Meant To Be (A Bitten Story)

Chapter 2

Soon it was just the two of them in the booth and Lexi began to feel like there was not enough air in the room.

"I'm sorry about that, I know this was a blatant fix up" she said as she sipped her newly refilled glass of wine.

"Yeah, about that, I have a confession to make. I kinda figured that out when Amanda said she wanted me to meet a friend of hers and just casually arranged for you guys to be here tonight" Nick replied as he looked at her.

"Well, even my parents smelled a set up this morning, so it was not a surprise. What I want to know was how she got Charlie and Annie to go along with it. They don't normally agree with Amanda's plans," Lexi explained.

"I have to admit, I am glad that she set this whole thing up" Nick said with a smile.

"You are?" Lexi asked, feeling somewhat skeptical. Was he actually flirting with her? Or was he just being polite. She searched his face, trying to read him. To her surprise, he seemed sincere.

"Maybe we should have better introductions. Hi, I'm Nick," he said, flashing her his best smile and reaching out his hand to her.

She wasn't sure why, but that broke the atmosphere around then. She hadn't even realized how tense and on guard she was. "Lexi," she said grabbing his hand and shaking firmly. "So, Nick, what brings you to this newly opened nightclub?"

"Believe it or not, Lexi," he said just as casually as she asked the question. "I own the place."

Lexi gasped, placing her hand against her heart, feigning surprise. "What? No way."

Nick laughed and she joined him.

Their conversation remained light and simple, talking about his club and her likes and dislikes. She was surprised to realize that he had a lot of pride in his club. It made her admire him more, knowing that this wasn't just some business he was trying out.

"Lexi!" Annie said, shrugging Amanda who clearly was trying to stop her. "It's getting kinda late. Wanted to know if you wanted a ride back to my place?"

Lexi looked up and was about to answer when one of the security guards came over and grabbed Nick's attention.

"Sorry, duty calls, but I meant what I said about taking care of the dry cleaning earlier. Max, can you see that these ladies get to their car" he said as he looked at one of the other bouncers that had joined them before returning his gaze to Lexi.

"Sure thing boss, ladies, if you will follow me," the man said as he motioned them towards the door.

The following morning Lexi woke up to the smell of coffee. She eased out of the bed in Annie and Austin's guest room and stretched before making her way into the tiny living room and kitchen. She smirked as she saw a cardboard box with the name of her favorite doughnut place on it. Austin was sitting at the small breakfast bar reading the paper.

"Are those what I think they are?" Lexi asked with a sly smile.

"Yep, those are from Auntie Bees, I stopped over there before I headed home this morning," he replied with a wolf-like smile of his own.

"Have you slept at all?" she asked as she opened the box and pulled out a vanilla flavored doughnut for him and a maple bacon one for herself. She sat them both on paper towels and took a moment to take in her friend's appearance, if the dark circles under his eyes and the messed up hair was any indication, Lexi would guess that he had not been getting a whole lot of sleep lately.

Austin had just been made a detective at the same precinct as her father so she guessed that sleep was few and far between with the recent promotion.