Whole Lot More

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

"What?"

"I asked you who the girl that you kissed in victory lane was, Martin.  It's a pretty simple question, ya know."

He swallowed quickly, knowing he had to come up with something pretty convincing and pretty fast.  As dumb as Kaleen could be sometimes, if he thought for too long, she'd know that something was up and he was lying.

"Are you talking about Brynne?"

"She the blonde in victory lane?"

"Yeah, she is.  She's an old friend from Jersey.  Her and her friend came down to Dega for the weekend and hung out with Josh and I."

"That still doesn't explain why you were kissing her, Martin.  I don't care who the hell she is, I just want to know why the hell you were kissing her."

"I'm sorry, baby.  It was just the excitement of the moment, hell I just won a race, and I looked over and she was there and it just happened.  Trust me, it didn't mean anything and I've already talked to Brynne about it and she understands that it was just the passion of the moment.  If you had been here baby, it definitely wouldn't have happened, because I would have been kissing someone else."

Kaleen sighed.  She knew that Martin knew that there was no way she could stay mad at him for very long, and he had always used that against her when he did something wrong.  A little sweet talking, and an apology that she couldn't tell whether it was truthful or not, and he knew she would forgive him no matter what.

"Fine, Martin."

"Good, baby.  So how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine, a little tired but otherwise, I'm fine.  Haven't been sick all day, so maybe I'm finally over that."

"Well, that's good.  Is everything alright back there?"

Kaleen rolled her eyes, "Martin, I'm a grown woman.  Pregnant or not pregnant I can take care of myself.  If something was wrong there are plenty of people around here that I could call for help, and trust me, you'd know it."

"Sorry I worry," he muttered, "If you'd just move into my place it'd make this all easier, ya know?  I'm just trying to look out for you and for my baby.  No reason to jump down my throat for being worried."

"Sorry," she sighed, "It's the hormones, they're raging.  But like I told you before, just because I'm pregnant and it's your baby, doesn't mean I want to move into your place and burden you; I'm doing just fine on my own."

"I know you are, I just hate that you're being so damn stubborn about me trying to help you out; you're pregnant with my baby and I love you, isn't that enough?"

"Martin please, can we not argue anymore?  It's wearing me out and my parents want to have dinner tonight, you know how much energy that's already going to zap out of me, because I dread having dinner with them."

"I'm sorry, baby."

"It's fine.  But when are you going to be back in North Carolina?"

"Um... we're staying another night here, so probably tomorrow afternoon sometime.  Why?"

"When you get back, come over to my place and I'll cook us dinner tomorrow night and we can talk about when we're going to let everyone know about the baby."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, Kay.  Love you."

"Love you, too."

He couldn't wipe the smile off his face when he hung up the phone.  That was reasonably easy; easier than it had been in the past for him to get her to believe what he said.  He guessed the further along in her pregnancy she got, the less energy she had to argue with him anymore; so she just agreed with him even if she didn't believe him half the time.

But he'd definitely worked too hard to keep the fact that he was still with her and that she was pregnant from his friends and family.  And to keep the existence of Brynne away from her.  He didn't know how he'd managed it, but he had and that's all that mattered anymore.

*

The phone call had set him back in getting ready to go out a little bit, without him even realizing how late it had gotten.  Halfway through his shower, he heard his motorcoach door open and close just as quickly.  He knew whoever it was would either make themselves at home or he'd know who it was pretty shortly, so he decided not to worry about it.

Quickly, he went back to washing the soap out of his hair, knowing he didn't have long before Junior would be up there bitching for him to hurry his ass up.

"Martin?"

He smiled when he heard Brynne's voice coming from out in the main area of the coach.  "I'm in the shower!"

"Oh."  She paused for a second before stopping outside the bathroom door.  "Well everyone is waiting outside for you, and Josh and Junior are bitching about how you're always late and to hurry your ass up because they want to get drunk and celebrate, and you're prolonging it."

"I figured," he laughed, "And I'll only be a couple more minutes.  Feel free to stay in here so you don't have to listen to the two babies bitch out there."

"Okay," she said quietly, and turned back around to the main area.  She sat down on the couch and flipped the tv on, not keeping it on one channel for particularly long; there wasn't much on, anyway.

She kept herself entertained for another few minutes before she heard some shuffling behind her, and turned around to see Martin walking out of his bedroom fully dressed.  He looked good in a simple pair of black dressier pants and a button down long sleeve blue shirt.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "You look nice."

He let his eyes skim the skirt and tank top she wore, and grinned, "So do you."

* 

The bar wasn't very full, but not much could be expected for a Sunday night, but it didn't really faze them all much, because they were there for one reason and one reason only and that was to celebrate the win.

The guys quickly walked up to the bar to get drinks for everyone, when Brynne and Julie headed towards the back of the bar, looking for a booth for them all to fit in.

The one good thing about being out on a Sunday night, was the lack of a crowd, which on other nights of a race weekend, could be pretty big and they loved to bother the guys.  But being a Sunday night, there weren't many, and most were already too drunk to notice who was occupying the bar space around them.

So, in the end, it worked out in their favor.

They brought back drinks for everyone, and handed them out, before pushing themselves into the booth to just hang out; Martin squeezing in next to Brynne and throwing his arm around her neck, essentially pulling her closer to him.

Julie – who was sitting next to Brynne in the booth – had to contain her joy when she looked over beside her and was staring into the deep blue eyes of none other than Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Music pounded through the little bar, as they sat there and drank their beers and enjoyed the endless chitchat.

But, the night was far from over.

*

"Oh my God."  All heads at the table turned towards the blonde who had stopped at their booth.  "Oh my God," she said again, "You're – you're –"

Most everyone who had been otherwise engaged before she interrupted them, turned back to what they were previously doing and went on like she wasn't there.

All except Josh.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

"Amanda," she smiled.

"I'm Josh," he told her, holding his hand out for her to shake, which she did as quickly as he'd given it to her.

"I know who you are," she said, "Would you like to go dance?"

Josh didn't have to be asked twice, as he practically shoved everyone out of his way so he could get out of the booth and follow Amanda out further into the bar and towards the dance floor, the two beginning to grind with each other, even though the song was slow.

"Josh obviously thinks he's getting some tonight," everyone at the table observed, as they watched him try to put the moves on Amanda.

"Wanna go dance?" Martin asked, grinning at Brynne, who rolled her eyes before nodding.  Martin grabbed her hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor as a slower song began playing.

Everyone else who had been sitting at the booth systematically dispersed, leaving Junior and Julie there by themselves.

*

Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared ‘neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known you'd ever say goodbye

Martin wrapped his arms around Brynne, as she looped hers around his neck and laid her ear flat against his chest, his systematic breathing relaxing her.

They moved to the slow beat of the music, not feeling the need to talk at the time.  The silence was filled up by the slow music and everything was perfect for the time being.

All thoughts of anything that could bother them were pushed to the backs of their minds for the moment, as they just enjoyed the moment.

*

"So, are ya from around here?"

Julie looked up from her drink and met his eyes, nodding slightly.  "I just live a couple hours away... in Mississippi."

"Figured."

"What?"

"Ain't nothin' can hide a southern accent."

"Oh," she smiled, "Hopefully that's a good thing then."

He swiped his finger under his nose and nodded.

*

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance; I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

Brynne groaned, causing Martin to look down at her with a raised eyebrow, questioning what was wrong.

"I don't want to go back to Boston or work."

"Well, if it counts for anything, I don't want you to go back, either.  But just because you have to go back doesn't mean anything... I mean, hell, I'm going to be pushing for you to come back next weekend, but I take it you probably won't be able to do that, huh?"

"Probably not; although, you never know..."

"Well, see what you can do.  Worse comes to worse, we have an off weekend coming up here, soon... maybe I'll have to make a trip to Boston."

"You definitely have to come to Boston," she grinned, "I love showing people around the city."

*

"I'm down here a lot," Junior said.  Julie looked up at him, asking him what he meant without even really having to say a word.  "I mean, I have friends down here, and I come down here to Alabama occasionally to visit and to hunt.  We should exchange numbers and I could call ya if I make it down here; we could meet up for a drink or somethin'."

"A drink sounds like a good time," she nodded, while silently berating herself for sounding like an overzealous school girl.  She could apparently talk the talk, but when she was sitting right next to him by themselves, she just couldn't keep herself calm.

*

Holding you, I held everything
For a moment wasn't I the king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Who's to say, you know I might have changed it all

Brynne rested her head back against his chest and let herself reflect on the weekend and what all had happened.

So much more than she could ever have dreamed of or wished for.  She knew it was going to take awhile to absorb it all, because so much had happened.

Martin's hand drifted up her back and casually moved it up and down in a soothing motion.

"This won't be the end of us, Brynne," he whispered, "We've only begun; I'll make sure of it."

Yes my life
It's better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

*