Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Ridge
From: Addison Lark
Bcc: Ridge Cole
Subject: First week update!
To the parents and guardians of my first-grade class:
Since we’re nearing the end of the first week, I wanted to send a quick update to let you all know that your children have done a wonderful job of adjusting to my classroom. For the first five days, I’ve focused on the transition. I’ve paid particularly close attention to behavior—in the classroom and hallways, during lunch and recess. I’ve also gone over the materials we’re going to use this year and their locations so the students feel comfortable and know where everything is. They’ve learned about the importance of a community, how they can help others and set boundaries—both personal and educational. Each student has also set a goal they would like to achieve and placed that goal on the star board so they can work throughout the year on achieving it. They were very enthusiastic about setting their own goal and to hear they’ll be able to take home their star if their goal is achieved. My goal, as their teacher, is to make sure each of their goals is met.
I hope, throughout the school year, to continue sending you weekly emails to keep you abreast of what they’re learning, studying, and accomplishing.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I’m happy to discuss things in further detail or set up a parent-teacher conference if any concerns arise.
Sincerely,
Addison Lark
First-Grade Teacher
From: Ridge Cole
To: Addison Lark
Subject: Re: First week update!
Addison,
Daisy comes home from school every day with the biggest smile on her face. You’ve made me one happy father.
—Ridge
From: Addison Lark
To: Ridge Cole
Subject: Re: First week update!
Mr. Cole,
Thank you for letting me know. I’m happy to hear she’s enjoying herself so much.
Next week, we’ll be starting homework assignments, so I’ll be asking parents to monitor their child’s progress and ensure the homework is completed before the next school day. I hope you’re able to enforce a policy at home that would encourage Daisy to complete these tasks.
Sincerely,
Addison
First-Grade Teacher
From: Ridge Cole
To: Addison Lark
Subject: Re: First week update!
Whatever you need … I’ve got you.
—Ridge
As the call connected through the speakers of my car, I responded to Rhett’s greeting with, “How’s my girl?”
“Are you really checking up on us?” he asked quietly.
“Checking up? No. If that were the case, I would have called a lot earlier than nine at night.” I turned at the light, speeding up after I passed through the intersection. “But am I inquiring? Yes. I fucking miss her, all right? Jana had her all week, and you have her tonight. I feel like I haven’t seen my baby in months.”
“We had a hell of a good time today. She kicked my ass in Putt-Putt and somehow convinced me to go for pedicures because she simply couldn’t survive another minute unless her toes were pink and sparkly?—”
“Hold on. You got a pedicure?”
“Do you honestly think she gave me a choice?”
I laughed. “Man, she has you whipped. Keep going.”
“Dinnertime hit, and the princess demanded tacos, so that was what we had, followed by a movie. She made it a solid ten minutes before she fell asleep in my theater room, and that’s where she currently is, passed out on my chest.”
That would explain why he was whispering.
Not that he needed to. My girl could sleep through a goddamn tornado.
“Don’t tell me you made the tacos?” I asked.
“Fuck no. You know me better than that.”
I could envision Daisy asleep on my brother, her curls in his face, her tiny snores getting drowned out by the surround sound in his theater room. A sight I was sure was beyond adorable. What I couldn’t envision was Rhett using his kitchen for anything other than grabbing Daisy a drink, so I wasn’t at all surprised that he’d taken her out to eat.
“Wait until she asks for an egg burrito for breakfast—that’s been her favorite lately. Or French toast—her second choice with warmed-up syrup and cinnamon butter.”
“Jesus,” he groaned. “Tell me you’re fucking kidding.”
“The kid likes good food. What can I say? She has my palate.”
“It’s a good thing our chef will be here in the morning. That’s a project he can tackle, not me.”
I slowed down as I approached the building and pulled into the parking lot, finding a spot in the back, and shifted into park. “What time do you want me to pick her up?”
“I can drop her off. I’ll text you in the morning and figure out a time. It won’t be early. Daisy and I will be sleeping in.”
“If you can get her to sleep past seven, it’ll be a miracle.” I unbuckled my seat belt.
“You don’t know the power of Uncle ’Ett.”
I laughed.
“Where are you?” he asked. “I can tell you’ve been driving somewhere.”
I rested my elbow on the window ledge and stared at the dark building in the distance. “A place I probably shouldn’t be.”
He was silent for a moment. “Are you at the fucking strip club?”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said and ended the call.
I didn’t want to talk about my decision or what I hoped would happen this evening. Nor did I need to be reminded that Addy was Daisy’s teacher—something he might or might not have brought up.
In my mind, a line had been drawn down the middle of her two jobs.
And right now, I was standing on one side, not in the center.
I got out of my car and locked the doors and headed for the entrance of the club, paying the necessary cover to get access to both the VIP and main sections. Once I was in, I walked straight to the bar and scoped out the scene. I’d come early on purpose, unsure what time Addy got here and was assigned to a stage. I just hoped to catch her before she disappeared into a private room—another reason coming early had been part of my plan. The busier the club got, the more likely she’d be hired. And there was enough money in this town that the dude could request to have her all night, just like I had.
But from the looks of it, my timing was perfect. The VIP room, which I could see from here, was only about half full, the main room the same. She wasn’t on any of the three stages, so I ordered a filthy martini from the bartender.
As I was handing her my credit card, I said, “Has Addy been on yet?”
She eyed me up and down. “The redhead?”
I nodded.
“And you are?” she asked.
I remembered Addy had told me that the women who worked here often quit once they got boyfriends. We weren’t even close to a title like that, but I also didn’t want to allude to the fact that I liked her in case it set off any alarms.
So, I replied, “A fan. Nothing more.”
“The girls come and go so frequently, it’s hard to keep track of all their names.” She held a bottle of Tito’s over a metal shaker, the vodka pouring out in a thin stream. “She was on not too long ago. I’m sure she’ll be back in the rotation within the next couple of songs.” She nodded toward the closest stage. “You should check out the blonde that’s up there now. She’s the most skilled we’ve got.”
“I prefer redheads.” I winked at her.
She finished adding the olive juice and began to rattle the shaker in the air. “We don’t have too many of those. Addy might be our only one at the moment.”
“I guess that makes her in high demand.”
She poured the mixture into a glass and set it on the bar top, swiping my card and handing it to me, along with the receipt. “She’s a newbie. Once she comes out of her shell a little more, she has the potential of being the most popular woman here.”
“Then, I’m sure it’ll be a fight for the private rooms. Sounds like a good problem to have.”
“It’s no fight.” She smiled. “She goes with the man who pays the highest. That’s how this business works.” She immediately moved on to the next customer.
I gave her a generous tip and signed my name at the bottom and took the glass to a seat that was in the center of the room, giving me a view of all three stages.
This wasn’t a contest among the men here; I would always be the highest bidder.
But as the song played and the blonde made her way around the pole, I couldn’t stop thinking about what the bartender had said.
I’d told Addy that working here didn’t bother me, but those words were starting to eat away at me.
So did the thought of her being the most popular woman here. That men, like myself, would come just to see her. To spend time with her. To shower her with their money. To get her alone and try to put their hands all over her fucking body.
That was what I didn’t like at all.
Shit.
I took a long drink of the vodka, glancing between each of the stages as the song came to an end. A line of women was making their way out from the back—some were headed for the main area to try to score private dances, others went to the VIP room, the rest went toward the stages. I tried to look at their faces, but there were just too many of them.
Fortunately, the DJ made it easy, announcing the dancers who were entering the stage, and Addy was the first to be called, her name coming through the speakers as her heels hit the steps. They had to be at least five inches—shiny black spikes. And the lingerie set that covered her stunning body was a dark emerald lace bra and a pleated skirt that was short enough to show the matching thong beneath—a color that looked incredible with her red hair.
It had been too long since I’d seen those beautiful, perky tits and those juicy curves and that gorgeous face.
My dick was already hard.
She walked to the middle of the stage and gave the crowd a curtsy.
The crowd fucking roared, and the cash was already flying toward the stage before she even made her way to the pole. But once she was there, she pressed her back against the metal, slowly lowering until she was squatting. She gave several more smiles, teasing with the briefest sway of her hips, her legs then shooting out from each side, landing in a split.
That got the men to fucking scream.
A few were on their feet, hovering on the side of the stage, throwing bill after bill in her direction.
Addy didn’t get up. She didn’t move closer to them. She bounced in that position, holding the pole behind her, showing the men just how she would ride their cock if she were straddling them.
Another thought I didn’t fucking like at all.
After a few more beats of Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music,” she pulled herself onto her knees, unhooking the skirt, and she left it by the pole as she got on all fours and crawled toward the men who were standing for her. She kept her distance, but due to the narrow stage, she was still within reach. With her ass planted down, her legs spread, the thong covering as much as it could, she gave those men a taste of my dinner.
A hint of what I’d gotten to devour and what I planned on eating again tonight.
My fingers clenched around the stem of the glass as I glared at the crowd that was forming, at the money that was being flung at her, at the thought that each of these men was going to go home and beat off to this memory of her.
I was one of them. I’d jerked off to her pussy every fucking night this week.
Addy unlatched her bra, tossing the lace toward her skirt, giving her breasts a heavy, hearty shake.
There was another eruption among the men—cheers and hollers. But their attention on her was no longer my focus.
Because Addy had slowly lifted her gaze and connected it with mine.
A redness passed across every inch of her as she took in my eyes, a flush that ended at the hard, pebbled peaks of her nipples … which she was now squeezing.
Making my hard-on fucking throb.