The sun was showing signs of setting, the girls had found their way home. They had invited the guys for some dinner. Addison felt like a BBQ. Something simple, quick and easy was the ticket. In her opinion, there isn’t anything else better than eating something cooked outdoors when you’ve been outdoors all day.
“So you and Kurt surely hit it off.” Addison pointed out while she and Kris were in the kitchen prepping up some toppings for the burgers. “I can’t believe you have to leave tonight.” Krissy came and hugged her from behind to console her best friend.
“I’ll be back really soon. I promise.” She whispered in her best friend's ear.
“What’s this? A little girl on girl?” Kurt snuck in. Nathan followed and shook his head at Kurt, almost embarrassed to call him his friend. “Just kidding.” Kurt added and winked at the two ladies.
“This girl’s telling me that she’s coming back real soon. The question is, is she coming to see me or is she coming back for you?” Addison looked at him and laughed lightly.
“Maybe a bit of both?” Kris winked at Addison and then went and hugged Kurt. Will that girl just simply settle down with someone?
After dinner, the time for goodbyes had come. Krissy gave Nathan a quick hug and Addison could have sworn she saw her give him some kind of look. What could she be up to? Addison was the last to give her a hug. She really didn’t want to let her go. Sure Krissy can be a handful, especially when she’s found a “plaything” but she’s loyal and trustworthy until the very end.
“I’m really going to miss you.” Kris told her. Addison gave her an extra squeeze. “I’ll call you when I get in. Take care of yourself you hear and call me if you need anything.”
“I will.” Addison assured her. “Will you just go? You’ll be late!”
“You coming bro?” Kurt asked Nathan. Nathan looked over at Addison and noticed that despite no one had left the house yet, she already looked lonely.
“Nah. I’ll hang out a little longer. You go and drop Kris off. It’s not like I need a lift home anyway. See you at home.” He answered.
“Alright. Later bro. Thanks for dinner Ads.” Kurt said.
“It’s Addie and you’re welcome, bro.” She laughed at herself for trying to mimic their slang. Nate laughed at the effort and shook his head.
“You didn’t have to stay.” Addison told Nathan. She was standing by the fridge to grab the leftover bottle of wine from the night before. “Would you like a glass?” She offered. Nathan nodded. She handed him a glass and then poured herself one, then headed toward the back patio. Nathan followed her. With her black short shorts, her nicely tanned slender legs and the loose shirt that fell off of her left shoulder, showing a bit of the red tenderness she earned under the Californian sun that day, she looked absolutely gorgeous. She sat her glass down on the table and proceeded to grab a few leftover items off the table to move to the inside of the house when she accidentally nudged the table and her glass of wine toppled over and fell to the patio stone.
“Shit!” She mumbled to herself and instinctively stepped back to get her toes out of the spilled wine. In the process, she cut her right foot on some of the broken shards of glass. Nathan jumped up to help.
“Where do you keep your rags?” He asked. She told him about the second drawer by the sink and he left to fetch a few along with the first aid kit that was under the sink. He instinctively remembered that he should grab a broom so he figured he’d look in the closet off of the kitchen and sure enough, there he found it. He rushed back to Addison still standing in the same spot where he left her, waiting patiently.
“Maybe I shouldn’t be drinking.” She joked. Nathan laughed lightly. He crouched down and couldn’t help but eye her legs as he tried to sweep up the broken shards of glass into the dustpan. He wiped up whatever last bit of wine was left on the patio stone that hadn’t been absorbed and then helped Addison hop to the outdoor couch under the gazebo. He made her sit down.
Nathan lifted her leg and ran his fingers down softly from her thigh to her knee, until he got a hold of her foot. His touch felt like a nice long and soft caress, to Addison. She gulped as he proceeded with cleaning out the shards of glass, disinfecting and then bandaging her wound. He had a tender touch.
“There you go. Good as new.” He said still lightly rubbing her shin.
“Thanks.” Addison said almost at a whisper. Her mouth had begun to water. Nathan looked at her and smiled. He still hadn’t put her leg back down, in fact, he was now tracing various circular patterns with his finger tips as he slowly moved his hand up to her knee and then back down again. Addison took her leg back slowly and realized his touch was still lingering on her skin after several seconds. She was slightly disappointed that it faded and she found herself instantly craving more. Nathan turned his body toward hers and studied her face. Addison felt herself blush as she smiled at him.
She didn’t pull away. He thought to himself. She put a hand on his knee and leaned in as she brushed her lips to his cheek lightly and then pulled away. Something told him that she doesn’t do that often. Perhaps it was the slight bit of hesitation in her kiss that told him that.
“Can I get you another one?” He broke the silence.
“Let’s go inside. I’m getting a little cold out here.” She answered softly. “But yes, I’ll have another one.” She perked up.
Addison couldn’t believe that she had done that. She wasn’t the type of girl to go around kissing guys, even if it was to extend a thank you. She knew his touch awoke something in her when he rubbed her sunscreen into her back earlier but she never thought twice about it all afterward. It was just some sexy scene. It’s in the movies all the time. She told herself. With him trying to nurse her foot, she could have sat there and watched him for hours, as he pleasured her leg lightly with his fingertips. He was so tender and caring and that stirred something inside her. Aside from the fantasies rolling through her mind, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more to this guy than she knew; something deeper than he was letting on. That’s why she kissed him lightly on the cheek. Testing the waters. She claimed.
Now they were sitting on the couch in the living-room. She wished she had brought a few DVD's along with her seeing as she hadn't gotten around to get the cable guy to come by yet. So they were forced to sit there and talk. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing seeing as they barely knew each other.
“So, I have to say that I was surprised to see you at the beach today.” Addison started. Nathan looked at her and took a sip from his glass of wine.
“Why's that?” He asked.
“Because no one works a weekend afternoon and gets off early. Especially when you’re a cop.” She looked at him with flirty suspicion in her eyes. Nate blushed slightly. She was sizing him up.
“Alright, well I have a confession.” Addison leaned in toward him to show more interest and a skeptical look on her face as to show him, that she'll call him out on if she thinks he's twisting the truth.
“Truth is, I left early because I was worried about what Kurt would do to Krissy.”
“You lie!” She laughed lightly.
“Alright. I really liked talking to you last night and felt bad that you'd be bored by yourself seeing as I knew that Damon would go off on his womanizing ventures and that Kris and Kurt would be doing their own thing. I knew you could use the company. Honestly, how much James Patterson can one person read and be entertained?” He stated. Addison tapped the couch cushion lightly while she pondered his answer with a playful look in her eye.
“You're still lying. I believe the part about last night but your explanation for today seems too creative for me. And by the way, James Patterson is by far, one of the best out there.” She defended her favorite author. Nathan threw a humored laugh her way.
“You got me.” He continued, “Okay, I knew you were fine on your own but I figured I was owed a day of fun and I had a girl I wanted to see.”
“So you have a girlfriend? You better not tell her about us then.” She kidded. Nathan turned a few shades of red darker than his normal color. This made her laugh.
“And there's something to tell about us?” He grinned.
“Nah.” Addison began. “It would never work.” She laughed nervously. She couldn't believe that she was flirting with Nathan this much. What if he got the wrong idea? She started to move back a bit but Nathan pulled her closer to where he sat. Their knees were now touching and that heat that they had experienced at the beach and just moments ago, on the patio began to surge between them once again. He let go of her wrist, moved his hand to her thigh and studied her reaction. Her thigh felt like it was on fire.
“What makes you say that it would never work?” He asked her inquisitively, his face inches from hers. Addison was at a loss for words. Her mouth ran dry. Her mind was scrambling to find an explanation that wouldn't offend this guy with the sexy bedroom eyes.
“It's complicated.” She began. “I just don't think I'm in that right frame of mind nor do I think it'll ever happen for me.” Nathan looked puzzled.
“That last bit was a lie. You're hiding something. The complicated part I completely believe.” He said. “Something happened to get you to move this far away from home. Leaving home wasn't something you wanted was it?” He said. He realized that he had hit the nail on the head because her face said it all at that point.
“Nate, I can't...” She began. “I...” She couldn't finish. She looked down and away from him with defeat. “No, I didn't want to leave. It was more of necessity.” She confessed.
“But why?” Nathan asked sitting up straighter not being able to fathom what could make someone leave home and move that far away.
“It's complicated.” She repeated. This time, he grabbed her chin in his free hand and forced her to look into his face and offered her a small smile of reassurance. She averted her eyes away from his face.
“I can't.” Is all she could muster. “I can't talk about it. Not yet. I'm sorry.” She stammered. She looked at him and couldn't figure out what was going through his head.
“I should go.” Nathan started to get up. Addison looked up at him. She seemed at a loss for words. What are you doing? Addison, just get up and stop him, will you?
“Nathan?” Nathan stopped and turned around once he reached the front door.
“Yeah?” Addison stood a few feet from him.
“Thanks for today. It's been the best day I've had in a while. I needed that.” She told him and gave him an honest smile.
“Anytime.” He replied. “Are you gonna be alright?” He asked her.
“I think I’m on my way there. Thanks.” She said and sounded like she was trying to reassure herself along with Nathan. He saw the uncertainty in her face. He took the few steps and wrapped an arm around her waist and the other cradled her head into his chest. He dropped his chin onto the top of her head and held her there for several seconds. He pulled away and reached for her chin. Addison tilted her head up but couldn't make eye contact with him still.
“I'm sorry for being like this.” She began and pulled her chin out from his hand but maintained the distance between their faces. “This is not the way I thought this relocation thing was going to go.”
“It's fine. I’m here if you need to talk.” He told her and pulled her into another hug. He's never done this before. Nursing someone else's vulnerability on a personal level was completely unusual. Sure, he'd held panicking people on the job but that wasn't the same. He couldn't help but feel bad for Addison. She had to have been through something quite traumatic if she couldn't talk about it at will. He figured, if she wanted to talk about it, that she'd bring everything up when she's ready. After all, he was listening when she said not yet.