Whole Lot More

Chapter Thirty Four

Chapter Thirty Four

"So how'd last night go?"

Dale Junior rolled his eyes at his best friend.

"At least tell me... are you out of the dog house?"

"What are you talking about, man? I was out of the dog house before we left the track last night. Trust me, I've got her wrapped around my little finger..."

"Do you now?" she whispered in his ear as she hovered over his shoulder. Sitting down, she grinned at Brynne, looking for confirmation, "I personally think it's the opposite... I have you wrapped around my finger."

Martin laughed hysterically as he eagerly nodded. "She's got you there, man. You are totally whipped."

Julie grinned at her boyfriend when everyone agreed, and kissed him lightly on the cheek, "It's okay dear, I like you just the way you are."

Dale grumbled, causing everyone to laugh once again. But all along, he had a smile on his face. If this is what being whipped meant, well... it wasn't that bad. He had a beautiful girlfriend, a booming career and a life surrounded by the people who he loved and whom loved him back.

Life couldn't get much better than that.

***

"Do you really have to go?"

Brynne stopped carefully folding her clothes into her suitcase and looped her arms around Martin's neck. She smiled as she laid her head down on his chest, "Unfortunately I do... have to go make sure the club didn't burn down in my absence."

"Oh, you know Tara... she did a great job when you were gone."

"I know, I know... but you know how I am when it comes to the club... it's my livelihood; I poured my heart and soul into that place to get it to be what it is now."

"And your dedication to it is just another reason that I love you."

She grinned, but her grin faded with a sigh. No matter how much she wanted to go check on Fusion, she wanted to be with Martin more.

Spending everyday with him for the last two weeks didn't help much either; she'd just gotten into the rhythm of his life here; gotten used to the daily rituals and just being able to be in his arms at the end of the day.

That was what she was going to miss the most - being able to be herself around him, and knowing that no matter where he was off to during the day, he'd always come home to her.

***

Julie stood at the end of the bed, a smile touching her lips at the sight of her clothes mixed in with and around his. It almost seemed so... natural.

Definitely something she'd gotten used to for the last couple of days; and definitely something she was going to miss.

Though, there were a lot more things she was going to miss.

His laugh, the stupid things he always said that made her laugh, seeing his friends who'd become hers too, being at the track with him all the time, Killer, the feel of his arms around her and most importantly just plain old being with him.

She'd come to cherish the little things that normal couples never seemed to give any thought. Not only did she not get to see him as often as they'd both like (he'd told her the night before that it'd become routine for him to have her around, and admitted he was going to miss her being there at night), but the life that he lived was so unpredictable; at any moment he could end up getting hurt.

Not that anyone liked to think about that, but in their lives they had to be realistical. And that was being realistical.

One wrong move and someone could end up dead.

The door creaked open behind her and she smiled when she felt a pair of arms snake around her waist, his hands lying flat on her stomach and his face resting in the crook of her shoulder.

"Are you sure you have to leave so soon?"

"So soon?" she laughed, "I've been here for two weeks and if I don't go back now, I won't have a job anymore. They were already kind of pissed that I was leaving for two weeks."

"What the hell do you need a job for anyway, babe? I think I make enough money for the both of us. You can quit, move in with me and I'll never have to worry about missing you again."

Was he serious?

"How about I think about it and get back to you?"

"Promise?"

"Of course."

He nodded, "Good. Now do you really have to go?"

Julie laughed, "Unfortunately, yes."

"And there's... nothing I can do to convince you otherwise?" His lips pressed against the pulse point in her neck, peppering her with kisses and chuckling when he felt her pulse race.

"Dale Junior... what the hell do you think you're doing?" she giggled.

"Trying to distract you so you miss your plane," he answered, honestly.

"You're doing a good job." She pushed her body away from his, knowing that if she didn't do it now, he'd get his way and she'd miss her plane home. As hard as it was (and it was hard to pull away from him), she really did have to get home.

"Aw babe, it was just getting good," he whined.

"Some other time," she promised.

He grinned and kissed her once more, "Trust me, I'll hold you to that promise."

Somehow she knew he wasn't lying when he uttered those words.

***

Martin and Brynne stood on Junior's doorstep and rang the bell. Brynne had wanted to say goodbye to her best friend and her boyfriend before Martin drove her to the airport for her flight back to Boston.

Junior opened the door after the second ring, panting for breath with his hair slightly disheveled, causing Martin to raise his eyebrow.

"Do we even want to ask?"

His best friend laughed and shook his head, amused. "Apparently Killer doesn't want Julie to leave either - he just stole one of her shoes she was packing and took off running - we chased him around the whole damn house before we got it back."

"Sure," Martin laughed.

"Seriously though, I knew I loved him for a reason, I swear it's apparent he's my dog; if only it were that easy though, I would have stolen one of her shoes a long time ago."

Brynne grinned, glad to finally see the both of them happy in their relationship. When he found the right girl, Dale Junior's so-called "playboy" tendancies really did go by the wayside.

"So where's that best friend of mine?"

He nodded at the stairs, "She's right up in my room, first door on your right at the top of the stairs."

She smiled and ran off, happily taking the stairs two at a time.

Both men watched her go with smiles on their faces. "Gonna be weird, huh?"

"What?" Martin asked, obviously having still been distracted by Brynne's retreating figure.

"It's gonna be weird not having them with us all the time."

"Yeah, it is," Martin agreed.

"It's weird... you really don't realize what you're missing out on in life until you find the person you think you could see yourself spending the rest of your life with."

Neither said anything, but they were both confident that they'd just found that in Brynne and Julie.

***

"Hey bitch." Julie looked up from her packing and smiled at her best friend. "Heard about Killer's attempt to get you to stay."

"Like pet, like owner," Julie murmured, "Dale was willing to give me anything this morning to get me to stay. Including telling me I didn't need a job - that I could just move in with him because he made enough money for the both of us."

"Wow, was he serious?"

Julie shrugged, "I don't know. He hasn't said anything more about it - but I really think he was."

"So things are serious?" Julie nodded slightly. "Do you love him?"

"More than I've ever loved anyone else before."

"Welcome to the club," Brynne smiled.

***

Martin tucked his hands in the back pockets of Brynne's jeans, pulling her body closer. They stood in the airport terminal, saying their last goodbyes before Brynne would jet back off to Boston, and her other life outside of the NASCAR world she loved so much.

"Before you ask if I'm sure I have to leave, I am. I have to get back to Boston, and the club."

Martin smiled. "I know. But you can't blame me, can you? We're all going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you and North Carolina and everyone, too. But once I see how Tara did this last two weeks, I'll be able to come see you more often."

"I'll hold you to that, baby."

"Flight 187 to Boston is now boarding."

"That's me," Brynne smiled sadly, the brightness leaving her eyes just slightly.

"Don't be too sad, Brynne. I swear it won't be long before we see each other again, even if I have to come and see you myself."

She smiled and buried her head in his chest, relishing in the simple scent of Martin. He pushed away and brought his lips down to hers quickly.

It was every bit a promise for the next time they were together rather than a goodbye. When they pulled away from each other for air, Martin smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

***

Brynne curled up on the couch with Lucky, a bowl of popcorn on her lap and some cheesy chick flick playing in the DVD player. She'd been home for no more than five hours and she'd already talked to Martin twice.

It seemed - according to him - that everywhere he went, he was lonely especially when he saw something that reminded him of her. And in his words: "Everything reminded him of her."

She'd already been down to Fusion to check up on everything - Tara had done an amazing job running the place - almost to the point where she could possibly think of putting Tara in charge permenantly if an offer to leave Boston ever presented itself. And that trust didn't come easy - not when it came to that club.

She found herself smiling when the two main characters kissed for the first time and it brought her back to the first kiss her and Martin had shared.

To her it felt as if it'd happened forever ago - when in actuality it hadn't been that long.

Her hand found its way to the soft hair of Lucky's neck, and she smiled when he leaned into her hand, enjoying the attention from his owner that he hadn't seen in well over a week.

"Oh Luck, what am I going to do? I've got it bad. Really, really bad."

Lucky just looked up at her with a look of pure adoration on his face, and she realized just how much she'd missed the companionship when she'd been gone in North Carolina.

The shrill ring of her phone made her laugh, figuring it was Martin once again telling her all about something else he'd found that reminded him of her.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Hey," Brynne smiled, "When did you get home?"

"Like two hours ago. Is it bad that I already miss it terribly?"

"No, because so do I. Martin's already called me like twice to tell me how much he misses me and to tell me about everything that's reminded him of me."

"That's okay... I forgot to turn my phone off before I boarded the plane and Dale called me when the plane was taking off asking me if I was sure I had to go."

Brynne laughed, "What are we going to do with these boys?"

"What are we going to do without them?" Julie countered.

"Miss them like hell until the next time we see them."

"I guess at least we know the feeling is mutual - but at least they have each other, ya know? I have my family, my job and a few friends from work... other than that, everyone else is hundreds of miles away."

"I know the feeling," Brynne brooded. She never thought she'd ever miss a single man so much. "What are we going to do with ourselves?"

"Be miserable until we get to see them again." That feeling was definitely mutual, too.

***

-End of June-

Brynne sighed as she stepped into the apartment and felt the cold air swoosh around her body. Lucky laid on the couch, enjoying the cool air and his afternoon nap.

She eyed the couch and the thought of curling up with her dog and taking a nice nap in the cool air, the fatigue of the day and the fact that she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before washing over her.

They were right in the middle of working out a big deal at the club. It seemed to be taking up all her time as of late, but she guessed that was part of being the owner.

She hadn't seen Martin, Julie, Junior or anyone else having anything to do with North Carolina in person in over a month, and even though she talked to all of them at least once a day - it just wasn't the same as seeing them.

But until business at the club slowed down a bit, she didn't have a choice, really. For now she'd have to learn to deal with that.

Setting her purse down by the door, she settled down on the couch and smiled at her dog. "Is it designated naptime, Luck?" His ears perked for a minute before he lay his head back down on her lap and promptly fell asleep again.

The cool air moved around Brynne, causing her eyes to begin to tentatively shut, and just as she was getting to that peaceful place, her cell phone rang and diminished any thought of taking a nap.

"Hello?"

"You're coming down to Daytona with me."

Martin's voice fully woke her up, and the excitement coursing through it made her smile, "Am I now?"

"You are," he answered, "Its been entirely too long since I've seen you and I miss you. Phone calls and talks on the computer just aren't cutting it for me anymore."

Brynne laughed, "Well, I miss you, too. And I guess since you're twisting my arm so hard, I'll come to Daytona with you."

"Glad you agreed. Because whether you would have agreed or not, I was fully prepared to kidnap you and force you down here."

"Well why didn't you mention the kidnapping part before? As long as there's handcuffs and blindfolds involved, I think I'll let you kidnap me instead."

"Brynne!"

She giggled, "What?"

"You're a dirty, dirty girl."

"You know you still love me."

Martin laughed quickly, "Hell yeah I do!"

***