Patrick shrugged, grinning at him. “Only when I want to.”

Pulling away from Jake, Lexie pushed into the apartment.

“Hey Sharon, what are you doing here?” Her voice went from surprised to sly and pleased. He didn’t have to look to know she was making a beeline to the couch.

It looked like all their friends were going to find out about this new shift in his and Sharon’s relationship sooner than they’d anticipated. Raising his eyebrows, Patrick stepped forward so they could exchange a hug as well - more of a bumping of chests and slapping each other on the back than the hug he’d just had with Lexie.

“He what?!” Lexie’s excited shriek was audible all the way down the hall, even though Sharon’s answer hadn’t been. “Patrick, Patrick, come here! They’re going out! Officially!”

“What is this, middle school?” Jake muttered under his breath, stepping back so Patrick could come into the apartment. He shut the door firmly behind them so they could stop bothering the neighbors. He doubted Lexie was going to get much quieter.

The deep rumble of Patrick’s laughter didn’t help.

Almost as soon as Lexie had gotten confirmation from Jake that yes, he and Sharon were officially together, she’d practically dragged Sharon down the hall to Jake’s bedroom. Sitting down on the neatly made bed, Sharon couldn’t help but be somewhat amused at how much neater Jake’s room was than her own. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d made her own bed.

Maybe it was an Army thing? Or maybe Jake was a little bit of a neat freak. It was something she hadn’t really thought about before, but it seemed to matter a little more now that they were together.

Shutting the door and cutting off the sound of the men’s deeper voices, Lexie squealed, taking a running leap and jumping onto the bed. Even though she felt a little nervous, Sharon laughed at her friend’s antics.

They might be siblings and have the same black hair and bright blue eyes, but Lexie and Jake were nothing alike in so many ways. She was a bundle of mischief and energy and looked like a little pixie, whereas Jake tended towards being serious, calm, and looked like the brawny soldier that he was. It was no surprise that Sharon and Lexie had hit it off right away.

“Oh my God, I’m so excited, you have to tell me everything! No, wait, I mean, not everything everything, but everything that’s not going to traumatize me!” Lexie’s eyes were sparkling, and Sharon felt her nervousness melting away as she realized that Lexie was one hundred percent thrilled about her and Jake making things official. This wasn’t going to be a sisterly interrogation, just a friendly one.