Authors Note: This story is set in Australia and involves sportspeople who play cricket. The reader does not have to know about the game of cricket to follow the story. It just happens to be the sport in Australia at present where both male and female professionals can earn a full time living.

Thank you very much to eclecticwoman818 for her editing and constant encouragement with my stories.

*****

2nd February 2018- Adelaide Oval, Australia

The sound of the bat hitting the leather ball reverberated throughout the stadium. The free flowing swing of the willow had sent the cricket ball scorching across the outfield, piercing the gap between the two fielders patrolling the boundary. The ball thudded into the advertising hoardings and the packed house cheered with delight.

Matt Larkham moved down the pitch and flicked an errant piece of grass away. His captain Simon Buford was the other batsman out there with him. They had a brief word together, before Matt returned to face the next ball. At the rate they were travelling it looked like the Australian team would win this final game of the home season quickly. Matt had already scored 42 runs and was looking in imperious touch.

***********

Even to the casual observer it was clear to see that Matt Larkham's career was going from strength to strength. The 28 year old was in his third season with the Australian team and it had been a breakout one for Matt. He had a slightly shaky hold on his position in the team at the end of the previous Australian summer. However Matt gained maturity playing in the IPL for Delhi, and in county cricket for Hampshire during the off season. He successfully transferred this across to his form for Australia.

Matt had the kind of natural talent for the game that cannot be taught. He always seemed to be one step ahead of the action. When he batted, he appeared to have so much time to react to what was being bowled to him that he could play any number of shots to each particular ball. His natural talent has never been in question.

His progression through the various levels of the sport to reach the Australian team seemed preordained. Matt was a good if not outstanding under-age player. His talents really came to notice upon reaching state level competition and first class cricket, before making the Australian team at 26. Once there he began a little slowly, mostly due to his making mistakes through over confidence. However as Matt gained experience, he was making fewer mistakes in his game.

While Matt was undoubtedly talented on the field, off the field things were also looking good. He was 5'10" tall, dark hair which was always immaculately styled, blue eyes and naturally fit. He wasn't hugely muscular like some of his team mates but was fit enough for his role in the team.

With his prodigious talent and 'boy next door' good looks, Matt was in high demand for endorsements and he represented a number of companies. He also had the obligatory celebrity girlfriend. He was going out with high profile actress Alannah Devery, from the popular soap opera 'Lives and Loves'. She was 26 years old, tall, blonde, brown eyes. She too was very popular, with tens of thousands of Instagram followers all seemingly glued to every detail of her life. They had met at a movie premiere in Sydney and had been going out for about 4 months. They were always being seen out at the right places and with the right people. They were seemingly made for each other.

With the progress Matt was showing in his game, he could become not just a reliable player, but possibly one of the great players Australia has produced.

*********

Taking strike to the next ball, Matt knew as soon as the ball left the bowlers hand that he was going to be able to smash it through the on side. He cleared his front leg and began to swing. The ball then began to dip in flight and in that split second Matt knew he was going to miss it, but he was committed to the shot.

His swing of the bat kept going, as the spikes on the boot of his back foot dug into the turf. His back foot should have pivoted with the swing, but it couldn't, as his boot was gripping firmly into the ground. The momentum of the swing kept going and his left leg pivoted at his knee. The sound of his ACL rupturing could be heard by the players close by. The distinct 'popping' sound was then accompanied by a loud groan from Matt, as the pain of the injury rushed through his body.

His boot finally released from the turf and Matt fell to the ground, writhing in agony from the pain. Opposition players and his batting partner came rushing over to help him. The Australian team physio and doctor came rushing out onto the field. Matt was clutching his left leg, the pain greater than he had felt before. He immediately knew the injury was serious and when the doctor got to him he was immediately diagnosed with a ligament rupture.

Matt was taken off the field in the Medi-Cart, to go straight to the hospital...

***********

Matt caught the elevator down from his 19th floor luxury apartment in Milsons Point, Sydney. He hobbled out of the elevator and across to his Porsche 911. As he struggled lowering himself into the low line sports car, taking care not to bump his still tender left knee, he smiled to himself. Matt felt thankful that he had gotten the paddle shift gearbox version of the car and not the regular manual transmission.

It had been six weeks since he had injured his knee and he was keen to start getting his knee back to working order. Matt was heading out the short distance to Chatswood to see his Physiotherapist for the first time. Progress with his injury after his surgery had been slowed due to a post-operative infection that took a while to clear up. He knew the process would be long and apparently painful, but he had been told the physio he was going to see was the best around. They had been recommended to him by Cricket Australia, and many other sporting teams also used this practice.

************

Jenna Murphy sat in her office and looked down her list of appointments for the day. She was the head Physiotherapist and part owner of the practice. She was 28 years old, 5'6" tall, long brunette hair, with some lighter highlights, that reached her shoulder blades. While still quite shapely, Jenna was very athletically fit.

Jenna too was an elite sportsperson. She played cricket for the NSW Breakers and Sydney Sixers, the same franchise that Matt played for when his international commitments allowed. While she hadn't reached playing for Australia yet, Jenna was part of the wave of female cricketers who were now professional or semi-professional and could make a living playing their chosen sport. Jenna had begun playing in her home state of Queensland, reaching the state team there when she was 21. She still enjoyed playing at a high level, and really liked her work.

It was her work which had brought her to Sydney two years earlier. A colleague she went to University with had taken over a practice and asked if she wanted to join. Jenna jumped at the opportunity and moved down. She soon received an invitation to train for the NSW team, eventually forced her way into the side. Even though the NSW team was filled with players who played for Australia, she fitted into the team and performed very well. Her teammates all noted her positive work ethic, and the very hard work she put into her sport to play the best she could.

Perusing the list she saw Matt Larkham's name. Jenna knew of his injury and the difficulties he had experienced afterwards from the notes she had received. She was also a little wary about Matt wondering if he was as arrogant as he seemed to be when she had met him previously. He didn't even speak to her at a photoshoot and press conference with the Sixers at the beginning of last season...

*********

Matt hobbled his way out of his car and into the reception area. After a few moments he was shown to the treatment room where Jenna was waiting for him. She was dressed in her dark green polo shirt with the practice emblem on the left side, black pants and black shoes. Her hair was back in a ponytail.

As they greeted each other Matt shook her hand. "Nice to meet you Jenna." He said quietly, barely looking at her.

"Nice to meet you too Matt" Jenna replied with a smile, realising he didn't recognise her. She didn't want to make a big deal out of this so she didn't mention that they had met before.

Their first appointment was to assess the movement available in Matt's injured knee, as compared with his good leg. Jenna would then custom design his rehab program to best get him fully functioning and back on the field again.

As Jenna did her assessments, she and Matt made a little small talk mostly about his injury. Matt, as was his way, was a little guarded with his answers. Jenna could barely get more than two words out of Matt. She felt that he was almost going out of his way to not speak to her.

"I'm not going to sugar coat this Matt. The process to get your knee back to functioning properly is going to be painful. You are going to have to learn how to use your knee again. Building the strength and flexibility will take time as well. Usually it is a 10-12 month program."

Matt thought Jenna was being a bit serious, so he decided to make a little joke, just to lighten the mood.

"Oh that's no problem. I will be finished in 9. I heal pretty quick you know." Matt said.

He immediately regretted saying this as Jenna just looked at him, not even cracking a smile.

They went through to the gym and pool area. It was here where Matt would spend most of his time, exercising to get the strength and flexibility back to his knee. Jenna introduced him to Exercise Physiologist Adam Cowans, who would be Matt's trainer throughout his rehab process. She watched for a while as Adam started Matt's training program, before going to see another patient.

As Jenna left she caught Adam and whispered to him "Good luck with this one."

She walked off and shook her head. "I'll be finished in 9 months! Can he get any more arrogant?" Jenna thought as she walked away.

************

Over the next few weeks Matt did his exercise program at the Physio Centre gym as best as he thought he could, believing he was following the guidelines his trainer had set out for him. He did tend to get distracted at the gym though, with his phone being a source of interruption. As he followed Alannah's Instagram feed there seemed to be always something popping up grabbing his attention. Matt felt that he was doing enough at the gym, so he didn't do the further exercises he was recommended to do at home.

Jenna had also noticed Matt was distracted when working out. She saw that he was doing only the bare minimum required. He barely spoke to anyone in the centre and isolated himself with headphones while he exercised.

After about three weeks of rehab, Matt noticed that Alannah's posts on Instagram were now showing more of one of her co-stars. This actor, Marcos, was a handsome man, but an equally dubious actor as Alannah. Matt had met him a couple of times at various parties and found him to be quite shallow and vain.

That afternoon Matt waited at home for Alannah to come over after she had finished shooting for the day. He hadn't seen her for a few days. It was about 3pm when she came in talking excitedly about her day.

"Matt, are you coming out with me tonight? There is a big party at 'The Ivy' and I really want to go? Please?" Alannah asked almost pleading with him.

"Alannah you know I can't go. I can't stand up for that long a time, as my knee won't hold out. It is sore enough from rehab as it is."

Alannah's mood changed immediately and she got very angry with him.

"You never want to go out with me anymore. It's always about 'your knee'. What about me and my career? I need to be out at these parties keeping my name out there. Can't you see Matt; it isn't all about you and your precious little injury." She sneered.

"Precious little injury! I had major surgery to reconstruct my knee. ... You are so shallow, so up yourself... Go to the party and take your boyfriend 'Marcos' along with you." He shouted, losing his temper.

Alannah started to open and close her mouth, but nothing was coming out.

"You heard what I said. I have seen your posts on Instagram. Go to your party with him and schmooze around with all of the other shallow people that will be there. That is where you and Marcos should be." He shouted.

His anger at realising how little she thought of him was fully on display. Matt hobbled over and picked her keys up from the hall table, taking the key and pass card to his apartment off her keyring.

"You should go now Alannah."

As she walked past Matt she had a smarmy look on her face. It was like she wanted to be caught, so they would break up.

"Good bye Alannah." Matt said as he held the front door open for her to leave and gave her keys back. She didn't look at all sad by what had happened.

As she got to the lift and pressed the button Matt said "Oh and by the way, YOU CAN'T ACT." With that he shut the door.

Matt sat down on his lounge and was shaking with rage. He wasn't heartbroken, as he didn't love Alannah. He was just so fired up about how little she thought of him, to openly mock his injury and the physical struggles he was going through in rehab. He felt used and betrayed. He was also shaking from the actual confrontation, as that was something he did not like.

The worst part was that Matt felt foolish and annoyed. Annoyed to have gone out for so long with her and only now just realising how she used him to improve her profile. While they did have some fun times, they weren't emotionally close. Matt thought about their relationship and even when they were physically together, while the sex was good, there wasn't any feelings attached. It was just something they did and it didn't seem to have any meaning to it. Well it didn't have the connection and feelings Matt wanted to have in a relationship.

"Firstly I get injured and lose my sport. Now I have lost my girlfriend. Can my life get any worse?" Matt mused to himself.

***********

Two days later he headed back to the Physio, where he was due for another exercise session and as he had been working out for a month, he was to do an assessment to see how his injury was progressing. Matt thought he must have been making a bit of progress, as his knee was aching a lot.

His workout with Adam went smoothly, but Matt was still a bit detached mentally as the events of the previous couple of days were still fresh in his memory. He finished his workout and did his pool work, before having a shower. He then went and met with Jenna again in the treatment room. She proceeded to move and flex his knee, taking measurements of everything the knee could or couldn't do. Matt groaned a few times as she really put his knee through a thorough test. She took down notes on her iPad of everything she did.

Matt's knee was aching after the testing, so Jenna suggested that he get an ice pack from the fridge before meeting in her office. Matt hobbled out, got the ice pack and proceeded to her office.

Jenna was sitting behind her desk and she looked up at him as he entered. Her office was functional, with her desk, chairs for her clients, bookshelf with many volumes and her degrees and professional certificates on the wall. There was one thing on the wall that stood out to Matt though. It was a framed Sydney Sixer's Women's Team jersey. It was autographed too.

"I see you are a fan of the Sixers then." Matt said, innocently enough he thought.

The look on Jenna's face changed. Her eyes narrowed and Matt could immediately feel the anger coming from her.

"No Matt that is MY jersey! From when we won the final this year, when I scored 43 not out and was on the field when Amber hit the winning runs ... I actually MET you at the beginning of last season, at a photoshoot and press conference for the Sixers..."

Matt felt so low. He genuinely hadn't realised Jenna was a cricketer too. Worse still he hadn't remembered meeting her.

Jenna continued seemingly even angrier "Your arrogance is unbelievable... And it shows in the progress with your injury. Have you been doing any exercises outside of here?"

"No... But.."

"NO IS RIGHT. I can tell by these results. At the rate you are progressing you will probably be able to walk properly next January, and possibly get back to playing by the end of NEXT year, if at all. Do you really want to play again?"

"Yes I do..." Matt replied feebly.

"Well then you are going to have to work hard to get there. It's not like when you are playing, where you can rely on your 'natural talent'. I bet that you are one of those players that only do the bare minimum at training. You don't do anything extra, no extra gym sessions or practice. You probably don't even do any extra running or fitness. You just turn up and hit the ball. No coach would dare tell you off, as they rely on your talent to help the team. Am I right?"

"Umm... well..." Matt mumbled.

"THIS ISN'T LIKE THAT!! You have to work and work hard. The more work and the better of quality work you do now can greatly improve your recovery time. If you are serious about getting back to playing you need to do something you haven't done before. Actually WORK HARD. If you want to do the work we can help... If not, you are wasting the time of my team here and me. Is that clear?"

"Yes Jenna."

"Now if you will excuse me Matt I have other clients to see." Jenna said as she stood up and opened the door for Matt to leave.

He hobbled out of the office, avoiding making eye contact with her. Matt left the centre feeling chastised. He clambered gingerly down into the Porsche and drove off.

Jenna closed the door to her office and leant against it. Her heart was racing. She had never told off a client before and she was taken aback by how angry she got at Matt. He was so arrogant, totally in his own world. He didn't realise who she was, or the common ground they shared as elite cricketers. Worst of all he wasn't doing anything to improve his chances in recovery. She felt so mad at how little he was doing to help himself.

Moving away from the door Jenna sat behind her desk and entered the rest of Matt's information into her computer. As she typed away she began to feel a little remorse. Mostly at the way she had lost her cool. She needed Matt to work harder, but she was afraid that after her tirade she might just have lost him as a client.

**************

As Matt drove back towards home his mind raced. He was initially embarrassed that he hadn't recognised Jenna, and that he couldn't remember meeting her before. But this embarrassment quickly changed to anger. How dare she say that he wasn't working hard? He was trying his best and yes, while he wasn't doing anything extra outside of the centre, he was working hard while he was there. His knee was really sore.

Jenna's comments really hit Matt hard. He felt he did train hard, and had done so for all of the teams he had played for. He was so lost in his own thoughts he had driven down the motorway past the exit that led to his apartment and was now in the Harbour Tunnel going across to the city. Matt decided he would follow the road, turn around near the Sydney Cricket Ground and head back home.

Still furious with what she had said Matt drove past his favourite ground in the world. He trained here, played here and still got a thrill every time he came here. It was the ground he had always wanted to play on as a kid, and now as an adult, it was his home ground.

Driving past the ground Matt noticed a group of 5 players in their NSW training kits running through the parklands at the front of the ground. He recognised them as younger members of the squad, who played in the NSW second team.
Matt was astonished. He thought to himself 'Why were they running now? It's the middle of April and training doesn't start until June. What was the point of working out now? I had never been training this early ...'

It hit Matt like a bolt of lightning. This is what other players did. He never did this.

On the drive home, Matt's mind was a blur. Surely he had been a diligent trainer. He was positive he was. Arriving home Matt went into his office and looked at the glass cabinet there. This cabinet held all of the playing caps he had received from the teams he'd played for. Standing there and looking at all of the caps, memories of all the teams he played for came back. Scoring runs, winning and losing games; these things stood out in his mind. Matt couldn't for the life of him remember training at all for any of these teams. He never ran and only ever went to the gym when the team did so.

It was true. Everything Jenna had said was true. Coaches never got angry with him for not doing extra, because he was performing on the field. Many had said that he should work out more and that it would help his game, but as he had continued to score runs and play well, he didn't bother.

Throughout the evening Matt kept thinking about what Jenna had said. Slowly he came to the conclusion that he trained like his sport was a hobby and not his profession. As he had his inheritance to fall back on, as well as some measure of natural talent, Matt didn't train as hard as he could or should have been. It was only now that Matt realised that natural talent wasn't going to get him back on his feet and playing again. Only serious concentrated exercise would.

The following morning he went to the gym in his apartment building. Having lived in the building since it was new, some 3 years now, Matt had never been in the gym. With his iPad by his side, he followed along with the exercise program that Jenna and Adam had developed for him. After an hour of exercises, Matt headed back to his apartment and iced up his knee.

Later in the day, Matt hit the apartment complex pool and did his hydrotherapy, before hitting the gym again and working out some more. The following day he did the same and while his knee ached like crazy, he was feeling a little better in himself, as he was starting to give himself every opportunity to get back into fitness.

Monday came around, and Matt arrived before 8am at the Physio Centre. Adam was there assisting some well -known footballers out with their rehab programs. They seemed to recognise Matt and said hello and he did the same, before Matt hit the pool to commence his workout routine. Unlike previous visits, Matt didn't just do the minimum required. He actually kept going, trying to push himself to do a little more.

By the time he got out of the pool, rinsed off and put on his workout gear, it was well after 9am. The footballers in the gym were now replaced by regular people, doing their work outs to get back from injuries. Matt had previously worked out in the afternoon and the gym was quiet with only one or two other people. Now there were older men and women, and some younger people too. Adam came and checked on Matt regularly to make sure he was doing his program correctly and he adjusted Matt's form a few times to make sure he was getting the most benefit.

Jenna looked through the window into the gym area and was very surprised to see Matt there and working hard. She could tell by the way Matt was working out that he was really working himself. Jenna smiled and breathed a little sigh of relief that Matt hadn't left the practice.

***********

Matt became a regular at these morning sessions. After consulting with Adam they adjusted his program so that Matt could work out every day. The program was switched around so Matt could work on flexibility one day and strength the next. While working out Matt got to know some of the other clients in rehab and became friendly with them. Knowing that the people there were all recovering from something gave them common ground, which helped Matt overcome his difficulties in getting to know people.

Working out at home also became a priority in his life. He did this in addition to his program at the Centre. It became his job to exercise.

It had now been about three weeks since Jenna had 'kicked his arse' and Matt hadn't seen her again at the Centre. He still felt really bad about not recognising her. One evening at home he took some time and watched a few of the games that she had played for the Sydney Sixers. Matt was taken aback at how very talented Jenna was. She was a compact player, knowing which shots she could play well and concentrating on those. She was also a 'busy' player; always looking for runs, running hard between the wickets, and when fielding, she was always encouraging her team mates.

The following Monday Matt hit the pool and did his hydrotherapy. As he got out of the pool and was towelling himself off Jenna came over. She was wearing her green work polo shirt, but was wearing black yoga pants and sneakers instead of her usual dress pants and shoes.

"Hi Matt. How are you today?"

"Good thanks Jenna. How are you?"

"I'm going great thanks. I just thought I should let you know that Adam is off for the next couple of weeks and I will be helping you in the gym." She said with just the hint of a smile on her face.

"Oh ok Jenna. That would be great." he replied, feeling a little surprised at the news.

"Ok then... Once you get changed I will see you in there." She said before heading back to the gym.

Jenna really helped Matt in the gym, working with him in a very hands-on manner to ensure his exercises were all correct. After a few minutes of just talking about the exercises they were doing Matt spoke up.

"Jenna I have to apologise to you... And thank you too."

"What for?" she said, looking Matt straight in the eye.

"I want to apologise for not recognising you. I felt like such a fool at not recognising you, even after we had met previously. My mind must have been somewhere else when we first met, as it often used to be. Any way I am truly sorry about that Jenna."

"Thank you Matt. It's very nice of you to say that." Jenna replied breaking into a smile

"And thank you for ummm, getting my arse into gear." He said with a sheepish smile.

She smiled and then acted very coy. "Whatever do you mean Matt?"

Matt broke away from her gaze. "Thank you for telling me straight what I should be doing... I really appreciate it." As he looked back up, Jenna was looking at him with a knowing smile.

"No problems Matt... Now let's get you working this knee of yours some more."

***********

During the next few days Jenna worked Matt over well and truly. She was tough on him, but she also looked after him, sensing when he was working a bit too hard and easing off a little to ensure Matt didn't hurt himself. As the days progressed they talked about playing their sport and some of the mutual people they realised they knew.

Matt was feeling increasingly comfortable in her presence and began to look really forward to talking with her. Jenna too looked forward to working with Matt. She could see a whole other side to Matt that she hadn't seen before.

Early in their second week of workouts, Matt had to start his work out a lot earlier than usual, as he had an appointment to trade in his Porsche later in the day. Arriving at the Centre at 6:30am, he saw that there were a couple of people already working out. His attention swung to the back of the gym where there was a woman doing chin-ups on the rack at the back of the room.

Her dark hair was tied up in a loose bun up on her head. She was wearing a black singlet/workout top that reached her midriff, and some very figure hugging grey long yoga pants. She had lovely shapely figure, but still was very fit. It looked like you could crack walnuts on her butt.

Matt watched her working out as he headed towards the pool. Her chin-ups were in perfect form, her arms and shoulders showing the benefits of her exercise. As she lowered herself down, Matt realised who it was. It was Jenna. Wow. She looked amazing. He had never seen her out of her work clothes before. He quickly headed to the pool before she turned around and realised he was watching her.

Walking down into the pool, Matt immediately ducked himself under the water, trying to cool himself down. He couldn't get her out of his mind and was becoming more intrigued by her every time they interacted. Not only was Jenna smart, talented as a sportsperson and in her work, she was very physically attractive as well. As Matt continued to walk up and down the pool, he switched his concentration to flexing his knee as he had been shown, in an effort to try and get Jenna out of his head.

By this stage Jenna had finished her workout and headed out from the gym towards the change room. She looked through the window into the pool area and was taken aback seeing Matt already working out.

Pausing for a moment, she could see that his usually neat hair was all messed up and wet. His face showed the concentrated effort he was putting into his exercises but his blue eyes were sparkling. The water was beading down his exposed chest, drawing her eyes to his fit, if not overly muscular torso. Unconsciously Jenna bit her bottom lip.

The door to the gym opened again and this noise broke the trance Jenna was in. She shook her head slightly and proceeded to the change room.

As Matt kept going up and down the pool he sensed that someone was watching him. He turned around and looked towards the windows but there was no one there.

*********

When Matt's two weeks of working with Jenna finished he was disappointed. He had really enjoyed the chance to work and talk with her. Even though Matt was now back training with Adam, Jenna always seemed to make time to see Matt. Whether it was when he came into the Centre, or when he was exercising in the gym, she always stopped what she was doing to say hello.

By now it was the middle of May and Matt had to see Jenna for his next monthly progress assessment. After completing his workout for the day, Matt headed into the treatment room to go through the tests again. He felt really good and his knee, while still very restricted, felt much better than it had done.

Jenna was already there waiting for him when he came in through the door.

"Hello there, my star pupil. Are you ready for your test today?" She asked Matt with a very cheeky grin.

Jenna surprised herself with how pleased she was to see Matt. This comment was totally unlike her, but just being around him made her feel playful. Seeing Jenna in such a good mood Matt went along with this.

"Yes I am Miss Murphy... It is ...Miss Murphy isn't it?" he asked, having noticed that Jenna didn't wear rings nor had she ever mentioned a boyfriend in all of their conversations.

"Yes, you are correct Matt. Come and hop on the table so we can get started. Are you feeling confident?" Jenna asked.

"I am very confident. My knee feels a lot better than previously."

"Well you have worked very hard, so the results should be good." Jenna smiled at him.

Matt's heart skipped a beat as she smiled at him. Feeling emboldened by her happiness he continued.

"I think I will be ahead of schedule actually. I'm so confident that I'd even consider a wager on how well it goes." He said somewhat cheekily.

Jenna smiled. "A bet huh? What did you have in mind?"

Taking a deep breath Matt plucked up all his courage.

"Well if I am ahead of schedule ... I would like to take you out for dinner, on a date." Matt said, watching her face as he said this.

Jenna's heart began to race. 'Oh my god, he wants to go out with me' she thought to herself. Inside Jenna was so excited, but on the outside she kept her cool, trying not to give the game away. She raised her eyebrows and had a real twinkle in her eyes. She smiled slowly as she thought of an appropriate response.

"Hmmmmm... Ok. And if you don't reach the benchmarks you have to do something for me. Deal?"

Matt was now feeling very confident as she hadn't shot his idea down, so he quickly agreed to this.

Over the next while Jenna checked Matt's knee out thoroughly, taking lots of measurements as she had done previously and entering them onto her iPad. All the while she was trying to maintain her composure. Luckily as she had done these tests on clients many times, Jenna fell into her usual routine as she worked. After Jenna finished she went into her office to calculate the results and Matt again went and grabbed an ice pack for his knee before joining her in her office.

As Matt walked in he was still feeling confident. Jenna looked up at him from behind her desk as he entered. He pointed to her framed jersey hanging on the wall.

"That is a great jersey. Shame you didn't wash it to get the pen squiggles off." he said, laughing at his own joke. Jenna laughed too as Matt sat down in the chair in front of her desk.

"Well Matt. Your results are so much better than last time. In 9 of the 12 tests you are ahead of the benchmarks for your recovery. However in 3 tests you are still behind where you should be. Not by much though." Jenna said.

Matt was crestfallen and Jenna could see this by the look on his face. He had worked hard and only just missed out. Matt wasn't upset at missing the marks though, more that he had lost the bet and couldn't take Jenna out for dinner.

"Matt the progress you have made this month has been huge. If we had another week I'm sure you would have passed all the benchmarks." She said reassuringly.

"Thanks Jenna. My knee is feeling less restricted every day. Thanks for helping me too."

"My pleasure." She said before moving around from behind her desk to sit on the front of it, close to Matt. Jenna had a wicked smile on her face.

"I do seem to recall though that someone was very confident and wanting a bet on the results of his test." She grinned while looking at him.

Matt rolled his eyes. "Yes that was me. What is it that you would like me to do for you?" he said with slight air of resignation.

Jenna moved down close to him and took a deep breath. "Matt I would really like you to... Ask me out to dinner. On a date."

It took a couple of seconds for that to register with Matt. Jenna wanted him to ask her out. Matt got very excited and looking up he could see Jenna had a big smile on her face.

"Jenna would you like to come out to dinner with me?" Matt babbled, trying to get the question out before she changed her mind.

"Yes Matt. I'd really like to go out with you. That would be great." Jenna said with a laugh. She couldn't believe how flustered Matt was, or how excited he was to ask her out.

They exchanged personal phone numbers and arranged to go out on Friday night. Matt left the centre on cloud nine that day, so happy with this turn of events.

While still at work, Jenna had the biggest smile on her face. As the day went on though, she began to think about going out with Matt. She thought and definitely overthought the whole situation. She was worried that outside of the practice Matt might still be the arrogant person she initially thought he was. That evening Jenna spoke to a mutual friend of theirs and this phone call allayed her doubts.

Jenna and Matt caught up briefly the next day as he was working out. She said hello and smiled happily at him, and he did the same. They had been texting each other a little since sharing phone numbers. As Matt was leaving he didn't get to say goodbye to Jenna, so he sent her a little message.

'Great to see you smiling today. Pick you up tomorrow night at 6pm at your place for a spectacular evening?'

'It was good to see you too. Oooh now I'm very intrigued. What should I wear? Casual or dressy?' Jenna replied as soon as she got the message.

'More dressy than casual I think. No jeans.'

'Can't wait.' She replied as sent him her address.

Matt's workout on the day of their date was tough, as his knee seemed to be fighting against him. He didn't get to see Jenna though as she was very busy with other clients. Jenna wanted it that way, as she was getting butterflies about their date. While seeing Matt would be great, it would just make her even more nervous.

She went out during her lunch break and bought some new shoes to go with the dress she had chosen to wear that evening. With sport taking up so much of her life growing up, Jenna relished the chance to now shop for nice things to look good for her date.

Matt too wanted to look his best for Jenna, so he took his time getting ready that evening. After much deliberation, he chose a nice royal blue suit, white shirt, no tie, good dress shoes. The only thing that disturbed his look was the brace he was wearing on his injured knee. He didn't like the fact you could see it under his suit pants, but this couldn't be helped.

That night he drove over to Jenna's apartment in St Leonards, pulling up right on time. She buzzed him into the building, and Matt caught the lift to the 5th floor. Jenna took one last chance to check herself out in the mirror. She smiled nervously and fixed her hair a little. Then there was the knock at her door.

'He's here... Ok Jen, here goes nothing.' She thought to herself as the butterflies in her stomach made every effort to escape out.

"Hi Matt, how are you?" Jenna said with a huge smile as she opened the door.

Matt thought she looked incredible. He had only ever seen her in her work clothes, gym gear or on TV in her cricket kit. Tonight she looked stunning. Her brunette hair was out, reaching down to her shoulder blades and had a wave to it he hadn't had the chance to see before. She was wearing a black and white geometric print dress that showed her fit, shapely figure off beautifully and a black leather jacket. With her black heels on she was only a little shorter than him.

Jenna could not believe how handsome Matt was all dressed up. They kissed on the cheek before headed down in the lift, making nervous small talk. Once downstairs they walked, slowly for Matt's benefit, the short distance to his car, his new Audi S6. Matt opened the door for her and helped her in, before getting in the car himself.

"What happened to the Porsche you had before?" Jenna asked as they drove off.

"Well Jenna it wasn't a very practical car for me. It was all but a racing car and it didn't like going slowly in city traffic. Also with my bung knee it was... Difficult getting in and out." Jenna laughed as Matt said this. "The Audi is a much more practical car, but still goes like a rocket."

"Well this is a lovely car Matt, a bit better than my Mazda 3."

He took Jenna to the 'Rockpool' restaurant, down near the Harbour. As it was in the city and on Friday night, they had to park a little bit away from the restaurant. With Matt's knee still not great, Jenna kindly linked her arm through his.

"Just to help you walk." She said with a beautiful smile that said to Matt that this was more than to just help him walk.

Once in the restaurant Jenna and Matt talked and talked. She was 28 years old, 29 in October, was raised in Toowoomba in country Queensland. She told him about her childhood there, tagging along to her older brother's games and filling in for his team, before she joined her own team and progressed up through the ranks. Her family moved to the south side of Brisbane in her late teens. Jenna went to University and started playing for Queensland at 21, as well as playing in the first two Brisbane Heat WBBL teams.

"So how did you end up down here?" Matt asked.

Jenna smiled. "At the end of that second season with the Heat I was at a bit of a dead end. I had made some Australian team training squads previously, but they now seemed to be picking younger players. I was working in a Brisbane Physio practice and really enjoying my work... A friend I had done my course with contacted me. He had taken over his father's practice down here in Sydney and asked if I wanted to come down to work.
"When we met up Nick outlined what I would be doing; my own Physio centre, full gym, hydro pool, at Chatswood. I had been saving my contract money from the Heat looking to buy my own house, but I used this money to buy into the practice and move down here."

"That was a huge step Jenna. It must have been scary to make such a big change to your life?" Matt asked.

"Yes, but exciting at the same time." Jenna smiled at Matt. "So I moved down here in April last year, not even thinking about playing cricket. I notified Queensland Cricket that I was coming down here for work and that I would not be playing for them the following season, and they let Cricket Australia know that I was a free agent.

"I didn't really expect to be playing again. I was concentrating on my work and really getting my teeth into the new job. It was then that I got invited to train with NSW, and this led to a contract with them and a WBBL contract with the Sixers. Thankfully as I'm the boss I can adjust my schedule to fit training and playing in. I have a great team at the Centre and they run the place so well when I'm not there."

"Yes Jenna, your team at work are brilliant." Matt chipped in.

Jenna smiled at him. "Anyway at the beginning of last season I had a photoshoot and press conference for the Sixers, where I was being announced as one of their new signings. It was with some of the men's team too, but I obviously didn't make much of an impression..."

Jenna was laughing and Matt was shaking my head.

"I am so sorry Jenna. I wish I had remembered you when I first met you at the Centre... But in my defence, you had your hair out for the press conference, and it is always tied back at work." Matt replied, vainly clutching at straws, trying to explain himself.

Jenna was giggling at Matt's feeble attempts to get out of the hole he had dug when they first met.

"So do I look that different with my hair out; do I?" She asked.

Matt looked straight into her eyes.

"You look beautiful with your hair out... Actually you look beautiful all the time." He said, his voice trailing away slightly.

Jenna had stopped laughing and began to blush. She played with her hair a little, bit her bottom lip and then said quietly "Thank you Matt." She looked into his eyes as she said this.

The waiter then arrived and brought their entrees, breaking the spell between them.

As they ate, Jenna asked "So how come you aren't going out with that actress anymore Matt?"

He sighed and shook his head. "I shouldn't have gone out with her in the first place. We met at the premiere of a movie. I don't like those events and things, press, photographers, people just making small talk... I get really ... Umm ... Anxious in those circumstances. I only went because I wanted to see the movie, and my manager thought it would be good to raise my profile, as I had a couple of endorsement contracts up for renewal.

"I found myself sitting in the theatre next to Alannah. She started to talk to me before the movie started as she recognised me. We continued chatting at the party afterwards, went out a few times and before I knew it we were 'a couple'. It seemed pretty genuine to start with, but as I was away playing during the season we didn't see each other all that much. She seemed to appear though when I was playing at the big games; Boxing Day Test, New Year's Test, wherever she could be 'seen'.

"It all went to shit after I injured my knee. She wanted me to go out to parties and events with her, but I was struggling, as you well know." He smiled at Jenna and she sympathetically smiled back. "It all came to a head when she mocked my injury one evening. I had realised by then that she was just using me to keep her profile up in front of the press and she didn't have feelings for me. To be honest I didn't really have feelings for her either. I broke up with her when this happened. She is now going out with another very dubious actor. They will Instagram each other to death. Ha ha ha."

Jenna laughed too. "She isn't a very good actress Matt... I do recall seeing some of your pictures together, and you always looked ... ummm expressionless."

"That's because I was usually very anxious. I hate those situations. You know photoshoots, big parties where you have to meet and talk with lots of people. Makes me very uncomfortable..." He took a deep breath. "I have difficulty talking with people I meet straight away. I am actually quite introverted and making small talk is just horrible for me."

Looking at Jenna, her expression was the epitome of kindness. She wasn't judging him, she was accepting him. Matt was opening up to her and she could see even more about Matt that she liked. Jenna then asked "What about when you have to sign autographs, or go to Team functions for sponsors?"

Matt smiled "Autographs and selfies are ok. It's always just a quick hello and thank you. Signing for the kids is great as they always seem happy to meet you. At team sponsor functions I always make sure I am with one of the more outgoing players. Usually people are talking about cricket at those functions and that sometimes makes it a little bit easier. I still don't like doing it. In all honesty Jenna that's probably why I didn't remember meeting you. Not at all because of you, but because I don't like those situations and I was doing my best just to get through it."

Jenna reached across the table and took his hand. "You seem comfortable with me now?"

Feeling her soft hand in his Matt ran his thumb over her fingers.

"Yes I am. Because I have gotten to know you and ... I like you." Matt said quietly not wanting to frighten Jenna away.

"I like you too Matt. I wouldn't be here if I didn't." Jenna said with a smile, still holding his hand across the table.

They looked at each other for a few seconds before Matt wondered about something.

"But I remember when you gave me the kick up the arse I needed, you said how arrogant I was." He said.

Jenna squeezed his hand and looked very contrite.

"I am so sorry for saying that. You aren't arrogant Matt. I now realise you are just quiet in new situations. I misjudged you completely."

Matt smiled at her. "So what made you change your opinion of me?"

"As you spent more time at the centre I could see the real you coming out. I could see you were actually trying to get your knee better, really trying. I also remember seeing you help some of the other people in the gym. You even helped June up the ramp into the centre one day."

Matt smiled remembering that.

"Yes she was struggling. But so was I, so we helped each other."

Jenna looked into Matt's eyes.

"Matt when I helped you while Adam was away I got to see the real you, the nice, genuine guy you are. The longer I have known you the more I like you. Nice guys have been hard to find for me." The look on Jenna's face changed and she looked a little sadder.

This really surprised Matt.

"Surely Jenna, a woman who is as attractive, talented and intelligent as you would be beating blokes away with a stick."

Jenna laughed heartily.

"Oh Matt far from it... It seems when you play Women's sport at a professional level, the prevailing sentiment is that you must be a lesbian. And yes, while we do have a high proportion of lesbians on the team, some of us aren't gay."

"Of course you're not. And I know some of your teammates. Brooke is married to my teammate Lucas, and Amber Parry is engaged to that Rugby player." Matt replied.

"Yes that's true, but the stigma is still there. Not that there is anything wrong with being gay. It's just that I'm not." Jenna said, with some measure of frustration in her voice.

"Phew. That's good news. This date might have been a bit awkward then if you were." Matt said laughing, breaking the tension.

Jenna laughed too.

"I did have a boyfriend while at Uni doing my degree. But that relationship just fizzled out over time. I have been single for... Probably 3 years now."

"Have you been dating much since you have been here in Sydney?"

"No I haven't Matt. I have been too busy with work and cricket. The guys that have asked me out have usually been the 'meathead' footballers I see through work. And I definitely wouldn't go out with them."

With everything Jenna had said it became clear to Matt that she wanted a relationship, not just a fling. That was great because that was what Matt wanted too. They both seemed to want to find that special someone to share their lives.

Matt picked up his glass and toasted "Well here is to what is hopefully the start of a great friendship and relationship."

They clinked glasses and had a sip of their drinks. Jenna reached out and held Matt's hand again, giving a gentle squeeze.

The rest of the evening was great as they conversed, finding out so much more about each other. Matt thought Jenna was so funny and cheeky, but sweet at the same time. She has strong ideas and opinions and he liked that very much. It was even better that she listened to his stories and enjoyed what he was saying.

Jenna found Matt to be so much more than she thought he was. He was quietly spoken, thoughtful and charming. He listened to her speak and he told the most interesting stories. And he was so, so handsome. She had to keep pinching herself just to remind her that this was real and not just a dream.

After they finished the sumptuous dinner, they headed out to take in the views over Sydney Harbour. Jenna wrapped her arm around Matt's waist and snuggled into him. He had his arm around her shoulders.

"Well Matt you sure know how to impress a girl on a first date. Tonight has been wonderful." Jenna said beaming happily at him.

"I'm glad you're having a good time. I'm having a great time too. And it is all due to the person I'm with." Matt replied as he cuddled Jenna a little closer. Being out with such a gorgeous woman was the best feeling in the world.

Jenna stopped walking and turned to face Matt. She looked deep into his eyes, her arms going around to draw him close. The chemistry between them was palpable. They were going to kiss. Matt stepped forward slightly with his right foot.

As he stepped forward, Matt's foot slipped off the edge of the path, and he lost his balance. He started falling sideways. Thankfully he had the presence of mind to let go of Jenna so he didn't drag her down with him. Matt was lucky that it was just a stumble and he got his footing back after a couple of very awkward steps.

Jenna initially showed concern, worried that Matt's injured knee had given way. But when she realised it was just because he was clumsy, she started laughing heartily.

"Smooth move Casanova. Some athlete you are. Literally trying to sweep me off my feet huh?" she laughed.

Matt was laughing too. He managed to get his balance back and returned the few paces to where Jenna was still laughing. Putting his arms around her shoulders again he said "Damn, I thought my plan to sweep you away would work." He laughed.

Jenna leant into him, wrapping her arms around him again. They kissed, gently, tenderly, finding their way. Breaking apart a little, Jenna's eyes opened and a broad grin went across her face. Matt too was smiling and they kissed again. Passion began to flow as their lips locked and tongues duelled gently. Making out for a few moments, all their initial hesitation slipping away as they both knew this was what they wanted.

When they moved apart Jenna breathed "Oooohhh Matt. I don't think you have to try too hard to sweep me away."

Matt touched her face and she leant her head into his hand.

"Point noted... But I'm not going to stop trying." He said before kissing her again.

They made out again on returning to Jenna's apartment. She didn't invite him in and Matt didn't expect to be invited in as he was more than willing to wait. As he was leaving they did make plans to go out again the following night. They kissed again before saying goodnight. Matt left Jenna's walking on a cloud. Jenna's heart was pounding and she was as excited as she had ever been.

***********

That next morning Matt was working out in the gym at his apartment when he got a text message from Jenna. She had been so happy when she woke up that morning and she wanted Matt to know how good a night she had.

'Had an amazing night Matt. Missing you already. Can't wait to see you tonight.'

'Can't wait to see you either!! ;)' Matt replied, so happy to hear from her.

That night they went out for a bite to eat and to catch a movie. This date was much more casual than their previous night out which suited them. Matt thought Jenna looked amazing again, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Jenna was impressed that Matt wore a nice shirt, jeans and a jacket, which he offered to her as there was a cool breeze that evening.

They ate at a little noodle place near the cinemas before seeing the movie. During their conversation that night, Matt and Jenna discovered a lot of similarities in what they liked and disliked.

They both preferred quiet nights, seeing a movie or going out to dinner rather than going out night clubbing. They both hated electronic dance type music. Jenna liked more pop and country (Matt blamed that on her being a Queensland country girl) where as he liked rock. She likes rom-coms and dramas, he liked comedy and thrillers. Most importantly of all was that they liked each other.

Sunday came around and Jenna wanted to train in the morning. She had a training program that she stuck to, working out reasonably early in the morning at a nearby sports field. Matt asked if she wanted some company and she agreed. Jenna could not believe that Matt wanted to be with her while she worked out.

Matt did his stretches and gentle walking, while Jenna did her laps of the ground, stretches and sprints. To watch the intensity with which she worked out impressed Matt greatly. Jenna was so driven and she gave her all every time she exercised. She was red faced and very sweaty when she finished.

Matt commented on how hard she worked. Jenna smiled and cuddled him.

"It was easier with an appreciative audience." She giggled before kissing him.

"Are you doing anything else today?" he asked.

"No not really."

"Well why don't we go out and have some breakfast and spend the day together?"

"Mmmmm, that sounds perfect Matt." Jenna purred. "But I can't go out looking like this."

"Ok. We both should change really. Why don't you go home and get changed and then come to my apartment. There is a great little spot right near my place where we can have a nice breakfast and great coffee."

"I'd really like that and I get to see your place too. That sounds wonderful Matt."

Matt gave Jenna directions and a pass card to get into the garage of the apartments to park her car. She could then come up in the lift to his place.

They kissed again before heading to their own homes.

Matt showered and made himself presentable. His apartment was clean, as he was a bit of a neat freak, so he wasn't worried about that. He hadn't told Jenna anything about his place and he was looking forward to seeing her reaction when she saw it.

Jenna went home and showered. She wanted to look good for Matt, so she wore tight jeans, slightly ripped at both knees and a white t-shirt as it was a warm day. Her dark hair was out around her shoulders, as she noted Matt seemed to like it when she had her hair out. The sun was shining as she drove the short distance to Matt's apartment. Arriving at the building Jenna used the card and went into the carpark.

The security system in Matt's apartment beeped when Jenna arrived in the carpark. Looking on the monitor he could see Jenna getting out of her car and go into the lift. By swiping her pass card in the lift, it automatically took her to Matt's floor. He went and opened his front door and waited for her. She came out of the lift and Matt thought she looked gorgeous. The look on her face was one of surprise.

Jenna came across and gave him a big kiss and a hug.

"You never told me that you lived in such a flashy apartment building."

"Welcome to my home." Matt said as he held her hand and guided her into his apartment.

They walked down the hallway to the open plan living, dining and kitchen area. From here the floor to ceiling windows opened out onto a balcony, with expansive views across the Harbour Bridge and the City.

"Oh Matt... What a stunning view... Looking across the city... the Bridge and Harbour... All the boats..." Jenna was babbling as she tried to take it all in. She could not believe that this was where Matt lived, in such an amazing apartment.

They headed out onto the balcony and she was gobsmacked by the view. Even though Matt lived here and saw it every day, he still loved the view. Jenna wrapped her arm around him and held him close as she took it all in.

Matt then guided her back into the apartment so he could show her the rest. Jenna just tried to take it all in, really liking Matt's place. He showed her his bedroom, the guest room, and the office, where he kept all of his playing memorabilia. As they came back into the living room, Jenna noticed some of the pictures he had around.

She picked one up, an older photo of Matt.

"Is this when you were young?" she asked.

Matt smiled "Yes that's me with my Dad, Alan, and Mum, Christie. I would have been about 4 in that picture... It is the last picture I have with my Dad and Mum together."

"Oh Matt. Did they split up?"

"No. Dad died not long after that in a plane crash."

Jenna came over and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry Matt. I didn't know." She was genuinely upset that she had brought this up.

Matt held her close. "It's ok Jenna. It was a long time ago. Dad was a financial advisor and investor. He was travelling out on a light plane to see a new mining investment opportunity when the plane went down and there were no survivors."

As they embraced Matt thought it was time to tell Jenna the whole story of his family. They sat down on the lounge together and Matt continued.

"Mum raised me herself until she passed away from cancer when I was 17, overseas playing in England. I didn't even know she had passed away until I returned home... Apparently she didn't want me to know until I returned home as she didn't want me distracted while I was playing over there... She always believed I was going to be a good cricketer and she wanted me to have the best chance I could."

Jenna was cuddled close to Matt and had tears in her eyes as he told his story.

"Oh Matt that is terrible. I'm so sorry for you." She sniffled as they held each other close. They cuddled for a few moments before Jenna asked "Do you have any siblings? I have never heard you mention them."

"I do have a sister, Tina, but she is 18 years older than me and was already out of home when I was born. I haven't seen her since I was little."

"You haven't tried to contact her?"

"I did try when I made the Australian team, but I could not find her. I have no idea at all where she would be. To be honest, at this stage I don't really care. I have been independent since I was 17."

Matt was beginning to rant a little. The resentment he felt at his difficult family life was coming to the surface. He paused, looking at Jenna. She had the saddest look on her face, her blue eyes sparkling with unshed tears in sympathy for him. He could see that Jenna was there for him and that she deeply cared about him.

"I was going to say that I am used to being by myself, but I am realising that I want to have someone, someone special in my life." he said quietly, looking into Jenna's eyes. Matt was opening his heart like he had never done in the past.

Jenna smiled and blinked away her tears as he said this, her heart melting a little more for this gorgeous man. They embraced on the lounge as Jenna buried her face in Matt's neck. She moved back and kissed him, looking much happier than when he was talking before.
She looked into his eyes, before looking out of his gaze.

"That sounds like something I want too..." Jenna said quietly.

Her emotions were so raw. She returned her gaze to Matt's eyes and he was smiling at her.

They kissed again, a little longer this time. Their cards were out on the table and they both wanted the same thing.

Breaking apart from their kiss Matt could see the all her feelings on Jenna's face. He kissed her again.

"I don't know about you but I'm starving." He said releasing the tension a little between them.

Jenna giggled "Yes me too."

With that he took her hand and they got up to go out to have some breakfast. As they reached the front door Matt turned and hugged Jenna.

"Thank you Jenna, for listening." he said.

"No Matt. Thank you for feeling close enough to share this with me. I'm so glad you feel like you can talk to me, because you can. Even though we have only been out a few times I feel really close to you too."

They kissed again before going out to breakfast.

Over breakfast and through the course of the day Matt told Jenna more about his life. How he had his own flat when he came back from England and had to support himself for a couple of years, before he claimed his inheritance when he turned 21. He had lived by myself since then and had become quite insular in his social life because of this.

Matt thought Jenna should be a Psychologist as well as a Physio as she listened and supported him. She now understood why he was socially anxious. She also said that he wasn't anywhere nearly as bad in social situations as he thought he was.

They spent the whole day together and had an amazing time. The chemistry between them was growing and Matt was truly falling for Jenna. Back in his apartment late in the afternoon they were cuddling and kissing, looking out the windows, watching the setting sun bathe the city in an orange glow.

Jenna looked at her watch and jumped a little.

"Oh Matt I have to go."

"Why Jenna? Can't you stay a little longer?"

She kissed him. "Oh Matt I really want to stay longer, but I have to go home and pack."

"You're going away?" Matt asked, sounding both surprised and sad at the same time.

"I've got a conference in Brisbane starting tomorrow. I will be back on Friday." Jenna replied sadly, realising they would be apart for a few days. "I have had such an amazing weekend that I completely forgot about it."

As they kissed and cuddled near the front door, there were a lot of "I'll miss you's" and "Can't wait to see you's" being said. Jenna promised Matt that she would ring him whenever she could and she made Matt promise that he would work hard with his exercises while she was away. The lift arrived and Jenna finally had to leave. They kissed again and held hands until the last possible moment.

Matt went inside and on the security monitor he could see her get into her car. He felt sad watching her car drive away. She truly meant so much to him and he was already missing Jenna.

**********

The week Jenna was away went surprisingly quickly for Matt. He knuckled down and dedicated himself to his exercise and worked out as diligently as he ever had. Adam was really pleased with his progress and how hard he was working. Matt also took the opportunity to catch up with his oldest friend Ben, who he hadn't spoken to in a month or so. Ben was very pleased that Matt was going out again, and not with an actress.

Jenna was always in Matt's thoughts. He already knew a lot about her, and he truly wanted to know more. Matt was also wondering how a relationship between the two of them would work, both playing sport professionally. With that in mind he decided to ring his teammate Lucas, as he was married to Brooke, a teammate of Jenna's.

After their initial hellos and enquiry as to how Matt's knee was going, Matt asked him about two sportspeople together in a relationship. Lucas said it was tough at times when they were apart, but brilliant at other times as they had good periods of time together. It was also good as they could understand each other's frustrations, difficulties and successes as they both knew about the game and could understand what the other was going through.

Matt told him he had been out with Jenna and great a girl she was. Lucas had met Jenna a few times and thought she was great too. Lucas then handed the phone to Brooke and Matt chatted with her for a little while. She told Matt how great Jenna was, how much fun she is, but also how determined and driven she is. Brooke also said Jenna doesn't gossip, nor does she play games.

Just then she started to laugh.

"What's so funny Brooke?" Matt asked.

"Jenna rang us up last week to ask about you." She giggled.

"Really? When?"

"Last Wednesday. She said she was going out with you and she wanted to know from Lucas what you were like too."

"I'll have to thank Lucas. He must have put in a good word for me." Matt laughed.

They wrapped up our conversation not long after this. This chat confirmed to Matt that he and Jenna were really on the same page.

**********

Jenna and Matt spoke every night that she was away and they messaged each other constantly. Jenna found the conference to be very productive and colleagues that knew her all mentioned that she seemed to be happy.

Matt couldn't wait to see her again and when they talked it sounded to him like she felt the same. She had invited him over to her place for dinner on Friday. Jenna wasn't coming into work on Friday, so Matt wouldn't see her until he went to her place.

He arrived at her place for dinner with a dozen long stem red roses and excitement in his heart. He couldn't believe how much he had missed her. Hearing her voice when she buzzed him into her building made his heart pound.

As the lift opened Matt could see Jenna standing at her door waiting for him, with a huge grin on her face. She was wearing a tight black t-shirt and blue jeans, looking casually gorgeous. Jenna raced over as soon as she saw Matt and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and returned her kisses. Oh it felt so good to have her in his arms again.

The kiss broke apart, and they were still embracing. With his right hand Matt swept some hair from her face and gently ran his hand down her cheek. "Hello" was all he could say, as he was so swept up being in her presence again.

"Hello you." Jenna giggled back, before taking his hand and guiding him to her apartment.

Jenna was so happy to see Matt and she loved that he had brought her roses. Her apartment was filled with beautiful aroma of the dinner she had prepared. Happily they sat together on her lounge and caught up with everything that had been happening in her week away.

They talked for hours, on the lounge and then over dinner. Jenna so happy to share with Matt what she had been up to and Matt loved listening to Jenna. She enthused about the conference as she had picked up a few new treatment techniques and protocols to use.

After their delicious dinner they returned to her lounge with some red wine. Their conversation continued on unabated. By then they were getting down towards the end of the bottle.

Jenna took a deep breath. "And on the last night up there I caught up with my Mum." She said looking at Matt with her blue eyes sparkling.

"That must have been good. You wouldn't get to see her all that often I imagine?"

She was cuddled right up close to him, her hand gently playing on his shirt. Matt's arm wrapped around her side, moving slowly, feeling her curves.

"No I don't see her much. I wanted to see her to tell her all my news."

"All about the conference and stuff?"

"Umm yes... And also about ... The amazing guy I'm going out with." Jenna gushed. She was biting her lip which Matt had noticed she did when she was nervous.

Matt was very pleased that Jenna told her family about him. He thought to himself 'She must like me as much as I like her.'

"That's great Jenna. Who is he?" Matt asked in mock curiosity.

Jenna propped herself up and playfully whacked him on the chest, trying to look angry but giggling at the same time. Matt immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her close to me.

"What did your Mum say about your news?" he asked quietly.

"She is so happy for me. She could tell that I was happy as soon as she saw me... She wanted to know all about you Matt and I just had to tell her."

"So she doesn't mind you going out with a fellow athlete?"

Jenna moved a little closer, her face right near Matt's. "No she doesn't, because she can see I'm happy and that you are an amazing man."

"I don't think I'm amazing... I'm just me." he replied bashfully.

"You are amazing to me." Jenna said before kissing him.

Their kisses were immediately passionate, as they fed off each other's feelings. Tongues duelled, tasted and explored. Matt got lost in Jenna's perfume, kissing and nibbling her neck to her great excitement. Jenna nibbled his earlobes which he hadn't realised was a 'spot' for him, and he groaned in pleasure.

Hands began to wander as Matt caressed her beautiful body, until he was holding her gorgeous bum in his hands. Jenna too ran her hands all over him, then inside Matt's shirt, feeling his chest. Her moans told Matt she liked what he was doing and she liked what she had found.

Jenna's hand slithered down between them as they made out. She had felt Matt's excitement growing as it pressed against her. She couldn't stop herself as she nestled her hand between them, right on top of his rock hard, throbbing erection that was trapped in his pants.

"Ohhh Matt... You are so hard for me." Jenna groaned in Matt's ear.

"Jenna, Honey I'm always hard for you... You are so gorgeous, so beautiful."

They had somehow manoeuvred themselves so that Jenna was almost on top of him. She was still holding his excitement as he caressed her gorgeous bum. She slipped her hand out from between them and she slowly began to grind her hips, rolling her own excitement against his.

Their make out session continued for a while, both getting into it more and more. Matt moved his hands over Jenna's lovely breasts, feeling her erect nipples through her t-shirt in the palm of his hand. Jenna then sat up a little and took Matt's hand. She guided it between them, placing his hand right between her legs. The heat emanating from her excited nether regions was intense.

Matt slowly moved his hand and Jenna moved her hips so she was grinding herself against his hand. Kissing Matt she moaned with pleasure. She whispered in his ear "Ohhh fuck Matt... I want you. I want you now."

"I want you so much Jenna."

She took him by the hand and they went into her bedroom. As they sat down together on the bed their knees bumped together and Matt grimaced in pain. His left knee was still sore and Jenna noticed his pain.

She ran her hand inside his shirt and felt his chest.

"Oh I'm sorry Babe. I didn't mean to bump your knee." They kissed again before Jenna said in a very coquettish voice "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

Matt's hand slithered up inside her t-shirt as he caressed her breasts through her bra. He whispered in her ear "I'm sure we can come up with something to make us both feel better."

With that they tumbled back on the bed, lying together. Their kisses became more lustful as their passions grew. Matt could feel Jenna against all of him, but it wasn't enough. He wanted more of her. She slipped her hands down to the bottom of Matt's shirt and lifted it awkwardly over his head. Jenna purred as she placed her hands on his bare chest and kept kissing him.

He slid his hands off her beautiful bum and lifted her t-shirt off too. Jenna was wearing a black bra that was giving her 'girls' a bit of a boost. After kissing her again, Matt kissed his way down her neck, with Jenna moaning her approval. He continued down tasting her soft, silky cleavage.

"Mmmmm Matt, ohh that's good. Your lips feel amazing on my boobs." Jenna groaned in pleasure.

He ran his teeth gently over her breasts, with Jenna quivering in excitement. Matt then kissed his way down her flat stomach. Her stomach was toned and tight, gorgeous to kiss.

His explorations had brought him to the top of her jeans. Matt moved off the bed, stood up and undid her jeans. Jenna was looking at him, very flushed in the face as her excitement was building. Undoing the button and slowly moving the zip down, Matt held onto the jeans and took them off her. Jenna was wearing very sexy black panties that matched her bra. Matt paused for just a second to take in the beautiful sight before him. Jenna saw him looking and bit her bottom lip, feeling a little self-conscious.

Unbuckling his jeans, Matt took them off with a little difficulty, due to the knee brace he wore, and his erection getting in the way. He returned to the bed just wearing his now tented boxer shorts. In seconds he and Jenna were entwined again, sharing their passion. Now it felt even more amazing, with Jenna's soft, warm body against his. Jenna could hardly believe that this gorgeous man was so into her and was in her bed.

Matt worked his hands around behind her and unhooked her bra. Jenna shrugged her shoulders and slipped out of it, exposing her breasts to him. Jenna wasn't hugely endowed, but her 'b' cups were a perfect shape. Her nipples were quite dark compared to her pale skin, and they became very erect when she was excited. Matt kissed his way down, tasting and teasing her nipples with his tongue, while his hand played with her other breast.

Jenna groaned into Matt's ear, and moved her chest, almost forcing more of her breast into his salivating mouth. Her hand had found his erection and moved inside his boxers. She proceeded to stroke Matt, smearing the dribbling pre-cum all over his excitement. She gripped the waistband of his boxers and slid down to remove them from him.

His penis bounced out of its confinement, standing to attention. Jenna's eyes went wide and her hands moved to take her panties off. Matt didn't feel he that was overly endowed but Jenna couldn't take her eyes off him. Matt watched as Jenna dropped her panties and he noticed her very neatly trimmed 'landing strip' disappearing between her legs.

As Jenna climbed back on the bed, she wrapped her hand around his erection. Curling on the bed beside Matt, with her feet dangling off the edge of the bed, she poked her tongue out and lapped at his excitement. Looking up at Matt with a wicked look in her eye, Jenna opened her mouth and lowered it down onto him. Her lips wrapped around his shaft as she proceeded to tease him deliciously with her tongue.

"Ohh...Ohh... Ohhhhh Jenna. Ohhh wow. That's amazing Honey. Mmmmm."

Matt reached out and ran his hand ever so slowly between her legs. When his fingers finally reached her womanhood he found Jenna was sopping wet. Her silken folds opened up under his touch, as he proceeded to pleasure her as she was pleasuring him. Finding her excited clit, Jenna began to moan while still sucking Matt, creating an amazing sensation for Matt.

Jenna popped her mouth off him and Matt removed his hand from between her legs. He licked her juices from his fingers, tasting his girlfriend. Jenna slid up the bed and climbed on top of Matt, moving him so she was fully on top of him, squashing his erection between them. They kissed passionately again, before Jenna moved her head.

"I have never wanted anyone as much as I want you Matt." Jenna whispered into Matt's ear.

Her face was now above his and she was looking directly into his eyes.

"You are all I can think about Jenna. I want you so much." he said before kissing her again.

As the kiss finished Jenna reached between them and held Matt's hard on. She manoeuvred him until he was nestled against where they both wanted him to be. She slowly edged herself down onto him, but her gaze never shifted from Matt eyes. As her slippery confines opened to accept him, her blue eyes buried their way into Matt's soul.

Jenna moved down so slowly, until Matt was fully inside her. At this point her eyes narrowed and rolled slightly.

"Ohhh fuck Matt. You fill me perfectly. Mmmunnnghh." Jenna moaned.

Matt kissed Jenna as he had lost the power of speech. He began to move his hips, wanting to fill her even more. They started to move together, not only joined as one, but moving as one too. Their passionate kisses were even more intense if that was possible. Kissing lips, kissing and nibbling ears and necks, their bodies were in tune with each other. Every movement Matt made was countered by a movement from Jenna that only seemed to make it an even more exquisite experience for both of them.

This wasn't fucking. It wasn't even sex between two people who were going out and having feelings for each other. This was more, so much more.

Jenna sat up on Matt and rode him, grinding her hips to feel Matt everywhere. She had never felt pleasure like this with her previous boyfriend. This was off the scale.

"Yes Matt...Yes...Yes, yes. So good ooohhh muungh."

Matt tried to take in everything he could about this beautiful creature. Jenna's hair was all over the place, her breasts bouncing in time to their motion together, nipples still puckered up and rock hard. Jenna moved her hips even more, taking Matt as deep as she possibly could. Matt raised his hands and held her breasts, tweaking her nipples slightly.

Jenna's eyes opened wide as he did this and her mouth formed an 'o' shape, but no sound came out. Matt was on the verge and was moving quicker when Jenna began to speak.

"Ohh Matt... I'm cumming... Oh baby... Yes... Ooooooo"

Jenna's orgasm set Matt off too. "Cumming Jenna ... muunghhh... ohhhh ...urgh...urgh"

"Ohhhhhh ... Matt I can feel you... Yes babe...fill me" Jenna cried. Their eyes locked as they came together. The experience they shared was mind blowing. They were being joined together on more than just a physical level.

The strength of Matt's orgasm left him seeing stars, as he filled Jenna with his essence. He had never had an orgasm that big in his life. Jenna rode her orgasm out before collapsing down onto Matt, both of them physically and emotionally spent. She was puffing and panting, her body and his clammy with sweat.

Lying down on top of Matt as she got her breath back, Jenna raised her head and looked into Matt's eyes again before kissing him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He didn't want to let Jenna go. Not now. Not ever.

"I want to stay here Matt. Here on you being held so close." Jenna mewed contentedly.

"I don't want you to go anywhere either." He replied, before moving some of her sweaty hair off her forehead and gently kissing her again.

"Oh Matt. If you keep doing that I will never move." She grinned at him.

Sharing their bliss was wonderful as they both came down from their orgasm induced high. Jenna did roll off Matt to lie down beside him on the bed. She rolled onto her side and Matt did the same, looking at each other.

"Well that was all kinds of amazing." Matt said breathlessly. Jenna giggled girlishly, dropping her eyes from Matt's gaze.

"Are you ok Jenna?" he asked quietly.

Her face turned back to him and she had an impish grin.

"Oh yes Matt, more than ok... I'm just a little ... Coy, and shy, and overtaken really. That was incredible... It is going to take me quite a while to come down from that."

Matt leant across and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you are?" he asked.

"I think you might have said it once or twice before." She said quietly.

Reaching across he again moved her hair from her face. Jenna squished herself against his hand as he did this and Matt kissed her again.

"You are so beautiful Jenna. Not just physically beautiful, but a beautiful person too."
"Oh Matt. You are the most wonderful man I have ever met. Ummm ... This is going to sound strange, but I am glad you got injured."

"Really? Why?"

"Because if you hadn't, I would never have had the chance to have met you properly, go out with you, fall for you like I am." She said her voice trailing away as she finished speaking.

"I can't imagine my life without you now Jenna. You mean so much to me."

"Matt you mean everything to me."

They cuddled together and kissed again before clambering under the bed covers. Matt had his arm around Jenna, and she rested her head on his shoulder and chest. They didn't speak, as they didn't need to. Just being this close was the best feeling in the world.

After a while they started to kiss again, gently, sweetly. These kisses continued for a while and started to become more exploratory in nature, getting to know even more about each other and what they both liked. Matt had started to become aroused again and he wanted to have some fun with Jenna.

"Jenna, can I ask you something, as a physio?"

Jenna immediately switched into work mode.

"Yes Matt of course. Is your knee ok?" she asked with concern in her voice.

"My knee is fine. It's just that I keep getting muscle spasms, in one particular area."

Jenna looked really concerned now. "Where about's Matt? Do you want me to take a look at it?"

Matt tried not to grin too much to give the game away. He reached across under the sheet and took her hand. Her soft hand grasped his and he guided her down to the problem area.

Taking her hand towards his increasingly excited manhood he said "The problem is here. This keeps happening whenever I am around you." Matt placed Jenna's hand onto his erection.

The look of concern dropped right off Jenna's face as she gripped him in her soft fingers. Matt was being cheeky with her and she loved this about him. She played along.

"Well Matt I think I know what you are talking about. I do believe that I know the correct treatment for this 'problem'."

Giggling a little Matt asked as innocently as he could "Will the treatment be painful?"

"Oh no Matt. The treatment is definitely not painful. But there are side effects." Jenna said seductively.

"What's that?" Matt asked, now genuinely wondering where Jenna was going with this. She was stroking his penis and it was feeling great.

Jenna let go of Matt and moved right in close, their bodies touching together. They kissed passionately.

As they finished kissing Jenna looked Matt straight in the eye.

"The side effect is that the treatment is intensive and incredibly addictive. Patients and practitioners always want more and more treatment." She whispered with a smile.

"That is fine by me Jenna. I am totally ready for the side effects, but only as long as you are my 'sole practitioner'. I never want to be treated by anyone other than you."

Matt was still playing along, but he meant what he said. He didn't want to be with anyone other than Jenna. The look on Jenna's face said it all. She broke into a smile and blinked her eyes a few times.

"Matt I would love to be your 'sole practitioner'. I cannot think of anything better." Jenna sniffled a little, feeling genuinely overcome that Matt felt for her the way she felt about him.

"I can't think of anything better either Jenna."

They kissed again and Matt cradled Jenna's beautiful face in his hands. The intensity in their kisses showed how much they meant to each other.

This second time together was a lot slower, as they each took time to explore the other, finding out what each liked and didn't like. Jenna came when Matt deftly teased and tasted her womanhood, before they came again with Jenna riding him. She insisted on being on top as she didn't want Matt hurting his knee in other positions.

As they curled up together in the glow of their shared bliss, Jenna kissed him.

"Matt ... Can you please stay the night? I have had the most amazing night and I don't want you to go." Jenna went all shy as she whispered this.

It was totally unlike her to be shy, but being with Matt made her feel excited, thrilled and also vulnerable. She wanted Matt to be there, all the time, but was almost too afraid to ask.

"Jenna, Honey, I would love to stay with you. Actually I don't think you could have gotten me out of here even if you wanted to." Matt laughed.

Jenna laughed too and looked straight into his eyes.

"Thank you Matt. I definitely don't want to get rid of you."

After such an emotional night, cuddling up together felt the most natural thing in the world to them and very contented sleep came easily.

Matt awoke the following morning to stirring in the bed next to him and then the cutest giggle. He was spooned behind Jenna, with his right arm draped over her. It was then he realised his right hand was cupping her left breast. That was why Jenna was giggling.

He went to remove his hand and Jenna quickly grabbed it and put it back on her breast revelling in the feel of his touch.

"No don't move your hand Matt. It is a lovely way to wake up, being felt up by my boyfriend." She said as she snuggled back into him.

She had never called Matt her boyfriend before and to hear her say this gave him a glow inside. Matt caressed her breast some more and moved her hair away from her neck so he could kiss her in one of her favourite places. She cooed happily as he did this.

"It's lovely to be waking up with you, my girlfriend."

The feelings Matt was experiencing with Jenna were unlike anything he had ever felt before. He thought he had been in love previously, but it was nothing like this. Jenna too thought she had been in love before. But she had never felt the yearning deep down in the pit of her stomach to be with someone all the time ever before like she felt for Matt.

*************

Life continued on. They saw each other as often as they could and enjoyed every minute they were together. Jenna's team at work didn't know that Matt and Jenna were dating. Jenna and Matt didn't show their affection openly towards each other there. There were glances, cheeky smiles and surreptitious winks between them. Jenna would occasionally come into the gym when Matt was working out, say hello and just maybe, hold his hand briefly.

They had been going out for nearly a month and Matt couldn't wait any longer to tell her how he felt. He wanted to tell Jenna that he loved her and he was sure that Jenna loved him. Matt planned a nice evening at his place, cooking her favourite meal, candles, romance, the whole works. He also organised to have some roses sent to her at work. The roses arrived and on the card he had written 'From you know who xxxx'. Well this got everyone at Jenna's work talking.

Jenna loved the flowers, but didn't like the attention it was bringing her. All her colleagues knew she was going out with someone, as Jenna was happier than she had ever been. They were all asking her who the flowers were from, is it serious, what's he like?

Matt was working out and Jenna came through the gym with another client she was working with. She looked at Matt, not in her usual happy way, but with a little frustration on her face. Matt tried to look innocent but she didn't look pleased with him and this worried him.

She turned and said to Matt loud enough for others to hear "Matt can you please come and see me in my office when you are finished? Cricket Australia has some forms that you need to complete."

"Ok Jenna." He replied a little sheepishly, wondering what was going on.

Matt finished his workout, showered, checked with Jenna's receptionist that she wasn't busy and headed to her office. He knocked and then opened the door.

Jenna smiled at him. "Close the door behind you Matt."

He did this and she came over and gave him a huge hug and kiss.

"Thank you Matt for the Roses. They are beautiful. But you can't send me things like that here. Everyone is asking me who sent them. I can't keep fobbing them off." She said, sounding a little exasperated by all the attention she had been getting.

"I only did it to show my girlfriend that I love her." Matt said, without even realising that he had said it.

"What... What did you just say Matt?" Jenna said as she unconsciously started biting her lip, her heart pounding.

Putting his arm around her Matt said "I love you Jenna. I love you and I am in love with you. I have fallen so in love with you that I can't imagine my life without you. Mmmumph".

Jenna quickly kissed him and held him tight.

Finishing their kiss, through tear filled eyes Jenna said "I love you too Matt. I love you so much. It aches when we are apart, even when I know I am seeing you later. You mean everything to me."

They continued to kiss and cuddle for a few minutes.

"I was going to tell you tonight. I have a nice dinner planned at my place and I was going to tell you then. Ummm ... Sorry for ruining the surprise." Matt said.

"That's ok Matt. You can still tell me you love me tonight. Actually you can tell me you love me any time you want, because I love you too."

"I love you too Jenna. But what about when we are here at your work?" Matt asked.

"We might just have to let everyone know tomorrow about us then."

Their romantic evening at Matt's home went beautifully and they ending up in spending the night together in his bed. They had slept together a few times by now, but Matt still could not get over how great it felt to be with Jenna, how amazing it was to be with someone he actually loved and to wake up beside her. It truly was wonderful.

Jenna kept her word and that morning she did let everyone at work know that they were a couple before Matt arrived. When he did get there everyone was so happy for the pair of them.

**********

Over the next 3 months Jenna became extremely busy. Not only with work, but training for her club team, NSW and the Sydney Sixers as well. It seemed she had something on every night. Matt was still being a professional exerciser so he had lots of free time. He was missing Jenna enormously as they couldn't see as much of each other as either of them wanted. They kept their relationship professional at her work and stayed at each other's apartments whenever they could.

In September, the new cricket season was starting. Jenna was now playing as well as training. Both Jenna and Matt wanted to be together more than they already were, so they took the major decision to move in together. They had been going out for 4 months and Matt definitely knew that Jenna was going to be his forever love. Jenna's heart belonged to Matt and she hated being apart from him. Moving in together made so much sense. Her lease was finishing and they moved her into Matt's place.

The move was relatively painless as Jenna was living in a furnished apartment, so there were only a few items of her own furniture to move across, as well as all Jenna's clothes and cricket equipment. Jenna was unpacking things into Matt's office when she looked at the glass cabinet containing all of his cricket caps he had received.

Right there in pride of place was Matt's Australian Test Cap, his 'Baggy Green'. This cap was the symbol of playing for their country and was the pinnacle of achievement for players of their sport. Jenna looked at it, desperately wanting to have one of her own, but she wondered to herself whether her chance had passed by.

Matt was walking past his office and he saw Jenna looking at the cabinet. He went in quietly and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Jenna jumped a little, startled as she didn't realise he was there. She quickly snuggled in against him, loving being held tight.

"I saw you in here staring at the cabinet. What were you looking at?" Matt asked.

"I was looking at your caps, especially your 'Baggy Green'." Jenna said in hushed, almost reverential tones.

Matt went around and opened the cabinet, getting his favourite cap out and showing it to Jenna. "Here it is Honey. Have a look at it." He said as he passed it to her.

Jenna held it in her hands like it was a sacred object. To her it was a sacred object. She had strived her whole sporting life to get one of these.

"I want my own one Matt, so much. My time might have passed by though." Jenna mused.

Matt looked into her eyes and could see how much Jenna wanted to play for Australia.

"Jenna, your time has not passed by. The only thing that counts is your performance. I know you work hard enough and I'm sure the scores will follow. Score enough runs and the selectors can't ignore you."

Jenna had a determined look on her face.

Matt continued "Don't forget that there is a Tour to England next winter. If you have a big summer, I'm sure you will be on that plane to the UK."

"You really think I still have a chance Matt?"

"Jenna you are hitting the prime years for a batter. You now have experience and definitely have the talent. I know you will have a big summer. I just know it."

Jenna handed Matt his cap back and gave him a big hug. It felt good to have someone believe in her.

***********

Living together was bliss. Matt became a very dutiful 'house husband' looking after everything at home so Jenna could concentrate on her work and sport. This seemed to take a load off her shoulders. Jenna always beamed when she came home, no matter how tough her day had been, or how tired she was from training. Seeing the man she loved made her day.

Matt did have to get used to having someone else at his apartment. It was the little things about living with Jenna that made him laugh. While she was extremely organised at work and in her schedule, she was a little more relaxed around the house. She would forget where she put things, and leave cups and glasses in the strangest places. Matt didn't mind though as long as she was there with him.

Jenna would surprise him too. Not in a grand gesture way, but just some of the things she did. Living with Jenna, Matt could see a much more playful side to her, one that she never showed at work or in her sport.

One evening Matt came back from the apartment gym and opening the front door he heard music pumping out of their apartment. Entering from the hallway he saw Jenna in the kitchen, preparing dinner and dancing around wearing one of Matt's training shirts and just a very skimpy pair of peach coloured thong panties. The training shirt was tied at the side so that it fitted her a little better.

'How does such a gorgeous, sexy, beautiful woman love me?' Matt thought as he watched Jenna bop around.

Moving through the lounge room Matt reached the remote control for their music system and he turned the volume up. Jenna turned and seeing Matt, she had the biggest smile on her face. Matt walked across to the kitchen and Jenna immediately wrapped her arms around him. They moved close and kissed.

As the kiss finished Matt slid his hands down and held her gorgeous derriere.

"You look so much better in my shirt than I do." He said admiringly.

"Thank you my love. You look really good all sweaty after a workout." Jenna said, before kissing Matt again.

Hands began to wander as their embrace quickly turned carnal. Matt had turned his attentions to Jenna's delectable neck, kissing and nibbling all of the little places he knew she loved. Jenna had her hands inside Matt's shirt and she was caressing him all over. Matt still had his hands on Jenna's bum, kneading her gorgeous cheeks.

Jenna slid her hands down the back of Matt's shorts and played with his bum like he was doing to her. She was moaning as the love of her life made her melt with his magic touch. Jenna held Matt's hips and pulled him hard against her. His increasingly hard erection bumped against her stomach as he was a little taller than her. Her hips began to move, increasing the friction and the excitement between them.

Matt had moved from her neck and he kissed Jenna again, tasting her tongue. Jenna knew how to get him going and her hands held his hips against her as she ground her hips against him. This was really setting him off. He moved his face slightly and looked into Jenna's blue eyes. She had a wicked grin on her face, with the tip of her tongue just poking out between her teeth slightly.

Without saying a word, Matt slipped his hands up her sides and under her arms. Jenna squealed as he swiftly lifted her up onto the kitchen benchtop. Jenna opened her legs and Matt manoeuvred close to her. His excitement was now pressed right against Jenna's and they kissed again. Their hips began to move, their primal urges rising by the second.

Jenna was panting and groaning in Matt's ear as he undid the knot at the side of her shirt and slid his hand over her soft skin. She loved the feeling of his large hands running all over her. He found she wasn't wearing a bra, so her nipples, proud and excited, were found easily. Matt tweaked her nipples just the way she liked and Jenna bucked her hips, trying to capture her man. It was all getting too much.

"Ohhh fuck. I want you Matt. I want you right now. Fuck me. Please fuck me." Jenna moaned.

Matt saw the lust filled look in Jenna's eyes. Quickly he dropped his shorts, releasing his throbbing erection. He slid his hand around from Jenna's hips, running it right across her mound causing Jenna's hips to buck towards him. Her panties were soaked from Matt's attentions. Matt's fingers slipped inside her panties gently brushing against her exquisitely sensitive womanhood.

Jenna moaned and mashed her mouth onto his as he moved her flimsy panties aside. With Jenna on the benchtop she was at just the right height. Jenna was surprised by Matt's excitement and as soon as his cock touched her saturated womanhood she was all his.

"Yes my love. Oh Matt, that's it. I want you in me, yes Matt. Yessss."

He filled her confines in one movement as Jenna was more than ready for him. Matt rhythmically moved in time with Jenna's urgings as they sated each other's lust. This wasn't a slow romantic interlude. This was passionate, spontaneous and intense.

The love they felt for each other was manifested as pure lust. Matt was thrusting into Jenna with a very welcome ferocity. He pounded into Jenna and she wanted more from her handsome man. Her arms were around him, holding Matt close as he pleasured her in places she didn't even know she had.

They kissed, groaned and moaned in pleasure. Jenna nibbled on Matt's ears and Matt sped up his thrusts accordingly. Jenna leant back, changing her position slightly and this increased her pleasure exponentially. Sweat rolled down their faces. Glances between them and their moans of pleasure showed the other that they both wanted each other.

"Oh Matt...urrrgh, yes baby yes. God honey...ummmmnnngh." Jenna groaned.

"Jenna you're so sexy, uhhh, uhhh, uhhh... So cute... So hot... gorgeous bum...fuck Jenna."

"Yes Matt, cum in me. Fill me Matt. So close. Cumming Matt ohhhh muuungggh.

Jenna let out a guttural moan as she came and this set Matt off. Jenna hooked her legs around his back, locking her feet together to trap Matt deep inside her. Matt filled Jenna with his love as she writhed through her own pleasure. Matt's hands gripped Jenna's hips, moving her in time with his orgasmic thrusts. Even being locked in by Jenna's silky fit legs, Matt could still move her enough to fulfil their mutual needs.

As their mutual orgasm subsided, Jenna sat up a little and rested her forehead on Matt's, looking deep into his eyes. Matt gently kissed her and she embraced him, her arms and legs cuddling him close.

"I love you Jenna." Matt panted.

"I love you too Honey." Jenna said, before kissing him again.

Matt slipped out from Jenna as they embraced and she unhooked her legs from around him. Jenna began to giggle as she looked around. She was still sitting on the kitchen benchtop and this seemed very funny. They both laughed sharing their very fun moment together. Matt moved back from between Jenna's legs, getting his breath back after the lustfully exertive session they had shared.
Jenna lifted her bum as it was slightly stuck to the benchtop. She jumped down and looking back she could see that there was a very distinctive 'bum print' on there.

"Oh god Matt. We are going to have to clean the bench after we clean ourselves up." Jenna giggled.

"No way Jenna, I'm going to get a frame, put it around that and have it as a piece of art. 'Bum Print on Granite' is definitely the best piece of art I have ever seen. It will be a talking point when we have guests over, although I still prefer the original 'Jenna's Bum', as my favourite piece of art." Matt laughed, reaching around and squeezing her bum.

Jenna playfully smacked Matt's hand away.

"Hey 'Mr Sexy-all-over', you doing that was what started this in the first place."

"Sorry Gorgeous. It's just that I came in and saw the most beautiful woman in the world dancing in our house, looking absolutely knock out sexy, I just couldn't help myself."

"Am I really that sexy to you Matt?" Jenna asked shyly as she cuddled up to Matt.

"Jenna you are not only sexy, but beautiful. Since we have lived together I am seeing it more and more. Like just before, coming in and seeing you so happy, dancing around and singing to your favourite songs, wearing my shirt and those cute panties. You are so gorgeous when you are just being yourself at home. I still can't get over the fact that you love me."

"Thank you Matt. My love for you grows every day. I can't believe that the handsomest, sweetest, kindest man anywhere is my man. I love you Matt."

They kissed again, standing together still in the kitchen embracing. Jenna ran her hand down Matt's back and she could feel that Matt hadn't pulled his pants up. He was standing in the kitchen with his pants around his ankles. She smacked his bare bum.

"Come on Mr Sexy. Let's go and get cleaned up." Jenna said as she took hold of his penis, pulling him to follow her. "Maybe in the shower we can get all dirty again before we get clean."

***********

At the beginning of October, Jenna's parents, Brian and Sue, came down to celebrate Jenna's birthday. They stayed with Matt and Jenna for a few days in their apartment. Jenna was bubbling with excitement, while Matt was understandably a little nervous.

Her parents were lovely and they enjoyed staying with the happy couple. Matt did undergo a grilling from Brian about his intentions towards Brian's little girl, but he could see Matt was genuinely in love with Jenna, and it didn't take long at all to warm to him.

Matt took on the role of tour guide while they were in Sydney. Brian and Sue hadn't been to Sydney very often, so while Jenna was at work or training, Matt took the chance to show them around some of the sights. They really enjoyed themselves and it gave them a chance to get to know Matt, and Matt them.

While Jenna was training with the Sydney Sixers one afternoon, at the Indoor complex at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt decided to take Brian for a look at the ground. Brian had never been to the ground before and he wanted to see Jenna training. After Matt took Brian around the ground and museum, they went into the Indoor complex. Walking through the complex a lot of the people knew Matt and all said hello. Many of the women in Jenna's team also said hello. Jenna gave them a wave too as she was busy at the time.

Brian and Matt sat together, watching the practice session, talking about what was happening as well as Jenna's cricket. While they were watching and chatting away, the head coach of the team came over and said hello. Christine Walford, or Chris as she was known, was an extremely highly regarded player and coach. She debuted for Australia at 23, playing until her retirement at 34. She then married and had two sons. She was now 46, and had successfully coached the Sydney Sixers women for the past 3 seasons.

She was one of the few women cricketers Matt actually knew reasonably well. When he made his debut for Australia, she had sent him messages of congratulations and even came and said hello at that game. She had seemed to follow his career a little, but as part of the very exclusive club of people who had played for Australia, this didn't seem strange to Matt.

After saying their hellos, Matt introduced Brian and they all chatted together for a few minutes. She asked about Matt's knee and he told her progress was good. If all kept going to plan he should be back at full training at the beginning of January, with the aim to play again by late January. She then mentioned that Jenna was playing really well this season. Chris thought that Jenna seemed quite content in her life at the moment. Brian chirped up and said that Matt must be a good influence on her.

As Chris said goodbye to head back to training, she place her hand on Matt's shoulder.

"It's nice to see you again Matthew. Don't be a stranger. Come down and see us whenever you want." She smiled at him, squeezed his shoulder and went back to her work.

***********

Jenna's parents left a few days later having thoroughly enjoyed their visit. Matt had really enjoyed having them around. Jenna was really pleased that her parents liked Matt and that they had all gotten along so well.

Over the following few days Matt found that he was missing having family of his own. With the anger and sadness he felt at not being told his Mum had passed away, he hadn't even visited where his parents were interred. That night when Jenna came home Matt told her his thoughts. He said how he thought now was the right time for him to go and see their final resting place. Jenna was so supportive. She organised to have the day off from work to come with him, as she wanted to be there to support Matt.

The next day, Friday, Matt contacted his family solicitor/ trustee and he told Matt where his parents were interred. Jenna and Matt then made the 25 minute trip out to see the Memorial Park. It was a beautiful garden setting, with lots of lawn and raised gardens. After a little searching Jenna and Matt came across his parent's plaque in one of the gardens.

Matt was emotionally on edge, actually seeing his parents final resting place. He took his time and read the plaque.

'Here lies Alan John Larkham 17 December 1946 -12 March 1994 and Krystal Monique Larkham 18 April 1947- 20 August 2007, Beloved Parents of Christine.'

He couldn't believe his eyes. He wasn't even mentioned on the plaque. Jenna had her arm around Matt and was gently rubbing his back.

"I... I can't believe it... I am not even mentioned on the... Wait, I thought Mum's name was Christine, not Krystal... I'm sure my birth certificate says Christine not Krystal... Every one called her Christie... It must have been Kristie with a 'K'... What ... Maybe they are not..." Tears were rolling down Matt's face at this stage. All of his life, all the foundations were crumbling before his eyes. Who was he? Where was he actually from?

Jenna was holding him close, feeling upset herself, as she could see how confused and upset Matt was. She gradually calmed him down.

"Who am I Jenna? What if Mum and Dad aren't my parents?" Matt babbled.

"Matt, Darling it will be ok. There will be a simple explanation for this I'm sure. Who did you call to find out where we had to come today? I'm sure they will know all the answers." she said consoling him.

Jenna rang Matt's family's solicitor, as Matt wasn't in a talking mood. They were told to come right over, so Jenna drove them over to the offices in North Sydney. Matt managed to gather himself up a little on the trip over, but his mind was a maelstrom of thoughts and doubts.

Arriving at the office, they were shown straight in to see Patrick, who handled all of Matt's family's affairs.

Once in his office, Patrick said "When you called wanting to know where your family is interred, I knew you'd be back here looking for answers."

Matt was about to speak when Patrick pulled an envelope out of a file on his desk.

"Kristie gave me this letter just before she passed away, with very strict instructions to only give it to you if the circumstances of today arose."

As Matt received the envelope, he immediately recognised his Mum's handwriting. Jenna had her hand on Matt's leg as he opened the sealed envelope.

"Dearest Matthew,

If you are reading this you must have visited our plot at the Memorial Gardens. I imagine you must be confused and angry right now. Please don't be.

As you have probably worked out I was not your birth mother, but Christine, your sister 'Tina' is your actual mother. I am your Grandmother.

Christine was so young when she had you and was suffering from depression terribly after you were born. She was in no fit state to raise you at that time. So Alan and I raised you.

We loved you like our son Matthew and we gave you everything we could for you to have the best childhood possible. In our eyes you were our son and we always loved you.

Your mother, our daughter, Christine kept in touch with your life as you grew and loves you very much.

Now that you know all of this you may want to contact her. Her married name is Christine Walford, and, like you Matthew, she plays cricket.

Please Matthew, don't be upset. I love you and your mother loves you too. None of this changes who you are, the strong young man I raised, who is kind and considerate to others. I have always been proud of you Matthew and always will be proud of you.

Love forever

Mum Kristie xxx'

Matt's head dropped as tears streamed down his face. He handed the letter to Jenna and she too started to cry as she read it. She got to the second last paragraph and said aloud "Oh my God Matt, Chris is your Mum!!"

They just looked at each other, struggling to comprehend what they had found out.

After a short while they left the office, but not before making sure there were no more family secrets Matt needed to know about. Jenna and Matt headed home in relative silence. Matt was in shock. The whole bedrock on which he believed his life had been built was a sham.

Jenna was so kind, looking after Matt, allowing him to vent, to be angry and to cry when he needed to. She hated seeing the love of her life in so much pain, so she looked after Matt as best she could. At 2 pm Jenna said that she was calling to say she couldn't go to training with the Sixers that afternoon. Matt however insisted that she go and that he would be ok until she came home.

When Jenna left and Matt was by himself, the questions kept racing through his mind. The one prevailing question that kept coming up was 'Why?' He decided he needed to ask Chris about everything. Matt knew she would be at Jenna's training, so he drove across to see her there.

Getting to the ground at 5pm, the girls were having fielding practice on the main field. Matt took a seat in front of the main Pavilion and watched them run through their drills. Chris was in charge, barking instructions and encouragement to her players. Matt could see Jenna running around, catching and throwing. She was trying her hardest as always and just seeing Jenna brought some happiness to his tortured soul.

The training wrapped up at about 5:30, and the girls headed off the ground to go to the dressing rooms to get changed and head home. Matt stood up and moved over towards the outfield fence and the girls walked past. They all said hello and asked how he was going.

Jenna was one of the last to leave the field. Seeing Matt there, Jenna knew he was going to confront her coach about their past and this worried her. Matt could tell by the expression on Jenna's face that she was worried for him.

"Are you ok Matt?" Jenna asked.

"Yes Jenna I am... I ... I just have to know. I have to talk to her."

"Ok Honey. I'm here for you."

He kissed Jenna.

"I know. Thank you Jenna."

She held Matt's hand as his focus turned to seeing Chris and her assistant coach packing up the equipment from the session.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Jenna asked.

Matt kissed her again.

"Thank you Babe. But no, I have to do this myself." He said as he squeezed her hand.

"I love you Matt."

"I love you too Jenna."

They kissed before Matt headed out onto the ground. The assistant coach passed him loaded with equipment and said hello. Matt said hello back.

Chris turned around and saw Matt heading out there.

"Hi Matthew. How are you today?" she asked brightly.

Matt took a deep breath.

"Feeling very confused actually Chris... Or is it Tina? Or Mum today?"

Chris's face dropped.

"I... I thought you must have already known."

"No. I just found out today actually. And I'm pretty confused and angry right now... Why Chris? Why?" Matt said with tears forming in his eyes.

"Come on Matthew. Let's go and sit down and I'll tell you what happened."

As they walked off the field, Chris organised with her assistant to take the rest of the equipment. They went and sat down in front of the Pavilion and Matt started to talk.

"After having Jenna's family visit I was feeling sad about not having my own family to share things with. So I went to visit Mum and Dad's plaque in the cemetery... But I'm not on the plaque, Mum has a different name and I'm all confused. We go and see Patrick and he gives me a letter from Mum, who is not my Mum, but my GRANDMOTHER and I find out you are my MOTHER."

"It must have been a shock for you Matthew."

"YOU THINK!! Having your whole life's urrrgh history changed in a few minutes is a bit shocking."

"Sorry. That was a stupid thing to say. I thought you must have already known."

"I hadn't visited the cemetery until today... I was so ... Angry and upset when Mum... urrgh Grandmoth... Kristie died ... That I couldn't visit there."

Looking at Chris was difficult, but Matt could see that she was trying to be understanding.

"Well Matthew I should tell you what happened back then." She said.

As Matt looked at her she could see the desperation for information written all over his face.

"I fell pregnant with you when I was 17 towards the end of my last year at school. My boyfriend of six months Craig was your father. When he found out I was pregnant he ... disappeared. Leaving me on my own to go through it all ..." Matt was about to ask a question and Chris spoke up again.

"Before you ask he is no longer with us. He died before you were born. He joined the army when he left me, and was killed in a training accident with live ammunition. He never even knew you were born." She said before turning her head away briefly.

"I was starting to make representative teams with my cricket, and the news that I was pregnant would have spread throughout the cricket world really quickly. I probably would have been shunned out of the game, at least at a higher level. My world was collapsing, all from a stupid, drunken night at a party...

"Mum, Dad and I talked and we worked out that I should 'get an injury' and be out of the game for 12 months. So with some help from some of Dad's contacts, I had a knee ligament injury and a medical certificate to prove it, and was out of the game."

As Chris said this Matt looked down and flexed his injured knee.

Chris sighed "Matthew you don't understand the scandal that the news I was pregnant, with no father, would have caused back then... We were living down in Victoria, near Brighton, at the time, but sold up and we moved up here to our house at Mosman. Up here we were totally unknown and this made it easier. Dad moved his business up to Sydney and started to build a life up here for us.

"I had you just after I turned 18. At the hospital I wanted to contact Craig to let him know..." Chris started to tear up. "I hadn't had any contact from him for ages... They told me he had died..."

She was now visibly upset.

"I was a wreck Matthew. I was depressed and had suicidal thoughts... Mum took you home as you were a constant reminder to me of Craig and that he was gone."

Chris dried her eyes a little before continuing. "I was in no state to come home; or to raise you properly. I spoke with counsellors and doctors. I ended up being 'institutionalised' for nearly 12 months."

The look of shock on Matt's face was so visible. Chris looked at him and wanted to reassure him.

"It was a very nice place, but it was felt that I needed time to get my life back... After nearly a year I was in a much better mental state, close to being me, and they decided I could go back to real life. It had been decided, by the doctors, that my raising you was not in your best interest in the near future, and that Mum and Dad would raise you."

Matt was stunned hearing all this. His mind, already in a whirl, was jumbled even further.

She continued. "My marks from school had got me accepted into University in Melbourne, so Mum and Dad organised to have this all transferred up to Sydney. I went and lived on campus at Sydney University, did my degree in Sports Science, and played for the Sydney Uni cricket team. I quickly went to play for NSW and Australia after that. When I saw Mum and Dad, for all intents and purposes, it appeared as though I was your much older sister. So that is how we lived life to the outside world."

Chris looked at Matt, seeing the confusion on his face.

"Matthew even though Mum raised you, I never stopped loving you. I kept in touch as much as I could with what you were doing. I knew all about your schooling and how you were growing up. While I did move away and move on with my life, not a day went by when I didn't think of you.

"It is the biggest regret of my life not being there for you Matthew, and keeping this all a secret from you for so long. I should have found you when you came back from England after Mum died. I should have told you then. I didn't and I'm so sorry."

They were both now in tears. Matt could see Chris was sad and very remorseful about the past, but he was still confused and hurt by all that had happened.

"Do your husband and family know about me?" Matt asked quietly.

"Yes James knows about you. My other sons, Jack and Samuel don't know about you... But they do enjoy watching you play." Chris said with a half-smile.

It was all getting too much for Matt. He didn't want to be there anymore.

"I'm sorry Chris but I have to go." he said getting up and starting to leave.

"Matthew...Matthew are you ok? Come back and I'll..."

"No Chris I have to go." Matt said as he hurried away.

He went and jumped in his car, driving out of there as quick as he could. All of his anxieties had kicked in and he felt trapped, scared and afraid. He drove into the peak hour traffic, headed into the Tunnel northbound towards home. His mind was a blur.

'My 'sister' is my mother! My 'mother' was my grandmother, Dad was my Grandfather. My mother is a sportsperson and coach.' Matt thought.

He was trying to process everything Chris had told him. All the while he just kept driving and driving.

Before Matt knew it he was on the freeway heading north out of Sydney. Looking at the clock on the dash it said it was just about 8pm. He was nearly half way to Newcastle, almost an hour from home. What was he doing? Matt was near an exit so he pulled off the freeway. As he parked the car he burst into tears. He was so emotionally overwhelmed and didn't know what to do.

Just then his phone rang. Looking down he could see it was Jenna. His beautiful Jenna.

"Hi Jenna," Matt answered, sniffling back his tears.

"Matt are you ok? It's getting late and I was wondering where you are?"

Matt sniffled "I'm about halfway to Newcastle and I don't even remember driving here."

"Oh my poor Darling. Are you alright?" Jenna asked with great concern.

Matt paused before answering. He could hear Jenna was worried about him and this made him feel a little better.

"Yes Sweetheart I'm ... I'm ok, especially now that I can hear your voice." Matt said quietly, but with a little note of optimism in his voice.
"Are you ok to get home? Do you want me to come and get you?" Jenna asked, still very worried.

Just hearing her had calmed Matt down and he felt somewhat better.

"No, Sweetheart, I... I'm ok."

He started the car and headed back out onto the freeway, this time heading towards home.

"Honey I have just gotten onto the freeway heading for home. I should be home in about an hour. Do you want me to tell you what happened?" Matt asked Jenna.

"Yes my love I do, but when you get home. Please just come home." Jenna replied still sounding worried.

"I'm on my way Jenna... I'm sorry to have worried you."

"Matt just come home please. I love you so much"

"I love you too Jenna."

Travelling home was much easier for Matt. He had a goal, to see his beloved Jenna, and this goal kept his mind from going back to the turmoil of the day.

He did arrive home just under an hour after he had spoken to Jenna. Parking the car and getting into the lift was a huge relief. As the lift doors opened Jenna was there waiting for him. Her eyes were red from crying and she looked so worried. She wrapped her arms around Matt and held him tight, really tight. Jenna burst into tears as she did this, the emotions of the day spilling out.

They made it into their apartment and Jenna, even though she was still very teary, she wanted to talk.

"After I finished getting changed after training, I came back around the Pavilion and could see you and Chris deep in conversation. I didn't want to interrupt so I decided to come home. I knew you both had a lot to discuss. Just before 8 I got a call from Chris asking if you were ok as you left in a hurry. I got really worried Matt. You weren't home and Chris was worried too. I was really scared Matt." Jenna said sobbing.

"I'm so sorry Honey. I didn't mean to worry you. I never, ever want to worry you. I was just so lost. My mind was whirling around and I didn't realise what I was doing or where I was going."

"Oh my poor Matt! This has to be the worst day ever."

"It has been shit Jenna. But I now know everything about my past, and mostly why it happened. Now I have to process it all and ... Get on with life."

Jenna and Matt hugged again. They were both emotionally exhausted. Matt went and showered and they headed to bed.

Lying there cuddled together Matt told Jenna everything Chris had told him. Matt felt better actually saying out loud what had occurred so long ago, rather than keep it all inside. He told Jenna how scared he was, how betrayed he initially felt, but now he was beginning to comprehend why it had all happened.

Jenna listened to Matt, understanding his pain and anguish at hearing all of this. As he finished telling Jenna everything, she said the most encouraging thing ever.

"Matt whether Chris is your mother, or Krystal, it doesn't matter to me. It doesn't change who you are at all, does it? You are still the amazing, handsome, caring, kind, sweet, wonderful man I fell in love with, and am still so, so in love with. You have become the most important thing in my life and that will never change. I love you, Matt Larkham."

The ache in Matt's psyche seemed to melt away at that moment. The greatest love of his life was in his arms. What more could he want?

"I love you too Jenna Murphy."

********

This whole drama had brought Jenna and Matt even closer together. In time Matt came to accept his new lineage but he hadn't spoken to Chris again. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't bring himself to go and speak to her. Chris did check with Jenna to make sure Matt was ok and Jenna was always truthful, saying he was ok, but not sure when he could speak to her again. Chris was ok with this, saying he could talk with her whenever he felt like it.

Jenna meanwhile was having an exceptional season, making big scores consistently. Matt attended most of her games and it was so great to watch the woman he loved and adored playing her sport so well.

Before Christmas Jenna's team played a double header in Brisbane. Matt flew up to watch the games. Jenna's parents, along with her brother, sister in law, niece and nephew all came along to see Jenna play. It was great to catch up with them and meet her brother's family. While Jenna's parents knew a little about what had happened, but they didn't push Matt for details. Matt did have a long chat with Jenna's father though and this was great.

Christmas arrived and Jenna and Matt celebrated together at their apartment having a wonderful day together. Jenna had to fly out the next day for a series of games interstate. She flew back into Sydney mid-morning on New Year's Eve.

To celebrate the New Year, and the great year at her work, Jenna and Matt had organised to take all of her work team and some of their closest friends out on a cruise on Sydney Harbour. There would be food, drink, music and fun, and then watching the world famous fireworks display from the harbour in a prime location, what better way to ring in the New Year. As Jenna and Matt devised the party, Matt too had his own plan for what he wanted to do on this special occasion.

Everyone dressed up and they had an amazing night. Jenna looked gorgeous, wearing a figure-hugging red dress and Matt couldn't keep his hands off her, much to her enjoyment. At midnight Jenna and Matt kissed and wished each other a Happy New Year embracing. Jenna was standing in front of him and he was holding her close as they watched the spectacular fireworks display above them.

Matt reached into his pocket and could feel the ring box was there. He was composing himself, running through in his mind what he was going to say, when Jenna tugged at his hand.

"Look Matt, look over there." She said excitedly.

Looking across they could see Adam down on one knee proposing to his girlfriend. They couldn't hear what was being said but it was obvious that she did say yes. Jenna was oohing happily and cuddling Matt closer, saying how lovely that was. All Matt could think of was how he couldn't ask Jenna now.

The cruise finished a little before 1am, and after saying their goodbyes to everyone, Jenna and Matt headed the short distance back to their apartment. Even though it was a great night Matt was feeling a little disappointed that he hadn't got the chance to ask Jenna what he wanted. Jenna was so happy and had thoroughly enjoyed the night. Once home she had walked through their place and went out onto the balcony, watching all of the people leaving the city and all of the boats still travelling on the Harbour.

Matt went and wrapped his arms around her from behind, and Jenna scrunched back into him. The look of contentment on Jenna's face was beautiful.

"Jenna, can I ask you something?" Matt said quietly into her ear.

"Of course Honey. What is it?"

Unwrapping his arms from around her Matt took hold of her left hand. He slowly dropped down onto one knee.

"Jenna will you marry me?" He asked as he took the ring box out of his pocket, opening it to show her the ring.

Jenna bit her lip and giggled nervously at the same time, before nodding her head.

"Yes... Yes Matt I would love to marry you."

Matt stood up and they embraced, kissing and sharing their emotions. He took the ring and placed it on her shaking finger as Jenna's tears flowed down her face. They cuddled close for a few minutes.

"I can't believe it. We are actually engaged." Jenna giggled as she stamped her feet in excitement.

Matt went on to explain to her that he had planned to ask her on the cruise with the fireworks going off, but Adam beat him to the moment.

"Matt I love you so much. I didn't expect you to propose yet. What we have is great, and now it is going to be even better." Jenna said before kissing Matt.

She looked at her ring, the diamond sparkling like her eyes.

"Ooh Matt, I should ring Mum and Dad," she cooed. "They might still be awake and I'm sure they will want to know our news." Jenna said her excitement palpable.

"Nah... I think we should wait Jenna."

"Why is that Honey? I want Mum and Dad to know."

"Well... We are booked on the 8:30am flight to Brisbane tomorrow, oops, actually this morning, so we can tell them ourselves."

"Really? Oh Matt, You are so wonderful, but what about my game on the 2nd?" Jenna inquired with excitement.

"We are flying home at 6:30pm today. So we will be back in time for you to play."

"Matt you have thought of everything. I love you my fiancé."

Matt then bent down and gathered Jenna up into his arms, carrying her to their bedroom.

"Time to celebrate by ourselves I think." Matt said as he carried her into their room.

Jenna wrapped her arms around Matt's neck.

"Sound's good to me my husband to be." She said as they kissed.

*********

Seven hours later, and a two sleepy sportspeople flew up to Brisbane. Jenna dozed off as they flew up there, leaning against Matt's shoulder, and he leant against her. Matt too fell asleep, only waking up as the plane started it's decent into Brisbane Airport. As he awoke, he noticed Jenna was awake and she was just staring at her engagement ring.

Seeing this he asked her "I don't think I've asked you yet, but do you like your ring?"

"Like it? I absolutely love it. I still can't believe I have a ring like this." Jenna turned and kissed him briefly. "Or that I'm engaged to such a wonderful, handsome, supportive man. You ... I just can't explain how much you mean to me."

Matt kissed Jenna again and said "Well I think you will have a lifetime with me to work out how much that is."

Once arriving in Brisbane they picked up a hire car and made the 40 minute journey to her parent's house. When they were nearly there, Jenna rang her Mum, on the pretence to wish her a Happy New Year. They talked for a little while about the cruise the previous night and the fact that Jenna's brother and his family were all going to be at her parent's house for a barbeque today.

Matt and Jenna parked their car outside her parent's next door neighbour's house and made their way quietly to her parent's front door. As they got there Jenna, still talking on the phone to her mother, asked "I hope you have plenty of food for the day?"

"I'm sure we have enough." Sue replied.

Just then Matt knocked on the door.

Jenna kept talking to her mother. "Well I would hate to think you under catered because..."

The front door opened and Sue nearly fell over when she saw them.

"Because there are a couple more mouths to feed." Jenna said as her Mother came out and hugged Jenna. There were some laughs as Sue couldn't believe they were standing on her doorstep.

Sue then gave Matt a big hug, before she yelled excitedly back into the house.

"Brian! Jenna and Matt are here."

They all went into the front room of the house where they caught up with Brian. Her parents were so surprised to see them. They asked Jenna and Matt why they were up for such a surprise visit. Jenna looked across at Matt, as she surreptitiously put her left hand into her pocket. Matt knew she was putting her engagement ring on. Matt smiled at her and winked, knowing she wanted to tell her parents their good news.

"Well Mum, Dad ... We're engaged!!" Jenna shouted as she took her hand out of her pocket, showing her parents the engagement ring.

There were more hugs, kisses, handshakes and tears of happiness. While talking with Brian, Matt could see Sue cuddling Jenna saying "My baby's getting married."

When Jenna's brother and family arrived they too were surprised to see Matt and Jenna there and they celebrated when the happy couple told them the news. Brian, and Jenna's brother Michael, both took Matt aside during the day and said how happy they were for them and how pleased they were to have him join their family.

Matt and Jenna had to leave just after 4pm to catch their plane home and it had been a wonderful day. They arrived home exhausted after such a big 24 hours.

The following day Jenna was playing for the Sixers against the other Sydney team, the 'Thunder'. She had to be at the stadium at 11am for a 1pm start. Matt and Jenna decided to travel together, aiming to arrive a little before her warm ups started.

Once at the ground Jenna putting her gear in the dressing room before heading out onto the playing arena with Matt. Chris was out on the field getting things set up for the warm ups and she hadn't noticed Jenna and Matt walking out hand in hand.

As they got close Matt said "Hi Chris."

She turned around with a surprised look on her face. But this soon turned to a broad smile.

"Hi Matthew, hi Jenna." She said before looking at her watch. "You're both here early."

Jenna squeezed Matt's hand. It was his turn to do the talking this time.

"Yes Chris we are here a little early. That's because we wanted to see you... Ummm... We have some news... The sort of news..." Matt took a deep breath "The sort of news a son shares with his Mother."

Chris had now moved close to them. Hearing Matt say those words had brought tears to her eyes.

"Jenna and I are engaged." Matt said as he held Jenna's hand showing Chris the engagement ring.

"Oh Matthew... Jenna... I'm so happy for you." Chris said as she hugged them together. Jenna showed her the ring and Chris was so happy and they both hugged again. Chris turned to Matt, with tears still in her eyes.

"Thank you for sharing this with me Matthew. I am so proud of you."

With that Chris and Matt hugged for the first time that either could remember. As they hugged, Matt noticed that it felt ... Right. He started to tear up as well. It certainly wasn't perfect, but it felt good to be sharing his exciting news with HIS family.

Jenna announced her news to the team as they huddled together before their warm ups began and the girls were very excited for Jenna. During the day, Matt saw many of the girls and they all congratulated him.

Watching the game that day Matt sat with Chris's family, meeting her husband and children for the first time. This was a bit of a surreal experience, but a pleasant one none the less. They were very welcoming and for Matt it was nice to actually meet other members of his family.

***********

Over the next 8 months some of the most exciting moments in Matt's life occurred. On the 8th January, Matt had his final assessment and Jenna pronounced that he was fit to play again. Jenna was happy for Matt as he had worked so hard to get his knee working properly. Matt too was excited, but a little subdued as he thought he wasn't going to be able to come to Jenna's work and see her anymore. Jenna assured him it was ok if he wanted to continue to work out there. This made it a perfect outcome for Matt.

He went back to playing and while his form was rusty, his knee performed better than ever. He played for NSW, but he wasn't selected for the Australian team, as he had been out of the game for nearly 12 months. Matt needed a lot more game time under his belt before he could force his way back into the team.

In February while Jenna was at work, she received a call from the head of Australian Women's Cricket. She had been selected to go on the Tour to England after her exceptional performances that season. Jenna immediately rang Matt and they celebrated over the phone, before going out that night.

Over dinner the excitement they shared was electric. But then Jenna got quiet. Matt asked what was wrong.

"I will be on tour July and August... We are getting married on the 20th July." She said sadly.

Matt thought for a moment before saying "We could always get married before you go?"

Jenna brightened up immediately. "Really Matt? You don't mind getting married early?"

"Of course not Sweetheart. I want us to be married and it doesn't matter when. The sooner the better would be good."

"Oh Matt I love you so much."

"I love you too my wife to be."

Jenna and Matt were married on the 18th May in the municipal gardens not far from her parent's house in Brisbane. Chris, her husband and children were all in attendance. Chris was beaming with pride at her son getting married to such a wonderful woman.

While on their honeymoon, Matt was contacted by his manager, as he was offered a 6 week contract to play for Surrey in England. This contract was to start just before Jenna's team was arriving and would finish up a little before they were leaving. Matt discussed the offer with Jenna and she implored him to take it, as he would be playing and getting more games under his belt.

When it came time for Matt to leave for England, the goodbyes at the airport between them were the hardest they had ever had to experience. They were to be apart for 3 weeks before Jenna arrived in England. Once she had arrived in England, she would be with her team and they would only be able to see each other sporadically. The hugs and kisses they shared meant so much as they would both miss being together.

Matt performed really well playing for Surrey, his form coming back every time he played. Matt also kept working hard on his fitness which really lifted his game.

Jenna's team arrived in England and she and Matt caught up as often as they could. But Matt's games always seemed to be away from where Jenna was playing. Jenna was training hard with the team, but she wasn't selected to play in the T20 series against England, the first part of the tour.

Over the phone and in person Jenna lamented to Matt about not playing as she thought that these games would have been her best chance to play. Matt assured her she that was in the squad for a reason and that she should train hard, always being prepared to play, as her chance could come up at any time.

In August, Matt played the final game of his contract up in Yorkshire. He intended to stay in London for a little while longer in order to watch Jenna. Jenna's team was going to play at the home of cricket, Lords, in London that following weekend and he was really looking forward to catching up with her.

As Matt travelled back from Yorkshire with his team his mobile phone rang. It was a call from Ryan, the coach of Jenna's team. Matt was immediately worried that Jenna was injured, but Ryan assured him she was ok. He was ringing to let Matt know that Jenna was being selected to play in the Test match against England starting at Lords on Friday.

Matt was extremely excited. This was Jenna's dream and it was going to come true.

"Does she know yet?" Matt asked.

"No she doesn't Matt. We will announce the team to the players on Thursday at training. I wanted you to know for a couple of reasons. Can you organise for Jenna's parents to come over for the game?"

"Yes of course. I will ring them up as soon as we are finished. They will be so excited."

"I also wanted to ask you something. You know we present players with their Baggy Green before the game. Well we are doing this on Thursday after training, as there is so much pomp surrounding the test at Lords. We wanted this moment to be special. Team captain Megan asked if you would like to present Jenna with her cap and to say a few words to the team. It would be the first time we have had a player from the Men's team do this and Megan feels it would create a stronger link between the two teams... And she thinks it would be a great moment for you both to share."

Matt began to well up. To present a player with their cap was a great honour, and to present it to the love of his life would be amazing. He immediately agreed to do this and Ryan said he would keep in touch with the details for Matt.

When Matt spoke to Jenna later that day, she was still a little down at not having played so far on tour. Matt tried to keep her spirits up as they spoke without giving away the big secret.

The big day arrived and Jenna's parent's arrived from Brisbane that morning. They rested at Matt's rented apartment for a few hours, before they travelled to Lords with Matt to see this huge moment for their daughter. When they arrived at the ground Matt, Brian and Sue were guided by team management to the Long Room in the Lords pavilion where they watched the team finishing their training session.
Megan gathered her team together in a huddle and announced to the squad the players who were selected in the match. After announcing the rest of the team she said "And for the last spot we have a player making her debut. She had an amazing summer back home and has worked extremely hard here on tour so far. I know she will do an excellent job. Congratulations Jenna."

Jenna was shocked. She couldn't believe it. Her team mates clapped, patted her on the back, shook her hand and hugged her. Jenna's legs began to shake. She was going to play for Australia. The team then huddled back together as Megan outlined a little of their game plan for the match.

Matt and Jenna's parents were now led down onto the playing arena, close to the huddle. The coach caught Megan's eye and she nodded to him.

"Now girls normally we would present Jenna with her cap before the game tomorrow morning. But we have so much going on tomorrow morning, what with meeting the Queen and everything that we have decided to do it now."

Matt looked around and gathered his thoughts. He had played on this ground for Australia and now his wife was going to be making her debut here at the home of their sport. He also noticed that there were a couple of the assistant coaches with video cameras filming what was taking place.

Megan continued "Normally we get an ex-player to present the cap, but this time we are doing something a little different. Presenting Jenna with her cap will be player number 456 for Australia. Matt Larkham."

The huddle opened up and Matt was standing there smiling broadly, feeling so proud. The girls all clapped and 'ahhed' seeing Matt there looking so proud. Jenna turned around and saw Matt and her parents standing there. Tears started to stream down her face. Jenna broke with protocol and ran over and gave Matt a huge hug. Matt cuddled her, holding her tight and was doing his best to keep himself together.

Jenna then went and hugged her parents who were beaming with pride. Matt went and shook hands with Megan and after Jenna finished with her parents, the girls in the team moved back around Matt and Jenna.

Matt took a moment to compose himself before speaking to everyone.

"Thank you so much Megan for giving me this huge honour to present Jenna with her Baggy Green... Playing for your country is an honour and something that should never be taken for granted. This cap we all wear is a symbol. Not only that you have reached the pinnacle of our sport, but that you are representing our country. Cricket is our only truly national team sport that plays internationally, and looking around the group here I can see players from all over our great country. Your team is looked up to by people from all over Australia and you should all be so proud.

"A little while ago I had a reality check and playing for Australia was taken away from me by injury. Please cherish the moments that you are playing for Australia because in the whole scheme of life it all passes by so quickly.

"Jenna my love, I know how hard you have worked for this cap. I have seen the effort you put into your preparation and truly know that you are ready for this moment. You actually showed me how much playing for our country should mean and I just know that not only will you do yourself and our family proud, but you will do our country proud too."

Jenna was teary again, and Matt had a tear run down his cheek too.

"So it gives me the greatest pleasure to present you Jenna with cap number 176. Congratulations Jenna."

Matt handed Jenna the green felt cap and she placed it on her head with slightly shaking hands. She then hugged Matt and kissed him, before the rest of her team huddled around and clapped and hugged Jenna.

************

Jenna went on to play with distinction for Australia for 5 seasons and she won two World Cups with the team during that time. At the end of that last season Jenna was tiring of juggling her professional career and her cricket career. There were also other areas of her life that she now wanted to fulfil.

Matt returned to the Australian Men's team that following Australian summer. He again performed well and enjoyed the whole experience a great deal more the second time. He embraced his off field duties finding them more enjoyable, as his anxieties and social awkwardness seemed to have decreased. Matt knew that this was because he was happy and he had the love of his life always by his side.

He retired from playing the season after Jenna did, just before they had their first child.

Now Jenna and Matt have two children and they own the Physio centre, buying out Jenna's old partner. Jenna still works there while Matt is a silent partner in the business. He is the stay at home Dad, ensuring their children have the right kind of childhood.

They have a great relationship with Jenna's parents who are still in Queensland, but they visit whenever they can. Matt's relationship with Chris grew closer as time moved on. He relished having a family of his own and while their relationship wasn't conventional, it was now a loving relationship. Matt also enjoyed the fact he had two younger step brothers and they loved getting to know Matt and Jenna.

***********

Matt called into the Physio centre one day. After checking with Jenna's receptionist that she was free, he went and knocked on Jenna's office door. She called him in and Matt opened the door. Inside Jenna's office the décor had changed a little. Jenna still had her desk she worked at. Now along with her computer were a few photos. Matt could see the photos of their children, their wedding picture and a more recent photo of the two of them.

Her walls now had a few pictures of both of them playing, as well as the Sixers jersey Matt noticed years ago.

Jenna looked up from her work and beamed her smile at him. She had recently had her hair cut short in a trendy bobbed style that really suited her. Rather than being brunette, her hair was now a rich auburn colour. One thing that hadn't changed was the beaming smile she had on her face every time she saw Matt.

"Hi Honey, this is a surprise. Are Jack and Lily with you?"

"No just me Babe. The kids are at Grandma Chris's." Matt replied, smiling happily at the love of his life. He looked up towards the jersey on the wall.

"I see you are a fan of the Sixers then." He said with a laugh.

Jenna too laughed remembering that fateful day when Matt said that to her for the first time.

"No that's my jersey from when we won the final and I hit 43 runs." She said in mock anger.

Matt moved his arms from behind his back and handed to Jenna a beautiful bunch of flowers.

"Awww Thank you Matt they are beautiful."

"My pleasure Jenna. I didn't know if you'd remember, but it was ten years ago today I asked you that same question and had strips torn off me. I didn't know it at the time, but that was probably the defining moment in my life." Matt smiled at Jenna.

Jenna rose from behind her desk and went around embracing her husband. Matt looked into her beautiful blue eyes.

"Jenna my love, in my naiveté in asking you that simple question our relationship began. Even when you proceeded to tear me a new one, you only wanted the best for me. As the years have gone on there is no way I'd be the person I am today if I hadn't met you, fallen for you, married you and had a family with you. Jenna you are the most loving, caring and supportive person I have ever met and to this day still can't believe that you love me like you do. I love you so much Jenna." Matt said, getting a little emotional.

Jenna had teared up too, hearing the man of her dreams tell her how much he loves her. She kissed him and cuddled him tight. Matt gently wiped away her tears with his finger as Jenna composed herself.

"Matt that day when you asked me that question I was so angry with you, mostly angry that you hadn't remembered me. As I got to know you I could see that you are a kind, gentle, happy, loving man; a man who has supported me unconditionally and loves me for me. You don't know great it is to be loved for being yourself. You are the best husband I could ever have wanted and the best father our kids could wish for... I didn't realise it was 10 years ago Matt. It seems like yesterday, but also a lifetime ago. I wouldn't have changed a minute of it Matt. I love you more every day."

They kissed again.

"I love you." They said in unison, embraced together.

Together as they would remain for the rest of their lives.