Chapter 5

Rory POV

After Tristan left, I grabbed the bottle of vodka and went to my living room. I hadn't been sitting there ten minutes when my phone rang. I quickly answered it, not even bothering to look at the caller ID. "Yeah?" I say.

"You okay?" Logan asked me.

"Just peachy. Did he call you?" I asked.

"Yeah, but he wasn't making sense." He says.

I lean back against the couch and sigh. "Were you gonna tell me about Colin?" I ask him.

"Wasn't my place." He said.

"I'm not worth ending a friendship over." I tell him.

"I just don't wanna see you hurt. I did enough of that." Logan says.

"It's not your place to try and protect me anymore Logan. You didn't get me into this mess. I did that all on my own." I say.

Neither of us says anything for a few minutes. "What are you gonna do?" He asked finally.

"Right now, get drunk. After that? I don't know." I tell him.

"Maybe you should get away for a while. Clear your head." He says. "Finn's heading to Australia. I'm sure he wouldn't mind the company."

"Maybe. I'll give him a call." I say.

After hanging up with Logan, I decide that he's right. Getting away would help me clear my head. It would have to wait until morning though because there was no way I was in any shape to drive.

Colin POV

How could I be so stupid! I should've known that Rory wasn't just going to jump into my arms and kiss me like I had dreamt about ever since I'd met her. After I dropped her off at her condo, I headed to mine. When I walked in I grabbed the bottle of scotch and went to sit on my couch. I wasn't sure how long I had been sitting there when someone bust through the front door. Only one person. "How stupid are you!" Finn said yelling at me.

I leaned back against the couch and closed my eyes. "Not now Finn." I said.

"Well too bad. I just got a call from a drunk Rory, saying something about you and Logan fighting, you confessing your feelings and Tristan walking out. Any idea what she's talking about?" He said.

When he mentioned that Tristan had walked out, my head shot up. "He walked out on her?" I asked.

"Is that really the point right now?" He asked me.

"Probably not. What's going on?"

"Rory and I have been seeing each other off and on since about a year after she graduated. Well, tonight I told her that I've had feelings for her since the day we met her." I told him.

"Bloody hell." Finn said as sat in the chair across from me.

"Yeah."

"What about Logan?" He asked me.

I ran a hand over my face. "You remember at Logan's wedding when he seemed pissed and then I left?" I asked and he nodded. "Well, Logan kind of walked in on me and Rory making out in a coat closet. Didn't exactly take it well."

"He married your ex." Finn said.

"I pointed that out to him." I told him. He nodded. I leaned back again. If Tristan had walked out on Rory, did that mean that she'd told him about our conversation? "I need a favor." I said and he raised an eyebrow at me.

Rory POV

I was laying on my couch, trying to process everything that had happened when I heard a knock at the front door. At first I tried to ignore it. Just hoping that they'd go away, but when the knocking was persistent I got up and stumbled to the door. I opened it, fully prepared to give the person on the other side a piece of my mind. "What are you doing here?" I asked Colin.

"You called Finn. He showed up at my place. I couldn't drive so I got him to bring me over." He said.

I glared at him. "Still doesn't explain what you're doing here?"

I was still slightly frustrated about everything that had happened in the 24 hours. "I wanted to make sure that you were okay." Colin said, barely above a whisper.

I turned and walked away from the door, knowing that he'd follow me. He always did. I sat on the couch and then I heard the front door shut. About a minute later, Colin sat beside me on the couch. "A lot of information has been thrown at me in the last 24 hours… I'm still trying to process." I told him.

I looked over at him and he nodded. "Well…tell me what's going on. Above all else we're still friends." He said.

I poured myself another shot. I was gonna have a killer hangover in the morning. "Tristan showed up at the Chilton reunion. We hadn't seen each other since I was in Boston for that job interview. Well, things that weekend didn't work out so I was kinda shocked when he showed up at the reunion. We had a drink together before we left and picked up some tacos before coming here. We pull in the driveway and Charlie's car was here." I tell Colin.

"Why? I thought you broke up with him." He asks.

"I did. However, he was still moving his stuff out." I said. Colin nodded. "After I get my key back from Charlie and I kick him out, Tristan and I sat down with our food and a couple of beers. He tells me that he met with my dad. Dad knew how I felt about him and how he felt about me. But he also knew how heartbroken I was when I'd left Boston that weekend. Tristan tells me that he left his Dad's practice and that he was back in Hartford for good. That Dad told him that if he could patch things up with me he'd make him a partner." I say.

"Really?" He asks and I nod.

"He told me about his conversation that he'd had with my dad and that Steph and Logan knew that he was coming back to Hartford." I told him.

"Wait… so Logan knew that both Tristan and myself are in love with you and he said… nothing." Colin said.

"Yup." I said pouring another shot and downing it.

"Then what happened?" He asked.

"By the end of the night, we'd decided to give things a chance." I said and he looked at the floor. "Then this morning happened…" I said trailing off, thinking about my phone call with Logan.

"What happened this morning?" He asked.

"I called Logan. Questioned him about everything that Tristan had said. He pretty much told me the same thing that Tristan said." I told him.

"You thought he was lying to you?" He asked.

I leaned back against the couch. "It wouldn't be the first time." I said. "After talking to Logan, Tristan and I had a fight about how I didn't trust him. And that's not the case. I do trust him. I just don't think he actually wants this life. Tristan was away from Hartford for a long time. It's not easy to just pop back in. I mean look at my mom. She hates it." I said.

"Yeah, but Ror, she's always hated this life. Look at how she was when you decided to date Logan." Colin pointed out. He wasn't wrong.

"I know. Anyway, after our fight… Tristan and I headed over to the firm. I had a board meeting that I needed to be at and he needed to talk to my dad." I said. I sighed, knowing this last part was going to be really frustrating. "After you dropped me off… I just sat on my porch for the longest time. I think that I was just trying to process everything. When I finally made my way inside, that's when everything happened. Tristan could tell that there was tension between you and I. You could tell that you didn't like the fact that he showed up with me. He questioned… everything. He wanted to know what had happened between us. I gave him the cliff notes. He wanted to know if I loved you. He wanted to know if I loved him. When I couldn't give him a definitive answer… he left. Then I called Logan, questioned him… about everything. Told him he was stupid for letting me come between your friendship. Then I got drunk and called Finn." I said, finally finished with my story.

"You didn't do anything. I got myself into this." I said.

"Maybe. What are you going to do?" He asked.

"Get out of town for a while. Clear my head. Sort through my feelings." I told him.

"Might be a good idea." He said. "I should go. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." He said.

I looked over at Colin and gave him a small smile. "I appreciate it. Your always here when I need you Colin." I told him.

We both stood up and I followed him to my front door. "You know, I remember the last time that you told me that." He said, before he leaned in and kissed me. "Call me when your back." He said and I nodded.

After Colin left and I'd locked the front door back, I headed back to the living room and I laid down on my couch. I thought about the moment that Colin was referring to. It was the night that I'd found out that Logan had told everyone that we'd broken up. I'd been living with my grandparents. Colin was in Hartford to spend Thanksgiving with his Dad. Somehow we'd both ended up at the same bar.

***Flashback***

I couldn't believe this. Logan and I have a fight and he tells his sister that we broke up. What the hell. I sat at the bar and order my third martini. The bartender had just sat my drink down when I sensed that someone had sat down beside me. I turned my head to look, surprised that it was Colin. "What brings you here?" He asked me.

I started moving my index finger around the edge of my martini glass. "Well, lets see. Logan and I had a fight last week. Then tonight, while I'm enjoying a holiday meal with my grandparents, I get a call from Honor. She starts apologizing that she hadn't called me sooner but that Logan apologized for my absence seeing that we had broken up." I said.

"Did you break up?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "No. I thought we had a fight and that we were taking some time. What'd he tell you?" I asked, knowing that Colin would tell me the truth. He always did. He didn't care what anybody thought of his opinion.

Colin ordered a scotch from the bartender. "He told Finn and I that he surprised you but apparently the surprise was on him since you were about to go out to dinner with another guy. Said the three of you went to some bar, had a fight and he left. Couple days later, he tells us that you guys talked and broke up." Colin said.

I roll my eyes. "Yeah that conversation never happened." I told him, taking a drink.

"What?"

"I haven't heard from him since he left that night." I said.

"I'm sorry, Rory." He said.

"Not your fault. Guess I'm just stupid for believing that he could have an adult relationship." I said.

Colin and I sat there in silence for a few minutes before either of us said anything. "Do you wanna get out of here?" He asked me.

I looked over at him surprised. I nodded. "Sure." I said.

I followed Colin over to his apartment. He hated having to stay with his parents. When we walked into his apartment, I stood there looking around. "Nice place." I said. I didn't know why, but I was nervous. Maybe it was because Colin was Logan's best friend. Maybe it was because Colin and I had never really been alone with each other.

"Thanks." He said. He helped me take my coat off and he hung it up next to his. "So, you and Logan are really over?" He asked me.

I turned around and looked at him. There was something about his eyes. There was something there…sadness…longing…I couldn't pinpoint it. "Yeah. We're really over. I mean clearly it was too much for him seeing as he couldn't even break up with me himself." I told him.

Colin nodded, while slowly closing the distance between us. For some reason all I could do was stand there. As soon as he was right in front of me, he reached up and grabbed my face with both of his hands. "So, if I was to kiss you…it wouldn't be a big deal would it?" He asked me.

I reached up and grabbed his forearms. "I guess not. I mean, it's not like I would be cheating." I told him.

He smiled at me right before he leaned forward and kissed me. It was one of the most passionate kisses that I'd ever had. There was only one other that ever came close. Kissing Colin was magical. It was like everything around us faded away. When he pulled back, because we both needed air I couldn't help but stare into his eyes. Love… that's what I saw in his eyes.

Everything after that happened so quickly. Colin and I started pawing at each other. As we made our way into his bedroom, it was like we couldn't get our clothes off fast enough. It was amazing. He knew exactly where I needed and wanted him. Even Logan couldn't always do that.

A little while later, Colin and I were laying in his bed. I had my head on his shoulder and he was rubbing his fingertips up and down my back. "What are you thinking about so hard, in that pretty little head of yours?" Colin asked me.

"Not much. Just that your always here when I need you." I told him.

"I'll aways be here. There's no where else that I would rather be." Colin said.

***End Flashback***

I was pulled from my memory by the sound of my cell phone ringing. I reached over to the coffee table, picking it up and answering it. "Hello?"