Womanizer

Aiden Lukas Baker had arrived at 1:24 a.m. He was seven pounds, four ounces, and seventeen inches long. What little hair he had was jet-black.

He was beautiful.

It was now 2:15 a.m. The parents and the baby were sleeping peacefully. Zacky had crashed out in a chair at Janine's bedside, slumped over on her hospital bed, holding her hand. The nurses had thought the sight way too adorable to make him leave.

Megan was in the waiting room. She hadn't seen Brian since he'd given Aiden the stuffed giraffe he'd purchased at the gift shop, and she didn't want to. He had shot her a confused look that held a hint of something kind of like hurt. He obviously had no idea what he'd done to deserve the silent treatment and that slap.

Technically, Megan wasn't sure he had deserved the slap. He had fucked Allison. So what? He wasn't Megan's boyfriend. He was free to do whatever--and whoever--he pleased. He hadn't cheated on her, he hadn't betrayed her trust, he hadn't done anything wrong. Brian and Megan were friends who had spent a weekend together and agreed that it wouldn't change their friendship.

Then why was I so angry when I heard about Brian and Allison? Megan mused.

She recalled the pain in her chest, the unpleasant sensation swooping through her stomach. What had caused that? The news about Brian and Allison had affected her, but why?

That's easy, she reasoned. I was disgusted.

She had known Brian was a whore. His reputation preceded him. It wasn't until this particular incident, however, that she had understood the extent to which he viewed sex as just a casual pastime.

It wasn't the sex with Allison that had driven it home; it was the fact that a mere two days later, he'd waited until he and Megan were alone and taken her so forcefully, so eagerly. And he'd wanted to do it again that evening in her bedroom. If she hadn't stopped him, that might have become a pattern.

He never would have told me about Allison, Megan thought. He doesn't believe that he owes me the truth about his extracurricular activities. And he wouldn't if he wasn't still trying to sleep with me. I need that kind of information before I decide what he and I are going to be to each other. I need to know how many people I'm sleeping with.

That wasn't right, though. There was nothing left to decide about what she and Brian were. They were friends. That was all. Nothing more. And they were never--never--again going to cross any lines.

Of course, there's always the possibility that I'm never going to speak to him again, either, Megan said to herself. That unsettling sensation was lingering in her stomach. She didn't want to talk to him. She didn't want to see him. She didn't even want to hear his name, at the moment.

This is stupid, she scolded herself. I'm being an idiot. It's none of my business what he does. He and I have drawn our boundaries. We're fine. One indiscretion shouldn't ruin our friendship, especially since Saturday took us both by surprise. It's not like he knew he was going to jump me while he was busy with Allison.

Yeah. Megan let that particular thought wash over her, hoping it would soothe that feeling in her stomach.

But it didn't.

Megan was bothered by what Brian had done. What had she expected? Did she really think he had changed, just because he'd assured her that he hadn't slept with anybody since coming to Alabama to stay?

Megan and Brian had had so much fun together at the football games. They'd liked each other enough to start hanging out other times as well. Initially, it hadn't been about sex. They'd simply enjoyed each other's company.

And then...Then sex had come into the equation, as it inevitably had to with a guy like Brian. Megan had gotten Brian after nearly two months of him being celibate, if he'd told her the truth about not sleeping with any girls in Alabama.

We were like a couple, Megan admitted. Hanging out, liking our time together, finding out about each other. We went on a date. We slept together. And everything fell apart, just like other couples who screw everything up by having sex.

Brian had turned around and fucked someone else less than a week later.

What did I expect? Megan wondered for the two millionth time since hearing about Allison.

She shouldn't care so much. But she did. And she couldn't stop herself from caring, no matter how hard she tried. Emotions always won. Trying to force them away was about the same as trying to explain why the sky is blue or why the earth is round.

Was it really just because he'd come back to Alabama and slept with her two days after hooking up with his ex? She wasn't sure. She could claim that was it, but it didn't seem to fit exactly. There was something else nagging at her in the back of her mind.

I'm mad at myself for giving in to him when I knew what he was. I had sworn to myself that I would resist him, despite the attraction I was beginning to develop for him. I knew better. I'm smarter than this.

She and Brian had agreed that it was "just sex." If it was nothing more than a casual encounter, why had things suddenly become so complicated?

There was only one answer. Megan didn't like it, yet this one answer seemed the most appropriate.

Megan was jealous.

**********

Brian ground out his cigarette, adding it to the pile that had already formed as a result of his chain smoking. He'd been sitting outside for the last forty-five minutes. Janine, Zacky, and Aiden were asleep. Megan was in the waiting room, still refusing to speak to him and glaring daggers at him every time he was in her line of vision. If looks could kill, he would be a dead man. And he still hadn't the faintest idea why.

Sighing, he dragged his hands down his face. What he really needed was a stiff drink, but he didn't want to leave. He was holding on to the faint hope that Megan would find him and ask him to take her back to Zacky and Janine's house. They needed the chance to talk. He was going to make her tell him what the hell was going on.

She's probably stubborn enough that she'll spend the night here rather than let me take her home, Brian thought with a hint of amusement mixed with exasperation.

"Hi," came a soft, apprehensive voice.

Brian glanced over. An attractive woman who had long dark hair with blond highlights and big dark eyes was standing next to the bench Brian was seated upon. She looked to be in her mid-twenties.

"Hey," Brian replied, flashing her a smile.

"Do you mind if I sit down?"

"No. Go ahead."

The woman lowered herself onto the edge of the bench, leaving more than a foot between them. "I'm Cara."

"Brian." He offered his hand.

She took his hand and they shook. "I know who you are," she said, her already pink cheeks flushing an even brighter shade of pink. A faint crease appeared between her perfectly-shaped eyebrows. "What are you doing at a hospital in Decatur, Alabama?"

Brian chuckled. "One of my friends had a baby."

"Janine?"

Brian paused in the middle of pulling out his pack of cigarettes.

"It's been all over the 'Net, that she's pregnant," Cara explained.

Brian shook his head. "It never ceases to amaze me how much the fans manage to dig up about us. Cigarette?"

"Yes, please." She accepted the cigarette he held out to her, then bent towards him so that he could light it.

Brian watched her draw deeply on the cigarette and exhale a cloud of smoke. She glanced at him. "What?"

"Nothing." He lit his own cigarette. "What are you doing here?"

"My boyfriend broke his arm."

"Ouch."

"Yep." She carelessly flicked ashes into the flowerbed, filled with dying plants as it was November. "It wouldn't have happened if he'd listened to me, but whatever." She shrugged.

"That's every woman's story when she has to carry her man to the hospital."

"Because it's typically true."

Brian laughed. Cara was reminding him of Megan.

"What did your boyfriend do?" he questioned.

"He attempted a couple of tricks on his skateboard," Cara said. "He and his friends had been drinking, they dared him, and he has to maintain his reputation or something."

Brian shook his head. "Sounds like something I might have done a few years ago."

Brian caught movement in his peripheral vision and looked up. Megan had just stepped through the door. Arms crossed over her chest, she locked gazes with Brian. Her eyes flicked to Cara and she arched an eyebrow.

Cara noticed that Brian was distracted and twisted around to see what he was staring at. She spotted Megan, who gave Brian one last look and vanished back inside.

"Friend of yours?" Cara said, her tone light.

"Jani's cousin."

"Oh."

"I'm supposed to take her home." Brian stood. "It was nice meeting you, Cara."

"Can I get a picture with you before you go?"

"Of course."

Cara brought her cell out of her jacket pocket. Brian wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she snapped the photo.

"Thank you," she said.

He gave her a quick hug. "No problem."

Brian dropped his cigarette onto the pile and strode inside. He made his way to the waiting room. Megan was fixing herself a cup of coffee.

"Hey," Brian said. "Is everything alright?"

Megan pursed her lips, remaining silent.

"Oops," Brian drawled sarcastically, his temper rising. "I assumed you came outside because you needed me."

"I don't need a damn thing from you," Megan said coldly. "And I never fucking will."

"What the hell did I do to piss you off, Megan?"

"Just what you do best, Brian."

And with that enigmatic remark, she brushed past him on her way out of the waiting room. She didn't have a destination in mind, except to be anywhere the hell away from him.