Bridesmaid

Chapter 01

Steve yawned and stuck his leg out into the aisle then slouched down in the pew and sulked. He couldn't believe that he was here.

"Why do I let my mother tell me what to do," he griped to himself. "I'm 36 years old and divorced but I still obey my mother."

Glancing to his right he watched his mother babbling to someone sitting next to her in the second row of pews in the church. It was the middle of August and it was hot as hell in Sarasota, Florida. The little country chapel's ceiling fans were going full blast but the air conditioning was either not functioning or it was non-existent.

"I'm glad I didn't let her talk me into wearing a tie," he thought.

Steve had only been back in the country for three days when his mother informed him that she expected him to accompany her to a friend's 40th wedding anniversary renewal of their vows. Since he hadn't seen her since his father's funeral 18 months ago, he agreed to take her and to escort her to the reception that followed.

He had enjoyed seeing his mother and bringing each other up to speed on what was going on in their lives. Steve worked and lived in Tokyo, Japan and after his father died his mother had moved to a retirement community near Sarasota. Their emails were frequent but they didn't replace the face-to-face communications that keep families abreast of each other's doings.

"It'll only be an hour or so and then I can get a drink," he rationalized while examining the tin ceiling pattern in the old church for the tenth time.

Resting his head on the back of the pew, Steve closed his eyes and dozed a little as he tried to relax with his knees jammed up against the pew in front of him. The sound of his mother's voice and the scent of a light perfume brought him back to reality.

"Sharon!" his mother cried. "It's so good to see you! I didn't realize that you were coming."

His eyes opened just in time to see and then to feel a white linen skirt touch his cheek as his mother reached across him to pull someone towards her. The scent was coming from the person in the skirt and he inhaled it as he struggled to sit upright from his slouched position.

"Damn, she smells good," he thought.

His mother was now standing and the two women were embracing each other across his legs. His eyes followed the line of the stranger's skirt down to where her tanned knees peeped out from under the hem and then continued down her bare legs to her feet encased in shiny white, patent leather high-heeled shoes with a single strap around her slim ankle. The toe of the shoes was cut low so that he could see her toe cleavage.

"H'mm, sexy toes," he murmured.

"Sharon, this is my son Stephen," his mother said as she pulled away from the embrace and put her hand on his shoulder. Stephen, this is Sharon Kelly. She was a bridesmaid in the wedding."

"Pleased to meet you he said," as he struggled to stand up in the narrow space between the pews.

His eyes took in a narrow waist and the edges of a matching linen jacket decorated with a little, fresh orchid corsage. The scooped neckline revealed a tanned chest with freckles running down into a modest cleavage. When he reached his feet he was surprised to see that Sharon was almost as tall as his six-foot height. He shook her hand and did not hear a word that she said as he studied her face. Her short, grayish-blonde hair was cut in a popular boyish style and her little silver earrings caught his eyes as they swung from her ears. She wore just a hint of makeup but her eyes were bright green and her lips were full and they were moving.

"Moving!" he thought.

She was saying something but he hadn't heard a word that she said. Inhaling her scent one more time, he forced himself to focus on her voice.

"Elly has told me a lot about you," she almost whispered. "She said that she wishes you didn't live in Japan so that she could see more of you."

Stepping back she held onto his hand and brazenly looked up and down his body.

"I see they treat you well in Japan," she smiled. "I'll bet you're all the rage over there! He's quite a young man she said to his mother standing behind him. You must be proud."

Steve stepped into the aisle to allow Sharon to take his seat but she stopped him and leaning towards him so he could feel her breath on his ear said in that whisper, "Thanks, but I'm supposed to sit in the front row. I'm a bridesmaid you know."

Her laugh was gentle, a whispery tinkle to Steve's ears.

He caught himself inhaling another fill of her scent. "What the hell am I thinking," he admonished himself while levering himself down into his seat.

He watched as Sharon took the seat directly in front of his and tried to get another whiff of her perfume. "Stop it! She's old enough to be my mother."

Steve's mother leaned over and whispered that Sharon was also a widow except her husband had died almost six years ago. He had left her pretty well off and she lives in a beautiful condo on Marcos Island.

"Do you believe that tan?" she whispered. "I know she plays tennis but she must spend all of her time out in the sun."

Steve was only half listening to her because he was concentrating on Sharon's neck and the side of her face that he could see. Her hair was cut high on the back of her neck making her neck look long and slim.

"It must be colored," he decided. "That shade of gray-blonde doesn't come naturally." He admired her little ears and he even leaned forward to see if he could get a peep down her blouse. He could see the fine lines in her skin caused by too much sun but on her it made her look even more attractive. She smoothed the back of her hair with her hand and Steve studied her manicured nails and the tight flesh smattered with freckles.

"Is there something crawling up my neck," she whispered to him as she turned around in her seat.

"Just my eyes," he thought, but he used her concern for an excuse to run his fingers gently alongside of her neck and under her ear towards her jaw.

"No, it must be the breeze from the fans," he whispered back.

He kept his fingers on her neck a little longer than he had to and watched as goose bumps appeared and a slight flush colored her cheek even darker than her tan.

Everyone stood when the music announced the bride and groom coming down the aisle.

"She must be 58 or 59 but she sure doesn't look it," Steve did the math in his mind while he admired her standing at the altar. "Even if she did she would still be hot."

Thankfully, the service was short and to the point. There were no long sermons and no maudlin ceremonies. There were only four participants left alive from the original wedding party. Sharon, a dowdy looking woman, and two balding, overweight men.

The small crowd followed the wedding party to the front steps of the church where they were given little bottles of bubbles and bells to ring when the bride and groom came out. Sharon took up a position next to Stephen and his mother while they waited for the grand exit.

"I wonder where they are going on their honeymoon? Do you think she's a virgin?" Sharon said and laughed that little laugh.

"Sharon!" Steve's mother laughingly admonished. "Remember the children are listening."

Sharon and Elly each threaded an arm through Steve's and pulled him tightly against their sides.

Steve felt their soft breasts mashing against his arms and thought, "My god, I'm getting aroused by my own mother and her friend."

Steve was saved by the appearance of the bride and groom as everybody cheered and blew their bubbles and rang their little bells.

"What ever happened to rice?" he asked Sharon.

She couldn't hear him over the noise so she put her face close to his and asked, "What did you say?"

Steve took the opportunity to touch cheeks with her and repeated his question with his lips close to her ear. She laughed and said something about birds but he didn't care what her answer was anyway. He was absorbed in the feel of her soft cheek against his own and the scent of her perfume. The whole episode only lasted a few moments but Steve could feel himself hardening in his pants. The spell was broken when the car holding the bride and groom left while dragging the de rigueur trail of tin cans behind it.

"Do you have a car?" Elly asked Sharon.

"No, I came with Evan," she replied and continued. "One of the other members of the wedding party. We're staying at the same hotel."

"Would you like to ride with us to the reception? I have a rental car," Steve asked.

"Sounds good to me," Sharon replied with that tinkling laugh in her voice. "Evan is still a dirty old man."

"How do you know that I'm not?" Steve bantered.

"H'mm! I hope you are!" she suggested and clutched his arm tightly to her side. Elly had reached the car by this time and opened the passenger side door.

"Be careful! She's the only 'dirty old one' around here," his mother said. "I'll sit in the back. Sharon's legs are longer than mine and she'll be more comfortable in the front." Steve watched as his mother climbed into the back seat. He was still a little sexually heightened and he admired his mother's butt as she maneuvered herself into the seat. He could see her panty lines through the cotton dress she was wearing.

"Nice ass!" he said jokingly.

"Careful there! You're still my son. Watch where you look," his mother laughed. "Why is it that I can't get any men my age to look at me?"

Steve watched admiringly as Sharon lifted the hem of her skirt so that she could get her left leg into the car. Her tanned legs went on forever and he hoped that she would pull here skirt up higher but she managed to get into the seat of the cramped, compact car without showing any more than necessary. He did get a good look down the front of her blouse when she leaned forward but all he could see was a white lacy bra.

"H'mm, no tan lines!" he mused while straining to see more of her front.

Sharon half turned in her seat to talk with his mother, "Forget men your age. Go with the flow. The younger the better I always say."

During the drive to the reception Steve stole several glances at Sharon's exposed thighs but try has he did he couldn't quite see up to her panties.

Since he was practically excluded from the dialogue between the old friends, he carried on his own conversation in his head. "You are a dirty old man," he scolded himself. "Yeah, but a pussy is a pussy."

He realized that he had not noticed any panty lines on Sharon while she was in the church or getting into the car.

"Maybe she wears a thong," he thought with some hope. "What's the difference you idiot! You're never going to find out. Watch where you're going!"

"Is this where you are staying?" Sharon asked as they pulled up in front of the hotel where the reception was being held.

"Yes," Steve said and quickly got out of the car to open the door for the ladies.

"So am I," Sharon said as soon as Steve opened her door. "Isn't that nice?"

She swung her right leg out and put her foot on the driveway. Steve was staring at the inside of her left thigh and hoping to get a look a little higher up. He glanced up and saw that she was watching him watch her.

"There's more than one dirty old man around here," she laughed. "You men don't miss a chance do you?"

"Not when the prize is a beautiful woman," Steve responded while feeling his face and neck blush.

"Will you two stop playing around and let me out," his mother called from the back seat. "Sharon! Leave my son alone!" She laughed out loud, "You're old enough to be his mother! Oh, and don't forget I have the centerpiece in the trunk."

"Do you need the keys for the trunk?" Sharon asked and leaned back across the center console to pull them from the ignition.

Steve watched in amazement as she lifted her right leg up and gave him a clear view right up to the crotch of her white panties.

"Here they are," she offered as they fell out of her hand onto the floor of the car. "Whoops! Would you get them for me please?" she asked.

Steve was more than happy to reach down between her legs to retrieve the keys. As he leaned into the car, Sharon moved her left leg so that it rubbed up against his bare arm.

"She's coming on to me," he thought and blushed again.

He got the keys and looked up at her face. She was smiling and when their eyes met she gave him a big wink.

"We'd better let your mother get out of the back seat," she joked. "Old women have to pee all of the time."

Elly's response was to swat Sharon on the shoulder. "Get me out of here you two. Now!"

After retrieving the centerpiece from the trunk, Steve parked the car and found the room where the reception was being held. The small room opened onto a patio with a champagne fountain and the usual finger foods on a table decorated with photos from the wedding. Outside were several umbrella shaded tables and another small bar where a pianist played classic tunes on the grand piano.

Steve located Sharon and his mother standing with a group of their friends. He listened for a while but got bored and headed outside to the patio. He found a small table in the shade up against the wall where he sat and sipped his drink.

He was practically dozing off when he heard, "Excitement too much for you?"

Sharon was standing over him with a wine glass in her hand. Steve went to get up but she put her hand on his shoulder to hold him down in his seat.

"Don't be so polite," she admonished. "This isn't Japan. May I sit down?"

They spent the next hour getting to know one another and discussing his career in the Far East. Sharon lived in a community with mostly retired folks. She played a lot of tennis and swam every day. She was also involved in the local community theater where she acted in several plays and had even directed one.

She was curious as to why he was divorced and when she heard the story of his ex-wife's emptying their bank account to support her drug habit and her dealer/lover she placed her hand on his arm and squeezed it in sympathy.

"Why did she need drugs if she had you?" she asked sympathetically.

"Thanks for the compliment but I was traveling a lot and she didn't like to be alone. She could have come with me on most trips but she refused. Now I know why she refused."

"Are you seeing anyone?" she suddenly asked.

"Nothing serious," he responded. "Are you?"

"I'm a wealthy widow and I have all kind of offers but most of them are looking for a nurse rather than a wife. I play the role of being a horny widow but it's just a game with me. It scares most of the men away and I'm fine with that. We socialize in groups and I haven't had a real date in years."

"Is that so? That's too bad. Maybe we can do something about that," he countered. "You don't scare me."

"Oh! I almost forgot. Your mother wants to go home and she's looking for you. I was supposed to tell you that if I found you. She'll kill me!"

"Do you want to ride with us?" he asked.

"No. I want to freshen up for our date. You were serous weren't you?"

"Yes, but I don't remember actually asking you."

"There I go again. Being too forward."

"No you're not. I was just teasing. I'll see you at six."

"Fine. I'm in room 318."

"I'm just down the hall in 325," he told her. "Will you do me a favor please?"

"If I can. What is it?"

"Please don't change your outfit. You are the finest looking woman in this hotel and I want everyone to see you on my arm."

It was Sharon's turn to blush.

"You're putting it on a little thick aren't you? Is it OK if I shower and change my underwear? It's hot and I've been glowing all day as they say in the south."

"I'll see you at six," he said and walked into the reception room to find his mother.

Chapter 02

Steve had a difficult time getting away from his mother. He was sure she wanted him to ask her to join him for dinner but he didn't take the bait. When she asked where Sharon was, he told her that she was tired from her trip and had gone back to her room to lie down.

"I'll have to call her later and see if she wants to have breakfast tomorrow morning," his mother said.

He finally got away and made it back to the hotel in time to take a quick shower and change his clothes. He decided to wear his blue blazer, tan slacks and an open neck shirt. A pair of brown penny loafers completed his outfit and he admired himself in the mirror.

Every time he wore the blue blazer it brought back memories. His wife was the one that had convinced him that it was all right to wear the combination he was wearing. He wiped the memory from his mind and checked to make sure he had his wallet and key card before walked down the hall to Sharon's room and tapped on her door.

"My god! You are stunning!" he said with a low whistle when she appeared in the doorway.

A blush covered her bare chest and shoulders above the dress's neckline and moved up her neck to her face.

"Thank you kind sir," she responded with a little curtsey and a spin. "You are a rare gentleman. I'm happy you approve. I'll be ready in one minute. I just have to put my earrings in."

Stepping into the room he allowed the door to close behind him. Her perfume was making his head a little giddy.

"You're acting like a high school kid on his first date! Get a hold of yourself," he admonished himself.

He watched admiringly as she fitted a pair of dangly earrings into the holes in her ears. Her raised arms revealed her smooth underarms and he could see the beginning of the swell of her breasts. She was wearing the same dress but without the jacket but now it was strapless. Her shoulders were tanned and a little freckled from the sun. He noticed that she was wearing sheer nylons but she still wore her white heels.

She caught him looking at her in the mirror. "I made some changes for the evening." Pulling the hem of her skirt up a few inches she stretched out her leg to show him her stockings. "My mother always told me that a lady bares her shoulders and covers her legs when going out for the evening."

"Your mother is a wise woman," he laughed. "You look perfect but I didn't realize that the dress was strapless. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Ready?"

"It has removable straps for just such an occasion as this, " she said while unfolding a nearly sheer, white shawl. She did something with it that only a woman knows how to do and draped it over her shoulders and posed for a moment. "Ready!"

She fiddled with the shawl while they waited for the elevator. "I have to hide my muscles," she laughed. "Playing tennis can do that to a woman."

Holding here arms palms up in front of her she flexed her hands and the muscles in her forearms formed.

"I'm a lefty so my left arm is bigger than my right," she demonstrated by tightening her arms.

Steve tested her assertion by gently squeezing her forearms. "I'll have to remember to block any punches from your left side," he laughed just as the elevator chimed.

Taking advantage of the opportunity provided by his already holding her arms, he slipped his hand into hers as they entered the elevator already occupied by two other guests. Sharon did not try to pull away and she tucked his arm under hers during the ride down to the lobby. Steve enjoyed the feel of the side of her breast against his arm during the short ride. He checked out her cleavage and was surprised to see that her breasts looked a little bigger than they did when they were hidden under her jacket earlier that afternoon. Raising his head he realized that he had been caught peeking down her dress when one of the other passengers smiled at him when he caught her eyes.

The food was not the best but the company was perfect. Sharon and Steve sat side by side in a small booth and shared their lives with each other over drinks and appetizers. The bottle of wine they drank during dinner relaxed them both and they found that they were touching each other's hands and arms more and more as they talked.