Get Closer by Alyssa Turner

Chapter 6

Russel

“Oh, my fucking God!” I smacked the steering wheel and groaned. “Will you move already?”

I stared out the window at the lines of cars stuck with me on the highway as I tried to keep my attention focused on the company retreat Hunter Railways sponsored each year and not on Martell, who had refused to talk to me for a whole two fuckin’ weeks.

Two weeks! That’s how long it had been since Martell and I had our fight…if that’s what you called it. Two weeks of complete silence. Two weeks of seeing him already at the gym, finishing his workout without me and with some random ass muscle-head spotting for him on the bench press instead. Two weeks of him coming home late from a night of drinking with coworkers. Two weeks of him leaving notes on our refrigerator informing me the toilet paper was out or we needed more whey protein. Well, he only did that once, but still! It was childish. It was stupid. And it was driving me fucking crazy.

Every time I called Chloe there was this invisible barrier between us. But, just because it was invisible, didn’t mean I didn’t know what it was.

It was guilt, and even though there wasn’t a real reason to feel that way, pursuing Chloe now felt too much like betraying Martell.

“Oh, finally!” I shouted at the cars around me, as I celebrated the move from two miles per hour to fifteen. What a shit show.It’ll be nightfall by the time I even get there.

I don’t know why I was surprised that Martell had left that morning without me. When I woke up and knocked on his door, nudging it open with a soft, “Martell” he was already gone. I even checked the parking garage and his car wasn’t in its usual spot. Well, I wasn’t going to arrive right after him like some kind of sucker. I went into the office and took care of a few things first, hoping to time my arrival to look as if I hadn’t planned on traveling with him either.

And now I was stuck in this freaking traffic jam all alone.

I hated it, I decided, shaking my head at the car in front of me. I absolutely hated it. I frowned, remembering the good ole days not even that long ago when he would show up randomly to my office to tell me a joke he’d heard from a co-worker. I missed that everyday stuff like going to lunch together, watching the football game, drinking beers, and just being ourselves. Only right before the big blow-up, neither one of us had quite been ourselves, had we? There’d been something…else. If I was going to man up and be truthful about it, there had been something more.

I sighed and leaned back in my seat, deciding to finally let go. It didn’t matter if I was late to this thing. It wasn’t like Martell would miss me. He was probably already flirting with the ladies, working on his third Guinness.

But I missed him…more than I thought I could.

I couldn’t even remember the last time we’d had a disagreement; we usually got along so well. Martell had been a permanent fixture in my life for the past ten years, and the absence of his quick jokes and big smile was deafening. And all this because of Chloe? Sure, they’d been working closely together over the past few months, but he barely knew her. He hadn’t even mentioned her to me, not once.

I sighed, tapping on the steering wheel. This weekend was going to be awkward as fuck if he continued ignoring me. It wasn’t like people didn’t already notice the rift between us. Even my assistant had started the habit of offering to order me lunch when Martell stopped dropping by with his usual invite.

After several more hours of traffic, I sighed in relief when the big welcome sign and then cabins finally came into view. And just like I’d suspected, dusk was already beginning to fall. I had missed the entire day’s festivities.

As luck would have it, Kyle Hunter was stepping off his porch when I pulled up to the cabins. He laughed and tugged a woman into his arms for a few moments before another guy exited the cabin and closed the door. They were all walking my way as I popped the trunk on my Jeep.

“You’re just getting here?” Kyle asked. “Don’t tell me you went into the office today.”

“Guilty.” I pulled out my duffle bag and then hauled my golf clubs out as well. “I left at about two and then there was traffic…”

“Completely unacceptable. This weekend is for fun.” He gestured to the woman and then to the man with him. “This is my girlfriend Rebecca and my boyfriend Manny.” Kyle flashed a lopsided grin. “Yes, the rumors are true. I am lucky enough to love both of them.”

Manny held out his hand. “Good to meet you…”

“Russel.”

I took Rebecca’s extended hand as well. She laughed lightly. “There might be some people in this state who have forgotten all about bra-gate after all.”

“I only got to the city last year,” I told her, but Kyle was right, there were plenty of rumors. It was kind of badass of him not to give a shit, though. I already liked the guy.

“Well, glad you’re here, and also glad you made it up to Lake George.”

“Glad to be here, too.” I glanced around. “Do you know which cabin is mine?”

Kyle tilted his head toward the edge of the clearing. “It’s just down the path over there.” Then he gestured to the golf clubs. “Let me help you with those.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

Kyle shook his head. “You’ve paid your dues today already. This is the least I can do.”

Manny nodded. “We’ll meet you down at dinner.”

I watched as Manny leaned in for a quick kiss, and just witnessing that simple everyday display of affection between them twisted something in my heart.

Rebecca was next, with a delicate hand resting for a few seconds on his cheek before she raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t be too long.” Then she dragged her hand down to his heart before pulling away.

I couldn’t help but feel a swell of jealousy, wondering for a moment if I could ever have what Kyle had. They made it look…easy.

“Down here,” Kyle said, walking onto the narrow dirt path to some smaller cabins overlooking the lake. “You’ll be bunking with Martell.”

I turned away, hiding my grimace from Kyle. I didn’t want him to know that things weren’t going so well between us since we were part of the same larger department. This trip didn’t need to be any more awkward than it already was.

We came to the cabin porch. “I’m surprised you didn’t come with Martell.”

Shit. I bit my tongue and smiled back at Kyle. His gaze narrowed on me as we entered the cabin.

“Is something going on?”

I quickly shook my head, my gaze settling on the empty cot. “Not at all,” I said, dumping my bag on the floor. “I had some…things to finish up.”

Kyle watched me for a moment, his arms crossing in front of his chest. “Well,” he sighed, “he was the first one here. Got here so early he had time to go on a hike and everything.”

“Oh really?” I stopped myself from rolling my eyes.

“Took a ton of pictures. They actually look pretty great. You should ask him about it at dinner.”

I nodded, knowing Martell would most likely ignore me if I even bothered to make an effort. “How about that dinner? I didn’t have time to stop along the way.”

Kyle chuckled and I followed him outside the cabin, stopping when I saw Chloe and Martell walking back from the lake. Kyle must have seen the surprised look painted on my face.

“I invited Chloe. She did such a thorough job on the merger, I figured I’d try to convince her to join us full time.”

That caught me off guard. “Wow, okay. She is good at what she does. Are we looking at another acquisition?”

“Maybe in a year or so, but she’s become an expert on Springdale. I have no idea if she’s interested, but we could use a point person in house to help with the transition.”

I nodded, my head spinning with possibilities and their implications. “Makes sense.”

Kyle nodded and then smiled. “I’ll see you at dinner.” With a casual wave, he walked back up the dirt path.

I waved back, but I wasn’t looking at him. I was too busy watching Martell drag a kayak behind him, laughing with Chloe, and secretly wishing I had spent the afternoon with them. His smile dropped when his gaze landed on me. Chloe’s smile widened as she waved at me. Martell was on pause, and he looked around as if he were a deer about to run. Finally, he shook his head like he wanted to rid himself of some kind of vagrant thought and stalked towards me.

“Hey,” he muttered, brushing right past and heading inside.

“Hey—”

Martell slammed the door closed. Any other words I had got stuck in my throat.

Chloe sauntered towards me and I managed a smile as she cocked her head to the side. “Hey,” she said. “What took you so long?”

“Oh, you know, traffic.” I glanced at the closed door, wishing I could throw it open and demand Martell talk to me, but that would be difficult to do since Chloe was standing right there. “How long have you been here?”

“A couple hours. Martell showed me around a bit.”

I imagined Martell pressing her up against a tree, pushing down her linen shorts before shoving himself deep inside her. Fuck, what was wrong with me that every time I saw this woman my mind went straight to the gutter. Even more screwed up was that I wasn’t even the co-star of this fantasy. I swallowed. “Oh, did he?”

The door flew open and Martell appeared on the threshold, dressed in a clean white shirt and distressed jeans. He glanced between me and Chloe, before turning his attention to the floorboards.

Chloe looked at him and then at me and then back at Martell. She chuckled, taking our hands and pulling us towards the direction Kyle left in. “Let’s go, boys,” she said. “Don’t want to be late.”

The restaurant was a large building overlooking Lake George, with several long tables inside and servers bringing trays upon trays of food. There were several bartending stations around, both inside and outside on the patio in order to keep everyone properly buzzed. A grill and a cook to go with it was made available for those employees opting to picnic on blankets. There was even a bonfire for some to roast their own hotdogs, and marshmallows, and whatever else was good burned to a crisp. I circled the last of my fourth bourbon sour in its glass and tried to focus on anything but Martell. I sat between him and Chloe, and everyone was listening to his tipsy assistant, Angela, try to tell the story about how she met her husband.

Chloe, being the charming woman that she was, listened intently and engaged her with questions and well-timed chuckles. I was too distracted by Martell, who still hadn’t tossed more than a couple words in my general direction. His hand lingered near mine, so close on the bar table. I wanted to touch him just to see what he would do.

“Alright, I’m going to turn in,” Chloe said, yawning and raising her arms over her head.

“I’ll go with you,” Martell said, as I began to offer her my hand.

Chloe smiled, taking my hand and tugging me towards her. “Let’s go together,” she said. “Come with us, Martell,” she called when he didn’t follow.

We walked in the dark with only the moon to light our way. Martell walked next to me, his hand lightly bumping mine. I tried to ignore the feeling building deep within me, but with each minuscule touch I felt myself becoming angrier and angrier…and grateful…and fucking turned on. You’re drunk, Russel. Drunk and horny.

I stumbled over something, putting my palms out to stop myself from tumbling into the dirt, but hands on either side of me were there to offer support. Both Chloe and Martell reached out, but it was Martell who helped me up. His eyes lingered on me and my gaze dipped to his lips. A sneaky little thought occurred that I couldn’t push away. I really wondered what those plump lips felt like. What they tasted like…

“Why don’t we play a little game,” Martell said, glancing back and forth between us with a mischievous smile.

“Interesting,” Chloe said, flicking her bangs out of her drunken gaze. “What game would you like to play?”

Martell stared back at me, cocking his neck to the side. I knew that look. It was his game-on expression that always made an appearance on the football field. “Let’s find out who has the best dirty talk?”

Chloe spluttered, breaking out into drunken laughter. She glanced at me. “Oh, I wonder who will win that game.”

Martell cleared his throat. “I’ll go first, thank you very much.” He turned away from me, his gaze dragging over my skin like a blanket and leaving me cold when it was gone. Continuing down the path, he began. “We’re driving to the office. You…” he glanced over at Chloe, “are sitting in the passenger seat, telling me all about how boring your latest assignment is when I decide to stroke my hand up your thigh.”

I smirked, thinking that Martell’s dirty talk might ring some bells, but it would definitely pale in comparison to what actually happened between Chloe and me on that plane.

“My hand slides up your skirt and you only look surprised for one fleeting second before my fingers slip into your panties.” He glanced at me and then her, those white teeth of his showing off his wicked grin in the moonlight. “I stroke your clit softly and you’re wet in an instant, almost like you’d been thinking about this happening all along.”

I watched Chloe carefully, taking in her reactions and registering the way her lips parted and her tongue made a slow swipe of her bottom lip.

Martell’s baritone timber cut through the steady chorus of crickets around us. “I thrust a finger deep inside you, stroking your pussy for the entire ride until I finally pulled up inside the parking garage at work. There’s no way I’m getting out of that car without tasting you first, so I order you into the back seat.”

Chloe giggled softly, though it didn’t sound a bit comical. “You order me?”

“I’m the boss of this fantasy, Chloe, you’ll do what I say.”

“Yes, sir,” she purred.

“You kneel on the seat and I rake your skirt up over your ass. I don’t just lick you, Chloe, I lick into you. Do you know the difference?”

“Yeah, I think I do.”

“And I draw out every last drop your pussy spills and listen to the moans pouring from your mouth. After you’ve come, long and hard, you’re ready to face the day with a new outlook.” He winked at her. “Better than Starbucks, baby.”

Chloe chuckled, glancing between us before saying, “Pretty good, Martell.” She leveled her gaze at me. “Russel?”

My cock twitched, and I wished I could see Martell going down on her. All I wanted to do was touch myself and watch him get her off. I could imagine just how good his soft lips would feel against any part of my body…I meant her body.

Fuck, I really shouldn’t have had so much to drink.

“Alright, Russel,” Martell said, turning around, his tongue swiping across those lips, nearly causing me to moan. “Let’s hear it.”

I opened my mouth and took a deep breath. “We’re walking by the lake.”

“Well, duh,” Martell muttered.

I scowled in his general direction, but was determined to keep this from turning into a fight, even if maybe that’s what Martell had in mind when he started this. I turned to Chloe and toyed with a loose strand of her hair. “We’re walking by the lake when suddenly I grab you and push you up against a tree with your gorgeous ass facing me.”

Chloe’s breath hitched.

“I pull down your shorts and low and behold, you aren’t wearing any panties. With my help you step out of your shorts and I step between your legs, kicking your ankles apart with each of my feet. You hear the rough growl of my zipper lowering, but I don’t let you turn to look. No peeking as I take my cock and slide it between your folds. I send slow, long strokes that make your breath heavy and ragged with all the tension building inside that tight little pussy. Then I strum your clit with my thumb and play you like an instrument. You hum and sway and my hand tightens around your neck when I grant you the very tip of my dick.” I glanced at Martell, watching his lips part, his gaze dipping down to my cock.

We stopped in front of the lake, and I looked up at the bright full moon reflected on the blue-black of the water, seeing it all play out in my mind’s eye. “I continue rubbing my dick against your wet pussy lips and bathe my finger with the slickness you’re pouring for me. Then I press it into your ass. You beg for me to fuck you. Panting and gasping for me to fill you up.”

I turned and held Martell’s gaze, unable to look away. “You’re so beautiful when you beg, Chloe. Don’t you think, Martell?”

Martell held my gaze while nodding.

“And, so damn sexy.” I wasn’t looking at Chloe when I said that either. I wanted to reach out right then and grab him to me and make him want me back into his life, because I wanted them both so…fucking…bad, I couldn’t see this ending any other way.

But yeah, it could. I could scare Chloe off and ruin my friendship with Martell forever.