Intrigued

Chapter Twenty-Three

*Let's just get blackout drunk and forget about this entire experience.*

-It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Brian's P.O.V.

It was later that night, right after the reception. We had wrapped things up early, because I wanted to take Roxanne away for the weekend. Not only that, but I was eager to get out of the vicinity of Miranda - it was hard work avoiding her all night. Not to mention, I couldn't help but cringe every time I saw her talking to Roxanne.

I had decided to surprise Roxanne, and had rented us a nice cabin in the mountains, just to get away from everything in the city for a couple of days and enjoy each other. Normally, it would just be the two of us, but since this wasn't even our real honeymoon, we invited Emily and Sal along. I desperately needed to get away and clear my mind, and even though I knew I had some heavy shit to deal with soon, I was just too elated to care about anything else besides my new wife; I felt high on life and Roxanne was the only thing on my mind right now.

I had just married the most gorgeous, amazing woman that I had ever had the pleasure of meeting, in a beautiful ceremony with all of our closest friends and family, and we were now on our way out of the city with our best friends. Life was good for the moment. But I knew what was coming. A long, difficult conversation with Sal and a lot of explaining. I knew that at some point over the weekend, I would have to pull him aside and confess everything that Miranda had told me earlier. And I wasn't looking forward to it. Also, a confession to Roxanne. I definitely couldn't hide this; it was far too serious.

The drive to the Adirondack Mountains was a long one, but filled with beautiful scenery. When we finally got there, we could all see right away that the log cabin was stunning - rustic and spacious. As we made our way inside, I noticed an awesome chandelier made of antlers hung from the high vaulted ceilings. A large fireplace crackled, heating the den and casting shadows over the walls - making the entire cabin feel cozy. There was an enormous flat screen mounted on the wall, with leather furniture against a huge window. The loft had two large rooms each with a king size bed and large wooden headboard - which I fully intended on putting through the wall tonight, after a month with no sex - and attached bathrooms with large, beautiful bathtubs, surrounded by candles.

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By 10 p.m. we had unpacked and settled in, and were finally relaxing around a fire outside. The air had a slight chill, but the fire kept us plenty warm. The view was just stunning, and it was so quiet and peaceful. Nothing but nature for miles. No lights from the city, no sounds of rushing traffic. No strippers lurking around, waiting to drug me. Just crickets and owls at the moment. It was getting dark - the sun was just starting to skim the horizon. I cracked a beer, grateful to be away from everything for a little while and finally able to relax, now that the wedding was over. I passed one to Sal, and offered one to Emily as well, but she had elected to stay sober in solidarity with Roxanne.

I didn't know when the right time to bring up the bachelor party was, and no matter how hard I tried pushing it out of my mind, I found I really couldn't. Every minute or so, it was creeping right back up. I didn't know whether it was better to get it out of the way now, so we could enjoy the rest of the weekend without it weighing on my mind, or wait until the end so I didn't risk ruining the entire trip, if everyone got pissed. Which was a really distinct possibility. Maybe I shouldn't even tell him until we were home? But I also knew if I kept it to myself, I wouldn't be able to focus on anything else the entire time, and I wouldn't really be there mentally like Roxanne and my friends deserved. She always knew when there was something bothering me; there's no way she would be able to go this entire weekend without picking up on it. Not only that, but the longer I waited, the more and more difficult it became to open my mouth and say anything at all. Then again, I even toyed with the idea of not saying anything at all. I mean, what they don't know, can't hurt them - right?