29. Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sam
A trickle of nerves enters my body. I haven’t seen Addie since before her long weekend with the girls. She didn’t get back until late Monday night, then crashed at Isla’s. Tuesday, work was insane, and I left an hour late. We were training new staff, and the kitchen was a disaster. I didn’t feel right leaving the closing crew with such a shit show. So, I worked until 1 a.m.
Now, it’s been almost a week since she’s been back, and I’m waiting on her inside my apartment, like a fucking puppy dog. What the actual fuck has happened to me?
Her time away reminded me of what a sad bastard I was before her. Not that I don’t appreciate all that she is when she’s here, but distance makes the heart grow fonder. So, I spent my time away from her planning a date along the coast. We’ll ride on my bike along the highway facing the water, and then have a dinner reservation at a little hole in the wall with the best Italian food known to man. There’s a table there that has great views of the water. I pulled every string I have to get that specific table. The owner loves Flambé, and when I called him Monday, he said he would make it happen. There will not be a stone unturned for my girl.
God, it’s been a while since I called someone mine. I don’t know how anyone can come in contact with Addie and not want in on it. She’s as beautiful inside as she is out. It’s probably why I couldn’t stay away from her. Why I couldn’t dislike her, even when I wanted to.
I pace around the kitchen, trying to waste time. She said she’d be here right after she got off work. Looking at the clock on the stove, I see she’s literally been off for an hour. Her apartment is, like, ten minutes from mine. Knowing her, she started a project thinking it would only take her “a minute.” One Addie minute is ten minutes in real time. The fact that she thinks she never runs late is laughable.
“Yoo-hoo!” Addie yells, coming through the door. Her red, curly hair is slightly disheveled, and I can tell she was hustling up the stairs to get here.
“You had three minutes before I was calling the authorities to turn in a missing person’s report.” My arms wrap around her.
“Oh, please. I am only running, like, ten minutes late,” she says.
Dropping my hand to her waist, I use my free hand to point to the clock.
“Okay. So, maybe a little more than ten minutes.” Her eyes roll, annoyed at my berating. “Are we in a rush for something?”
“Yes, I planned up a little surprise for you.” My free hand finds her waist again and anchors there.
“Well, you should have said that, and I wouldn’t have done the dishes before I headed over here.”
“It wouldn’t have been a surprise if I told you about it, now would it have?” Her excitement at the surprise overpowers her need to shoot me some attitude back.
Her smile turns giddy and her eyes widen. “Oooh, what’s the surprise?”
“I’m not telling. Let's head downstairs. We’re gonna have to haul ass to make it on time.”
She claps her hands, her steps extra bouncy. “I’m so excited.”
We head downstairs, and her steps double mine as she hustles down. She heads to my car, not realizing I’ve taken a turn early.
I shoot her a whistle, and she turns in her tracks, confusion etched into her furrowed brow. Apprehensively, she heads in my direction.
“What, are we walking there? I did not wear walking attire, sir.” She wiggles her feet at me, showing off her little sandals. Sandals are perfect for what I have in store for the end of the night.
I shake my head at her. “No, sassy pants. But we are riding there.” When I nod my head to the right, she realizes I’m standing next to my bike, which only gets ridden on snowless spring days and in summer.
I love the shit out of this bike. I love riding around, with the open air and being completely free. The speed fills my need for adrenaline, and I treat her almost as good as I treat my favorite set of knives.
Addie’s eyes look between the bike and me. Her brow raises ever so slightly, and a little smirk pulls her lips up on the sides. “You have a motorcycle.” More specifically, an all black Yamaha Stryker.
“I do.” My smirk matches hers.
She looks it over and mutters, “Nice.”
I’ve learned that look on her face; my girl is into the bike. Too bad she’s made us run late, or I could show her things that would really make her like it.
Grabbing the helmets from the back of the bike, I brush Addie’s hair out of her face, while admiring the freckles dusting her nose and cheeks. Her green eyes stare up at me with a fire that burns straight down to my chest. I slide the helmet over her head, clasping the cool buckle under her chin to make sure it fits right.
“All right, let’s ride,” I say, hopping on. Addie slides in behind me, her body melting with mine. Her arms wrap around my middle as I stand the bike up fully, kicking it into gear. Turning the handles, we slowly take off.
The drive to the restaurant is about an hour, and the sun slowly starts its descent, painting the sky beautiful golden tones. In my rearview mirror, I catch sight of Addie, the sun making her face and tips of her hair glow. Her eyes are wide, staring at the waves beside us. She points to the waves crashing on the rock, causing the water to spray upward of twenty feet. I feel her head—her hard ass head with that helmet—lean against my back. On second thought, she's pretty hardheaded without it, too. But I can’t help but lean against her, wanting to feel closer.
We pull up to the restaurant. The exterior is covered in sun-washed stone, and pine trees are scattered throughout the area. With the temperature being above seventy degrees on a regular basis, the grass is finally growing. I love this time of year around here. The coast has always felt peaceful to me, and being this close to it just makes me feel alive.
“This place is gorgeous. I love the stone.” Addie eyes the buildings and our surroundings. I sometimes forget she's new here and she is experiencing this all for the first time.
“Yeah, this area is my favorite. Being close to the water, you’d think it’d be more populated, but I think it’s Maine’s best-kept secret.” Not that tourism is bad. Everyone has a right to explore, but fuck, it can be annoying.
“Wow, Prince Charming. You’re even sharing your secret spots with me. I must be pretty special.” I roll my eyes and swat her ass, which looks amazing in those skin-tight jeans. The act urges her to move up the walkway into the large, wooden double doors.
Cheesy Italian music blares through the speakers. I’ve never been to Italy, but I’m willing to bet my right nut that they don’t play this shit there. The dim lighting sets the mood, its ambiance reminding me of Flambé.
The day I helped Addie move and tonight are the only times I’ve ever requested off work. Chef about shit his pants when he saw the requests come with so little time in between. But it took him about two seconds to put together it had to do with a girl. He gave my arm two strong pats and told me to enjoy myself. And to wrap it before I tap it. Great life advice, that man gives. Usually, he sticks to advice with my career and the culinary world, but occasionally, he throws in some off-the-wall life advice.
Lucky for me, Linsey has left me alone. I’ve all but iced her out at work since the incident with Addie and what should have been our first kiss. The fact I could have been doing this whole thing with Addie sooner makes me even more annoyed.
Our waitress leads us through the restaurant. The wooden tables are set with actual tablecloths. After working in the service industry, that’s how I can tell if a place is legit or not. I mean, it’s more than that, but no tacky-ass, plastic table cover is a good start.
When Addie sees our table, her eyes light up. She catches sight of the reserved sign as the waitress grabs it and ushers us to sit.
“Holy wow. Look at this view.” She peers out the window, and then turns her head back toward me. “Did you do this on purpose?”
A surge of pride runs through me. “Something like that.”
Her answering smile has me feeling a little proud of my date planning capabilities. I’d probably swim oceans just to get a chance to see her smile like that again. Preferably every day. Yeah. That’s my new life goal: make Addie smile.
I really need to clarify that we’re on the same page tonight. How the fuck do you ask someone to be your girlfriend in your twenties? Do you actually ask, or just bring up that you want exclusivity?
Fuck, now I’m definitely nervous.
Damn, does that mean this is our first real date? Now that I think of it, most of our time together has been spent at each other's apartments. We skipped the normal dating phase and went straight to the cozy phase, which I have no arguments about.
Sure, I’ve dated, but it all felt so surface level. Everything about her just feels like she was always meant to be mine. The more time I spend with her, the more convinced I am of that.
“Have you talked to Theo lately?” she asks once we get seated.
“Not a whole lot since your move. Someone has been keeping me a little occupied.” I wink at her.
“Sorry, not sorry. I think he and Regina hit it off. She said they’ve already gone on, like, three dates. Looks like we can label ourselves as matchmakers now.” She faux brushes off her shoulder.
“No shit?” The asshole hasn’t said anything to me. Then again, I haven’t been by for my weekly Monday brews, and we’re not the texting and calling types.
“Yeah, I think they’re cute. I thought I saw a little razzle-dazzle between them.” She shakes her shoulders in a shimmy, which I guess is the razzle-dazzle. The motion makes my lips pull up.
“Razzle-dazzle?” What does that even mean?
“Yeah, kind of like sparks, but more fun,” she says, as if annoyed that I didn’t know what the fuck she was talking about. I’m beginning to think she makes up her own phrases and words and has an Addie dictionary somewhere.
“Oh, okay. Razzle-dazzle.” This woman adds more catchphrases to my vocabulary every day. Shaking my head, I pick up the menu and start looking it over.
“We should go on a double date with them.”
“I’m not sure if I can handle anymore of you and Theo teaming up against me.”
“We do not team up against you. We just both pick out where you are wrong. Frequently. Kind of like gently bullying.” She reaches across the table and squeezes my hand with a huge mocking smile. “But in a nice way.” She lets go and grabs the glass of water that was waiting for us, bringing it to her lips.
“Well, I recruit your friend. Then, we can team up against you and you can get a taste of your own medicine.”
She tsks under her breath. “Sorry, girl code strictly prohibits that. She will be on my side until hell freezes over. So, it looks like you’re shit out of luck.”
She continues her gentle berating, and I fire back. It’s my favorite dance. It takes us a few minutes to look through the menu and order our food.
When our food comes, our little nook in the corner is painted in an orange and pink glow from the setting sun. We eat and laugh, and then eat some more. I didn’t even know what I was missing until I found this—a safe place here with her.
“Can we go for a walk by the beach before we head home?” Addie asks.
This was my plan all along. “Was already planning on it, shortcake.” Our beaches are pretty rocky, but there is a perfect, little sandy stretch within walking distance.
Once the bill is paid and we make our way through the restaurant, Addie weaves her soft, warm fingers though mine. Her hand pulls my fingers to her hip, as she throws her arms around my neck, pulling me close. My other hand wraps around her, reveling in the feel.
The sun hits the perfect spot on the horizon. We slip off our shoes and carry them in our hands as we walk hand in hand down the beach.
“Addie, can I ask you a question?” Her hand grips mine a little harder and her brow jumps up. My heartrate spikes, and I try to not lose my nerve. A wise man once told me to either nut up or shut up. Sounded good and funny at the time, but I’m seeing what he meant now.
“Those are scary words, but go right ahead.”
“If I said I wanted you to be only mine, would that freak you out?”
Her face softens, and I sense no hesitation or panic. Stopping, I turn and face her.
“Not even a little. I’m already yours.”
The smile that pulls makes my face hurt. A rush of relief comes through me. I feel like I haven’t belonged anywhere or with anyone in such a long time. It took me forever to find good friends and I’ve only got, like, two. But when I look at Addie, I can’t help but feel I was meant to be hers. Her soul is soft in all the right ways, and it’s filled with such a fire that I find myself wanting to be closer to feel some of its warmth.
I drop my shoes and pull her in close. She drops hers alongside mine. Pulling her up into my arms, she wraps her legs around my waist. My arms hold her tight against mine. I can feel the rapid beating of her heart. Her gentle hands find my face and she leans in. For a dude who doesn’t have a fucking romantic bone in his body, I think I’m getting the hang of this whole wine and dine thing. It’s easier with her. Maybe that’s why it’s felt gross and torturous with everyone else.
When she pulls back, she smiles, and I return it.
“Good answer.”
She laughs and I feel the last little piece of me fall. The part that was waiting for the other shoe to drop or for her to decide that my family is right and I’m not worth it. But she hasn’t and she doesn’t, and fuck, that feels good.