Aimed At You

Chapter 26

"Where's my hair tie?" 

Lexie asked, holding her hair up in a bun with one hand and the other rummaging through their couch. She threw the throw pillows on the floor and searched the inside of the couch, wreaking havoc in their living room. 

Nathan chuckled from the kitchen. "Right here," he held up his left wrist, showing Lexie's missing hair tie.

"Thief," she murmured as she turned around to approach him. She stopped walking for a second after taking in Nathan's attire, or lack thereof. He was cooking something in the kitchen, wearing his 'kiss the chef' apron and no shirt whatsoever. She snickered, "Shirts are overrated, huh?"

"Oh, yeah." He stretched his arm to grab spices from the cupboard, his back muscles flexing in the process. Lexie had to look away. 

Lexie took her hair tie from his wrist, but he snatched it back. She stood beside him, "Can you cook the shrimp pasta thing you made before?"

"Hmm," he squinted his eyes and turned his head to her. "Beg me."

Lexie snorted, "In your dreams." 

"I would love to have you in my dreams."

"As if I'm not already there," she winked, grabbing a glass of water. "Remember when you begged me to beat Luke?"

Nathan laughed, "I did not beg."

"Oh, but you did," she smirked. 

He took Lexie's glass from her hands and drank water from it while staring directly into her blue eyes. She titled her head as if to ask, "What?" 

"Let's play a game," he said after setting the glass down.

"What game?"

"More like a competition," he grabbed a potato from the fridge. "Let's see who can make the best potato meal."

"Potato meal?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Make any meal that involves potatoes then we'll see who made the best." 

"Okay," she nodded back. "Whoever wins will cater in Joe and Shane's wedding." 

"They're not engaged yet."

"Oh, they will be."

They locked eyes for a second then nodded. "Deal," they shook hands and began searching the kitchen for ingredients. Lexie opened the fridge to grab more potatoes and Nathan playfully bumped her hip with his, snickering away afterwards. Nathan grabbed a pack of bacon as Lexie searched for flour.

They played music as they cooked side by side in the kitchen, occasionally bumping each other. Sometimes they would work synchronously, boiling the potatoes at the exact same time, causing them to look at each other and squint. 

"You know I'll beat you, right?" Lexie said as she chopped caramelized onions. 

"We'll see," Nathan smirked confidently. 

They continued to cook for about an hour. Nathan finished first and leaned on the counter to watch Lexie cook after beautifully plating his creation. After Lexie finished, Nathan clapped and placed his plate on the counter, Lexie following suit.

They stared at each other's plates, face not revealing how amused they are. Nathan's plate was covered in tiny potatoes wrapped in bacon, skewered by a toothpick. "What is it?" Lexie asked, hands on her hips.

"Bacon-wrapped potato bites," he nodded proudly at his creation. He turned to Lexie's plate that had about 5 perfectly plated potato rings. "What's yours?"

"Potato rings..." she said, voice small and shy. 

Nathan chuckled at her sudden timidity. "Let's taste it then." They swapped plates and took a small bite from each other's food. They were completely silent as Lexie grabbed another and Nathan finished the first potato ring. Lexie rolled her lips inward after Nathan tauntingly turned his whole body to face her, smirking. 

"Thoughts?" he asked, amused.

"Well," she took another one. "It's good." 

Nathan chuckled, "Just good?"

"Yeah, it's good. Could be better though," she shrugged. "How was mine?"

"It's good too," he nodded.

They stared at each other for a long time then started to laugh uncontrollably. They were laughing so hard Lexie fell to the floor. She caught a glimpse of Nathan's perfect mouth as he laughed out loud, his pearly white teeth blinding her, before he covered his mouth. 

Nathan sat beside her on the floor, still breathless from laughing so hard. "I win, huh?"

Lexie rolled her eyes while still grinning from ear to ear. "Turd," she grumbled as she stood up to eat more of Nathan's food.

"Awe," he pouted teasingly. "Don't cry, Lexie. Your potato rings are still delicious. I'm just better."

Lexie turned to the sink, grabbed the faucet sprayer, and sprayed Nathan right on the face. His jaw dropped as he stared at Lexie. "I am unarmed, Lexie!" 

He grabbed the dish soap and sprayed it to her, making her squeal. She sprayed him back with water, their floors damn-near flooding, as Nathan ran to Lexie and grabbed the spray. He sprayed her from the head, and they both laughed harder than they were minutes ago. 

When Nathan stopped spraying Lexie, they noticed how close they were standing to each other. It happened before, but the way they were both panting loudly made them feel things they haven't before. There was so much tension, they could touch it with their fingers. Their chests rose and fell as they stared intensely at each other. Nathan's eyes traveled down to her parted lips, and he licked his. That was the first time he's ever done that. Lexie felt her entire body burn because that was the hottest thing she's ever seen.

 She bit her lip, pressed it together, then bit it again. Lexie leaned closer, closer, and closer, until their lips were an inch apart. She went up to her tip toes, tilted her head to his cheek, and kissed it. It left a burning sensation on Nathan's cheek, yet he was frozen in his spot, in time. Lexie pulled slightly away, their lips almost grazing. Nathan licked his lips again, and in an instant, Lexie grabbed the forgotten spray from his hand and sprayed it on his head. She ran away giggling as Nathan stood there completely shocked and confused. He shouted at Lexie before she entered her room, "You turd!"