Nick Torres was definitely not jealous.
No, there was absolutely no way that he was even the tiniest bit jealous of THAT guy.
Still, Nick kept staring at the guy, who was standing way too close to his girlfriend for his liking and carefully observed his every interaction with Ellie.
Just a few days ago everything had been just fine. Nick and Ellie were in a perfectly happy relationship, though they were still hiding it from the rest of NCIS.
And then, Ryan had shown up, an old friend from Ellie, one she hadn't seen in years, and since then, Ellie had been spending quite a lot of time with the guy...instead of spending her time alone with him, Nick. Her boyfriend.
No, Nick was not offended at all. And definitely not jealous. Not a chance.
But why did Nick feel like Ellie's friend was time after time flirting with his girlfriend, hitting on her?
And why was Ellie not saying anything about it? Was she seriously just ignoring it?
It bothered him. Quite a bit.
Nick hadn't said anything about it so far either, not wanting Ellie to believe he was jealous. Which he totally wasn't.
To stay calm, Nick had to remind himself literally every 30 minutes that the guy was only going to stay in town for two more days, and then, everything would go back to normal again.
Ellie would spend all of her free time with him again, only the two of them, and Nick would be rid of all that would distract Ellie's attention away from him.
However, the next day, after Ellie and Nick had been in the city with Ellie's friend Ryan and Nick had caught him frequently flirting with her again, Nick couldn't take it anymore.
So when they were home that evening and the annoying guy had fortunately returned to his hotel room, Nick decided to address the matter.
''So...Ryan...'' Nick started carefully when they were both sitting around the dining table after having eaten dinner.
''What about him?'' Ellie's gaze met his, wondering what Nick was going to say.
''You realized that he has been...uh...flirting with you these past few days that he's been here?''
Nick asked, not daring to look her into the eye as he did so, knowing that the look she now gave him was an amused one.
And he was right. She had a small smile on her face, as she asked, ''Are you...jealous, Nick?''.
Was he just imagining it or was she mocking him with the tone she used...?
Quickly, and with a slightly louder voice than he intended, he tried to defend himself.
'What? No, of course not. I just don't like the way the guy has been acting. And I mean, what is there to be jealous about? Come on, we both know I look way better than that guy,'' Nick said with conviction.
Ellie's reaction was to laugh and lean back in her chair.
''Of course you do.''
There was still something that didn't sit well with Nick, so just because he was curious, not because he was jealous or anything, he asked ''Just out of curiosity...why didn't you tell him to stop or something like that when he was hitting on you? I mean, he was quite obvious about it. You could've at least told him off or something.'' Though he had tried to conceal it, Ellie could clearly hear in his voice that it was bothering him.
Ellie's smile disappeared somewhat, but her lips were still turned slightly upwards.
''Because that's just the way that Ryan is. He flirts with every woman he knows. Yeah, it can be quite annoying sometimes, but apart from that, he's a nice guy. And I didn't say anything because tomorrow he's gonna leave the city anyway and I'm not interested in him, so there was no point in ruining the mood by telling him off. Trust me, he's not actually interested in me either, we're just friends. I promise... that's just the way he is which is why I didn't say anything. That's all there is to it.'' While she explained that to him, her eyes on his, she had shoved the chair she was sitting on closer toward him and had placed her hand on his arm, her thumb rubbing over the material of the tight long-sleeved shirt Nick was wearing.
When he didn't answer after some time of silence, she resumed speaking.
''There's really no need to be jealous. You're the only man I'm interested in, Nick. And even if there was some guy who was flirting with me for real, you're the only one I want to be with,'' she slowly elucidated, making sure that he was intently listening to what she was saying.
''Okay?''
Nick nodded after a few seconds, taking her hand that was still placed on his arm in his other hand and interlocked their fingers before he answered.
''Okay.''
His answer caused a big smile to appear on her face once more and she stood up to sit down on his lap and then joined their lips in a kiss, as her hands moved to his hair and neck while his went around her waist.
Turns out, maybe Nick had been a little jealous. Maybe even for no reason.
But it didn't matter anymore, not when the woman he loves was in his arms and they were passionately kissing.
