Whole Lot More

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty One

Martin had to quickly scrape his jaw up off the floor when he realized Brynne had continued to retreat further into the bar, and that if he didn't catch up to her now, he'd more than likely lose her in the crowd.

A million questions swam through his head; all ones that he wanted answers to, and hoped that she would be able to answer them for him.

He watched through the crowd as her blonde hair fanned around her, before finally he took off after her, amazed at the way the crowd parted for her. Yet again, she was the owner.

When she made it up to the bar, she slid onto a stool and stopped, resting her elbows on the bar top and looking like a little girl. You'd never know that a woman who could look so small and so fragile could own a place like this.

Martin was definitely in awe of it all.

He walked up and slid into the seat next to her, relishing in the look she gave him when he did. "Bet ya didn't think this was what I did with my life, huh?"

Blinking quickly a few times, Martin shook his head. "Definitely not. Though, I didn't really know what to expect."

She grinned, "You're lying. Honestly, what did you think I did?"

Ducking his head, he shook it once, "Junior and Josh kept trying to tell me you were probably a stripper or something with the hours you work. I didn't believe them, though."

Brynne just laughed, her smile brightening when she saw one of the girls coming towards them. "Tara!" she screeched, launching herself into the other woman's arms.

Once they pulled back, Tara eyed Martin before turning back towards Brynne and raising her eyebrows. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Sorry," Brynne laughed, "Tara this is Martin, Martin... Tara. She's one of my best friends and the one who takes over for me when I get whisked away by a certain someone."

"Guilty as charged," Martin smiled, reaching his hand out to Tara, "But it's good to meet you, Tara. Now I have a face to put to the name."

His mind started spinning as he thought he should for once be nice to Josh and set him and Tara up. He didn't know much about her, but Josh wasn't really picky.

"Has she been telling you things about me?" Tara questioned, giving Brynne a look, "Because whatever she said really isn't true."

"It was all good, trust me."

"Oh... well then it all is good," Tara laughed. Tara groaned when she heard a commotion from over at the other end of the counter. "Well shit, I have to get back. But what can I get you two to drink? I'll have McKenna – who have I mentioned is basically useless – bring it over to you. Maybe she won't spill them this time."

They told her what they wanted to drink and Brynne laughed when Tara walked away. "I feel bad. I hired McKenna and knew she probably wouldn't hack it, and then I took a week off and left her here for Tara to deal with."

"Doesn't seem like it's working too good."

"No, it really doesn't. But I have faith that she'll either fire the poor girl and make her into one of the best bartenders we've ever had here. Besides, I've seen worse."

"I imagine you see a lot of things here..."

"You have no clue," Brynne laughed, "Some of the stories I have are so totally unbelievable that it's hard for me to believe them and I was here when it happened."

"You'll have to tell me sometime."

"I will," she smiled.

"So, how did you manage to get yourself a joint like this? Call me curious, but... I'm really curious," he grinned sheepishly.

"I inherited it," she said, her normally bubbly tone, becoming one of sadness and torture.

"Really? From who?" His curiosity took him over, causing him to not notice the sudden change in her posture and the entire atmosphere around her.

"I'd really rather not talk about it." Already, anyone who knew her could see the guards going back up. The guards that had protected her heart from the pain of all the memories for so long.

"Alright," he nodded, the change in her startling him. For as long as he'd known her, he'd never see her like this, or heard her tone like this for that matter.

McKenna broke the tense moment when she brought their drinks over, managing to only spill half of it along the way. She gave Brynne a nervous smile before bounding back down to where she'd been before.

Brynne felt for her, she really did. Just the memory of the first time she'd ever walked in there was enough to make her laugh; she'd been so nervous.

"I like this song," Martin randomly spoke, "Come dance with me."

She pushed his shoulder lightly and playfully, her normal posture and aura back. It was almost as if the whole conversation hadn't happened in the first place. "People don't normally dance here, Martin. They come here and have some drinks and listen to the music and talk. Not dance, though."

"Oh well," he shrugged, "Let's be original."

"You're weird, you know that?"

"Like I said, we'll call it being original. Besides, you look damn good in that outfit."

Brynne blushed lightly and shook her head, "Such a typical man with only one thing on your mind."

"Trust me baby," he said quietly, "It could be a lot worse and I could be like Junior. That guy is constantly thinking about sex, I only think about it sometimes. Josh is bad, too."

"Well your friends are just perverts then, maybe I should give Julie a full warning of what she's getting herself into with Mr. Earnhardt."

"Trust me," he grinned, "I'm sure she already knows." They both nodded knowing that more than likely she already did, before Martin tugged on her hand. "Now come on, less talking about our friends and more dancing."

And I'm so sick of love songs
So tired of tears
So done with wishing you were still here
Said I'm so sick of loves songs so sad and slow
So why can't I turn off the radio?

"Martin!" Brynne protested, "This is a sad song! How can you like it?"

"Because it's true," he shrugged, "Haven't you ever been heartbroken before and every time you turn on the radio there's a sad love song on?"

Brynne didn't answer him, just laid her head on his chest and focused on anything other than the memories that were starting to dredge back up.

Memories she never wanted to relive again.

Gotta fix that calendar I have
That's marked July 15th
Because since there's no more you
There's no more anniversary
I'm so fed up with my thoughts of you
And your memory
And how every song reminds me
Of what used to be

She couldn't help the tear that slipped down her cheek. No matter how much she tried to hold it in, she hadn't been able to.

Too many emotions were bubbling up to the surface at the moment to be able to quell them any longer, and suddenly she wished she weren't at Fusion and certainly not with Martin.

At the feeling of something wet, Martin pulled away and noticed two stray tears trailing down Brynne's cheeks. His eyes immediately clouded with worry as they completely stopped dancing.

"Brynne, why are you crying?"

"I just – I have a lot of stuff on my mind at the moment. That's all. It's really no big deal."

"How about we get out of here?"

She nodded, and quickly swiped a hand over her eyes to hide the fact that she'd been crying as they approached the bar and told Tara they were heading out.

As Tara handed Brynne her purse, she leaned over the bar and whispered, "I want all the details tomorrow, girl. Have fun!"

Martin offered to drive, and Brynne let him, giving herself some time to clear her mind. She decided to not even touch the radio, knowing that if she turned it on, something would eventually upset her, and she didn't need to fully breakdown on Martin.

Back at Fusion, that'd been a sliver of what her breakdowns had been before. And she didn't need a repeat of one of those.

The short, silent trip back to the apartment was just that – silent. But the silence did her good, and as they walked through the lobby, she felt her mind clear a little bit. Grabbing Martin's hand, the two of them took the elevator, him giving her the space he thought she needed, and her feeling bad for ruining their night out.

Lucky met them at the door, his tail wagging, just begging for some attention. Martin leaned down and pet his head, the puppy jumping up on him and licking his face.

"Lucka, leave Martin alone, baby. Do you want a treat, Puppa?"

At the word treat, Lucky jumped off of Martin and ran into the kitchen, standing in front of the refrigerator expectantly awaiting his treat.

As soon as the dog trotted away with his treat, Martin turned towards Brynne, worry written all over his face. "Are you okay, honestly?"

"I'm fine now. I just had to get out of there and give myself some space and time to clear my head. But... it's all cleared now!"

"You know you can talk to me, right?"

She nodded with a sigh, "I know that, Martin. I just haven't ever talked to anyone about this, and I don't want to let it haunt me anymore than it does. I'll be fine, just like normal. I just need to give myself time."

"Time I can give you."

Brynne walked the length of the room and wrapped her arms around Martin, sighing into his embrace when he kissed her on the forehead and wrapped her tighter.

"I want you to love me tonight, Martin," she whispered, "I need to feel loved."

He pulled back and studied her face for a moment. "Are you sure, Brynne?"

"I've never been so sure about anything in my life."

*~*