Aimed At You

Chapter 12

Joe entered their apartment along with the other two, with a big smirk on their faces. Lexie's face was flushed and as red as a tomato. She closed the front door and timidly glared at Nathan, who was trying his hardest to conceal his smile.  When Lexie closed the door, she noticed that there was another man in their apartment that was closely standing beside Joe. He was shorter than Joe, but radiated vast charisma and confidence as he greeted Nathan. 

The unnamed man noticed Lexie's confused look and waved his hand. "Hi." 

"Oh, shit." Joe chuckled and placed an arm around the man. "Lexie, this is Shane, my boyfriend. Shane, this is Lexie." 

"Nice to meet you." Lexie extended her hand to shake Shane's and politely smiled. His smile was dashing and almost felt comforting, she felt like they could become close friends. 

The couple sat down beside Leo in front of the TV and shoved Nathan. Louis turned to Lexie and smiled. "You look good, Lex." 

Lexie, who was wearing a massive hoodie and black leggings, blushed. "So do you." She sat down on the couch beside Nathan and noticed that he was looking at her with his brow raised. She raised hers back, and he turned his head to face Louis, who also had a brow raised. 

"So," Louis clapped as he grabbed a bottle of beer. "Are you two dating?" 

Lexie choked on the Coke that she was drinking, and Nathan immediately patted Lexie's back softly, making her feel at ease. When she stopped coughing, she sighed and thanked Nathan. He handed her a glass of water, and she noticed that his hand was still on her back. 

"So you are!" Louis exclaimed and threw a pillow straight to Nathan's face.  

"We're not." Lexie and Nathan said at the exact same time. They made eye contact for a second and looked away, awkwardly coughing. 

Joe playfully scoffed and threw a pillow at Lexie. She hugged the pillow and glared at him, making Nathan chuckle. "Why do you all like throwing pillows so much?  Also, we're not together."

"Okay," Leo said after sipping his beer. "Why was he wet and why were your hands wet, then?"

Nathan dragged a hand down his face and sighed. "You all have very dirty minds."

"Come on, you guys. Maybe they're just hanging out." The only sensible person spoke, Shane. He was grinning from ear to ear, amused by the red faces of Nathan and Lexie. She turned to him and widely smiled.

"See! Shane is the only competent person in this room. Thank you, Shane."

"Or they could be dating."

"Okay, never mind."

Shane chuckled and shook his head, still having that teasing look on his face. Leo abruptly stood up and pulled Nathan up with him, "You cook." They made their way to Nathan's kitchen, and he instantly grabbed the ingredients to start cooking. Leo saw the containers that are on the kitchen island and furrowed his brows. He turned to Nathan, "Since when do you organize?"

"I don't. Lexie's doing it." 

Leo raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Not yet dating, but you already act like a married couple." 

"Shut up."

Lexie watched the two of them whisper among themselves, like second grade students - occasionally glancing at her. When Nathan met her eye, he brightly smiled, flashing his pearly white teeth. She timidly smiled back and dropped her head, blushing lightly. What is wrong with her?

"What are you doing here then, Lexie?" Louis asks, looking at her attentively. 

"Uhm," Lexie looked at Nathan, not knowing what to say. He cleared his throat and walked to Lexie, putting a plate of toast and pasta on the table in front of her. She smiled inwardly, trying to suppress her laugh. She looked up at Nathan, who was also smiling, understanding the inside joke they created. "The saga continues."