Chapter 1

As usual, the British summer took everyone by surprise. It went from wet and rainy one day, to blistering hot the next. After a day of looking at pale, sweaty people squeezed into last year’s summer clothes, Luke took himself off to buy some new cut-offs and T-shirts as none of his stuff fit him anymore. Come to think of it, he didn’t possess a pair of cut-offs. He’d never worn them. Smiling, he wandered into the kind of shop that he never imagined being able to walk into, let alone buy anything. He peered out of the changing room, checked there was no-one about and then sidled out to look at the new get-up in the full-length mirror. He turned this way and that. He didn’t look half bad. The smile became a grin. The pale khaki shorts were smart, and the white T-shirt showed off his broad shoulders and the muscle definition he had now in his arms thanks to months in the gym and the running. The sunbed had taken the worst of the white away and he actually looked…fit. No belly hanging over the waistband either. He ruffled his hair that had been styled into a short, trendy cut with longer floppy bits on top. He had been going to get contacts, but he had convinced himself that the new, slim, black rimmed specs were okay and as he didn’t need them all the time, he’d kept them.

“Very nice.”

Luke almost jumped through the roof. When he turned and found the shop assistant grinning at him he blushed. “Um, yeah, cheers,” he muttered at her and fled back into the changing room. In the end he picked two pairs of shorts, four T-shirts, a pair of flip-flops, and some natty looking trainers. The girl rang them up, and eyed him up at the same time. The blush stayed firmly in place as he took his card back and legged it.

It was roasting outside. He stuck his glasses, which had turned into sunnies, on and headed for the car. He flung his bags in the back and set off for home with the windows down and the radio on loud. As he held the steering wheel he looked at his hands. Even they looked thinner. Three stone. Forty-two pounds. Nineteen kilos. Whichever way you measured it, he was a shadow of his former self, thank God. The prospect of turning up for the ten-year school anniversary reunion looking just the same as when he had left turned him cold. He couldn’t face Alexander Conroy and still be the size of a barn. When the idea had been floated on Facebook, he had almost keeled over when Alexander had put his name down. It had given him eighteen months to get himself in shape. Eighteen months to give himself a fighting chance. He and Alexander had exchanged a few words on Facebook recently, and he had the impression that the man was single, so he had set his mind to it and with the help of his next door neighbour had set about the transformation. It annoyed him a bit that Alexander kept referring to him as Podge, which had been his nickname at school, even though Luke had asked him not to, but as he hadn’t put a picture up he supposed that Alexander could be forgiven for not realising he had lost loads of weight. He was going for maximum impact.

“You’re late.”

Luke stared at Max, his next door neighbour, sitting on the wall in his running gear. “Are you kidding?” Luke said as he got out of the car and into the searing heat. He slammed the door of the car.

Max jumped down. “Nope. You’ve only got a week left. Get your arse in gear.”

“Come in a minute while I get my stuff.” Max followed him to the door and settled himself amid the papers and books on the sofa to wait. Max had been a godsend. He’d moved in next door two years ago and when Luke had taken his first tentative steps with running at the crack of dawn, suddenly Max had appeared and before he knew it he had a running buddy. Max was the hottest guy apart from Alexander that Luke had ever laid eyes on. He was naturally slim with a swimmers build, dark wavy hair and eyes, but it was the tattoo that did it. He had a beautiful swirling tattoo that started over his shoulder and ran down one arm ending just above his wrist. It was shades of black and grey and depicted a fantasy scene. Luke was mesmerised by it. Max always wore a muscle vest to run it so he had an unfettered view. He glanced over at him slouched on the sofa, holding a bottle of water with one hand and one leg jiggling. Max rarely smiled, he scowled all the time. He must have sensed him staring at him because he looked.