Ashley Lister - Turning Up the Heat

Trudy loved running at this time of the day.

When almost everyone else in the world appeared to be asleep, Trudy felt as though she was getting closer to achieving her goals because she wasn’t lazing in bed and sleeping the day away.

She didn’t go as far as the woodland where she used to run. That was a difficult enough route in itself. After jogging across the city centre Trudy didn’t trust herself to manage the treacherous footing of a woodland trail. It would be too easy to slip, fall or stumble and she could see no point in subjecting herself to such unnecessary risks.

After five miles of running she came to a halt at the boulevard outside the university. She had studied at the university for three years, developing her knowledge of food and earning a prestigious first-class honours degree. The imposing exterior, a façade of glossy concrete and polished glass, no longer looked as daunting as it once had. Now, rather than being an intimidating building where she had been struggling to learn the secrets of her chosen profession, the university was simply a convenient midway point for her morning run.

She stretched against one of the boulevard’s trees, enjoying the sensation of her muscles being tested to their limits. She didn’t bother looking up when she heard the slap of trainers on tarmac that warned her she was in the company of an approaching jogger.

‘You made good time, hon.’

Charlotte looked resplendent in a scarlet Nike jogging suit. Her cheeks were flushed from the exertion of her run. Her dark locks were tied back in a tight ponytail. She pulled earbuds from her ears and fumbled with an iPod to switch off her morning tracks. Trudy caught a snatch of the music in the silence and thought it sounded vaguely classical.

She stiffened, remembering that Donny had always enjoyed classical music.

Her upper lip curled into a sneer. Her hands tightened into fists.

Now that they no longer associated with Donny, and the rift had been so acrimonious, Trudy didn’t like to think that any of his preferences had stayed with either of them.

Without mentioning the music, Trudy passed Charlotte one of the isotonic drinks. They shared a silent moment, swallowing cool refreshment and regaining their composure. It occurred to Trudy that she needed to talk about Donny with someone and she figured her best friend was probably the most appropriate person. Charlotte had shared the house with her and Donny. She knew he could be unpleasant and scheming. Charlotte’s advice, Trudy thought, would be invaluable.

‘I got a text from Donny.’

She pulled her mobile from the pink bag on her hip and showed it to Charlotte. She expected her hand to shake as she held the phone but it no longer seemed like such a big deal.

I’ll make you pay, bitch.

Charlotte’s lips thinned to a pencil line. The V of concentration that sometimes appeared on her brow was now deep and obvious. Her lips shaped the words as she read the message for a second and then a third time.

‘Have you shown this to the police?’

Trudy shook her head. She hadn’t even considered it. ‘I’m sure they don’t have the time for this sort of nonsense. It’s nothing serious, is it? It’s just Donny being a dick.’

They were used to Donny being a dick. When the three of them had shared a house Donny’s ridiculous sexploits had kept them entertained by their outrageousness. There had been a catalogue of women wandering through the house, a different one each weeknight and sometimes pairs of them on weekends. There had been one occasion when Charlotte and Trudy came back from a late evening in the library and found Donny passionately entering one young woman doggie-style whilst another naked woman filmed him.

Donny had laughed the incident off without apology.

‘It’s just Donny being a dick,’ Trudy said again. ‘It’s definitely not worth troubling the police.’

‘What does Bill think you should do?’ Charlotte asked.

Trudy glanced towards the university campus. Dawn was now upon them. The night had been bleached from the sky and the heavens looked so clear she suspected it would be a glorious day.

She had been on the university campus when she first saw Bill. He had been a visiting lecturer and his words had left her convinced that she wanted to make a career dealing with foods and flavours.

‘I haven’t mentioned Donny’s text to Bill yet.’

Charlotte rolled her eyes. ‘I thought you and Bill didn’t have secrets?’

‘It’s not a secret. It’s just not something I’ve told him yet.’

‘Do you want me to have a word with Donny?’

‘You’re still in touch with him?’

It was Charlotte’s turn to glance at the university campus while she swallowed the remnants of her isotonic drink. She looked as though she was scanning the windows to try and find the location of their old classroom.

‘If you want me to have a word with him,’ she said eventually, ‘I’ll tell him to stop being such a dick.’

‘Do you think that will do any good?’

Charlotte shrugged. ‘I don’t think Donny has ever been swayed by a reasoned argument. But that’s not the point. If you want me to –’

‘No.’ Trudy shook her head. ‘I’ll deal with Donny. He sent the text message to me so I should be the one who deals with him.’ She paused to grin at her friend and added, ‘Besides, you’ve got enough going on in your life with this new and secret love.’

‘He’s hardly new. And it’s not a secret.’

‘Who is it?’

‘I’m not telling you. Not yet.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because it’s none of your damned business.’

Her cheeks had been flushed with the efforts of exercise before. Now they were crimson with embarrassment. She was looking in every direction except at Trudy, as though on the verge of being shamed by the revelation.

Trudy remembered seeing her friend suffer the same embarrassment when she had been found to be involved in an ill-advised threesome with Donny and one of Donny’s regular fuck buddies, Gemma Hadfield. Not wanting to make her friend endure the humiliation of an unnecessary revelation, Trudy shook her head and placed a reassuring hand on Charlotte’s arm.

‘You’re right. It’s none of my damned business.’

Charlotte seemed to shrink with relief.

‘I’ll tell you about him soon,’ she promised.

Trudy shook her head. ‘If you want to keep your new love a secret I won’t press again. I promise.’

Charlotte sniffed. ‘He’s not exactly a new love,’ she muttered. Then she shook her head and smiled. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Thanks for being understanding about this. And, if you want me to contact Donny and tell him to stop the stupid threats …’

A worrying thought crossed Trudy’s mind.

Had Charlotte said that her current lover was ‘not exactly a new love’? She was clearly embarrassed to admit who he was and Trudy wondered if her friend had restarted her relationship with Donny. The idea left her cold and worried. The prospect of Charlotte and Donny getting back together again was unsettling. Donny had hurt Charlotte badly once before. Trudy didn’t want to see her friend suffer that misery a second time.

‘Will I see you at HQ this morning?’ Charlotte asked. It was the name they had decided on for their shared offices at the Sweet Temptation bakery. Daryl always called it ‘the fun factory’ but, for Charlotte and Trudy, it was invariably HQ.

‘I might be a little late,’ Trudy replied. ‘I’ve got to go to the market to track down a couple of spices and take care of some other business. I might also need to do a little research and development.’

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. ‘Some other business? Are you keeping secrets now?’