Caffeine, Clenched Jaws & Closure: A Romantic Comedy

He said it out loud in the coffee line. "You're clenching." Tanner Teller-Dalton's buttoned-up banker with a spotless tie and a jaw made of pure denial-does not want a dental diagnosis from a stranger at 7:42 a.m. He wants coffee, silence, and a day where nobody in this town looks at him like he's personally responsible for their feelings. Dr. Griffin Wheeler has other plans. Griffin is Dalton's calm, wry dentist with a dangerous talent for reading stress like a second language. When he clocks Tanner's TMJ in real time, he offers a simple fix: a night guard, a few stretches, and one inconvenient truth-Tanner isn't "fine." He's functional. What starts as reluctant appointments and banter-filled follow-ups turns into recurring proximity: coffee "thank yous" that become a habit, small-town gossip that becomes a problem, and a banker who's terrified of being seen needing anything... falling for the one man who refuses to let him hide behind competence. But when a high-stakes "closure" decision at the bank ignites town pressure and corporate scrutiny, Tanner does what he's always done-withdraw. And Griffin, who equates distance with rejection, does the only thing he knows: he backs off. Until they stop clenching long enough to talk like adults. Because healing isn't a finish line. It's a series of small choices... > Caffeine, Clenched Jaws & Closure is a warm, funny M/M small-town romantic comedy packed with sharp banter, found-family chaos, a meddling town chorus, and a happily ever after that tastes like coffee and relief.