“Are you getting married to Joanna Laws?”
Cody made a screwy face and looked skyward. “Are you crazy? Now who has been listening to the rumour mill? No way. That was a just a left field guess posted in some goofy tweet by a book review blogger chick who was in York. She could have just as easily said that you and I were getting married…” His last words hung between us like a big lazy helium balloon. I didn’t want it to float away. And then it did.
“But after you came back here, I couldn’t let you hurt me any further Ashley. My face is still a mess from that psychopath. I was there for you, Ashley, but you walked away.”
“Cody…” I searched for the heat seeking missile, the right combination of true words which would hit home and make him see that I had no choice. “Cody… please, you’ve got to hear me. He said he was going to break you unless I went with him. He said he was going to go after my family too. My family, Cody.”
Cody slapped a hand across his forehead and pulled it down his face. “And you went back with him after he said that?!”
“I wasn’t thinking straight, Cody. I just wanted to play for time until I knew what to do. I wanted to spare you and my family more pain. Honestly. He thinks I’m still his prisoner, Cody. But I promise you, I’m going to get him back. I am going to turn this round and take him out. But until then he needs to think everything is going fine, that I’m right under his boot heel all the way until it happens. If he thinks I’m up to something he could carry out this threats before I have the chance…”
“Ashley, honey…” Cody put his hand up and blinked. I noticed how beautiful he was. “You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself as much as me. Have you really got the power, the determination to go after this guy like you said? Because you went straight home with him and left me in York. Can you do what you’re saying, or are you just saying it to make things more bearable for yourself, Ashley? You need to take an honest look at yourself, Ashley.”
“Don’t say that, Cody.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I still believe in you, Ashley. But I’m not so sure you do anymore.”
“Please, Cody. Don’t give up on me. I never gave up on you.”
“Didn’t you? I heard the latest gossip already this morning.”
I nodded, fearing the worst.
“They say you’re seeing Professor Ridgley.”
I didn’t respond. I looked him in the eye. “I was told you were getting serious with Joanna Laws first.”
Cody sighed again and looked away.
“Cody. She’s a good looking woman. And you thought I’d left you. But I only left you because...”
“You only left me because. That’s right. And Joanna was there for me and Joanna is a great looking woman. Ashley,” now he whispered, “I asked you not to break my damn heart, remember? But that’s exactly what you did.”
“You are with her then.”
Cody made a single nod. He blushed and looked away.
“And you… and Ridgley?”
“What does the rumour mill say?”
“You mean Penny? Penny and the others say you screwed him last night, in his office. Is that true?”
“I’m sorry that you’re asking me that, Cody. I’m seriously sorry.”
“So am I.”
“No, we haven’t screwed. But you and Joanna have, right? So that’s us finished. Now, please don’t ever be so damned rude to me ever again. You sound like Brandon, asking me that.”
Cody winced at the mention of Brandon’s name.
“Ash, just the very rumour could destroy Ridgley’s whole career, do you realise that? If the Dean and the others catch wind, he’ll be finished…” Now Cody changed tack and smiled at me. “We were so good for a time, weren’t we Ashley?” he said. I knew these were our parting words, and I didn’t want them to rend me apart. I swallowed on the growing ache in my throat.
“Yes, York was amazing. But it didn’t have to end. It doesn’t have to end.”
“But it ended too soon, Ash. You walked away.”
“So everyone keeps telling each other. What’s the truth compared to a good story, right?”
Cody nodded and looked back to his adoring crowd.
“Good luck with all that,” I said, meaning the girls.
“Just make sure you find a way out, Ashley. Dig a way out if you have to. For your sake.”
He reached out and squeezed my arm, and then he was gone, just another body in the student crowd, albeit one hassled by a troop of star-dazzled wannabes.
I stood clutching my latte in one hand and my college file in the other. I stood like a mannequin until Amanda came up to my side and tapped me on the shoulder. “Five minutes until class. Do I get my update now or later?” she said.
I couldn’t speak. The shock of Cody’s words pinged around my skull. The rumour mill was in overdrive, and Ridgley’s whole career and future was in jeopardy, put at risk by our tryst, but most of all by Brandon Lynes paranoid jealousy. We hadn’t even done anything… not yet… Maybe we would, but that was none of Brandon or the college’s business. We were two consenting and very horny adults. That was no one’s business but ours. But now because of Brandon and Penny, Ridgley was at risk, and everything I touched was being turned to shit.
Cody had moved on, so now I would have to move on. No matter how desperately I wanted him back, it seemed I’d lost him to Joanna Laws. That was down to Brandon. Everything was down to Brandon. I wasn’t going to let him destroy anyone else on my account. I had to save Professor Ridgley somehow, and then I was going to go all out to bring Brandon low… lower than he’d ever been in his life. Like him or loathe him, Ridgley’s demise was going to be unpleasant. Because Brandon Lynes was the one who planned it this way; the most loathsome of them all.
Nine
Cody’s entourage were broken by the clock. Ten o’clock meant lectures followed by seminars. Thankfully the mature student girl was taking History rather than English, the blonde girl was attending Caribbean Women Writers, and Dorothea, the pretty, petite and persistent brunette was going to Elizabethan Drama. Which left Alex and a couple of the more shy bibliophiles following Cody to a class on the American Novel. Which was led by Professor Ridgley, of all people. Ridgley, the handsome youngish Professor with the Pearl Drop smile and the neat fit body, was the Professor he’d admired even more than Cantor. But this Professor wasn’t all he seemed. Cantor had known that Cody desired Ashley, so much so that he had even sent Ashley to York on a mission for love. Professor Cantor and Ridgley were friends. They were very different men of course, Cantor an Irishman of more than sixty years, Ridgley barely in his forties, but all the same they were drinking pals after work, two academic buddies downing ales over at The Loampit Inn before they sauntered home. Cody was sure they would have discussed his book tour visit to York over drinks. And if they had discussed York, they would have discussed Ashley Pearson’s visit to win his heart. Ashley already had Cody’s heart before she left London… but when they gave their bodies to one another in York they set the seal on something which could never be undone. It could be tarnished, it could be stained and ruined by what came after, but when they enjoyed each other’s bodies, giving pleasure to one another, that was for all time. Ridgley must have known they were lovers. Yet, within a fortnight, the man was stealing her for himself.
Cody moved on because hurt can cause a man to seek comfort elsewhere. But only his body had moved on. His heart was where it had always been, stuck in the same place since he had seen her in the first week of the academic year. She was still his Seismic Girl. Given a name like that Cody should have expected to feel shockwaves, and these were aftershocks like nothing else.
He walked into the small lecture theatre at the rear of the old building and tried to secrete himself in the back left on one of those chairs that had a fold-away easel for resting a notebook. Ridgley glanced his way as Cody entered, and Cody ignored him. In weeks gone by they said hello to one another. Not now. Cody laughed
with Alex as best he could about the relentless stalkers. But his smile was false. He sat through the entire lecture listening to Ridgley recite his knowledge about Hawthorne and Bunyan, all the way to Steinbeck and Auster. The man’s knowledge knew no bounds. It was usually interesting. But today it was flat. The man was going through the motions. Cody looked around the room. It seemed everyone else felt the same. Yes, faces looked sluggish and bored. Students usually utterly engrossed by Ridgley were looking away, reading texts on their Smartphones. There was something else too. Cody saw two girls talking in the opposite corner of the room. They were smiling and looking up at Ridgley. Cody could even hear them.
“He’s fucking Ashley Pearson, the blonde who screwed Brandon Lynes before she did Cody Barnes” The girl who was speaking looked across at Cody, pointing with her pen. Her mouth fell open when she saw Cody was watching her and listening to her. Cody made a vicious little grin that chopped her down like a Giant Redwood, nice, long and slow. Geronimo.
“What?” said her friend. “What?”
The blabbermouth’s face turned crimson and she couldn’t say a word. Cody tuned in to Gossip FM elsewhere in the room. Two rows ahead, other students were muttering about the same thing. Cody looked at Ridgley. The man looked stressed, pressured, like he wanted to shout or hit someone or runaway. As he looked at Ridgley, their eyes met unintentionally. Their gaze froze on one another and Ridgley stopped speaking altogether. The room fell silent. The gossips fell silent a fraction later. In the moment their eyes met, the rest of the room seemed to fade away. They read each other without trying, they saw the hurt and anger, fear and suspicion in each other’s faces. It was a gaze as affecting as a lover’s, and it would stay with them the rest of their lives. The moment was gone, and Ridgley picked up his stress riven monologue and the gossips carried on sharpening their knives.
Ten o’clock couldn’t come soon enough for Cody. When it came, most packed their satchels and backpacks as quickly as they could, some snatching an extra snicker at Ridgley’s expense before they made their way. Cody didn’t want to make small talk with the man, or want a repeat of that awful eye contact that had revealed everything. So instead he dawdled, packed slowly and listened to lanky Alex make another set of poor jokes. He checked his phone. There was a missed call from his new lover, Joanna, and a text message:
Missed you. Bought new lingerie. Can’t wait to try it on for you.
Cody smiled, knowing the evening would be worth the wait, but it still didn’t carry the same electrifying excitement as when he was with Ashley. He recalled the dark grey lingerie she’d worn for him in York, and the way he’d peeled it away to reveal an immaculate sweet body, ripe and hungry for his love. Nothing compared to that, not even Joanna in her finery or her voluptuous hips. The thought was torture. He burned with indignation. The bastard lecturer was making a fool of him. Shouldn’t he at least be told as much? Damn all his bloody problems and the gossip, Ridgley didn’t deserve pity. He’d brought it all on himself. Ridgley had packed up now that all of the students had left. The Professor picked up his leather briefcase and made his way to the door. Cody sped up, stuffing books and pens into his satchel double quick. He grabbed up his folder.
“Alex, I’ll meet you in the canteen in five minutes. Tell those stalkers I’ve gone to a book signing in Alaska.”
“Yeah, right. So where are you going?”
“I’ll be five minutes, okay?”
Cody sprang for the door, then looked along the short corridor of the building. There. Light from the college sports field poured in across two shapes lingering in the corridor. The neat clipped frame of Professor Tom Ridgley and the large muscular figure of Brandon Lynes. The men were talking animatedly, but quietly, and had not seen Cody at all. Cody merged into the stream of students moving between lectures, seminars and breaks. Smiths ran scores of degrees. Most students would have had no clue that Lynes and Ridgley were stars of the English Department, but having their confrontation in public – they were still taking an enormous risk. A risk Cody was glad they were taking. He moved close by their huddle, and then he slowed down. And he listened, gleaning as much as he could.
“You think that just because you’re a lecturer you can get away with that, do you?”
“Get away with what, exactly, Mr Lynes?”
“What do you think? Fucking my girlfriend.”
“I beg your pardon.”
“Don’t come all polite with me, Ridgley. I know what you were doing in there, locked in with my girl.”
“Ashley Pearson needed help with her work.”
“Yeah? Then why is half of this college saying you had sex with her?”
There was a beat before Ridgley replied.
“Because someone is lying. We didn’t have sex, Mr Lynes. And now, I’d advise you to leave me alone. My private life is none of your business. And that girl…”
“Yes, Professor, what about that girl?”
“Leave her alone, do you understand?”
“No, Professor. I don’t think I do. I think the Dean would prefer YOU to leave the girl alone, don’t you?”
“How dare you?!” hissed Ridgley.
“Hands off. She’s young enough to be your daughter.”
Brandon Lynes turned away, leaving Ridgley standing in pieces, silently looking out over the college green. Cody passed his lecturer’s back and sped up. Cody couldn’t offer him any comfort, as he felt much the same as Brandon. Only he hated Brandon a hundred times more. Brandon was cruel, but Ridgley had given in to his instincts. Ridgley’s career was hanging by a thread. But the prospect of Brandon winning again was unbearable. Brandon had to suffer the most. He had to pay for all the hatred and suspicion and poison he’d released into Ashley’s life and across the whole college. Yes, Cody owed Brandon big time. And when the debt had been repaid, he would close the door on his past with Ashley and hope for some final comfort as he had helped set her free.
Ten
There was still no word from the Prof. My Prof. No email. No note of any kind. I was beginning to think the guy was going to leave me in the lurch. After all that hassle and gossip I wasn’t going to be impressed. On account of what we hadn’t yet done I was getting fire and ice at ‘home’ from Brandon and Luke, while I got a whole other pic’n’mix of innuendo and digging from Amanda. Cody had referenced our supposed affair as reason for giving me the cold shoulder too, yet it was fine for him to cry into the generous bosom of his agent! I knew Cody had his reasons, but I still didn’t like accusations and gossip coming my way for something I’d not yet done. And it now seemed I would never get the chance.
Amanda walked me to college, and I was nervous. Today was one of Ridgley’s lectures, already a whole week after he first talked to me about my situation. Back then he made a lot of overtures about helping me, but I guess there was a lot of water under the bridge since then. It turned out there was even more than I suspected. When I walked into the lecture theatre and looked towards the lectern I saw the female professor with the frizzy hair instead of Ridgley’s fine body. In the few months I’d been at Smiths Professor Ridgley had never missed a class. I knew something was badly wrong. Brandon’s threats echoed in my mind. Students streamed into class around me, but I stayed by the door. Amanda turned to me.
“What?”
“You know what,” I said.
She glanced at the lecturer. “Yes, I suppose I do.”
“What do you want to do?” she said. Other students in the room were looking at me. Some must have known what I was thinking. Including the one and only Penny. As a few of the minor gossips did their thing with knowing looks and furtive glances, Penny looked straight at me, bold as brass. She gave me something of a hello nod, the bitch. What did I have to lose? They were all talking about me, and half of it wasn’t even true. I had once called Penny a friend, but now I wanted to call her something else. I couldn’t help myself. The rage boiled over and I walked across the floor straight towards Penny. She didn’t even have
time to stand up. She thought she knew me, but she didn’t know me well at all.
“Penny. You are queen of the bitches, girl. Half of these people have listened to your lies. Half of them believe it. I hope the other half have the sense to see who you really are.”
“I’m lying? I’m lying about the way you wheedled into bed with Brandon, then Cody and now…”
“Leave those people out of it you cold hearted witch. Cody especially.”
“The truth hurts does it?”
“No. The truth has never hurt me. Only your lies. Now, I wonder whether the reason you’re doing all this is because you think it will get you into bed with Brandon Lynes? Am I right?”
Penny went red and incandescent with rage.
“Thought so,” I said, giving all the students in the audience something new to talk about for at least a week. And this time it involved the gossip queen herself. The stand-in lecturer flustered behind us, half-heartedly trying to shut me up. But it was too little, too late. I walked back to the door.
“I’ll read the notes,” I said by way of apology.
I walked outside, and Amanda poked her head into the corridor after me. I could already hear the buzz of the rumour mill starting up behind us.
“Where are you going?”
“To find Professor Ridgley.”
“Why?”
I honestly wasn’t sure. Not then. Maybe he owed me an apology. Maybe I owed him one. But whichever way I cut it, there was unfinished business between us. Even if he wasn’t in the building, I was determined to find him.
“Because I want to, Amanda. Now, are you going to try and stop me? Or are you going to follow me?”
“What’s your preference?” she said.
Vengeful Heart: Fighting Heart Erotic Bad Boy Romance Series Book 3 Page 6
