Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
Ridge
A ddison had said yes to going on a date. Getting her to agree had been the hardest part, an obstacle I’d subtly worked on during our text exchanges over the last several days. Once I had gotten her confirmation, I had been sure everything else would fall into place.
And I was right.
While we sat on a blanket on the beach, she tucked her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and gazed at the water. Unafraid by its vastness, unfazed by any of the surfers or people walking by. And that smile—I’d never seen anything like it.
Pure happiness.
Like nothing or no one could fuck up this moment.
Every time she took a breath, I could see the stress leaving her body. I could see the relaxation taking over. Unlike when she’d gotten in my car to drive here, there was no anxiety in her voice, no strain in her shoulders, and no tension in her inhales and exhales.
Was it the beach that had taken it all away?
Or me?
Which prompted the question, “When did you fall in love with water?”
She slowly looked at me. The sun was warming her freckles, and her hair was flying into her face from the breeze. I didn’t tuck it away. Instead, I took out my phone and pulled up the camera and snapped a photo, tilting the screen toward her.
“So you can see what I see.”
As she looked at the picture of herself, her smile grew—something I hadn’t thought was possible.
“When?” she asked as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. “As far back as I can remember. We didn’t take a ton of vacations when I was growing up. Mostly just places we could drive to. But each of those instances revolved around water.” She tucked a chunk of her hair away, and it immediately returned. “I remember my parents turning into totally different people when they were near an ocean. They’d build sandcastles with us and take us swimming. There was so much laughter and fun.” She paused. “It wasn’t that way at home. They both worked nonstop, and when they weren’t, they were stressing about work.”
“Like you were on the way over here …”
She released a long breath. “You noticed.”
I put my hand on her lower back. “You might think I don’t know you at all, and it’s true that we just recently met, but I’m learning you, Addison. What I saw during the drive was nothing but stress.”
She faced the water again, balling her body up even tighter. “You really are learning me.”
“Talk to me. Tell me what’s bothering you.”
Her eyes closed.
While I waited for her answer, I took a drink of the rosé I’d packed for us in the cooler.
“I wish this world didn’t revolve around money,” she finally said, her voice soft and full of emotion. “That’s what got me in this situation.”
“What situation?”
She gradually turned her head to look at me. “Having to work at the strip club.”
“But it’s temporary.” I lifted my hand to her face, moving the hair that was now clinging to her lips. “You said yourself that after a month or two, you’ll be done.”
“I don’t know if that’s true anymore.”
I searched her eyes. “What changed?”
“Nothing.” She mashed her lips together. “I just took a hard look at what I owe, and it’s worse than I thought.”
“How much are we talking, Addison?”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “Do you really want to discuss this?”
“Of course I do. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”
She rocked over the blanket, reaching for her wine and taking a long drink. “I owe my sister twenty thousand. In addition to that, I owe about one hundred twenty-five thousand in student loans, and I need no less than thirty-five hundred a month to live—and that’s living modestly with little to no extras. The math doesn’t math on my teaching salary.” She went quiet, rubbing her hands over her knees. “The club has helped a lot, especially with the payments to my sister. I’ve paid her almost half. But I need to put a dent in my student loans, or I’ll just continue to drown.” She placed her forehead on her knees. “That’s why I’m going to have to work there past the two-month mark. If I can whittle away at the one hundred twenty-five grand, I’ll be in a much better situation.”
My life had gone so differently. My father had paid my college tuition—I never even had to think about taking out a loan or making a payment. And as soon as I graduated, I’d walked into an executive role with a salary in the high six figures. That was nine years ago. Since then, my earnings had quadrupled—an increase I knew wasn’t normal by any stretch.
That didn’t mean I didn’t sympathize. That I didn’t fucking ache for her. That my heart didn’t break to hear what she had to sacrifice just to make things work—and it sounded like they were barely working.
Not only was she someone I cared about, but she was my daughter’s teacher. Her role in my life held so much meaning.
But this went deeper than only being Daisy’s first-grade teacher and having debt.
“This affects us, doesn’t it?” I asked.
She lifted her forehead to look at me, eventually nodding. “I can’t, out of good conscience, be with you while I’m still there. That doesn’t mean I want things to end. I’m not saying that at all.” Her hand found mine and held on. “I just want us to go slow. Like turtle slow. And once I can kick the club to the curb, things will be a lot different for me. For us.” She squeezed my fingers. “But I understand if you don’t want to wait—I know I’m asking a lot. I know I’m putting restraints on something that should be growing, and that isn’t fair, and it’s extremely selfish, and I feel like shit about it—about all of it.”
“Addison—”
“No, I have to get this out. I want you to understand.” She was gazing at the ocean again. “The last time I felt this overwhelmed was when I went to my best friend, Leah, and told her about the twenty thousand and how I needed to find a way to make money quickly.” She shook her head. “We literally tried to come up with every option. OnlyFans”—she laughed—“influencing, bartending, being a shot girl—Ridge, we played out every scenario. None of them could earn me what stripping would. So, I walked into that club, on the complete opposite side of town from where I taught, hoping to never run into any of my students’ parents, and did what I had to do.” Her teeth grazed her top lip and then her bottom one. “What I never expected—what wasn’t on my bingo card—was you.”
“And you wanted nothing to do with me.”
She smiled, huffing out some air. “That’s not true!”
“It’s somewhat true.”
“I was just fighting it—that’s all. In my head, I still fight it. I can’t help it. The whole situation just upsets me. I wish I hadn’t met you there. I wish?—”
“I don’t wish that at all.”
She scanned my eyes. “Why?”
“Because it’s shown me what you’re willing to do to survive.” I cupped her face. “Most people wouldn’t have done what you did. That takes courage and guts and balls.”
Her chest rose, and she seemed to hold in the air she’d inhaled. “I’m just grateful—that’s all. Grateful my parents paid for my freshman year of college and that they were even able to do that. Grateful that they worked their asses off to give my sister and me everything we needed. And still, they never missed a game I cheered in or a meet Morgan swam in. They were there, always, through everything.”
She turned her body toward me, and my hand fell from her cheek.
“Is that why you’re paying your sister?” I asked, trying to piece this all together since it was a detail she’d left out. “Are you doing something for your parents?”
“Their thirtieth wedding anniversary is this Christmas. When I asked them what they were doing to celebrate, my father said they were going out to dinner and buying a new couch. A couch, Ridge. Because they’ve had the same one since we were kids.” She untucked her legs and crossed them in front of her.
“I told Morgan, and she said she was going to book them a vacation. She started sending me options to get my opinion on where I thought they’d enjoy going, and we decided a cruise would be the best thing for them. That way, they could see multiple places, and all the food and drinks would be included—something I know they wouldn’t splurge on, and they’d probably skip meals just to save money.” She took another drink.
“I couldn’t stomach the thought of Morgan picking up the entire bill. It’s not right, not when my parents have done so much for me, so I’m splitting the cost with her.”
I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck. “The twenty thousand is your half?”
“Yes, half of the airfare and the twenty-one-day cruise through the Mediterranean. A trip they would never take because they wouldn’t spend that kind of money. And, yes, I’m stripping off my clothes and showing my boobs so my parents can have the most monumental anniversary celebration that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. Being able to do this for them means everything to me, and, damn it, they deserve it.”
Whatever I had previously thought about Addison didn’t even compare to the feelings I had now.
She was doing all of this for her parents, just to show her appreciation, giving them something they would never do for themselves. She wasn’t just stripping. She was working two jobs, she was putting herself in even more debt, she was pausing a relationship—all for them.
She was the most selfless, thoughtful woman I’d ever met in my life.
I didn’t care what I had to do, how long I had to wait; she was going to be mine.
“Come here …”
Her brows rose. “What?”
I held out my arms. “Come here right now.”
Emotion instantly filled her eyes before she collapsed against my chest. I locked her within my arms, breathing into the top of her head, pressing my lips on her hair.
“You’re incredible—I hope you know that. I hope you feel that in your heart. Not just as a daughter, but as a person. For what you’re doing, for what you’re sacrificing?—”
“I’d do anything for them.” She gripped my waist with both arms. “Shit, I was even going to show my feet on OnlyFans. It’s just too bad that didn’t work out, it would have been a lot easier than doing weekends at the club.”
I chuckled. “You wouldn’t have met me.”
She unraveled to connect eyes with me. “Feet aren’t your thing, huh?” She smiled.
“Yours are beautiful—but, no, they’re certainly not my thing.” I rubbed my nose against hers. “Do you know what is?”
“I have many guesses.”
“Like?”
Her arms lifted to my shoulders. “My chest.”
I pecked her cheek. “Solid guess, and, yes, that’s my thing, but it wasn’t what I was thinking.”
“My ass?”
“ Mmm ,” I moaned against her neck. “Yes, that too. But guess again.”
“My legs?”
I hovered my lips over hers and whispered, “Your lips,” before I kissed her.