Scrolling through my newsfeed one day, I came across a picture of Tom in a tux (looked like one to me). He had the sun's glow just framing him, and it inspired me.
This is a one shot, and not going to be continued.
Her eyes scanned the gathered crowd. Her heart hammered in her chest. So many people, and they were all here for this special day. She was a heartbeat away from a panic attack, and then she saw him. He stood there, clad in a black tux; dark blond curls tamed for once; blue eyes gazing at her, only at her. All her fears faded away at the tenderness and love in that gaze. As she watched him, even the setting sun embraced him, framing him in waves of gold. Familiar strains filled her ears, and she moved toward him. All the faces around her were a blur. There was only him. He waited for her.
When her steps finally reached him and the bouquet was handed away, he took her trembling and chilled hands in his. He brought each in turn to his lips and pressed a soft kiss over her knuckles. Blue eyes held her dark ones. “You are so beautiful, my love,” he whispered.
Heat flooded her cheeks, and his smile widened. She smiled back. “Every bride is beautiful on her wedding day,” she breathed.
He gently shook his head. “Today and every day, darling,” he replied.
“Excuse me.”
The lightly accented voice pulled Jessica out of her daydream. She blinked, finding one of the groomsmen struggling to make his way through the crowd. Every other word was an apology as he made his way, “Pardon me…so sorry…excuse me…”
Jessica wondered how many of the women were doing it on purpose, boxing him in and making it nigh impossible for him to navigate through them. He was the man from her little daydream: dark blond hair, blue eyes, and drop dead gorgeous. She’d been all too briefly paired with him as they’d walked up and down the aisle as groomsman and bridesmaid. He’d been so politely conscious of her…focused on walking with her, smiling at her. It was no wonder her thoughts had gotten the better of her.
Not that she was a slouch or anything. Her long dark brown hair hung down her back in a silky rope; the color stark against the peach chiffon of her ridiculous bridesmaid’s dress. Her skin was a touch too pale for the peach, but she was passable nonetheless, even if she did feel a bit washed out.
They had him surrounded now. She had a flashback to the old wildlife shows her parents had made her watch. ‘The lionesses have surrounded their prey, and are now toying with him. See how the ruby claws idly toy with his outer covering. Let’s watch and see how long he lasts before trying to bolt, and they pounce.’
He was still smiling, but it seemed a bit more forced. He didn’t look panicked, not yet, but they were closing ranks. Feeling suddenly inspired, she snatched another flute of champagne from a passing waiter, and headed into the fray.
“Tom! Dear! There you are!” she cried, not so easily wading among the pastel-clad predators to catch his arm.
He looked over at her, and the relief in his expression was her undoing. “Jess! I was looking for you!”
He remembered her name.
They’d met very briefly only just before the ceremony. Jessica had been volunteered to stand in for Marina, another bridesmaid who’d chosen that untimely moment to have her appendix burst. She’d been summarily stripped of her gown, and Jessica had been shoved into it with so many pins tucking it in, every breath risked a bloodletting.
He remembered her name!
Shoving that revelation aside, she handed him one of the flutes she held, and latched onto his arm like a leech. “Thank God! Thought I’d lost you in this crush,” she exclaimed. “Looks like Liz needs us for more pictures. Something about doing some kind of themed…thing,” she finished lamely, rolling her eyes.
Tom grinned, and nodded at the women surrounding them. “Sorry ladies,” he said, edging away from them with Jess on his arm, “but duty calls.”
As they started to move in once more, Jess took the initiative and stepped not too delicately on the dainty foot of one of the predators. This caused the woman to list dangerously to one side, and as Jess tugged a chuckling Tom after her, she called, “So sorry!”
When they were clear of the pastel predators and had a moment for breath, Tom smiled down at her. “I can’t thank you enough, Jess.”
A few witty comments sprang to her lips:
I can think of several ways.
You know me, always ready to save a god in distress.
I did it solely to have your virtue at my mercy! (This said with a Dick Dastardly grin and twirling an invisible mustache.)
All she could say was, “You remembered my name.”
His smile softened. “How could I not?” he asked, gently caressing her flushed cheek, “You are the heroine who saved the wedding by donning that horrid gown, saved me from walking alone down the aisle, and,” he paused, tipping her chin back up when she glanced away from his blue gaze, “saved me from that group back there.”
“You make me sound…” Jessica shook her head, and his hand slid from her cheek to her neck, making her shiver, “I’m nobody special.”
“Ah, but you are,” he said softly, that smile never leaving his lips. He paused, listening as the music changed. He took the champagne flute out of her hand and set it with his on a nearby table. “Dance with me,” he insisted, taking both her hands and leading her toward the dance floor.
The bride and groom had already had their first dance together to the song “We’ve Only Just Begun.” The song currently playing was a soft piano, and Jessica couldn’t place it even as Tom was leading her to the floor. “Wait,” she dug in her heels.
“Why?” He tugged harder on her hands.
She was shaking her head. “The dress…all pinned up…”
He grinned, and her reservations melted along with everything inside her. She didn’t care if every single pin in her dress drew blood so long as she could be in his arms on the dance floor just one time.
Tom swept her onto the dance floor, one hand carefully at her waist while the other clasped her hand. They moved to the music, and he sang softly, “Someday…when I’m awfully low…when the world is cold…I will feel a glow just thinking of you…and the way you look tonight.”
He twirled her around the dance floor. Jessica had no idea whether or not anyone else was dancing, and she didn’t particularly care either. She was in his arms; lost in the feel of his hard body against hers and the scent of him, citrus and spice and male, made her head spin.
“Oh, but you’re lovely,” he leaned his forehead against hers. “With your smile so warm and your cheek so soft…there is nothing for me, but to love you…just the way you look tonight.”
She stumbled a step, but he caught her, making it look like a part of the dance.
“With each word your tenderness grows…tearing my fear apart…and that laugh that wrinkles your nose, it touches my foolish heart,” Tom sang, his body close against hers as he danced with her.
She laughed softly in spite of herself. She smiled up at him, and had the brief satisfaction of watching his eyes widen slightly before his smile warmed her to her soul.
“Lovely, never never change…keep that breathless charm…won’t you please arrange it because I…” he leaned close, his lips a breath from her ear, “I love you…just the way you look tonight…” he pulled back, his blue eyes staring deep into hers. “Just the way…you look…tonight.”
The last chords of the piano died away, and Jessica stood locked in Tom’s gaze. His arm at her waist pulled her closer still. His breath was warm on her cheek as he kissed her tenderly. “Thank you for the dance,” he whispered in her ear before pulling back. He led her off the dance floor to a nearby table.
She stared up at him. “Thank you,” she whispered back, one bold hand lifted then hesitated before lightly caressing his cheek. She cleared her throat. “Watch out for the pastel predators,” she warned, seeing him glance around. His date, surely he had one, must be missing him by now.
Tom took her hands in his. He brought each to his lips and pressed a soft kiss across her knuckles. “I’m sure you’ll be there to save me.” He smiled, let her hands go, and with one last bow, turned and disappeared into the crowded reception.
Her knees finally gave out, and Jessica collapsed into one of the chairs at the table. She glanced through the crowd, and found him with the bride and groom. She couldn’t help the smile.
“Did you see him dance with her? Her, of all people? She wasn’t even supposed to be in the wedding. Poor Marina, I wonder how she made it through surgery.”
Jessica caught the words, and spied two of the women who had been part of the pack that had cornered Tom earlier. The never noticed her sitting there as they walked through the tables, turning their snark on the table settings and the oiliness of the whipped cream on the wedding cake.
I’m really not special, she thought, turning back in the direction Tom had gone, but he was no longer with the bride and groom. She sighed. But for a little while, she thought, you made me feel that way.
Giving herself a mental shake, Jessica signaled a passing waiter, and liberated a glass of champagne. She downed it in one gulp.
“I have another if you like.”
Jessica gulped in air and promptly choked on the last of the champagne. Tom was walking toward her, two glasses of champagne in hand. “I thought…”
He set the glass in front of her and sat beside her. “That we could share another dance in a bit?” he finished for her, grinning. She swallowed her doubt and nodded back, smiling. “Good.” He took a sip of his champagne. “Drink up!” He nudged the glass toward her.
She picked up the glass, and clinked it against his. “Cheers.”
“To us,” he corrected, grinning.
A blush heated her cheeks as she sipped, watching him sip his own champagne. The music changed to something more upbeat, and he set his glass on the table. “Dance with me again?” Tom asked, his grin widening.
Jessica felt herself grinning back, set her glass on the table, and let him lead her back onto the dance floor.
The End
Song is The Way You Look Tonight by Tony Bennett