Page 12 of Letting it Ride

It made sense when I met her—she was thirteen and I was twenty and in college, and I’m not a perv. But then she grew up, and… I noticed, okay?

It’s hard not to notice Addie Anderson. She fills up a room with her smile. But like I said, she’s off-limits. Maddox has made it clear that he doesn’t want any of his friends going after Addie, and my friends are my life. I can’t risk ruining the friendship I have with him.

I push any thoughts of Addie out of my head with a defeated sigh.

By the time the main characters have figured out that they’re in love and are living happily ever after, I’ve eaten half of the pizza, which is probably too much, but I don’t care. I summon the energy to get up and throw away the leftovers before I tuck into bed for the night.

I’m so used to having my phone that I feel naked without it. It takes me a few minutes to realize I can just turn on the light and read the book I bought at the airport.

It’s been less than twelve hours since I turned off my phone and already I’m going through withdrawal.

The story draws me in as soon as I open the book. There’s something about the solid feel of a paperback, the smell of new pages. I settle in, planning to read just one chapter. But is it ever really just one?

I sleep in as late as I can while still having time to shower before the hotel’s checkout time. One chapter last night was definitely not enough. It was almost 1 a.m. before I finally convinced myself to put thebook down and turn off the light. Now I remember why I don’t read before bed.

I force myself out of bed and into the shower, stopping at the coffee maker on the way. The cruise leaves in the afternoon but starts boarding passengers around noon, and as usual, I like to get places early.

I check in and board the ship, the warm air brushing my face as my boss for the week, a fit thirty-something woman named Harper who introduces herself as one of the event coordinators, leads me along one of the decks to my room. Her blonde ponytail swishes behind her as she points out the movie theater, the casino, two different bars, and a restaurant.

“There are four decks of guest rooms above us, then the pools and gym and all of that are on the higher decks. Your room is down this way.”

Harper leads me down a set of stairs and through a long hallway, finally pausing beside a door.

“This is it,” she says, opening the door to a very small room. “You have a closet there”—she gestures—“and there’s a bathroom with a shower through that door. Fairly simple, but of course you have access to everything on the ship when you’re not working, so enjoy. There’s lots to do.”

This room is about the size of a postage stamp, but we got a good deal on this cruise, so I’m not complaining.It’s not like I’m going to spend much time in here, anyway. I checked out the cruise line’s website, and there seem to be endless options for things to do once we leave port.

Harper hands me a pamphlet, if you can call it that. It looks more like a short novel.

“There are maps of each deck in there, so you can use that to find things on the ship. Like I said, you’re welcome to take advantage of anything we offer. Anything at all.”

Did she just bat her eyelashes at me? Maybe there’s hope for a rebound this week after all. She’s cute, I realize. About my age, probably. Tanned, fit… I could do worse.

I flip through the pages as she keeps talking. The ship is massive, even more than I realized from our walk through one deck. Multiple restaurants. Several pools, a playground, mini golf and other games. Pickleball, whatever the hell that is.

I bookmark the page that shows the pools and the gym, as well as the running track.

“Your uniform shirts are in the closet. You’ll need to be wearing them when you work, but otherwise, you don’t need to identify yourself as an employee, since you’re really not. When you’re off-duty, you’re off. You’ll be working the evening shifts.”Harper hands me a paper. “This is your schedule. There’s a laundry room down the hall that you can use. Meal schedules and all of that are in the handbook. Questions?” She clasps her hands in front of her.

My brows furrow. I’m still trying to figure out where my room is located on the maps in this book.

“We’re here,” she says, answering my unasked question. She puts a hand on my arm as she flips two pages and points to a tiny square in the middle of a hundred other identical squares.

Ah. There it is.

I can see myself getting very lost this week. I make a mental note to leave in plenty of time and to carry one of these maps with me. Of course, knowing Maddox, he probably figured out how to download these maps from somewhere on the internet and has been studying for the last couple of weeks.

I haven’t talked to him since his wedding a month ago, which is strange for the two of us. We used to live in the same building and hang out multiple times a week. But I guess that’s what happens when you get married, right?

You stop having time for your other friends.

“Good luck!” Harper chirps, pulling the door open. “Have a great time. Look forward to seeing more of you soon.”

She flashes me a wink before turning away. The door shuts behind her, and I look around the small room. There’s not much in here, which makes sense given the size of the space. A small sofa, a desk, and a set of bunk beds.

Judging from the size, it looks like a standard twin bed, which means my feet will hang off the end, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers.

I toss my duffel on the bottom bunk. The early bird gets the worm, so Maddox will have to deal with the top bunk. I turn around to explore the rest of the room. One door opens into a closet, with room to hang clothes and a few shelves. There are a few uniforms hanging on the rack. I shut the door and open the other one, which is just slightly larger and opens into the tiniest bathroom I’ve ever seen.

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