Jealousy Has Only Got One Friend

It had been a year since the argument and there had been very few since, except for the odd petty disagreement. The pair had come out to their friends, family and team mates but were not ready to expose themselves to the public. Although Stuart sometimes thought that people must be blind not to notice; it can’t be normal for best friends to go out shopping with their arms around each other’s waists.
They didn’t live together yet because of the distance between their county teams and International duties so they both cherished the time they had together. Stuart had a week off so had come down to stay with Luke in his Brighton home (oh, the irony). There was a T20 match tonight which gave Stuart the rare opportunity to see his boyfriend play without having to worry about his own performance; he would be able to relax in the crowd and have a drink.
Luke had left an hour ago to do prematch preparations, much to his disappointment, so Stuart was currently getting ready in his boyfriend’s empty flat. When he was finally happy with the way he looked, he left the flat, locking it with the key that Luke had given him six months ago, to his delight. It was one of those lame stages that all relationships went through but still seemed like an incredible event to those involved.
He walked around the corner to the ground and flashed his ticket to the security guard on the gate before heading to the terrace, where he had been assured he could sit in peace. It was still early but he wanted to get in before the crowds to avoid signing too many autographs and perhaps to give Luke a good luck kiss.
The blonde was in the nets when Stuart arrived and he didn’t want to disturb him so he occupied himself by playing on his phone for a while. Just as he was about to beat his high score on Guitar Hero a shadow passed over the screen, causing him to lose concentration. He looked up to see his England team mate, Matt Prior, grinning down at him.
“Fancy seeing you here!” Matt grinned, pulling Stuart into a hug.
“Alright mate?” he replied, slipping into a masculine persona for some reason.
“Not bad. How are you?”
“Glad to have a break but good, yeah.” Stuart smiled.
“Ah right,” Matt nodded knowingly, “Are you down all week?”
“Yep. Just chilling out and making the most of it.”
“How are things with you and your boo?” Matt smirked.
“Good thanks. It’ll be even better if you lot win tonight I should think!” He smirked back.
Matt cringed, wishing he had never asked, “Well, I’ll leave you to it. Text me and we’ll have a round of golf or something, yeah?”
Stuart nodded and waved as the wicketkeeper walked away, only to be replaced by a short blonde who instantly lit up his day.
“Hey babe!” The man giggled, hugging Stuart.
“Hi Shortie. Are you ready to thrash Kent?” He asked, not letting go of Luke.
“Yup! Are you ready to see me kick arse though?” Luke giggled.
“Certainly am. I’m getting dirty looks from your coach so you had better go and warm up. Good luck and I’ll wait for you after.” He kissed his lips, “Love you.”
“Love you too.” Luke pecked his lips once more then ran off to join his team mates.
The ground began to fill with eager fans, a number of whom noticed and pointed at Stuart, whispering about why he might be here. He wasn’t paying much attention though; Luke was bent over to touch his toes and was giving him a nice view of his arse. He couldn’t wait for them to get home later so that he could do what he wanted to it.
As the teams went back into the pavilion, Stuart noticed that Luke was chatting to another young blonde man who was very attractive. Of course, he wasn’t a patch on Luke but Stuart couldn’t help noticing his toned body, olive skin and dark eyes. He felt a wave of jealousy spread through him like a chill. He knew it was stupid, they were just chatting but he couldn’t help feeling like this guy was trying to steal his Luke.
Sussex would bat first which meant that Luke would be heading straight to the middle to open. He smashed fifty runs beautifully before being caught on the boundary. Stuart loved watching Luke bat; it was his favourite thing to do, second only to watching Luke in the shower. He could tell how much each run meant to him and how much getting out upset him, even when he had played incredibly.
As he ran up the steps to the pavilion, the guy from earlier patted Luke on the bum. Stuart was livid; how dare he touch his man like that? A pat on the back was one thing but he was quite clearly having a feel of Luke’s arse! He wanted to go and punch the kid in the face but he knew that he couldn’t afford to make a scene. Once rational thinking had set back in, he also considered that he may have been aiming for Luke’s back but missed as he ran up the stairs. Maybe he wouldn’t kill this guy but he could still feel his blood boiling.
After a quick shower, Luke reappeared and joined his team mates in the dug out, sitting next to this newly-discovered foe. He grinned over at his boyfriend on the terrace before chatting animatedly to this incredibly irritating stranger. Once again, Stuart rationalised that they were just chatting and he was only jealous because he hadn’t seen his boyfriend in a while so not being able to even speak to him was upsetting him.
However, there was no rationalising or mistaking the hand that this arch-enemy placed on Luke’s knee when the pair began to laugh and then did not remove until the end of the innings. Now he wasn’t just angry with this kid but also with his boyfriend for not doing anything about it. What did he think he was doing?
He barely registered the second innings because his mind was racing but he did notice that Sussex won. As a result, Luke was in a spritely mood when they met afterwards, which only annoyed Stuart further. He jumped at the taller man and attempted to kiss him but Stuart turned his head so it landed on his cheek. Luke frowned and turned to walk towards home, reaching for his boyfriend’s hand but not finding it.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” He asked worriedly.
Stuart didn’t even look at him but sighed, “Who was that blonde guy you were talking to?”
Luke’s eyebrows knitted together, “Michael Rippon, he’s from South Africa. Why do you ask?”
Suddenly Stuart felt really guilty for accusing Luke of something that clearly he was oblivious to but he had to be sure.
“You seem close is all.” He shrugged.
Luke stopped dead in his tracks, realising why his boyfriend was acting so strangely.
“Are you jealous?” He smirked.
“No!” Stuart blushed, making Luke giggle.
“Liar!” He mock-gasped, “You so are!”
“Well he did smack your bum and have his hand on your knee for far too long!” He defended.
Once he had cleared his giggles, Luke took hold of Stuart’s hands and looked at him seriously, “He’s just a friend. Maybe he likes me too much, I don’t know, I haven’t noticed but I’ll make everything clear to him now.”
Stuart smiled as his boyfriend unlocked his front door and kicked his shoes off. He followed suit and closed the door behind them, leaning against it and sighing at the relief of being here without anything to worry about.
A kiss pressed to his lips briefly as Luke rubbed his hip, “I’m going to have a quick shower, I smell. Pick a DVD?”
Stuart pouted, “Can’t I come too?”
“Later,” Luke winked, “I’m knackered and I need cuddles first.”
“Fine,” Stu sighed, “Hurry up or I’ll come and get you!”
Another quick peck was shared before Luke ran upstairs and Stuart went into the living room. He quickly decided on Fast and Furious because he might be gay but that did not mean he watched girly films…much. Having put the disk in the player, he flopped onto the sofa, one of his favourite parts of Luke’s house. It was large enough for two people to lay down but had high sides so that it was still cosy to snuggle up on.
He must have been laying with his eyes shut for about ten minutes when a shadow passed over him and the sofa sank as a body crawled over him. He smiled without opening his eyes as a pair of soft lips connected with his and moved gently against them. He reached up for the person’s hips and discovered that they were bare apart from a pair of boxers. The soft skin beneath his fingertips was too tempting and he had to open his eyes to admire this very familiar body. He pulled away from the kiss, trailing his eyes up and down Luke’s toned torso and rubbing circles into his hips.
“Well hello there.” He smirked, running his hands up Luke’s sides and making him shiver.
He pulled his boyfriend flat on top of him and began to kiss his neck in all of the places he knew would drive him crazy. As his lips worked, he could feel Luke’s hands slide under his own top.
“Stop it, we’re meant to be watching a film.” Luke groaned half-heartedly.
“But I’m kissing you.” Stuart whispered, nibbling Luke’s earlobe and causing him to whimper involuntarily, “Besides, you were the one who came down half naked; I can’t help myself.”
He ground their hips together, making Luke moan gloriously whilst the kisses to his neck got rougher. Stuart knew he could win this battle but he could also see how tired Luke was; the inevitable sex would be far better if he let him sleep through a movie first. He reluctantly pulled a blanket, slung over the back of the sofa, over the both of them and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend.
“You win, let’s watch the movie.” Stuart smirked at the look of bewilderment on Luke’s face.
The smaller man’s head dropped ontp the taller’s chest in a mixture of exhaustion and frustration; Stuart really knew how to push his buttons.
The movie began and sure enough, it wasn’t long before Luke’s breathing evened out as he slept through the entire thing. This was how life was supposed to be for them, Stuart thought, whilst paying more attention to his sleeping boyfriend than the film. He should be able to come home every night that he wasn’t on tour to a half-naked boyfriend, bad television and a cosy sofa. In reality, he knew this was far more difficult but he couldn’t help thinking that their relationship would never move forward unless something changed. He was so busy thinking things through that he didn’t notice that the film had ended and Luke had woken up.
“Don’t think too hard babe, you’ll hurt yourself.” Luke said in a husky voice, still thick with sleep.
“Oh ssh you!” He blushed at the fact that he had been caught whilst zoned out.
“What were you thinking about?”
“Us.” Luke raised an eyebrow, encouraging him to continue, “I want to live with you.”
The grin on Luke’s face was heart-melting. He pressed their lips together in a sloppy but passionate kiss; he had wanted the same thing for months so to hear Stuart say it was incredible.
He pulled away and said breathily, “I do too.”
“I don’t know how to make it work yet but I promise you, I’ll find a way.”
Luke smiled but then it faltered, “What about when you’re on tour with England? I’ll be so lonely. I am when you’re not here at the moment; it’ll be even worse knowing you should be here.”
Stu ran a hand through his boyfriend’s hair, “Keep playing like you did tonight and you’ll be coming with me. Failing that, I’ll get you a puppy.”
Luke’s smile returned and he kissed his boyfriend again, “Would you really?”
“If it made you happy, of course I would.”
“You’re going to regret that soon.” Luke giggled, leaning closer to Stuart’s ear to whisper, “Come on then, take me to bed.”