Fantasy Man Ch 06

Sorry for the delay...my life likes to be crazy. But thank you for reading and as always, feel free to vote or send me some feedback to let me know how you like the chapter.

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"Terri, telephone," Zack yelled from the kitchen, where Terri had dropped her cell phone.

Terri ran in and snatched up the phone, not even bothering to thank Zack before she left the kitchen and returned to her room. It had been that way for the past two weeks and for the life of him, Zack couldn't figure out why. Terri had made an effort to distance herself from him. It was all he could do to get more than a few words out of her at a time. They had gone from warm and cuddly to freezing-your-balls off cold in a matter of days. He felt as if he was cut off from his best friend, and in a way, he was. Despite the fact he saw her every day, Terri was a stranger to him.

Terri sighed and attempted turned her attention to the phone call. On the one hand, it was torture separating herself from Zack. She missed hearing his laugh, hearing him gripe about reality TV, and she even missed his occasional ass scratch that he thought he was doing on the sly. She was amazed at how hard it was to remain just his friend the day after she saw him at the restaurant. On the other hand, it was too much to look at him and know that he had lied and was still lying about breaking up with his girlfriend. She should have kicked him out, but listening to him talk all those weeks ago about how he relished his independence from his father and the ability to get out and do some things on his own, she just didn't have the heart.

Instead, she became a recluse. She barely saw him and made an effort to spend as much of her time out or in her room as possible. She knew that it was pissing Zack off, but it pissed her off that he thought that he could just waltz into her life, seduce her into wanting him with every fiber of her being, and then still be attached to his blond waif of a girlfriend. She was angriest about the fact that he couldn't be up front with her. She thought they were friends.

"Mona, if you're not going to respond, the least you could do is grunt. Let me know you're still alive." Arthur's voice and annoyance finally broke into her consciousness.

"Hey, sorry. I was thinking," Terri replied.

"Obviously you weren't thinking about what I talking about. You haven't even acknowledged any part of what I've been talking about for the past few minutes."

Terri grimaced, knowing that she was caught. She knew exactly what Arthur was going to say when she apologized. "I'm sorry, Arthur...Hey, you know I love you, right?"

"Mona, I wish you would just talk to him. Do us both a favor and just confront the boy."

Terri shook her head, once again forgetting that she couldn't be seen over the phone. "I...can't."

Arthur just sighed and began to repeat what he was talking about before Terri tuned in. "Cathy and I are going out to dinner tonight and we thought that you should come and join us. You haven't really had a chance to meet Cathy, with all the pouting you've been doing, and she was thinking it was about time."

"Yeah, yeah...why don't you just come out and say it. Cathy wants to make sure I'm not a threat."

"Well, yeah...but you two should get to know each other, in case we get serious."

Terri raised an eyebrow and began to mentally catalogue her wardrobe. Anyone who could make Arthur to talk about getting serious was worth a night out, even if it would be spent stroking Cathy's ego and assuring her that there's nothing going on between Arthur and herself. "Serious? Ohh...well then, count me in. I want to meet the woman who has brought the great Arthur Rogers to his knees."

Arthur's snort in reply made her laugh. Terri felt like she hadn't laughed in ages. It was definitely time to get out. "I'll come, but don't expect us to become best friends over night. Girls are harder to win over than boys. With a guy, you flash him some skin and he's your best bud. With a woman, you have to convince her that you're not competition before she'll let her guard down enough to befriend you."

Arthur chuckled. "You didn't flash me any skin. I obviously got the short end of the stick." He shook his head and proceeded to give her the details about the outing. They were going to one of the fancier restaurants on campus, but Arthur was paying, so Terri had no problem meeting them there. Who could pass up free food that was guaranteed to be good? After it was all settled, Terri said her goodbyes and hung up the phone.

She prepared her outfit for the night, complete with jewelry. After a quick shower, she began to get ready, as dinner was in a couple of hours. She donned the knee-length, black, halter-style dress, accentuating it with diamond earrings, necklace and tennis bracelet. The jewelry was a gift to her from her grandmother before she died. Terri rarely had a chance to wear it, but this dinner was as good excuse as any. Checking her reflection in the mirror, she smiled. The dress accentuated the soft slopes of her breasts and the curve of her butt. She looked good and if she was lucky, maybe she'd find a guy to occupy her time while Zack was getting his act together. She shook her head at the thought. Zack had so engrained himself in her heart, the thought of getting with someone else almost made her feel sick to her stomach. That just convinced Terri that she needed some kind of life outside of the house.

As Terri was grabbing her coat, Zack came into the living room and paused, unable to breathe. Once again, Terri had stolen his breath away, but this time, it was coupled with a feeling of extreme jealousy. Who was she wearing that dress for? Was she going on a date? Zack could feel his temper starting to flare. He was two seconds away from demanding that she tell him where she was going. He was only a second away from grabbing her, throwing her up against the wall, and eating every inch of her sweet body.

Terri smiled inwardly as she noticed Zack's reaction. He probably thought that she was going out on a date and Terri wasn't in a mood to contradict him. She didn't have to wonder if he was feeling jealous, it was written all over his face.

"Hey." Zack's greeting was strained.

Terri's heart began to beat triple time. His voice was enough to make her slightly damp, despite the fact that he looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel or something.

"Hey. I'm going out for a while...so if you need the apartment to...entertain..." She let the sentence and its meaning hang.

Zack was convinced that if he wanted to, he could fry an egg on his head. He felt like his face was on fire from the anger he felt inside. She was suggesting that he bring someone else to the apartment? Zack sincerely hoped that she wasn't expecting him to extend the same liberties to her. He didn't want anyone else in the apartment for the sake of getting into Terri's pants. He was the only one that would be getting anywhere near her pants, if he had anything to say about it. His response was spoken through clenched teeth. "Thanks...I won't be needing the apartment to "entertain," so you can come home any time you like."

Terri could tell that she had hit a nerve. 'Good,' she thought. 'Serves him right for playing with my heart.' "Well, ok then. I'll see you later."

Terri left the apartment and headed for the restaurant. Zack sat down, putting his head in his hands. Where had he gone wrong? What could he do to inspire her to come back to him? Even if they just regained their status as friends, he would be overjoyed. He missed having his Buttercup in his life, bringing him happiness that he had never known before. Zack wasn't going to give up without a fight. With that settled, he got up and grabbed his car keys. It was time to do some shopping.

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When Terri arrived at the restaurant, Arthur was sitting alone in a booth. "Where's Cathy?"

Arthur looked up, his bright green eyes shining with mischief. His low whistle made Terri blush. "Wow, Terri, you look great. How long did it take for you to pour yourself into that dress?"

Terri laughed and took a seat, sitting next to Arthur for the time being. She would move when Cathy made an appearance...if she was going to. "Not too long...I used a funnel. Where's your girl?"

"She's running a little late...mostly because I asked her to be here at 7 instead of 6:30. We need to talk, Mona, and this way, you can't hang up on me and you can't get away."

Terri sighed. They began to discuss her life and what she really wanted to do with the whole Zack situation. They ordered drinks while waiting for 7pm to roll around. After talking for a while, it seemed that their conversation seem to return to the same point. Terri didn't want to be like the woman that broke Ty and her up. She refused to be a hypocrite.

"I don't know. I don't want to push him into breaking up with her. I don't want to be that kind of woman."

"Mona, Zack's a big boy. I don't think you could force him into doing anything that he doesn't want to do. From what you've told me before, he thinks that his girl is a monumental bitch anyway. It's only a matter of time before he calls it off."

"Well, then, I'll wait. I can be patient and let things progress as they will."

"But, Terri, you're miserable. You do nothing but mope and work. You should at least talk to him and smooth things out...I bet he could use a friend too. And really, if you're not talking to him, how will you know when he does break up with his girlfriend?"

Terri sighed and began to play with the straw that had been left on the table for her coke. She shrugged. "I was hoping he would come to me. But, I guess that would be kind of difficult seeing as I'm avoiding him. I suppose I should give him a chance...It's just so hard to look at him and know...feel...you know."

Arthur nodded. He understood how Terri was feeling, but he believed that Terri and Zack could be happy together and the first step towards happiness was to converse with Zack and let him know what was up. He probably had no idea why Terri was avoiding him. Poor guy...but he brought it on himself.

Cathy arrived at 7pm on the dot and instantly grabbed Terri up in a hug. She gushed about how she was excited to finally meet Arthur's best friend. After she was released, Terri took a step back to appraise the woman that had Arthur contemplating a serious relationship. She was slightly shorter than her 5'6", the color of her eyes fell somewhere between green and blue, and the curls of her blond hair that didn't frame her face fell haphazardly past her shoulders. No wonder Arthur hadn't introduced them sooner, he was probably concerned that Terri wouldn't like her just because she was blond.

It wasn't that Terri disliked all blonds, although she had gone through a period of that right after Ty left her, she only disliked the one blond that had the nerve to break up her relationship. Although, now that she thought about it, she wasn't even really mad at her anymore either. If it hadn't been for that bimbo, she might have still been with the ass and Zack might not be in her life as he was now.

Terri let out a sigh at the thought of Zack. Despite the fact that she felt betrayed, she couldn't shake the fact that she was crazy about him. She shook herself out of her thoughts and focused back on Arthur and Cathy. The made a cute couple. Terri sat back and began to listen to Cathy's chatter as she shared the events of her evening with Arthur. Dealing with Zack would have to come later.

By the end of the night, Terri was pleasantly surprised by Cathy. She quickly realized what an interesting person she was. There was a good chance that they would become friends and there was a huge chance that she was someone that Arthur would be keeping around for a long time. Terri could see why Arthur was falling for her. She was funny, smart, and had this youthful exuberance to her that just made her shine. Terri smiled inwardly. This was the first woman that Arthur dated that she actually approved of. Cathy, in turn, understood the nature of Terri and Arthur's friendship, so she wasn't as threatened as Terri thought she would be. She was very secure in their relationship and Terri was convinced that if Arthur let her go, he was a fool.

After dinner, Cathy convinced them to go to a club that wasn't far from the restaurant. Terri figured that since she had dressed up, she might as well get some mileage out of it. It was probably the last time she would be putting on a dress that looked so good on her for a while. Terri found herself dancing her cares away, feeling nothing but the rhythm of the music as it pulsed through the club.