“I’m gettin’ married in the morning,” Zack said in a slurred singsong voice. He was trashed. He was also heavy as he leaned over Brian’s shoulder.

“And, you’re singing show tunes,” Brian laughed. It was funny. Except that it wasn’t funny. “Seriously, dude, I have three sisters, two of them would take a bullet for you. And you had to go and pick the one who’d use you as a human shield.”

“Well, that’s part of her charm?” That Zack phrased that in the form of a question made Brian wonder if his friend was serious about getting married at all.

“Ronnie is as charming as a rabid cobra.” Brian fumbled Zack’s keys as he tried to open his apartment door. Zack wasn’t helping any, leaning against him and breathing into his neck. His breath was whiskey soaked, but still warm and Brian’s buzz was telling him this was a good thing. That maybe Zack wouldn’t mind knowing how Brian really felt about him. “Nope, man, don’t be doing that.”

Zack laughed, his mouth grazing Brian’s skin, sending shivers down his body and forbidden thoughts to his dick.

“Doin’ wha’? Damn you smell good,” Zach mumbled, his voice a mix of drunken-bad-ideas and seductive why-the-fuck-nots.

“Because you’re drunk and marrying my sister. When I think about you saying things like that it’s without either of those two roadblocks in the way.” Brian managed the door and locked it behind them. Zach blew into his neck, that farting sound was a real erection killer. Did he really just tell his best friend he would do him? Had Zack even heard him?

He stumbled through the apartment they’d shared their college years, avoiding packing boxes Zack had stacked everywhere. He managed to get Zack into his bedroom before the man sagged against him. Brian grabbed him under his arms and hefted him the last two steps to the bed. He fell onto the bed with his friend, but at least he got him on the bed before Zack passed out.

“You saying if I wasn’t marrying Veronica that we coulda had something?” Zack mumbled, curling into Brian to cuddle.

Brian tried to extricate himself from Zack’s arms, but Zack seemed to have grown more hands. Brian gave up and let Zack cuddle. Maybe it wasn’t just for Zack, he wanted to stay right where he was, tangled up with his best friend. But Zack would hate him in the morning.

“No, Zack, I’m saying…” and Zack snored in his ear. Brian lay there in the almost dark room holding his best friend, wishing that he’d had the courage to admit he loved him as more than a friend. But Zack was marrying his sister and that’s not something he could ever do now. Not that it mattered. Zach was straight. And Brian wasn’t… stupid. “I love you, buddy, that’s what I’m saying.”

He lifted Zack’s sleep-heavy limbs from his body and pulled the man’s shoes off. Zack was always a considerate drunk, he helped Brian remove his clothes and rolled into the covers that Brian pulled over him. Brian allowed himself one moment of weakness, and grazed his thumb over Zack’s bottom lip, wishing he could kiss his friend. Hadn’t he wished that on a million stars since he was old enough to know Zack was the person he loved above all others?

Zack caught his hand and held it, he smiled as if it tickled. “Love you too,” he said and proceeded to snore.

Brian felt the stab of remorse straight through his heart. He couldn’t stay here, not tonight. If he stayed he’d do something stupid, like make a fool of himself over an unavailable man. And wasn’t that always fun?

He left his bags in Zack’s living room and taking Zack’s car keys, drove himself to his parent’s house.

It wasn’t horribly late when he pulled into the driveway. Not even midnight yet. Exhaustion wrapped around his shoulders like a cape. His parents weren’t in yet. His older sisters were staying at the hotel near the church. Ronnie’s car was parked in the drive. There were a couple of cars he didn’t recognize parked on the street in front of the house.

Brian didn’t think much of it. Ronnie and her girlfriends must have brought their party back to the house after the rehearsal when they’d all split off. Brian had taken Zack out with their friends to get him drunk, which he’d managed spectacularly.

The kitchen was dark when he came in through the garage door. He stopped at the fridge to grab another beer. He wasn’t drunk enough to deal with Ronnie and her friends. It was bad enough he’d had to deal with them when they were growing up. A couple of them had thought it was funny as hell to come on to him every time he had the misfortune of being home when they were over.

Maybe he should rethink his sleeping arrangements. Maybe he would be safer on the sofa at Zack’s than in his old room here. But the house was strangely quiet. Maybe they’d all gone out and he was alone here.

He found a note from Mom on the fridge, addressed to Ronnie. His parents had taken her up on her offer of the hotel room after all and were staying there tonight. Maybe everyone was over at the hotel. Maybe he could have the house to himself.

He moved through the dark house, pulling at his tie. He’d forgotten he was still wearing the damned thing. The downstairs area was quiet. He checked all the locks and started up the stairs.

He stopped with one foot on the bottom step. The hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He had no idea what he’d heard, but it was enough to make him strain to listen. It had sounded like a faint moan. Like someone was hurt.

Something crashed in the back of the house. Brian went to the umbrella stand by the front door and grabbed the handle of the nine iron his mother kept there just in case. It wasn’t a baseball bat, but it would do the job, unless the other guy had a gun, then he was fucked.

He crept down the hallway behind the stairs to the den at the back of the house. The room didn’t have a door. It was dark, but not so dark that he couldn’t see exactly what was going on inside. He stood there frozen for a long time just watching. His fucking sister and two of his and Zack’s friends, Troy and Hunter fucking on the couch. Ronnie wasn’t exactly pure as the driven snow, he’d known that most of his life. But he never expected to walk in on her on her knees between two of his friends… especially when she was going to marry his best friend the next morning.

“Jesus, Brian, what the hell are you going to do with that club?” Hunter slurred when he noticed Brian, he was the one on the sofa with his dick in Ronnie’s mouth while Troy drilled her from behind. He looked amused and very drunk. “You want some of this?” And stupid. Very drunk and very stupid.

“Are you fucking high? She’s my sister you fucker.” Brian lowered the golf club, gripping it tightly in his hand, he tried not to let his temper make him do something he’d regret. He’d done so much stupid shit in his life. Killing his friends and his dumbass sister… yeah, he had no reason. She wasn’t married to Zack. Yet.

“Just checking, dude, she’s fucking hot, she’ll do you,” Hunter said, letting his head fall back against the sofa. “Don’t stop, honey, he’s not joining us.”

Veronica wasn’t sucking dick anymore, she was staring at Brian with a look he couldn’t decipher. Either she was pissed that he’d interrupted her orgy or she was scared.

She should be scared.

Brian turned to leave. He wasn’t getting in the middle of this shit and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let Zack get caught up with her shit. Unless that’s what Zack wanted. Maybe that’s why Zack was marrying Ronnie. Maybe Zack was into it, but if that was true, he’d be here with them, and not sleeping off a drunk over at his apartment.

“Don’t tell him,” Veronica said from the dark. Brian turned on the light in the foyer and stood gripping the club as if he wanted to take it to his sister and beat some fucking sense into her. “Don’t mess this up for me, Brian.”

“Mess what up for you?” He didn’t know what he expected to hear from his sister. He sure as hell never thought he’d walk in on her getting double teamed, on the night before she married his best friend or ever.

“You can’t tell him.”  She wasn’t afraid of him telling Zack. She was angry that Brian had found out about her pre-wedding celebrations. And an angry Ronnie was never a good thing. “You’re not exactly without your own sins. Sins that might change the way he looks at you if he was to… maybe… find out that you like dick more than I do.”

Brian took a step toward her then and she stepped back. She was naked with her makeup smeared and reeking of sex, and threatening to out him. Wasn’t that fucking hilarious?

“He knows,” Brian lied. No one knew. How the fuck did she know? He sure as hell wasn’t going to let her think she had ammunition. “Does he know about you and half of Atlanta?” He could see by the guilt in her eyes that he didn’t. Guilt that turned swiftly to anger. “Don’t, Veronica, just save your breath. Everyone knows you’re a slut. Mom and Dad know. Colleen knows. Kathleen makes excuses for you. She thinks marrying Zack will calm you down. She actually thinks you’ve sown your wild oats.” He laughed. God, he was so fucking not having this conversation. “I almost believed her when she told me. Almost. I’m not going to let you ruin him, Ronnie. You can make all the threats you want, but you are not going to hurt him like this. I won’t allow it.”

She looked scared for the first time since she’d chased after him. “What are you going to do?” Cautious suspicion crept into her voice as she glared at him.

Brian gripped the club until the vein in his wrist threatened to burst. He’d never had the urge to murder anyone before. “Give you an out. You’re not going to show up at the church tomorrow. If you do, I’ll speak up when the minister asks if anyone objects. I will object loudly and I will tell everyone in that church exactly what I walked in on tonight.”

“You wouldn’t,” she gasped angrily, barely keeping it together.

“I’m not the one building a life here, Ronnie. I’m not the one pretending to be some sweet simpering southern belle to further my career. I’m not the one marrying a man for his money and standing in the community. Mrs. Doctor Sorensen. That’s all you want, is that Mrs. Doctor. The rest of him not so much.” Brian watched as she finally covered herself, anger, and shame at war in her eyes. “Go back to your fun, Ronnie. I don’t care who you fuck. You’re single and over twenty-one. Not my business. Marry Zack and it becomes my business.”

“You’ll be the one to drag our family name into the gutter?” She argued. Brian swung the club loosely in his hand and she backed up.

“You’ve already done that,” he said, dropping the club back into the stand beside the door. “Good night, sister. I hope I don’t see you tomorrow.”

He left her shouting obscenities at him. Nothing he hadn’t been called before. He just never thought to hear that word from family.