Womanizer

Zacky knocked on the front door of Brian's house, glimpsing his watch as he raised his fist. It was nine-thirty a.m. Their flight was scheduled to leave at ten-fifteen. Zacky had been waiting for Brian to call and say he was ready to go, but there was no more time to wait. They needed to get to the airport now if they wanted to make the flight.

Zacky cast another curious look at the midnight blue Mazda 3 in Brian's driveway. He wondered who it belonged to. He was pretty sure he didn't know anyone who owned a car fitting that description.

"Knock again," Jimmy urged, stifling a yawn.

Jimmy had been gracious enough to volunteer to take Brian and Zacky to the airport so that neither of them had to leave their cars or pay for a cab. Zacky couldn't believe that Jimmy was conscious this early. Usually, the only time Jimmy saw nine-thirty a.m. was when he had never gone to bed the night before.

Zacky rapped his knuckles against the door a second time. He paused as he heard a soft noise on the other side. The door was pulled open to reveal a vaguely familiar blond in nothing but an oversized tee-shirt.

"Surprise, surprise," Jimmy muttered so that only Zacky could hear.

The blond smiled. "Hi, Zack, Jimmy."

"Hi," Zacky echoed while Jimmy waved. "Uh, is Brian--"

"I'll be ready in ten minutes," Brian said, sticking his head out of the kitchen. "Everything's packed already. I just need to finish eating and get dressed. Come on in."

The blond turned and sashayed to the kitchen. Zacky and Jimmy exchanged a glance and went inside. They trailed after the blond, into the kitchen.

Brian and the blond were at the table, each with a plate of eggs and sausage. "You guys remember Allison, right?" Brian asked, taking a sip of his orange juice.

"Of course," Jimmy lied.

Zacky kept his mouth shut. It wasn't exactly a shock to discover that Brian had spent his last night in Huntington Beach with a busty, curvy blond. Brian seemed to have an endless supply of willing companions. But for some reason he couldn't quite put his finger on, Zacky was bothered by Allison's presence here.

Brian jumped up, popping a last bite of sausage into his mouth. "Breakfast was great, Allie." He bent to give her a peck on the lips and looked at Jimmy and Zacky. "Give me five more minutes." He walked out of the room.

"You don't really remember me, do you?" Allison inquired, getting to her feet and clearing away the dishes.

"Should we?" Jimmy said, deciding to be honest.

She laughed, though not like it was funny. "I guess not. Bri and I dated about a year ago. I had to relocate to Los Angeles for work."

And Zacky suddenly remembered. Allison and Brian had been together six months when she was told she either had to move or lose her job. Once she was gone, Brian had considered himself taken for about three weeks. Then, he met some hot girl at a club one night and rationalized that he and Allison were no longer exclusive, that surely she was going to meet someone in Los Angeles.

"So, are you moving back to Huntington?" Zacky questioned.

Allison shook her head. "No. I mean, it's an option now, but...I don't think so. I wanted to come back and see if Brian had changed." A faint, sad smile crossed her lips. "Turns out he hasn't."

Zacky realized he was feeling sympathy for her. She obviously still felt something for Brian and knew that he didn't share those feelings. Zacky had seen several girls in the same situation with Brian.

Allison hand-washed the plates, glasses, and silverware. Zacky and Jimmy watched her leave the kitchen.

"What a waste," Jimmy commented.

"What?"

"Allison. She was totally wasted on Brian. She's hot and sweet and he just tossed her aside like she was nothing special."

Zacky snorted. "Have you ever known him to not do that to a girl?"

"Just Mi--" Jimmy broke off as Brian re-entered the room, clad in jeans and a shirt of his own design.

Zacky knew who Jimmy had been about to mention. The one girl Brian had loved. The one girl Brian had been able to picture himself marrying. The only girl who had ever turned her back on him, choosing someone else over him.

"Ready?" Brian said to Zacky and Jimmy.

The two of them followed Brian back to the foyer. The only things he was carrying back to Alabama with him were a small suitcase and his guitar.

Allison came in a few moments later. She was dressed, her purse over her shoulder and her keys jingling in her hand. "Bye," she said, brushing a kiss across Brian's cheek. "Bye, Zack, Jimmy." She breezed through the front door.

The guys filed out onto the porch. Brian locked his door and turned to face Zacky and Jimmy. The sound of Allison's car faded to nothing.

"Let's go!" Brian said.

There was nothing in his expression. No sign that Allison had ever meant a thing to him. Not a trace of nostalgia for what they'd had a year ago--and presumably relived last night.

Zacky sighed. He didn't understand Brian at all. He had been hurt in the past, too, but it hadn't transformed him into a cold, heartless individual who was only worried about his own needs.

This is why I have to keep him away from Megan, Zacky thought. If I ever have to see that pain that was in Allison in Megan, I will fucking kill Brian.

**********

Megan had just gotten home from work. She'd showered and changed into her pajamas, then stretched out on her bed with a good book. She was absorbed in the story, but that didn't prevent her attention from being dragged to her door as it opened.

Brian was standing there, smiling. "Hi."

Megan's first impulse was to run to him and hug him; however, she stifled it. Their weekend together was still vividly fresh in her mind, and she couldn't quite shake the awkwardness she felt. "Hey."

Brian noticed her hesitation, the slight tension in her body. Some emotion briefly altered his features. "Did you miss me?"

"I didn't have time to miss you. I've been working almost constantly since y'all left. Thomas quit, so Danny is giving me extra hours while he looks for a replacement."

"Are you off tomorrow?"

Megan nodded. "Yep. Danny knows better than to make me miss an Alabama game."

Brian chuckled. "Which one of you is the boss again?"

Megan grinned. She was gradually relaxing in Brian's presence. Apparently, they were going to be able to pretend nothing had happened, or at least not let it get in the way of the friendship.

Brian came deeper into the room. Megan noticed that he was a little unsteady on his feet. "Have you been drinking?"

"I had a couple of drinks on the plane."

"Did y'all get a lot done in California?"

Brian perched on the edge of her bed. "Yeah. We finished two songs. Zack and I are gonna have to go back out there soon, but now that we've spent time with the others and talked to them, we should be able to do most of our writing here."

"That's good. Jani is about to pop. I'd hate for that to happen while Zee is three thousand miles away."

"He'd hate it, too. He is so excited about being a dad."

Megan sat up, hugging her knees to her chest and adding to the space between her and Brian. "I know. I live with him, remember?"

"So, who are we playing this weekend?"

"We?"

Brian shrugged. "Maybe I've converted."

"Of course. Everyone loves a team that wins all the time. And we're playing Mississippi State."

"Are you such a die-hard fan even when Alabama has a losing season?"

"That rarely happens, but yes, I am."

Brian seemed amused. "I can't believe how seriously you guys take football down here."

"Any fan of the SEC takes football seriously because we know our teams are the best. Bring on all those sissies from the PAC 12 or the Big Ten or the ones who don't belong to a conference. We'll kick all of their asses."

"What about Boise State?"

Megan snorted. "Please! We could take Boise State any day of the week. The only reason they're always ranked so high is because they never play anybody worth a shit, so they always win. They won't play anybody in the SEC. They know better. Arkansas actually tried to add Boise to their schedule one season and Boise refused."

Brian shook his head. "I can't believe I'm getting this lecture from a girl. I shouldn't be surprised by now, considering it's you, but..."

"HEY, GUYS!" Zacky called from downstairs.

"WHAT?" Brian and Megan called back simultaneously.

"WE'RE GOING OUT FOR DINNER! COME ON!"

"Shit!" Megan sprang off the bed. She hurried around her room, gathering an outfit to change into. Once she had everything, she slipped into the bathroom.

She emerged fifteen minutes later in jeans and a tee-shirt, her hair in a ponytail and just the barest hint of makeup on her face. Brian hadn't moved from the edge of her bed.

"C'mon," she said, pausing to pull on some sneakers before heading for the door.

"Megan."

Brian's hand closed around her upper arm and she turned, her gaze immediately captured by his. Her heart slammed painfully in her chest. They stared at each other for a long moment and Megan was sure he was going to kiss her.

Brian had her in his grasp, literally. All he had to do was lean down and kiss her. She wouldn't fight him, he knew. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. They'd made a deal. Last weekend hadn't meant anything, and Megan had obviously already put it mostly behind her. She was getting less and less uncomfortable with him by the second. He couldn't fuck it up and take them back to square one.

So he let go of her arm and drew her in for a hug. "I'm glad to be back," he said, resting his cheek on top of her head.

She wrapped her arms around his middle. "I'm glad you're back."

They parted and she gave him a small smile, then breezed out of the room. Brian sighed, raking a hand through his messy hair. What had come over him? Why had he wanted so much to kiss her?

I'm just messed up right now, he assured himself. I had sex with Megan; Allison, a blast from my past, showed up without warning. And I'm pretty certain those drinks on the plane aren't helping.

He'd go eat with Zacky, Janine, and Megan. Then, he would go straight to his house and to bed. When he woke up in the morning, everything would be fine.