1992.
Robert sighed inwardly as he took off a studded leather jacket and dropped it carelessly onto the bench in front of him. Another humiliating television performance over. As he got changed back into his much preferred jeans and polo shirt, his tongue craved the taste of a cigarette so desperately that it was starting to aggravate him to no end, and when he heard Nigel’s irritating wail making its way closer to the changing rooms, Rob made a dash for the exit before his long awaited smoke could be interrupted by a lecture.
He closed the fire exit doors behind him and stepped around the corner of the building to find Gary stood alone with his head leaning back against the wall, a sharply chiselled jawline more defined than ever as he slowly exhaled the smoke of a neatly rolled Golden Virginia.
“Hiding, are we?” Rob mumbled, a cigarette pinched between his lips as he fished for a lighter in his pocket.
“Always.” Gary spoke with a smirk.
There was silence as Rob continued to route in his jeans pockets for a lighter, becoming more irritated with every second that he spent not being able to smoke.
“Do you have a light, Gaz? If I go in there I’ll never get back out. He’s dying to slap my wrist for that tripe performance I just give.”
Gary laughed, reaching into his back pocket for a black lighter. He took a step into Rob, the cigarette still perched between his pink lips. One flick of his thumb and a small flame stood between them, Rob watched intently as its reflection danced in Gary’s eyes. The flame finally made contact, and Rob’s eyes fell to the end of his cigarette, whilst Gary’s rose to watch Rob. The cigarette lit and Gary took his thumb away, dropping his arm and returning the lighter to his pocket, not once being able to look away from Rob, satisfaction lighting the young man’s eyes as he finally took a breath of his desperately awaited cigarette.
Gary watched intensely as Rob’s long eyelashes flickered softly against one another as the smoke tickled them. Relief poured out of him in the form of a thick cloud of smoke, swirls teasing the small gap between the two men. With cheekbones so gorgeously defined in the morning sun Rob stood delighted in front of Gary, who for the life of him couldn’t distract his eyes from the figure ahead of him.
Rob’s eyes finally opened causing Gary to drop his head and turn his gaze back to his own cigarette, the flame burnt out following a severe lack of attention. He threw it to the ground and search for another previously rolled cigarette in his green packet of tobacco.
“Stressed?” Rob pushed out a smoky laugh. Gary didn’t respond. “I don’t know why. You can do no wrong, surely?”
Again, there was no verbal response. There was simply an unimpressed flick of Gary’s right eyebrow and a small clearing of the throat.
“Or did you not suck his dick so well today?”
Gary tilted his head, exhausted at the ageing joke Rob refused to let go, his pursed lips refused exit to any harsh retorts that may have fell off his tongue.
“Is that why he was so angry? So tense? You couldn’t get him to finish.”
There was a pause. A long inhale. A long exhale.
“Are you jealous?” Gary purred.
