Womanizer

Brian honestly thought that Zacky was going to hit him. He had only seen Zacky look this pissed off once before and it had resulted in a bar fight, which Zacky had won.

Brian shifted uncomfortably under Zacky's angry green gaze. Megan was staring at Zacky apprehensively. Brian heard her take a breath in preparation to speak, but no words came out.

"Megan," Zacky said.

Megan wet her lips nervously and waited.

Zacky's eyes flicked to her then rested once more on Brian. "Go upstairs."

Megan grimaced apologetically at Brian and scurried out of the room. It wasn't until they heard her bedroom door shut that Zacky spoke again.

"I am about two seconds away from beating your ass, Brian. If you have anything to say, you'd better say it now."

"What you heard...it's not what you think."

Zacky flexed his fingers as though itching to put them around Brian's throat. "It's not what I think? You slept with Megan, Brian. I shouldn't be surprised. You've never been able to keep your dick in your pants around a hot girl. But, stupid me, I believed you when you told me that Megan was just friendship material and that the only thing you two had done was kiss because of a stupid bet."

"I didn't lie to you," Brian said quickly. "That was the only thing we'd done, at the time."

"Do you remember what I promised you that day?"

Brian didn't answer. His muscles were tight with tension and involuntarily, his hands had clenched into fists. He knew Zacky was moments away from losing his cool.

"I promised you that I was going to fuck you up when you hurt her."

"I haven't hurt her," Brian protested. "Weren't you listening? She's furious with me."

Zacky's eyes flashed. "She uses anger to mask her pain, you dumbass! God! You don't know anything about her, do you? She's just another piece to you, isn't she?"

"No! I care about her, Zack."

Zacky snorted.

"I do," Brian insisted. "She's my friend. And I didn't seduce her. It was a mutual decision by both of us. She wanted to sleep with me as much as I wanted to sleep with her."

"That's irrelevant," Zacky said. "What matters is that you knew it would end up meaning more to her than it did to you. Haven't you caught on by now? You're heartless, Brian. Nothing gets to you. But normal people, like Megan, form emotional attachments. She's felt something for you for a while, or she never would have had sex with you."

"You're wrong. It didn't mean anything to her, either."

"You accepted that lie from her because you didn't want to feel guilty for using her!" Zacky yelled. "You wanted to fuck her without any consequences! You didn't want to be the bad guy!"

"She shouldn't have lied to me!" Brian retorted. "If she couldn't handle it, she should have admitted it!"

"Would it have made a difference?" Zacky demanded. "It's never stopped you before. You still would have fucked her and kept on fucking her until you got bored or found someone better."

Brian shook his head. "No. I wouldn't have. Did you not hear? We haven't slept together since the Mississippi State game, and we're not going to. It's over. We're just friends--"

His words died in his throat as Zacky moved. Brian didn't even have time to react; Zacky's fist smashed in to his mouth.

"Fuck!" The pain made Brian's eyes water and he tasted blood. A second punch caught his jaw. He stumbled back, his reason catching up to his senses, and lifted an arm to block Zacky's third swing. He kept his other arm low in case Zacky decided to take a shot at his stomach or crotch with his right fist.

"Megan's only refusing to sleep with you again because she has no choice," Zacky growled through gritted teeth. "She knows she can never really have you, and she's not going to be your whore." He took a step closer to Brian, who was holding his defensive stance. "You've always had a special gift for seduction, Brian. You could probably convince Megan that she could sleep with you just one more time and be fine, so I'm warning you. Stay the hell away from her. Don't call her. Don't text her. I don't ever want to see you here when she's here. If I catch you in contact with her in any way, it won't be a couple of punches. And I'm willing to take a lot of pain for her. Keep that in mind."

"Zack--"

"Save it." Zacky pointed toward the front hall. "Get out."

Brian hesitated. He wanted to say something, to make Zacky understand. But maybe Zack is right, he thought. Maybe Megan was lying and I didn't even care. I just wanted her and it didn't matter how I got her.

Using the back of his hand to wipe the blood from his aching mouth, Brian walked out of the living room. He needed to get this Megan thing sorted out in his head.

**********

Megan jumped as her door was opened. Zacky came in. For a minute, they simply stared at each other.

"Megan, what..." Zacky trailed off. He sighed and ran a hand over his messy jet black hair.

"It's not a big deal, Zee."

"Judging by the way you two were arguing, it is a big deal."

Scowling, Megan remained silent.

"Barely a week ago, you were telling me that you and Brian were just friends."

"What was I supposed to say? You and Jani had made your opinions of Brian very clear. How could I come to y'all and share that particular secret?"

Zacky crossed his arms over his chest. "What happened, Megan?"

"We were betting on the games. Each wager had to be a little more, um, interesting than the previous one."

Zacky's eyebrows rose. "I'd think you'd save a wager of sex for an important game," he drawled sarcastically.

Megan rolled her eyes. "It wasn't like that. There was the kiss, the money, the date--"

"The date?" Zacky repeated.

"Winner picks the activity, loser pays." Megan fidgeted. "That was actually the night we quit pretending the bets had anything to do with it."

"That was first time you guys...?"

"No. But we made out in the driveway when he brought me home. We both knew where it was going to go the next time we were together." She couldn't look at Zacky and her cheeks were burning. "It was the weekend we stayed down in Baton Rouge. We called it a wager, even though neither of us was losing on the deal."

"Jesus," Zacky muttered.

"The next morning, we agreed that it meant nothing and that it wouldn't change anything between us. I don't think either of us intended for it to happen again."

"Oh, no, you're wrong. Brian definitely intended for it to happen again." Zacky's brow furrowed. "He said that you guys slept together the weekend of the Mississippi State game."

Megan nodded confirmation.

"Wasn't that after our trip to California?" Zacky questioned.

Megan's eyes filled with tears and she ducked her head, hoping to hide them.

"Megan?" Zacky's voice was gentle, which only made her feel more like crying.

"Yes," she said. "The last time we had sex was two days after he slept with Allison. He just...grabbed me and..."

"Don't!" Zacky barked, startling her.

She looked at him with wide eyes.

"I can't listen to this," he said. "I'll go over to his house and kill him."

"Zack, it doesn't matter. I swear, I'm fine."

"You're a liar, Megan."

"I'm not! I was disgusted that he did what he did, but it's over now. We talked and--"

"And you're lying," Zacky cut in. "I'm not stupid. I know you, Megan. You're using anger to mask your other emotions. You've always done that."

"Oh, really? Then what emotions am I masking, Zacky? You know me, so tell me."

"You like him, Megan. You're hurt that he treated you just like all of the others, that you meant so little to him that he could do the same thing to you that he's always done to the women in his life."

Megan again felt tears pricking her eyes. "He hasn't always done these things," she said, somehow keeping her voice steady. "There was one girl that meant something."

"True," Zacky conceded. "She treated him like shit. It's like he's tried to take his revenge on her with every woman he's met since she left."

"She really fucked him up."

"He loved her. He was head-over-heels for her. It crushed him when he discovered that she'd been unfaithful."

"She was unfaithful?"

Zacky seemed surprised. "You didn't know?"

"No. He just said she met someone else and left him."

"She was already sleeping with the guy before she broke it off with Brian."

"That explains a few things."

"Yeah, maybe. It still doesn't make what he did to you, or to Allison and Veronica and numerous others, okay." Zacky started for the door. "I've forbidden him from seeing you."

"What!?" Megan yelped, angry and indignant. "You can't--"

Zacky talked over her. "It's for the best. Please, Megan, trust me on this. There needs to be some space between the two of you for a while."

There was a pause, then Megan nodded. Zacky loved her like a sister. He wanted to help and if he believed this was the best thing for her, she would go along with it.

I might not stick with it as long as Zack is going to want me to, she thought, watching the door shut behind him. But, for now, I'll do it just to keep him happy. It's the least I can do.