Ready for Anything?

Chapter 3

The boys had all been fitted for their tuxes, including Seth, who had arrived early that morning, and were now setting up for Logan's stag party.  Odette and Logan had both insisted that the party not be too wild, so the rest of the boys had begrudgingly settled for a night of poker and an excessive amount of scotch before meeting the girls at a local club to end the night together. 

"Boys," Colin called from the living room of the suite in their hotel, "we seem to need more scotch and snacks for the night.  Seth and Robert, can you make a run for supplies?"

"I can do it," Finn cut in.

"Nah, man.  I need your help with something here.  Let those two go," Colin insisted.

Seth and Robert quickly left the suite to head out in search of additional supplies and Colin stopped Finn as he was walking out of the room.

"So, who's the new lady in your life?" Colin asked Finn.  Finn stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the question, trying hard to look aloof.

"What makes you think there's a new lady in my life, mate?" Finn asked.

"Just a hunch...and I saw your caller ID last night at dinner."

"What?"

"I saw that your caller ID said "Her".  Who's the lucky lady?"

"Just someone I know, Colin.  It's nothing serious," Finn replied, brushing Colin off.

"You sure?  Because "Her" seems pretty illusive for a person who doesn't matter much" Colin said.

"Nah, just a girl I thought things could happen with, but she's still hung up on her ex, so it never went as far as I would've liked" Finn explained.

"But you still wish she could've been more?" Colin asked. 

Finn shrugged.  "It's not like I'm pining away for her, but she would've been a nice girl to settle down with, if I were into that sort of thing, you know" he said with a laugh, but Colin could see the pain in his eyes.

"You're Finn Morgan, ladies' man.  Surely you can woo this girl if she means so much to you," Colin pressed.

"Look, it just won't work okay?" Finn almost yelled exasperatedly.

"Why not?" Colin continued.

"Because it just won't okay?!  No matter what I do, she'll never see me as someone she could have an actual relationship with.  Who in the bloody hell knows why she was calling.  I need to just let it go, mate," Finn spit out, hoping Colin could take the hint and end the conversation.

"Okay, well, I hope things work out, but if they don't, it's not like you're hurting for options" Colin relented, holding his hands up in surrender. 

"Yeah well, maybe it's time I start seeing some of those other options and move on with my life, because if this is what caring for someone feels like then I'm out.  It just hurts too damn much," Finn said bitterly, downing the rest of his scotch in one drink and slamming the glass down before walking out of the room.

*            *            *
*            *            *

Logan walked into the suite, happy to see that his friends cared enough about him to honor his request for a simple guys' night, with nothing crazy - and poker was always a hit amongst them.  They had booze, music and his best friends - he couldn't have asked for a better send-off.

Robert and Seth came back in a moment later with bags full of alcohol. 

"What did you do, buy out the entire store?  There are only 6 of us!" Colin teased.

"Not like we can't leave it here for the wedding night so we have extra provisions!" Seth said with a shrug.

Finn, who was already pretty inebriated, stood up and cleared his throat.  "I want to kick the night off with a toast to my dear friend, Logan, and seeing as how I wasn't deemed mature enough to make the real toast, I figured I should let you in on what you'll be missing" he started.

"Uh oh, how much has he had to drink already?" Robert teased.

Finn just ignored the comment and continued.  "You see, Logan and I go way back and he is one of my dearest friends - and because he's one of my dearest friends, we've shared a lot over the years.  Some he was willing, some he wasn't, but all in all, our friendship is very important to me and has helped shape us into the men we both are today.  Now, it seems that you would have it all.  The love of a beautiful woman, a promising career, and a family that finally approves of your choice of a woman, even if it was formulated on business, she has wound up being one hell of a woman that I feel lucky to have gotten to know.  I hope she makes you so happy that you forget about all the silly conquests you had, and all about Reporter Girl, and that you're able to focus on having a healthy relationship with someone new.  Odette is a good match for you, and I wish you nothing but happiness together.  To the luckiest bastard in the world!" He said, holding a drink up and they all froze, looking at him for a moment before doing the same, and taking a drink from their glasses.

"Wow.  Good call not having this guy in charge of the real toast!" Josh said teasingly, and they all laughed at the comment, the tension having been broken.

"Gentlemen, get ready to hand me all of your money," Robert stated in his usual cocky fashion.  "Let's play some poker!"

The boys quickly sat around the table with their drinks and each bought into the game, giving Logan a hard time about the upcoming wedding night as they stacked and counted their chips. 

"How does it feel to know that you'll only sleep with one woman for the rest of your life?" Robert ribbed Logan.

"Oh come on, Robert - this is society - no one in their right mind ever only sleeps with one woman for the rest of their lives" Seth deadpanned. 

"Some of us actually happen to love the women we are with, though, Seth.  There's a difference" Colin teased.

"I'm not gonna lie, boys - it's a little scary," Logan confessed with a chuckle.  "It's been a long time since I've been in a committed relationship."

"Let's quit listening to Logan's sob story and play the damn game," Finn groaned exasperatedly.

"Just because you're not getting any doesn't mean you have to be a spoilsport" Colin teased.

"Boom!  Read 'em and weep, boys!  Royal flush!" Seth exclaimed. "Winner winner chicken dinner!" He said, sweeping the pile to him. 

"You cheated!" They all exclaimed, throwing down their cards, although it was all said in fun. 

An hour later, Finn threw down his cards and stood up.

"It's time for you all to meet your other halves and for me to go find Miss Right-Now. Let's get out of here, boys."