“I knew the score in college. I could have almost any girl I wanted at Cal, and I had a lot of them. The NFL is even easier. Girls don't even care that I'm the backup quarterback, just that I wear the uniform. It's a nice lifestyle man..."

I nodded. I didn't exactly have a harem myself, but I knew I probably got more than my fair share of pussy.

He looked me right in the eye. "I'd give it all up... for HER. I don't think she would ask, but if she asked me to quit football and go into business with her, I'd do it. Football is my dream, and she would never make me give it up for her. But if she asked, I would. That's commitment."

And then it was time.

There's something inherently strange about watching your ex-girlfriend walk down the aisle at her wedding. I felt honestly and truly happy for

Monica. She was marrying the man with whom she belonged. She looked radiantly beautiful in a gorgeous white dress. And yet, I could still remember what she Looked like naked.

So with that naughty little image in my head, I turned in unison with my other groomsmen and kept my lascivious grin hidden beneath a stoic exterior as I focused on the wedding ceremony. Usually these things felt interminably Long. But somehow, this one just flew by so fast. The next thing I knew, I had escorted my bridesmaid back up the aisle and outside into the bright afternoon sun.

Still, it wasn't over yet. We hung around the church for the next hour snapping photos. You know the drill: bride and groom, groom and his groomsmen, bride and the groomsmen, the whole wedding party, and on and on ad nauseum. I'm fairly certain we spent more time on the photos than the entire wedding ceremony itself.

I managed to keep in good spirits by cracking jokes with the boys, especially a groomsman named Aaron. He was a close friend of Monica's at Stanford and Nate had willingly let him be one of the three groomsmen. The happy couple liked the symmetry: the best man was Nate's best friend from Cal, Aaron was Monica's best male friend from

Stanford, and I was the mutual friend from High School.

Meanwhile, Amber, Danielle, and Cherys hung around snapping candids while we went through our poses, and Aaron seemed dutifully impressed when I pointed out Amber as my girlfriend. I promised I'd introduce them at the reception.

Then, when I mentioned that she would be going to Stanford in the fall for Medical School, Aaron just about bugged his eyes out. Turns out, so was he. The wheels were already turning in my head. Aaron was a good looking guy and apparently nice enough to be considered a good friend of Monica's. He had boyfriend material stamped across his forehead.

Was this the beginning of the end for me and Amber?

“I'd give it all up... for HER. She would never ask me to give it up.

But if she did, I would. That's commitment."

I spent a lot of time the next week thinking about what Nate said. By now, I'm sure he'd forgotten his little speech and was busy screwing

Monica's Lights out on their honeymoon. But it was still in my head and

I had some decisions to make about me and Amber.

She would never ask me to leave my home to be with her. But if she did... would I?

I could never ask her to go to Medical School with me here. But if I did... did I think she would?

How much did I know about this girl who said she loved me? How committed was I to the woman I said I loved?

In the end, it was the Look on Nate's face when he said it that made up my mind. When he'd said his final two words: "That's commitment", he'd said them with such conviction and force that I couldn't doubt it. It's not like he was challenging me. He was just reminding himself of why he was marrying Monica.

I couldn't say it with that much conviction. The fact that I was questioning my commitment meant that I wasn't as committed as I needed to be.

Amber and I had avoided asking each other those ultimatum questions.

Neither of us were ready for them, which meant that neither of us were ready to follow each other into ‘no matter what’. It was a sobering thought.