Aimed At You

Chapter 20

The gang entered the building after 20  minutes of talking to Laine. Lexie liked Laine, she admired how clear her disdain for Luke was. She wondered what Luke did that made Laine, who seemed really sweet, talk about him as if he's the devil.

When they got to the 7th floor, they were surprised to find that Luke was already there - chatting with his friends. The man Luke was talking to had his back faced to Lexie, but he seemed familiar. She was thinking about the man - who he might be and why he's so familiar.

"Are you ready?" Nathan asked in a low voice behind her, interrupting Lexie's thoughts. 

The competition will start in 20 minutes and the whole floor was already packed. People were scattered, and Lexie scanned the room to look for her father - he wasn't there. She turned to face Nathan for the first time since yesterday, and her breath hitched as she took in his appearance. He was wearing a black t-shirt that he perfectly filled with his toned body, a black leather jacket that Lexie wanted to steal, black ripped jeans, black Chelsea boots, and damn did he look good. Black was definitely his color. She could see the chain of his necklace around his neck, and she couldn't look away.

Nathan cleared his throat and covered his smirk with a sip from his water bottle, shooting one brow up. 

Lexie shook her head, trying to focus. "What happened to your money?" She asks, not answering Nathan's question.

"Uhm," He started. "I only gave about 40% back. Vance let me keep the rest."

Lexie was taken aback, literally. "I thought you're supposed to give most of the money back when you lose?"

"Yeah, I know. It's weird. Part of the contract was to give 80%, but- I don't know. It's like something switched in him."

She paused, thinking back to the conversation they had in Vance's office, "Yeah, weird."

The rest of the boys walked towards the two of them, and they talked for a little bit when Lexie caught Luke's eye from across the room. He winked at her, and Lexie literally wanted to vomit, but she kept her cool. She tilted her head to the right and mustered the sweetest fake smile she could give. Nathan turned to her at the exact time Lexie blew a sarcastic kiss to Luke. 

"How nice of you," Nathan joked.

Lexie chuckled and opened her mouth to say something, when she saw Luke walking towards her. 

The mic's feedback startled everyone and caught their attentions, causing Luke to stop walking. "Oops, sorry." The announcer apologizes, chuckling. Lexie made eye contact with Luke and pouted, mocking him. 

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am Anthony Dane, your host, and I welcome you to the competition between Ms. Lexie and Mr. Luke Hane for the championship title!" Claps and cheered erupted, and Lexie looked around the room again. "May I please request the challenger to step forward?" 

Lexie's heart dropped, she hated attention. As if Nathan could feel Lexie's anxiety, he placed his hand on the small of her back and smiled, encouraging her. She stared at him for a second, took a deep breath, and nodded. 

People were clapping, especially Nathan and their friends, as she walked towards Anthony. She stopped beside him, facing the crowd. Anthony called on the champion and asked him to stand on the other side of him. Lexie and Luke stood face to face, and he had a painfully antagonizing smirk plastered on his face. His smirk wasn't like Nathan's - Nathan's smirk gave Lexie butterflies, but Luke's gave her a headache and made her want to vomit. 

Luke whispered something in Anthony's ear that visibly surprised him. He covered the mic he was holding and whispered back to Luke, confused. When Luke nodded with a smirk on his face, Anthony held the mic in front of him to announce what they've been whispering about.