SOPHIE is thirty years old and living in London with her predictable yet doting boyfriend, MICHAEL, who is a successful lawyer. In the last six months, Sophie has been unable to resist the charm of LUCA, who is both spontaneous and endearing. However, Luca is Michael’s old school friend and Sophie is playing a dangerous game…
Sophie was in the shower when Michael got back from work. She heard the front door go and Michael put his briefcase down on the kitchen side.
‘Hiyaaaaa!’ he shouted down the hall.
‘Hey, erm… one minute… I’m just in the shower!’
She stayed standing there for a few minutes, letting the hot water hit her shoulders and stream down her back.
Michael wasn’t going to let her go easily. He’d be upset and then he’d be angry. Sophie knew he was going to tell her how good she had it with him. He was going to tell her how stupid she would be to leave it all for Luca Matthews, a man that was known to never stay in one place or with one person for longer than a few months.
The shower suddenly began to feel far too hot. Sophie got out and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel from the heated towel rail. She remembered she had texted Lucy, when she’d first gone round to Michael’s flat three years earlier, and said ‘there’s even a heated towel rail in the bathroom!’ Lucy had told her she was a lucky shit and that she’d found herself a keeper.
Sophie looked into the large misted mirror above the sink. Droplets of water fell from the ends of her short blonde hair onto her bony shoulders. As she rubbed the water out of her eyes she noticed her hands were shaking a little.
‘Get yourself to the kitchen!’ Michael shouted as Sophie made her way through to the bedroom. ‘You’re gonna love me!’
Sophie got dressed and walked down the hallway to the kitchen. Her heart started to feel heavy as she realised she could smell pizza.
RUTH CORNISH 