Can We Fall In Love?

Addison "Addie" Jackson

Richard had spent the better part of his day lecturing his students on the proper way to use a comma. The fact that he had to destroyed any hope he had in the public school system. He was in luck though because his classes were comprised of the more elite students-the ones who were actually paying to obtain a degree in the English language. Six hours after he walked into his first class of the day, he sat behind his desk his small office house in Freeman Hall. The university he taught at was not most people's first choice but there was no doubt hat it was his. It paid well, offered great benefits, and best of all, it was where his beautiful stepdaughter, Addie, had decided to further her education. A smile graced the older man's face as he glanced over at a collage of pictures on his wall, most of which were of him, Addie, and her mother, Marie. He had married Marie when Addie was about thirteen so he had had the opportunity to watch her go from a gangling young girl to a beautiful young lady. He turned back to the paper on the desk in front of him, trying his best to push away thought of his stepdaughter, not wanting to get caught up in anything that would distract him from the papers he had promised to have graded by his next class. Luckily that was in two days. As sick as most people would have found it, he loved his Addie. He knew these were not thoughts that he should boast of or dwell on for too long but he could not help it or hide it. Both his family and hers only saw it as the love a man has for his daughter and it was, at first. With a sigh Richard checked the time on his laptop and resigned to reading the last paragraph of the paper he had distracted himself from.

[I hope it's okay!]

Addie smiled as she stood talking with her friends as they mingled around at the party. She wasn't trying to be a popular girl, but it just happened that way. For some reason, everyone liked Addie; which was kind of a good thing. It has been like this for Addie ever since she was young. She didn't have to be the popular girl in school, however, everyone just seemed to like her. One thing she could never really get used to, but would go to humor her friends though was parties. For Addie, parties were fun but she felt like she didn't need to always go. Sure, she was always invited, but if it was up to Addie she would rather be in her dorm reading, writing, or even watching Netflix. As she stood there talking with her friends, Addie decided to leave. Things has just been rough for her today and being at this party just wasn't what she wanted. After she said her goodbyes to her friends, Addie started to make her way out the door, but not before seeing her now ex-boyfriend Aaron (now since late last night) already moving on with some other girl that she didn't get along one. Some girl who was truly a snob and would do anything to get Aaron...which had officially happen. Torn by this, Addie quickly rushed out of the place. She didn't really think that Aaron would have moved on so quickly, or that they weren't going to recover from the horrible fight that they had last night. As Addie made her way back towards her dorm room, she noticed a light was on through the window, over where the professors offices were held. Taking a moment to figure out who it was, Addie couldn't help but instantly smile. It was her stepfather Richard. Addie had always liked Richard, he was easy to talk too, sometimes easier to talk too than her own mother. Quickly wiping away any years that lingered on her cheeks, Addie graciously made her way towards Richard's office before knocking quietly on the door.

She was leaned up against the door frame. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him be consumed in his work. She would never tell a soul this, but she found her stepfather to be rather attractive and if it wasn't for him being her stepfather and he was just her professor, Addie would have went for him.

"You know working past office hours is normal, but this is just insane." She softly spoke with a giggle.

Richard had been able to finally concentrate on his grading. He was so engrossed in his red markings that he hadn't even heard Addie knock on the door. It was only until she said something that he realized she was even there. His gaze landed on his stepdaughter and a grin slip his face. "What can I say? I love my job." He said as he stood. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her, loving the flowery scent that was hers. He pulled back looking down at her. "You are one to talk though. I have office hours yet here you are." He said with a chuckle and looked a little closer. "Are you alright?" He asked, concern lacing his voice. He had always been able to tell when she was upset. "Is it Aaron?" He felt nothing but disdain for Addie's tool of a boyfriend. Richard could admit that the majority of it was jealousy but not all of it. The guy truly was a tool and though he would never tell her this, he had never really approved of Aaron. As her stepfather, he tried his best to be supportive of her decisions, but dating is something that neither of them could agree on. As much as Richard hated it, Addie had some of the worst taste in men. There was only one guy that Richard could recall approving of and that was only because the younger man reminded Richard of himself.

Addie sighed softly when Richard asked about Aaron. "I don't want to talk about him." She said softly as she stood there in her stepfather's arms. She closed her eyes for a minute, keeping herself from crying over this stupid boy. "He's not worth it." She said as she buried her face into his chest, taking in the scent of his cologne. She took a deep breath in and then out. "Aaron and I are over. We got into this huge fight last night and well it's over. No more of that, and I'm more than okay with that." She admitted as she looked up at Richard. She couldn't help but smile a little, looking into his grayish-blue eyes. She stood there just admiring the many handsome features of him. She slowly started stepping out of his arms, but stayed close. "Need any help?" She asked softly as she swayed side to side, showing off that pink dress that she wore to the party.

Richard geimaced. He hated seeing Addis upset like this, especially when the cause was a guy. "I'm sorry, sweetie." He said, hugging her and placing a kiss on the tops of her head. As much as he hated her being hurt, he was glad that the two of them were no longer together. He had known Aaron was the wrong guy for her. He looked down at her a reassuring smile on his face. She was so beautiful; the light pink dress she wore showcased art of her curves without being too revealing, her chocolate brown eyes shone with wonder, and her smile lit up the entire room. He chuckled at her offer. "While I appreciate it, you know I cannot let a student look at their peers work without their consent. Even if said was my favorite." He said .

Addie looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just thought I'd ask. I hate seeing you here so late after hours." She whispered as she looked at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck without thinking and smiled. "Richard thank you for everything." She said and kissed his cheek. She started stepping away from her step dad but didn't want to move. She looked at him and just blushed. She started playing with the bottom of her dress. "I don't want to keep you. I should be heading out." She spoke still smiling. She had a thought in the back of her mind, but didn't dare speak it out loud. She was afraid Richard would think she was insane and their special relationship would be ruined.

Richard shook his head a little, a smile on his face. "You know I don't mind it." He replied and happily returned her hug. Without thinking, he nuzzled her neck a little until she pulled away. "Of course. I would do anything for you." He said and meant every word. He would probably even drain his bank account and kill someone if she asked him to. He was a little let down when she said something about leave. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. I was almost done here anyway. We can have a late dinner if you want."He offered, just wanting to spend a little more time with her before they got home.

Addie smiled at the thought of having a late dinner with him."Dinner." She spoke softly. "That sounds wonderful." She looked at him as she allowed herself to move back towards him again. Addie smiled as she kept herself goes. She then wrapped her arms around his neck again, pulling her body close. She just felt better in his arms...safer. "Where should we go for dinner?" She asked as she stayed in the same place. "I really don't feel like going back to my dorm room right now." She admitted. Addie instantly bit her bottom lip. It was a cute habit of hers when she felt q little daring.

Richard was happy that the was willing to stay and get dinner with him. He was more surprised that she wrapped her arms around his neck again, though. With a small smile he wrapped an arm around her waist , holding her tight against him. "We can go where ever you want to go." He said, knowing she would chose some off the wall place he would love. His gaze focused on her mouth as she bit her lip is that excruciatingly adorable way that she always did. More than anything at that moment, he wanted to kiss her. He didn't care that it was inappropriate--that didn't even cross his mind. He just wanted to taste the lips he had been admiring for a while now but he didn't want to freak her out.

Addie couldn't help but look down at Richard's hand as it made it's way around her waist. She didn't say anything though, she didn't think anything of it. She didn't find it wrong or inappropriate. Giggling a little to herself, Addie just buried her face into his chest for a moment. She thought about where to go and then smiled. "Lets go to the little diner down the street that we love going to." She said as she started to pull away from him, but something stopped her. She started moving closer to his face but stopped. She bit her bottom lip again, not believing that she was about to allow herself to do something. She was feeling rather off tonight and being here with Richard was something she wanted...but didn't say anything. She fully stepped out of his arms and grabbed her small purse. "Lets go." She smiled as she grabbed Richard's hand, walking with him down the hall.

Richard stared down at her, hoping that she would move a little closer. Just a little closer and he would make a move as well. Sadly, she did pull back and his heart sank a little. "That sounds perfect." He said and grabbed his coat, following her down the hall and out into the cool night. "I'll drive," He said and led the way to his car. He opened her door and closed it again when she was settled in the seat. He made the short drive to the diner and rushed around to once again open her door for her. "Are you going to get your usual tonight?" He asked as the walked in and sat at their favorite booth in the back corner. "I think I want to try something new tonight." He looked over the menu, trying to decide on what he would get.

Addie smiled as she made her way with Richard to his car. She couldn't help but smile as he opened the door for her. She slid in then waited as Richard himself, got into the car. When they reached the diner, Addie couldn't help but smile even more as Richard rushed to the other side, her side, to open her door. Once they were settled down at their booth, Addie looked at the menu then up at Richard when he asked if she was getting her usual. She shook her head no. "Actually tonight, I'm thinking something new. I want something new and different for a change." She said as she went to cross her legs when she accidentally bumped Richard's left leg under the table. She instantly blushed.

Richard nodded at her words. "It's never a bad thing to try something new." He said, hinting at the new thing that he wanted. When her leg bumped his he chucked and placed a hand on her knee under the table, leaving it there for a moment before pulling away and actually looking over the menu. "I'm thinking about trying the cheddar bacon portabello burger. Do you think that would be good with avocado?" He asked, trying keep a normal conversation while the waited of their waitress. With any luck, the had their usual waitress to night and she was already bringing them their drinks. He could do with a nice hot cup of coffee right about now.

Addie felt her cheeks turn even a brighter red when she felt Richard's hand on her knee. She didn't get freaked out by it though. She just looked at him and smiled a little. When she felt him remove his hand, Addie almost wanted to frown, but didn't. When he started talking about getting the cheddar bacon portabello burger, she just nodded. "That might be good...I just don't know about the avocado...I'm not the biggest avocado fan." She said, making an icky face at the thought of avocado. When the waitress came over, Addie noticed that it wasn't their usual, but that was okay. Once Richard ordered his cup of coffee and Addie ordered her Pibb, Addie looked at Richard and just smiled."I love having this time with you." She spoke honestly as she put a hand on his. She was really interested to see how the rest of the evening would turn out, especially since she had this feeling that something different was going to take place tonight. And for some reason, she was okay with whatever it may be.

Richard chuckled at her obvious distaste of avocado. Personally he the.. He could never remember what type of plant it was. Fruit? Vegetable? He didn't care. It still tasted great. "No avocado then." He said with a smile. He thanked the waitress as she brought them their drinks. A spoonful of sugar and about six creamers later, his coffee was perfect. Richard turned hand over, catching her fingers with his. "This time is always well spent. I will never regret the day I met you." He said with a smile, recalling the first day he had met Addie. She was beautiful back then too, just obviously younger. "Did you want to do anything after this?" He asked. He mused over it for a moment. "We may be able to catch a late movie, if we're lucky." He shrugged and brought her hand up to his lips, placing a small kiss on her knuckles.

Addie smiled. "I would love to do something with you Richard." She spoke as she allowed him to take her hand and kissed his hand. "A movie sounds like a great idea." She commented as she looked at him she sat there for a minute, looking at him. She didn't say anything, just thought about something. She then looked around before looking at Richard once again. "We could go for a nice walk after." She suggested as she let her fingers dance around his hand. She just looked at him, wanting to kiss him, but knew that was a bad idea.

Richard was ecstatic that she had agrees to go to the movies with him. He felt as if he were back in his teens, clumsily asking out Mary Ann Jenkins. Thankfully, he had had a few decades to perfect this. He smiled over at her, taking another sip of his coffee. "That sounds like a fantastic idea." He said just as their waitress came by to take their food order. He pulled his hand from hers, not wanting for the employee to get the wrong idea, no matter how much he wanted it to be the right idea. He gave his order and waited for Addie to give her and the waitress to walk away before he spoke again. "Was there anything in particular you wanted to see?" He asked.

Addie smiled a sweet smile to Richard as he placed his order. When it was her turn, she quickly ordered and watched as the waitress walked away. She then turned to Richard again. "I don't know. I meant the newest Star Wars Movie doesn't come out till next week, so there isn't anything I'm really looking forward to seeing." She said, realizing right there that she had just admitted that she was a Star Wars Fan. She blushed a little as she took a sip of her drink. She looked at Richard, not daring to look away from him. There was something about him, something that drew her to him.

Richard grinned at her mention of Star Wars. He had been following the series since it first premiered back in '77. "Well we can go see that next week," He said, hoping she would accept it as a date. "I think The Night Before just came out. That is supposed to be funny." He said with a small shrug, watching her watch him. He loved just watching her, it didn't matter what she was doing. She was gorgeous and he would never get tires of looking at her.