Heat in the Hamptons

Chapter 4

After the sun had set the phone calls began. Both Noah and Addison's phones were incessantly ringing whether it was from attempted calls or unread texts.

They were still sitting on the floor watching the ocean as the waves rolled in and swept back out, lit by the moon that was causing the tide.

No one had spoken in quite some time, both lost in their own sorrowful thoughts. Until Addison began to laugh.

Noah's head snapped over to her in bewilderment.

She tilted her head to meet his eyes and laughed again, her eyes twinkling with tears and amusement.

Addison's giggling became uncontrollable as she slowly lowered herself to the ground in a fetal position.

Noah was smiling now, while he was slightly concerned for her mental state, she was enigmatic as she gasped for breath.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked, releasing a chuckle of his own.

She straightened out her spine so that she was laying next to Noah's legs, her own draped up over the side of the bed.

She caught her breath and looked up at him with a small, sad, smile.

"I don't have a home." Noah's smile faded. "I don't have a home because James has been begging me to move in with him for a year and a half." Her voice sped up as she continued. "He begged and begged me for over a year to sell my beautiful, perfect, apartment and move in with him. And he finally convinced me." Her voice was breathless, "And then this."

She shook her head, feeling the weight of the world on her as she sunk into the thick carpet.

"I know I'll need to talk to him, but I can't do that tonight." She sat up, reaching for her phone.

"What are you doing?" Noah spoke.

She flashed the screen at him, a hotel booking website pulled up.

"Addison don't be ridiculous, you can stay here." She looked up at him.

"Really?" He nodded. "I can't be here tonight if Megan is here." She said, averting her eyes.

"Megan won't be sleeping here tonight. I need some time to think before I can speak to her too."

Addison looked back up at him and smiled, tears filling up in her eyes. She fell into his arms, hugging his neck. Surprised, his arms wrapped around her thin body.

"Thank you so much, Noah." She whispered, her lips so close to his ear. She loosened her grip and pulled back a bit, their arms still around each other. "And I'm so sorry."

His brows furrowed, "Why are you sorry?" Her back was warm where his hands rested on the middle of it. She relaxed with his touch.

"I shouldn't have come right for your house, I should've just gotten in my car and left." She looked down, her hands falling to rest on her lap, fingers brushing his thigh. "I was the one that found them, I had to endure that shock, but I shouldn't have made you do the same thing. I can't even imagine how you must've felt when you saw the three of us." Absentmindedly, he was rubbing small circles on her back with his fingertips. She met his eyes again, "I'm just saying that I shouldn't have dragged you into it that way. I could've told you in a better setting, or made Megan tell you." A pang shot through her chest as she said that last part. Could Addison have made Megan tell Noah? If you had asked Addison two days ago she would've said that she could ask Megan to do anything, because they were so close. But now, Addison wasn't sure how close they had ever been if Megan was willing to hurt her so completely.

"Addison, you are quite literally the last person on this block that should be apologizing right now."

She chuckled. "Probably."

Noah's hands fell to rest on the small of her back. "Let me make sure the guest bedroom's bed is made up and that the bathroom has enough towels. I think we both need a warm shower and some rest."

Addison smiled, thankful for Noah's friendship. She stood and followed him through the dark home.

4 Years Prior

Megan woke up with a jolt, feeling as if she was being launched from her bed.

"What the fu--" She started, opening her eyes and seeing Addison on the bed next to her. On her knees, jumping up and down to wake Megan up. "WHAT?" Megan shouted at her, perturbed by Addison's mood at this ungodly hour.

"Wake up I gotta talk to you." Megan would've thought there was some kind of mortal emergency considering the timing of Addison's interruption, but her obvious smile seemed to rule that out.

"About what, Addison, it's like four in the morning?" Megan asked as she sat up in bed, her night shirt slipping off her shoulder.

Addison rolled her eyes. "Megan, how many times have you begged me to talk to you about boys, and now I meet two in one night and you're pissy when I try to tell you?"

Megan perked right up. "I'm shutting up, go." Megan smiled, firing finger guns at Addison to start talking. Addison was right, Megan always begged her to dish about the guys who hit on her at the bar. Addison didn't date, so when she did Megan loved hearing about it.

Addison began to tell Megan about how her shift had gone, meeting two attractive businessmen, Noah and James.

She gushed about how she felt butterflies when Noah looked at her and felt flushed when James smiled at her, how she hungout with them as much as she could while still working and how James begged her to drink with them while she was still on the clock.

"Well...?" Megan trailed the question on, she thought it was obvious.

"What?" Addison asked, not following.

Megan rolled her eyes. "Which one do you pick?"

Addison smiled. She wasn't sure. She liked them both. She gave them both her number, although she wasn't sure if they each knew that.

James asked once while he was refilling their beers. Noah never asked, he had seemed to stop talking to her as much once James had arrived, but she couldn't shake the attraction to him. To either of them.

Noah and Addison had discussed her love for writing, and how she spent most of her days with her nose in a book or in her laptop screen working on her own pieces. When James was in the bathroom Noah mentioned offhand that he had a few friends in publishing. She smiled, not only because that was a great networking opportunity, but because it gave her an excuse to give Noah her number.

"I really don't know." Addison responded, snapping out of her thoughts.

Megan laughed, rolling her eyes. "The girl who doesn't date has two hot guys lusting after her, how unfair." She joked.

Addison smiled, "We don't actually know that they're 'lusting' after me." She said, gesturing air quotes.

"Um, we definitely know that Ad. Guys don't just fawn over you like that unless they're interested."

Addison rolled her eyes, sheepishly, shaking her head.

Megan got up and looked out her bedroom window. "Hm, that's weird."

"What?" Addison said, turning to look at her.

"The forecast said there'd be clear skies but I'm pretty sure it's raining men." Megan said with a serious look on her face.

They both burst into laughter together, Addison shaking her head and telling Megan to never say anything that cheesy ever again.

They laughed so hard they started crying, both delirious from the early morning and the dopamine.