DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL
by Bailey

Based on the song lyrics of 'Butterfly Kisses' by Westlife.

.script by Mirelle.

|story visited times|

The four men stood together on the edge of a wooden dance floor set up at the outdoor wedding. Each carried a microphone and all wore matching tuxes, a single white rose pinned to the jacket. looked at the ground, his eyes inspecting the shiny patent leather shoes for any marks as he shifted nervously in his place between and . He took a slow breath and tried to collect himself when heard speak into his microphone.
“If we could have everyone’s attention.” A hush fell over the crowd and a few guests began to make their way towards the dance floor. “We’d like to invite the beautiful bride and her father up for their dance now.”
’s gaze rose when he felt her presence, holding his breath as his eyes took her in. Her face lit up the entire room as she walked hand in hand with her father onto the dance floor. The pure white strapless wedding dress hugged her upper body, crystal embroidery covering the bodice catching the lights over head and shining into ’s eyes. The skirt of the dress dropped to the floor, the train bustled in back with a few scattered matching crystals. She looked like a princess and couldn’t help but think she was by far the most gorgeous woman he had ever had the honor of laying eyes on. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to inspect the hem of her skirt, laughing to himself when he realized it sat lower on the wooden floor than it had before. She lost the silver heels she had complained about earlier and was probably barefoot.
As they reached the center of the dance floor and a small string orcherstra began playing, she looked over, giving a tiny smile. He nodded and returned the smile just as her father placed a hand on her hip and pulled her in for their father-daughter dance.
It was his best friend’s wedding and he didn’t hesitate a moment before volunteering his group to sing the song he was sure she would choose. shut his eyes as the dance began and concentrated on the song, thinking back.

“There’s two things I know for sure
She was sent here from heaven
And she’s daddy’s little girl
As I drop to my knees by her bed at night
She talks to Jesus and I close my eyes
And I thank God for all the joy in my life
Oh, but most of all”.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Daddy, Daddy! You see! It’s a horsie!” A young girl pulled at her father’s hand, dragging him with all her might towards a fenced off riding area. The strength she possessed in her small frame never would have moved a grown man but he laughed and allowed his daughter to let out excited cries as she brought him to her intended destination.
When they reached the wooden fence, she grasped it with her tiny hands and peered through the small opening before looking back at her father with wide eyes. “Can I ride him? Please?”
“Of course .” He found it incredibly hard to ever say no to her when she looked up with her sparkling eyes filled with hope. As soon as she received her desired answer she jumped up and down in place as she squealed with delight, her pigtails bouncing around her face.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you Daddy!” barely wasted another moment before taking her fathers hand once again and pulling him towards the line for the pony rides. Images of the small brown horse danced through her head and didn’t even notice when she found herself standing directly behind a young boy with hair and his mother.
While waiting in line, kept her eyes glued on the pony, staring through the fence with such intent her father had to tell her to move along every time the line would advance. This would be the best, most important moment of her short life so far.
“Mum, I don’t want to ride it.” tore her eyes from the riding area when she heard a small voice in front of her. She looked over to see the boy around her same age tugging on his mother’s flower print skirt. His eyes were filled with panic as they became the next in line.
“But , love, you’ve talked about this the entire way here. You’ve never been scared of horses before.” His mother stooped down to kneel before her son. “What’s changed your mind?”
“I’m scared. It’s big…” Without looking, he pointed behind him at the monster he now saw in his head.
“He’s only a pony. You watched lots of kids ride him and they were perfectly fine.” She tried to ease her son’s worries, giving him a reassuring smile.
“But…but…what if I fall.” ’s bottom lip began to quiver.
“You won’t fall.” took a few steps towards and his mother. “There’s a belt, see…” She pointed a small finger out towards the pony as a girl was un-strapped from the saddle and handed to her own father.
looked her over skeptically as he swallowed back a tear and turned his head to where she was directing him. He stared out at a moment and took his eyes off the animal once again, shaking his head. “No. I don’t wanna…”
“Don’t be scared.” inched closer and reached out to place a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. looked at her hand and back up to the small girl. “You can ride with me if you want.”
was quiet as he thought it over for a moment and missed their parents sharing amused glances over the children’s interaction. His mind raced with the possibilities, maybe if there was someone else with him it would lower the odds of him falling off. He took a long slow breath. “Okay…” he whispered softly.
Soon the two children were strapped into the pony’s saddle. ’s eyes were wide with fear as he wrapped his short arms around ’s body in front of him. When she turned her head to give him a gapped toothy grin he felt himself relax, realizing if a girl wasn’t scared than he shouldn’t be either. As soon as their ride jerked forward he let out a soft gasp and gripped her waist.
The pony and its two riders trotted around the riding area and released her hold on the saddle to wave her hand frantically at her father. He leaned against the fence and gave her a small wave back, laughing when he heard her scream out to him. “You see me Daddy? I’m riding!!”
“Yes sweetheart, I see you.” He answered her with a soft chuckle as they passed him slowly and he could see ’s small eyes fixed on the back of ’s head, obviously concentrating on not falling.
As soon as her feet hit solid ground again, was jumping up and down bouncing around in the grass from excitement. “That was the best! Oh my goodness!” She hopped over to her father, wrapping her arms around his legs in a tight hug once she reached him. “I want a pony for my birthday Daddy…that pony!!”
He laughed as he looked down at his daughter while she stared back up at him, still clutching to his legs, with hopeful eyes. “We’ll see about that. But I think someone wants to speak with you .” He nodded behind her and she turned her head in his direction.
When she turned about she found standing a few feet away, clutching a small flower and being urged by his mother to continue on. He gave a nervous smile and took small steps to reach her. “This is for you…” he said softly and held out a tiny white wild daisy he had picked from a patch growing next to a fence post. “Thank you for riding with me. You made me not scared.”
accepted the gift with a wide grin. “It was the bestest ever, huh?”
nodded and watched as she twirled the flower between her fingers before sticking it into her hair, right above the elastic to her left ponytail. As soon as the flower was secure she jumped to him, wrapping her arms around his small body for a tight hug. Yet again ’s eyes became wide, but this time it wasn’t because of fear. A girl was hugging him, he was in love.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer
Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair
Walk beside the pony Daddy, it’s my first ride
I know the cake looks funny Daddy, but I sure tried
Oh, with all that I’ve done wrong
I must have done something right
To deserve a hug every morning and butterfly kisses at night”

couldn’t help but laugh at the fuzzy memory of their first meeting, almost missing a cue. The dance floor was now completely surrounded as each and every one of the wedding guests witnessed their dance. didn’t notice however, her entire world was wrapped up in that moment and smiled as he sang, knowing no man could ever compare to her father.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ten year old reached out a finger, dipping it into a bowl of homemade frosting to get a taste. He brought the sugary goodness to his lips, licking it off as he looked up to find ’s mother placing two cake pans on the kitchen island.
“!” yelled out, causing him to jump in his seat on the tall stool. “Don’t eat the frosting!”
“I didn’t.” He lied, trying to mask it with an innocent look on his face.
“Yes you did!” She pointed at his face, specifically the corner of his mouth where remnants of the yellow frosting clung to him.
snaked out his tongue to lick the evidence off and gave her a meek smile. “Sorry.”
He continued to watch from his spot as her mother carefully removed the two cakes from their pans, placing them on plates before . “Sure you don’t want help me to help with the frosting, dear?”
“No mum. I want to do it.” grabbed a small spatula and dug it into the frosting bowl, a look of determination on her young face.
“Alright, call if you need anything.” She gave her daughter a pat on the head before making her exit from the kitchen.
raised his body on the stool so he was sitting up on his knees to lean over the counter and poke one of the cakes before . “Can I have that one?” he asked.
“No.” She slapped his hand away and gave him a look. “They are for my dad’s birthday today.”
“Both of them?” He frowned and sat back on his legs.
“Yes, it’s called a layer cake .” She said a matter of factly as she carefully spread the creamy frosting across the golden cake.
was silent for a moment as he watched her concentrating on her task, her small tongue sticking out from the side of her mouth out of habit. Her eyebrows curled up in frustration when the top coat of the cake came up a bit in crumbles under the frosting she was spreading about.
“Can I help?” He asked softly.
Looking up and tilting her head to stare at her friend, glanced over at the second cake. “Sure. You frost that one.” She pointed at it with her spatula. “But be very very careful. This is important you know.”
“I will.” stretched his body across the island as he reached out for the unfrosted cake, pulling it towards him as he licked his lips. This was the perfect excuse to sneak a few fingers full of the sugary topping.

Running through the living room, clutched his thin spring jacket as he headed towards the front door. As soon as he made it, the door opened and he nearly ran straight into a man as he entered. stopped in his tracks, laughing from surprise. “Sorry Mr. .”
“It’s alright.” ’s father reached out to give a pat on his shoulder. “Where are you running off to son? Not staying for supper tonight?”
“No sir, my mum’s making my favorite tonight.” gave him a bright white smile and began to rush past him again, knowing his mother was waiting for him at home. “Happy Birthday!” He yelled out as he ran outside and down the steps.
The man chuckled as he continued into his house, shaking his head. He dropped his coat and briefcase on a chair and looked around the space, finding no one in sight. “I’m home.” He called out.
“We’re in here Daddy!” He heard his daughter’s voice coming from the dinning room and he made his way towards her. When he reached it, and pushed the swinging door open slowly, he was surprised to find the room completely dark except for a small light illuminating from candles.
stood behind her creation, her smile lit up from the small flames and her mother standing to her side, the same proud smile on her face. “Happy Birthday Daddy!!” She cried out.
“Awww, a cake!” He walked farther into the dark room to inspect his present. He tried to stifle a laugh when he saw the top layer hanging off the side of the bottom and a few patches of cake completely bare of frosting. “It’s absolutely perfect.”
“You like it?” clapped her hands, her face beaming.
“Of course. I love it.” He gave her a kiss on her forehead before turning his attention back towards the cake. “Shall I make a wish?”
“Yes, yes!” jumped in her spot and watched as he shut his eyes to concentrate on his birthday wish before blowing over the candles. Once each one was extinguished he opened his eyes again and gave his daughter a soft smile. Her mother flicked a switch, lighting the room again so the could see properly.
“What did you wish for?” asked when he kneeled down next to her, sticking his finger in the frosting to give it a taste.
“Now if I told you, it wouldn’t come true would it?”
scrunched her nose at her father who was now eye level with her. She leaned in, giggling as she brushed her nose against his cheek and gave him a butterfly kiss.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Sweet sixteen today
She’s looking like her mother a little more every day
One part woman the other part girl
Perfume and make-up, ribbons and curls
Trying her wings out in a great big world
But I remember”

smiled as her father leaned in his salt and pepper head, whispering into her ear as he held her close during their dance. She raised herself on her toes to place a soft kiss on his cheek, a smile spread across her lips. watched as she dropped back down and lowered her head to rest it on his shoulder as the swayed to the music he was providing. Responding, her father rested his chin on to top of her head.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Waiting patiently at the bottom of the staircase, ’s father spun a set of keys around his finger. He went to call out for his wife to inquire on what was taking them so long but remained silent when he saw a figure emerge at the top of the stairs. The young looked down at her father, a nervous smile spread across her lips.
“How do I look, Dad?” pushed a strand of hair behind her ear before reaching a hand to the railing, her fingers grazing the wood as she made her decent to the first floor.
He looked over his daughter thoughtfully, speechless for a moment as he realized how one day could seem to age her another year. He could see a hint of soft pink shadow covering her eyelids and a thin layer of a matching gloss gracing her lips, surely applied by her mother. “Well, I’m wondering where my daughter is. The only person I see before me is a young woman and that can’t be her because she is only fifteen.”
“Sixteen.” Once she was standing a foot above him, placed a hand on her hip, giving him a stern look.
“Oh, right.” He laughed lightly. “My mistake…sixteen.”
“So, you haven’t answered. How do I look?” She looked down over herself, brushing her hands over the soft silk material of the new pink dress she got specifically for this night. When she glanced back up she saw him smiling at her.
“You look lovely dear.” He leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Are you sure you want to attend this silly party? Wouldn’t you rather go to dinner with me and see a movie?”
frowned and let out a sigh. She knew he’d try one last attempt to get her go off with him for their yearly dinner and a movie ritual. They had done it just the two of them every single year for her birthday since she was seven. “We’ve gone over this Dad…” She gave him a soft yet strong tone. “ planned this party especially for me and I can’t not show up. All my friends will be there…it would be rude.”
“Alright…” He raised his hands in defeat, the keys dangling from his ring finger. “Can’t blame a father for trying.”
“I promise we can go tomorrow night, just you and I.” gave him a smile before hopping from the last step and brushing past him. “Now let’s go, I can’t very well be late for my own party.”

“Butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer
Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair
You know how much I love you Daddy, if you don’t mind
I’m only gonna kiss you on the cheek this time
Oh with all that I’ve done wrong
I must have done something right
To deserve a hug every morning and butterfly kisses at night”

Pulling up outside a lit, two story white house, looked out the car window with wide eyes. She could see several figures on the other side of a beige curtain and couldn’t wait to see who had turned up for her sixteenth birthday party, hoping for one boy specifically.
“Here we are dear.” She heard her father speak as he placed the car in park, not tearing her eyes away from the house as she saw a few more guests run up the steps carrying wrapped packages. She could see them giggling and chatting under the dim light, one turning to wave when they saw her sitting in the car. waved back before turning to her father to say goodbye.
“Thank you, Dad. I’ll call you when I’m ready to be picked up?” She asked more as a statement than a question as she placed a hand on the door, ready to make an exit. As she pulled on the handle and began opening the car she heard him clear his throat.
“Aren’t you forgetting something, love?” He leaned towards his daughter, expecting the gentle butterfly kiss he was given each time they parted.
Looking towards the house and seeing the door open, watched as stepped out and a few of her friends streamed inside. She turned back to her father, giving him a pleading look. “But Daddy, someone might see.” She said in a hushed tone, fearing someone might overhear them. As soon as the words left her lips she could see his face fall even in the dark car and she instantly regretted it. “Can I give you a kiss on the cheek instead?”
He tried not to seem disappointed and gave her a smile as he placed a finger on his cheek, tapping it. “Suppose I’ll have to take what I can.”
Leaning in, gave her father a soft kiss on his cheek, pulling back to give him a smile. “I love you.”
“I love you too, darlin’” He received one final glance before she pushed on the door that was already cracked open, jumping out into the cool spring evening. He reached out, placing a finger on a dial in the middle console to lower the passenger side window as it was shut behind her. Leaning over the seat, he called out through the open window to the young boy waiting for his daughter at the house. “Hello, .”
Raising a hand, gave her father a wave as he returned the greeting. “Evening, Mr. .” In all the years he had known he was always respectful of her father, knowing deep down he was the key to his best friend’s heart.
had made it half way up the walkway to when she heard her father speaking again, stopping in her tracks. “Now you make sure you look after my little girl.” Her eyes went wide and darted around, hoping only had heard her father.
“Don’t worry, sir. I will.” could see ’s face turn a shade of pink to match her dress, even with her head lowered as she took the last final steps to meet up with him on the stoop.
could tell her father had finally left when gave him a wave and chuckled. “Please tell me no one else heard him.” She whispered, leaning into him as he held the door open so she could breeze past him.
“You’re in luck, everyone else is otherwise preoccupied.” took in a slow breath as she passed him, noticing a new perfume she must have gotten as a birthday present. He tried to suppress a smile as he felt himself get lightheaded.
“Is he here?” shut the door behind her and was pulled from the thoughts of her dancing around in his head.
“Who?” He asked with a blank stare on his face.
“Charlie, of course.” said softly, letting her eyes wander around the foyer and into an open living room off to the side.
“Oh, right. Yes, he’s here.” nodded his head towards the corner of the room. turned slightly to follow his gaze and her eyes soon fell on a young boy, sitting in a large armchair. His blond hair was slicked back with gel and he wore a sports jacket like he had just come from a private school. His eyes looked around the room nervously as he clutched a long box wrapped in a shiny silver paper and pink bow.
“Oh god, he came. Do I look alright?” ’s voice was shaky as she ran her fingers through her hair, straightening it out. She looked up at , pleading with her friend for approval.
looked over her slowly, silently wishing she was fixing herself up for him and not her silly little crush. He had never wished to be another person so much in his entire life like he wished to be Charlie at that very moment. “You look gorgeous.” He said softly.
smiled broadly at her friend. “So I suppose I should go say hi.” She bounced in place a bit, something she did anytime she was excited, nervous, or both.
She went to turn, but was stopped by . “Wait. Can’t I give you my present first?”
Cocking her head, she narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t have to get me anything, . This party was a present enough.”
“It’s nothing big, just a little something.” He swallowed his nerves as he reached out to a small table next to the door, grabbing a tiny gift bag to hand it over. “I saw it and knew it would be perfect for ya.”
He watched her as peered inside before reaching in and pulling out a small square box. With the gift bag hanging from her finger, she lifted the box top, peeking under. She let out a soft gasp and instantly knew she loved the small silver charm bracelet that was neatly placed inside a few pieces of tissue paper.
“…it’s beautiful.” Her eyes sparkled as she pulled out the bracelet, inspecting the three charms hanging from the shiny links. She raised it in front of her face, laughing softly when she saw the silver horse and matching daisy. “A pony and flower, for our first meeting, ey?”
“That was the idea.” pressed his lips together as he waited to see if she might say something about the third charm she was now looking over closely.
“And this one…” held it in her hand gently as she gave it a better look. “Does the heart have a keyhole in it?” She looked up at him with a question on her delicate face.
“Yes, I think so…” shifted in his spot nervously, wondering if she could catch onto a hidden meaning. “The sales lady says one day maybe you’ll find a boy who has the key to your…err…” He stumbled over his words. “…key to your heart. At least that’s what she told me.”
“That’s so sweet. Thank you .” She held out her new piece of jewelry to him along with her wrist, asking him to put the gift on. With shaky hands, gently clasped the bracelet around her small wrist, looking into eyes once it was safely secured. “Let’s just hope Charlie has the key.” grinned as she stepped in, raising herself on her toes to give a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Right. Charlie.” He desperately tried to hide the disappointment on his face as he watched her run of towards her new love.

Sifting through a CD rack, selected a few more for the party downstairs and collected the plastic casings. Once the desired music was safely in his hands he spun around, searching his room for anything else he might need. His eyes fell on his small oak nightstand set next to his twin size bed. He almost made his exit from the room, but walked up to the nightstand, pulling open the top drawer with his free hand instead.
Keeping the collection of CD’s steady in his hand, he picked up a small black drawstring bag that was nestled between his walkman and a box of tissues. set down the CD’s down on the stand to pull on the tiny bag, flipping it over to drop the contents of it into his palm. Soon a small sterling silver charm stared back up at him. He let out a heavy sigh as he looked over the tiny key that came as a set with the heart he had given to earlier. He stared at it for a few moments when he was startled out of his thoughts from a voice in the doorway.
“! You’ll never guess what just happened!” let out an excited cry, running in without noticing a frazzled dropping a small object into his nightstand before kicking the drawer shut with his knee.
“What happened?” croaked out as he turned towards her quickly, grabbing what he had come up there for in the first place.
“Charlie just asked me to be his girlfriend!!” squealed as she flew into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck as she jumped up and down.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

shook his head and tore his eyes from and her father as he tried desperately to wipe away the memory from his mind. He couldn’t believe a song that was meant to mean everything to them seemed to invoke so many memories for him. Shutting his eyes for an entire verse, he chose to picture his best friend as the child she was the first day they met, instead of the sixteen year old girl who unknowingly broke his heart.
When he slowly opened his eyes again he saw the six year old girl he fell in love with decked out in a pretty little white dress. He laughed lightly between singing as he pictured her tiny feet standing on her fathers as he swung her around the dance floor. Her short arms were wrapped around his waist, a shiny silver charm bracelet hanging from her wrist. The links had been filled over the years, and thought to himself it might be time to buy her a new empty bracelet for her next birthday, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to fit the new charm he would surely buy her.

“She’ll change her name today
She’ll make a promise and I’ll give her away
Standing in the bedroom just staring at her
She asks me what I’m thinking
And I said I’m not sure
I just feel like I’m losing my baby girl
And she leaned over”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

’s father watched silently as her maid of honor adjusted a white flower, tucking it into a soft curl on top of the bride’s head. The young flower girl and ring bearer ran around his legs, letting out a squeal of delight and he bent down to catch the little boy in a tux. He laughed as the boy let out a high pitched laugh, reaching out for his friend who stuck out a tongue at the captive boy.
“Be careful lad. If you keep screaming like that the entire church may hear you.” He nodded his head towards a set of large oak doors, behind which housed a church full of guests and the male members of the wedding party. It was a mere minutes before he was set to walk his only daughter down the isle where she would marry the man of her dreams. He glanced up after giving the small boy a gentle pat on his back to find bouncing nervously in her spot and letting out a long slow breath.
felt a set of eyes on her after being handed her large bouquet, which consisted of an array of different species of white flowers. She gave him a smile as she held out her arms, turning in her spot a bit to show off the wedding dress. “Well…” She asked his opinion like she did for most of her life.
He could feel a lump in the back of his throat start to form and was at a loss for words. “…gorgeous…” He was only able to muster one word. Today was the day she had been waiting her entire life for, the same day he had secretly been dreading. He had been holding onto her as the little girl with pigtails for so long, he just didn’t know how he could let her go.
“Okay everyone, let’s all line up.” A sharply dressed wedding coordinator clutched a clip board while placing a finger to her ear, hoping to hear the voice speaking through a tiny ear piece. This was it. The bride and her father were ushered behind a small partition, hiding them from the guests as the large church door was opened to allow the first of the bridesmaids to make her way down the isle.
looked up to the older man standing next to her. She studied the face she knew so well and narrowed her eyes when she saw a look of distress fall over his features. With eyes straight ahead, concentrating, he swallowed to hold back the emotions.
“Are you going to make it?” gave his side a poke, laughing lightly.
“This may be a bit more difficult than I thought.” He chuckled softly.
“You know, I’m supposed to be the nervous one. It’s your job to make sure I make it down the isle without tripping.” Through the thin partition, could see yet another bridesmaid begin taking slow steps over the isle runner with organ music playing in the background.
“I’m not worried about you dear.” Raising his elbow a bit, he allowed his daughter to slip her arm through the new opening and he gave it a gentle squeeze with his free hand. “You’ll make it down just fine and go on to be quite happy. Me on the other hand…” He paused and glanced over at her slowly. “…I don’t know what I’ll do without you.”
A small smile spread across ’s lips and she tried to suppress a laugh. “Without me? You know you could never get rid of me even if you wanted to. I stick like glue.”
Her father chuckled with her. “This is true.”
The pair could see the wedding coordinator ushering a very giggly flower girl to take her spot and as soon as her short legs were carrying her down the isle the woman came back. “Alright you two, you’re next.”
With her big eyes, looked up at her father as they took a few steps towards the door, and expected panic falling over her face. “Tell me he’s perfect for me Daddy…tell me I’ve made the right choice.”
Leaning in, her father placed a kiss on her forehead just before he reached up and lowered the white crystal bordered veil over her face. “Of course he is. I always knew you’d marry your first love.”
“You did?” could feel the first of many tears for that day begin to form in the corner of her eye.
He nodded and turned his attention to the man waiting for them at the end of the long isle. “I wouldn’t give you away to anyone else.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“And gave me butterfly kisses
With her mother there
Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair
Walk me down the isle Daddy, it’s just about time
Does my wedding dress look pretty Daddy, Daddy don’t cry
Oh with all that I’ve done wrong
I must have done something right
To deserve a hug every morning and butterfly kisses
A hug every morning and butterfly kisses at night”

As the song came to an end, stood at the edge of the dance floor, clutching the now silent microphone as a few guests came to praise him and his group on their performance. He barely heard a word they were saying and only gave someone a cordial nod as his eyes remained fixed on the bride and her father as she gave him a hug and a kiss. His best friend was married now, her father had officially given her away and there was something knew had to be done. He handed over his warm microphone to after receiving a knowing smile and took small steps across the wooden floor.
When he had made it halfway to his destination, a figure caught ’s attention out of the corner of his eye and he glanced over for a moment. He made eye contact with Charlie and his eye twitched for the smallest of moments. Even after years he still hadn’t gotten over the fact that another man had mustered up enough courage to ask out his one true love first. It was the jealous teenager in him and tried to shake the feeling off as he turned his attention back to his task.
Just as he made it to him, ’s father turned, grinning when he saw . “As always, absolutely brilliant son.” He reached out his hand that was accepted and he gave him a firm handshake.
“Thank you, Mr. . I was glad to do it.” tried to concentrate on the man before him even when he noticed the woman in a white dress behind them with a smile on her face.
“Please . No more of this ‘Mr. ’, I think we’ve moved past that, don’t you?” He let out a hearty laugh, wondering if would ever lose the formality with him.
“Of course, sorry.” let out a nervous chuckle and stuffed his hand into his suit pocket, searching for a small bag. When he found it, he pulled it out slowly and cleared his throat. “There was something I wanted you to have.”
The other man watched as a tiny black drawstring bag appeared in the younger man’s hand. tugged at the strings with shaky hands and handed it over to him, watching as he dropped its contents into his palm.
“I’ve been holding onto that for years hoping it would always belong to me.” nodded towards the small shiny key charm he had guarded with his life since he was sixteen. “But I think it’s obvious you’ll always have the key to her heart…no matter what.”
There was silence and looked up to see her father staring at the gift and a few tears beginning to fill his eyes. He knew at that moment he had done the right thing, even if he had wanted to hold onto the charm for the rest of his life.
“This is…” Her father choked on his words. “this means a lot son, thank you.” With his fist closed tightly around the charm, he reached out and pulled in for a tight hug. He held onto him for a few moments, giving him a strong pat on the back before releasing him. He clenched his jaw, trying to hold back his emotions as stared straight into the eyes of his daughter’s first and best friend. “Make sure you keep an eye on my little girl.”
“I always do.” received a wink before the other man turned his head back to give his daughter a smile.
“I know .” Her father patted his shoulder as he walked past, leaving to him.
Biting her lower lip, took a few steps till she placed herself before . “That was so sweet.” She barely get out a whisper as she felt herself close to tears as well.
“Ya, I know. Figured it might earn me some brownie points.” gave her a playful shrug.
“You know you don’t have to win him over, he’s always liked you.” Reaching out, she brushed her hand across the breast of his tux jacket, flicking off a bit of white pollen that had attached itself to him.
The pair stood in silence for a moment and looked her over carefully, finding hard to breath as he took in her beauty. “Has anyone told you how gorgeous you look today?” He asked softly.
She brought her eyes up to meet his ones and gave him a smile. “It may have been said once or twice, but I like to hear you say it anyways.”
As he stared at her, he completely forgot they weren’t alone and that there was in fact a tent full of guests surrounding them. That is until the faint sound of clinking could be heard in the background. looked up, pulling himself from the trance had on him as the noise became louder. Guests all around were holding up their champagne glasses and using various silver utensils to hit the side gently.
Taking a step closer, leaned in to whisper to the bride softly. “I believe they want you to kiss your new husband.”
“I think you might be right.” leaned in as well, raising an eyebrow at him. She could hear the clinking reaching an all time high and knew she had better get to it before her guests started a riot. She placed a small hand on ’s jacket and gave it a gentle tug. “You best give them what they want.”
He let a soft laugh escape as he moved in, his lips curling up in a small smile. “With pleasure…” He didn’t allow another moment to pass before meeting up with her soft lips, pressing his own to hers. slowly brought a hand up, resting it on the side of her face as he tilted his own slightly. He brushed his fingers over her cheek and back till they were placed around the nape of her neck and he gently pulled her into the kiss more. He could feel her melt in his arms and couldn’t help but smile against her lips.
Yes, he knew the moment that small girl gave him the courage to ride that pony he would never be the same again. He had dedicated his rest of his life to making sure one day she would be his and he had succeeded. had secured his place as the second most important man in ’s life, a very close second to her father.

The End