Dance For It

5

The next two weeks went by in a whirl of wedding preparations. I had missed most of the planning, but I had to attend various practice events. Why was it necessary to practice for a wedding? I didn't get it. I also had to prepare my speech. Dexter as the best man would be performing a song, so the speech part had been left to me. Admittedly I was very nervous, but the good thing was that all the people at the wedding would be people I knew, so they would forgive me if I made a mistake; at least I hope they would.

All the bridesmaids had picked up their dresses, which were made of a pink satin, and three days before the wedding we had a bachelorette party, followed by a full day at the spa to get out hair and nails done. While the party had been fun, it hadn't been anything spectacular. In other words, no male strippers or getting wildly drunk. We spent the night at Amelia's house and pretty much had a good old-fashioned slumber party. We exchanged embarrassing stories, predicted who would get married next, watched a bunch of old movies, and ate mountains of popcorn. It was a blast.

Unfortunately, during the preparation time, Dex and I hadn't had a lot of time to work at the pool, so most of the work had fallen onto my mom, Tyke and Sammy's shoulders. When Dex and I did meet at the pool shortly before the wedding, we just gave each other a knowing look.

"Hunter is my best friend, so I really shouldn't say this, but-"

"You don't need to say anything," I interrupted, "I know exactly what you're thinking." That was that we would be happy for the preparations to finally be over.

Finally, the day of the wedding arrived. We all gathered in church in the morning, and after the ceremony, we moved to a large barn that was the preferred wedding venue in our town. It had been beautifully decorated to suit a country wedding. The mood finally relaxed, as people began to eat lunch and also drink champagne. However, I was still nervous as I hadn't given my speech yet. It didn't help that right as I went up on stage, I spotted Tyson, in a sleek black suit entering the building and taking a seat in the back. So, he had decided to join after all.

"Ladies and gentlemen," I started, and all the attention turned to me. "I'm sure you're all surprised to see me up here on stage, as it's usually the best man who gives a speech at weddings, but you'll be in for a surprise from him later, so I've been asked to give a speech instead. Naturally, I'm honored to do so.
It seems like just yesterday that I witnessed the first day Amelia and Hunter met. Perhaps the story isn't familiar to all of you, so I'd like to share it with all of you today. It was our first day as sophomores in high school, and Amelia really wanted to try out for the cheerleading team. As her best friend, I decided to accompany her to the tryouts on the football field. There were already some boys on the field, tossing a ball to each other. I'm pretty sure they just secretly wanted to see the girls trying out, but I'll let you decide what to think. So, as Amelia was going through the routine, one of the boys must have been so distracted by her beauty, that instead of throwing the ball to his partner, he threw it towards the cheerleaders with such force that it hit Amelia square in the head, and she nearly passed out. That man, ladies and gentlemen, was our very own Hunter. While I wouldn't recommend throwing balls at your love interest, if it weren't for that fateful throw, we all wouldn't be here today. What can I say, it was love at first hit."

The crowd laughed as I got to the conclusion of the speech, "All jokes aside, I wish my two dear friends all the best for their future. May your love remain as strong as Hunter's throwing arm, and may our next gathering be the christening of your children. I love you both. Thank you."

The crowd clapped and cheered as I stepped down from the stage, feeling slightly shaky in my low heels. Amelia, who had tears in her eyes came over to give me a tight hug. "Thank you honey; that was beautiful," she told me, trying not to smudge her makeup.

Hunter also gave me a hug and a kiss on the check, "Thank you Piper. Who knows perhaps one day love will hit you in the head as well." He gave me a wink.

As I sat back down, it was Dex's turn to take the stage, with a guitar in hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, as you've heard from our lovely Piper, I'd like to perform a song in honor of my two dear friends." He sat down on a stool and started playing the guitar, as a CD player played a beautiful melody. The song he chose was 'Only You,' by The Platters. The original had a lot of high notes, slightly out of his vocal range, but he made the song his own in a beautiful way. Dex was really a gifted singer, and when he finished, the crowd cheered and whistled once more. Many had tears in their eyes, and I had to admit even I was a little bit emotional.

After both of our performances, the crowd returned to talking, eating, and dancing on the dance floor. I excused myself to go to the restroom. On the way out, I had to pass by where Tyke was sitting. "Hey, so you came after all," I commented. During the past two weeks, I hadn't seen much of him, but he had gone back from the more serious side I had seen the night of the bonfire, to his carefree self.

"Right in time for your speech as well; good job," he told me.

"Thanks, I'm glad I didn't make any mistakes," I replied.

"Nah, you did fine."

I felt his eyes examining my dress, and before he could get too carried away, I excused myself and made my way to the restroom. When I returned a few minutes later, he had disappeared from his chair and was now talking to some of the other guests. I made my way back to the table where I had been sitting with my friends. Hunter and Amelia were dancing together, looking lovely in their wedding clothes and their smiling faces. I had never seriously considered marriage but seeing them so happy together did make me wonder about my own future. Slowly, some of the other bridesmaids were asked to dance, leaving me with a smaller circle of my friends.

I noticed my mom dancing with one of her old friends, and it made me wonder why she had never given love a second chance. She always said she was happy with me and the pool and didn't need another man in her life. That made me feel even more guilty for leaving her here.

Tyke caught my attention, as he made his way to the dance floor, joined by Macie, the girl whom he had told me about before. I had seen her at the venue earlier but didn't know how she was connected to the wedding, but then again it was a small town, and half its inhabitants were gathered here. It became apparent that they were very used to dancing with each other, as they engaged in a literal 50s rock n' roll dance. I couldn't believe my eyes, and a strange feeling settled in my gut. Was it, jealousy? But why was I jealous? It had to be because I wanted to look as good as them on stage, nothing else. I refused to read more into it.

"Who would've thought our Trouble Tyke can dance like that," Dex said as he sat down next to me.

"Yeah it's incredible. Like it totally doesn't match his personality but damn," I was still watching him.

When they finally detached themselves from another, Tyke came over to take a seat next to Dex, gulping down a glass of water.

"You've been holding out on us, man. I don't think I've ever seen anyone move like that," Dex complained.

Tyke gave him a mischievous smile, as he pushed his slightly sweaty hair out of his face. "Hey, you swim not to mention sing and I dance, we've all got our talents."

"Our Piper here does both," Dexter announced putting an arm around me. Somehow, I had hoped he wouldn't draw attention to me. "I think you've got yourself a fan girl," he told Tyke, and I suddenly wanted to sink into the ground. I swear my cheeks blushed.

Tyke just winked at me, "I'd be honored to have the line dance queen as my fan," he joked. Tyke had undone the top buttons of his shirt and was leaning in the back legs of the chair, staying in balance by putting his elbows on the table behind him.

"Imma leave y'all to it," I announced getting up to grab a glass of champagne. Things were getting a little too crazy up in here. I was joined by Amelia, who also needed some refreshments. "Even though Tyson is my cousin, I had no idea he was that into dancing," she commented. Apparently, he was the talk of the evening.

"Yeah for sure," I responded, for lack of a better thing to say. The two of us rejoined our friends and I was in the middle of an interesting conversation with them, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted Tyke, who was whispering something to the DJ. I didn't think much of it, until a short time later, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Three guesses who it was...

Trouble Tyke...

What could Tyke possibly want from Piper? ;)