled, "I know, or you'll cut my balls off."

"Exactly."

Katherine headed off to change out of her wedding dress as Claire turned to Bryce. She hugged him, and said, "Thank you for a wonderful couple days, and for being such a great guy. There's hope for the male population yet."

He gave her a squeeze, "You sure I can't convince you to stay tonight?"

"No, I'm fine, now I gotta go."

"Text me when you get home?"

She let out an exasperated, "Yes." as she made her way to her car and headed out of the parking lot.

As Bryce stood there, Steve stood even with him, "You two seemed to hit it off."

"She's a cool chick."

Steve nodded, "That she is, she deserves a good guy, I'm sure she'll find someone." Steve slapped him on the back as they made their way back towards his car, "Maybe she already met him."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Kat stuck her with you rather than Dave after her divorce for a reason. She's trying to play matchmaker."

"But I was with Michelle at the wedding shower?"

Steve shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno what to tell you, but Kat seems to think you two would work, and we both know how she is when she gets something in her head. Now help me get these last things in the car and then get on the shuttle."

***

The shuttle ride back to the hotel was about 10 minutes; Bryce said goodnight to everyone, promising to meet some of the groomsmen for breakfast around 11, before they all headed their separate ways. He rode the elevator to his room and pulled his jacket off and emptied his pockets; while he was in the bathroom, his phone started ringing, but because it had only been half an hour since Claire left, he didn't think too much about it, letting it ring. The ringing stopped and within 10 seconds it started again, so he walked out of the bathroom and picked his phone up off the charger and it said, "Claire Miller '' on the caller ID.

"Is everything okay?"

"NO! It's not okay!"

"What's wrong?"

"I've got a fucking flat tire, and I can't get it changed in this damn dress."

Grabbing his wallet and keys, Bryce headed for the door, "Okay, where are you?"

"I'm a couple miles past where 93 crosses 72."

"Okay, get back in your car and then send me your location."

He could hear her starting to sob a little, "Are you coming?"

"Yes, it'll be okay Claire, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thank you Bryce."

"If anyone stops behind you, call me and put it on speaker."

"Okay, see you soon."

As Bryce reached his truck, his phone lit up with a text from Claire with her location, he saw that it was only 20 miles from the hotel, but considering it was now a little after midnight, he figured he could get there in about 15 minutes max; he started his truck and with a squeal of tires, he sped out of the lot, making his way towards the location on his phone.

As he passed through the stoplight at the junction of 93 and 72, his navigation let him know that he was a little over a mile from Claire's location. He slowed down and as he made it around the next corner, his headlights picked up her light blue Subaru on the shoulder. He pulled in behind her, shutting his truck off, and got out, approaching her car. He saw movement in the front seat, then the door swung open, and she stepped out, jogging up to him and hugging him.

"Thank you so much for coming."

He hugged her back, "You're welcome. I'm not one to turn down a damsel in distress."

She softly sobbed against him and said, "I just couldn't get the jack or the tire out of the trunk, and I'm in my dress makes it too hard to bend over and I just couldn't do it!"

He softly rubbed her back, "Shhh, you're okay, we will get it taken care of."

She nodded against him, feeling a slight shiver run through her body at his touch as he pressed against her and rubbed her back, "I probably should let you go so you can change it."

"Probably or eventually someone is going to stop and ask questions." She chuckled and let him go and he said, "Okay go ahead and pop your trunk, I'm going to turn my truck back on, so we have light." They went their separate ways, him turning on his headlights and her popping the trunk and starting to pull things out of it. As she pulled things aside, her dress pulled tight against her body, and he couldn't help but stare, but quickly shook it off, wanting to get the tire changed as soon as possible.

About 10 minutes after getting there, he had the tire changed, found a nail in the tread of the flat, and had it loaded in her trunk, telling her to get it fixed as soon as possible because she didn't need to be running around on her donut for too long.

Looking down at her watch she sighed, "Damn it's late, I should have been halfway home by now."

Bryce was wiping his hands off on a rag from his truck and glanced at his watch, seeing that it was now 12:45; he frowned and said, "You're not going to get home until 4". She nodded slightly and he continued, "Why don't you come back to the hotel, I'll pay for your room."

Claire thought about arguing, but realized how tired she was and said, "Maybe you're right, I can get my own room though."

"Thank you. Whatever works for you, I know I'll feel a lot better if you're not driving this late."

"Okay, can I follow you?"

"Sure, I'll see you there."

They made the 20-minute drive back to the hotel and after parking, Bryce waited for Claire to gather her things. She appeared carrying her purse, her dress bag, and a backpack. Bryce remarked, "That all you got?"

"Yeah, I wasn't planning on another night." Bryce nodded, they walked up to the desk and Claire asked if she could get a room for the rest of the night.

The clerk tapped at her keyboard for a moment then frowned, then tapped a few more times before looking up, "I'm sorry ma'am, but we are all booked up for the night."

Bryce spoke up, "Really? The entire hotel?"

The clerk nodded, "Afraid so, there are two weddings this weekend, along with normal tourists hiking and looking at leaves."

Claire sighed, "Just wonderful..."

Bryce turned to her, "I have a king size bed and a recliner, you can stay with me."

"I couldn't do that to you."

"It's fine, you can sleep in the bed, and I'll crash in the recliner."

Claire thought it over in her head and the clerk looked between them before saying, "Do you know this man?"

Bryce was taken aback and looked at the clerk sideways, but before he could speak, Claire laughed and nodded her head yes, "We were in one of those weddings, he's my groomsman."

"Okay, just making sure."

"I appreciate that, but he is harmless. Is there a problem if I stay with him tonight."

"No ma'am, all of our rates are based on double occupancy, so you'd be fine."

Claire turned to Bryce with a smile, "Well, lead the way."

They made their way to the elevator, riding it to the 4th floor, then made their way down the hall to Bryce's room. Once inside he flipped the lights on and then walked to the recliner and moved his suitcase to the floor. He heard Claire groan and say "Ugh!"

He turned to find her laying on the bed with her feet on the floor. He chuckled, "You gonna make it?"

"Yes, I should have listened to you and Kat earlier, then I wouldn't be in this mess."

He shook his head and sat down beside her on the bed, "Mess? Am I really that bad?

She lifted her arm and smacked him on the back and said, "Oh shut up, you know what I mean."

They sat quietly for a moment before Bryce stood up, "If you give me 5 minutes to shower, I can be out of the way if you want to shower tonight."

"That sounds wonderful." Bryce hurriedly gathered a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that had been folded on the pillow and made his way into the bathroom. When the shower turned on, Claire willed herself to get up and begin sorting things out. She found her toiletries and found a pair of leggings and a t-shirt to sleep in, but after holding the t-shirt up, she said, "Fuck." The shirt was an old one from college and it was getting a little thin and she only had the regular bra that she had worn to the rehearsal, and she wasn't going to sleep in that. She thought to herself, "This night just keeps getting better." She figured it was only for a few hours, she would just make the best out of it.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the bathroom door opening and Bryce saying, "All yours." She turned to find him shirtless, drying his hair. She whistled playfully at him, he laughed and tossed his towel at her, causing her to laugh.

They passed and she stopped him by gently touching his arm, "Thanks again for letting me stay."

He smiled softly at her, "No problem."

She walked into the bathroom, shut the door, and set her toiletries on the counter. She found a fresh towel that Bryce had set out on the back of the toilet, causing her to smile and think, "That was nice." She turned, looking over shoulder and thinking about all of the bobby pins in her hair, then looking down at her clothes, she took a deep breath and called out, "Bryce?"

She heard him walk to the door, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, but I have a couple favors..."

"Okay?"

"I only have leggings and a t-shirt, do you by chance have a pair of shorts I can sleep in?"

"Ummm, hold on, let me go check." She heard him step away then return a few seconds later, "I don't sorry. I have a spare pair of boxers since I pack like I'm going to shit myself every day."

She laughed loudly, "That's hilarious, those will work. The second favor, can you come in here?"

"In the bathroom?"

"Yes silly, I'm still dressed, but I need help."

There was silence for a moment, as Bryce tried to process what she had asked. She was beautiful and she was now asking him to come into the bathroom with her. He didn't sleep in boxers, so he just had gym shorts on, and considering it had been over a month since he had had sex, he was worried about getting an erection and offending her. He finally spoke, "Yeah, give me a sec."

When he finally opened the door, he saw her standing, facing the shower with her back to him. She turned slightly and smiled as he handed her the blue plaid boxers. "Those will work, thank you. Now, I need help getting my hair out, I don't know how many bobby pins are holding it up."

"Alright, what is the easiest way to do it?"

She looked around before saying, "Probably if I sit backwards on the toilet, you'll be looking down and be able to see them all."

He nodded, and she sat down on the toilet, allowing her leg to slip through the slit in her dress, showing off most of her thigh. Bryce felt a slight hitch in his breath and felt his cock begin to stir at the sight of her smooth leg; he began to think about dead puppies and football, attempting to will his cock to relax as he spent the next few minutes pulling 15 bobby pins from her hair, and with the last one, her hair fell into its natural waviness. He lifted it up and gently ran his hands through it, causing the scent of shampoo and hairspray to fill the room and her to sigh at the feeling. He smiled and said, "I think that is it."