“Oh, hell no,” I say somewhat playfully as I snatch the beer away from Gabriel, and the rest of the guys all snicker. “None of that underage crap while we’re in my house, Gabe.”

“Fuck you, man,” Gabe groans and tries to snatch the beer back. Gabe, while he is my closest friend, he is sort of the kid brother of the group. While the rest of us are slowly approaching our thirties, Gabe has still yet to turn twenty-one and pass the threshold into manhood by being able to purchase his own alcohol.

“Awe, come on, Jonathan, give the kid a break,” Marty, a fellow middleweight boxer, laughs loudly as he circles around my pool table –pool stick in one hand and a beer in the other.

“Yeah, Johnny-boy, you were young once,” Tyler, a jackass I met at Damion’s gym who only thinks he’s a boxer, says.

“Once?” I hiss, and Tyler and Marty laugh at my expense. I hand Gabe back his beer and pat his head like a child. “All right, one beer won’t hurt him, I guess.”

“Knock it off, jackass,” Gabe says.

“Hey, you better be nice. Otherwise, you can ask someone else to supply you with your buzz for the evening,” I say, and Gabe shuts up quick.

“So where’s Brandi at tonight?” Tyler asks; they’ve all gotten used to her pretty much being around all the time.

“Visiting her mom,” I say, but they notice the subtle grin on my face.

“Oh, shit, what’s going on with you?” Marty says in a sing-song voice to let me know he’s picked up on my perkier than usual mood.

“Nothing, nothing,” I say, but I say it like I’m toying with all of them –like I’m holding out.

They all pick up on it. Tyler especially. “Awe, shit, Jonny-boy’s screwing with us. What’s going on –did you knock Brandi up or something?”

“I hope not,” Marty jokes, “could you imagine this moron as a daddy?”

“No, she’s not pregnant,” I say, “But I’m planning on making her an honest woman.”

“What?” Tyler’s voice lingers somewhat excitedly –as excited as a man who lives and breathes the bachelor lifestyle can get for a friend who’s talking about popping the question.

“Congratulations, man,” Marty says, “So I’m the best man, right?”

“Screw you, Marty,” I say, “You know it’s Gabe.”

Gabe suddenly awakens from whatever daze he was in. He stands upright, his chest poked out proudly. “Really? Me?”

“Of course,” I say, “you’re like a brother to me, man.”

“That’s lame. You can’t let him be the best man. What kind of bachelor party is he going to throw? He can’t even get into the good clubs. What are we going to do? Go to Chuckie Cheese?” Tyler teased.

“Three weeks,” Gabe says, “Twenty-one in three weeks. You guys are a bunch of assholes.” Gabe shakes his head. “Congratulations, Jonathan.”

“Don’t congratulate me yet, guys,” I say, “She has to say yes first.”

“Not to put a damper on things, Jonathan, but…” Gabe pauses, wondering if whatever he’s about to say should be said. He decides to press on. “Maybe you should end things with Vivian.”

Ah. Yes, Vivian. The side chick. I nod. “I know,” I say, “And you’re right. If I’m going to make things work with Brandi, I guess I have to stop being such an idiot, huh?”

“I’d say so,” Tyler says, “but that’s going to require a lot more than you dumping the hot model or whatever it is Vivian does. You’re an idiot for more reasons than that.”

“Awe, shut the hell up, Tyler,” I say and shake my head. “Let’s focus on one thing at a time, all right?”

“The Dancer and the Boxer,” Gabe says, “Sounds like one of those cheesy romantic comedies.”

“Or a really good porno,” Marty adds.

I shake my head. “Nice,” I say, and we get the pool table ready for our game. I shoot Vivian a text saying that I want to meet up soon. I suppose if I’m going to dump her I should be decent enough to do it in person even if she and I both know she’s just a booty call. I can be somewhat classy at times. It’s been time to end that so-called relationship for a while. Brandi has been on my mind a lot lately. She’s been there by my side for a long time now. It’s time to move forward, and while a part of me is saddened to leave the fun bachelor lifestyle behind, I’m much more excited about what lies ahead.