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In the Dog House

It took a mutt to sniff out this dirty, young rat...


Published by: Jean Jollands and Matthew Acton
Published on: 28 June 2012

I was doing my best not to ogle, but it was hard not to! As Arran Herbert, 22, shimmied up his ladder, I kept getting glimpses of his firm pecs under his t-shirt.
My kitchen ceiling had just collapsed, so I'd called Arran, a scaffolder, round to patch things up. I'd known him for years.
‘Fancy a cuppa?' I gulped, tearing my eyes away. ‘... If that's all that's on offer...!' he winked. Typical Arran. He had a reputation as a ladies man, had always flirted with me. I'd always played along - I mean, what was there not to fancy!
‘Not that he'd be interested in me,' I thought. I was eight years older than him - he must've just been humouring me, could've had his pick of any young thing!
And anyway, I'd only recently split with my hubby Ben of seven years. It was so sad, especially for the kids, Sophie, 13, and four-year-old Steven.
‘Penny for them?' Arran said suddenly, snapping me out of
my daydream.
‘Just thinking about Ben,' I smiled sadly. ‘It was the right thing, but I feel like I'm going through the wringer.'
He listened patiently to me, and later he packed up his tools to go.
‘Got to get back to the missus?' I smiled.
‘Erm... I'm not with her any more...' he confided. The next I knew, we were kissing like we were teenagers.
‘You're amazing,' he panted. I couldn't believe it, I felt like a 20-year-old!
‘Do you really like me?' I whispered. ‘I always have,' he said, as he nuzzled my neck.
We soon became an item, but my mates we're horrified. ‘He's a total ladies' man!' one of them warned me.
I'd tried not to worry, but their warnings put doubt in my mind.
‘You'll probably go after some younger girl soon,' I huffed to Arran. He looked hurt. ‘I want someone who's mature. Not some bit of a kid in their 20s,' he insisted, giving me a great big cuddle.
‘You look as good as any girl I've been out with, so I'm getting the best of both worlds!'
Sure, I was a mum of two, but I was a size 8 and I could give those younger lasses a run for their money!
Still, I told Arran straight. ‘I know your reputation and if you ever cheat on me, you're history!' I vowed. ‘All that's behind me now,' he promised. ‘I want to be with you.'
Over those next months, there were cosy nights in watching DVDs and lazy days in the park watching the kids play. But I made sure Arran had his lads' nights out. Didn't want him to think I was spoiling his fun!
For two years, life couldn't have been sweeter. ‘We proved our cynics wrong,' I thought happily, as we cuddled in bed one morning.
A few days later, I caught the flu. It really knocked me for six. One evening, Arran got ready to go out.
I was curled up on the sofa, cradling my Lemsip. ‘You don't mind me going?' he fretted. ‘Just to the pub with some of the lads.'
I'd always encouraged him to have his lads' nights out - I didn't want him being teased for his missus keeping him on a leash!
‘As long as you come home to me,' I'd always tell him, as he splashed on his aftershave.
‘Nowhere else I'd want to go,' he'd smile. So I wasn't going to make him stay in now with me coughing and spluttering all over the place
A few hours later, I was just drifting off in front of the telly when my mate Sarah, 24, called. ‘Kels, I've been called into work at the bakery,' she began. ‘Can you look after Alfie for me?' Alfie was her one-year-old Cockapoo dog. ‘Sure, bring him round,' I told her.
Later that night, the pair of us were curled up on the sofa. I'd been begging Arran for a Cockapoo for months.
‘It's not a real man's dog,' he'd tease me.
At 10pm, I dragged myself off the sofa and took Alfie for walk before bed. Five minutes later, we'd reached the top of a nearby hill. The view of the city was amazing, but it was something a little closer that caught my eye.
Looking down - about 200 yards away - I spotted a couple snogging furiously at the back of a pub. ‘They could've got a room, Alfie,' I chuckled.
Just then, the woman, a slim brunette in her 20s, twirled her bloke around and pushed him against the wall. I went cold. I recognised that skin-tight red t-shirt... it was my Arran!
‘You cheating git!' I hissed. Head spinning, I bolted home crying, dragging poor Alfie behind me. I was heartbroken but, call me a fool, by the time he staggered home, I'd decided to let it go. ‘He made a drunken mistake,' I convinced myself.
Still, I was so paranoid that I checked his phone whenever he was in the shower. Three days later, while Arran was in the kitchen cooking, I sneaked a look at his messages.
I spotted a new one. C u at 8 tomoz. In the Gate X, it read. It was from someone called ‘George'. But I knew instantly it was a woman! It was like being punched in the face.
‘I'm going up to bed!' I snapped to Arran. ‘But what about your spag bol?' he said, confused. ‘I've lost my appetite!' I shot back.
The following day, he announced he was going for a drink.
‘I'll try not to wake you up when I get back,' he breezed, giving me a quick peck. I felt sick at the touch of him. ‘You've been such a mug,' I muttered to myself. I'd given him the benefit of the doubt, and he'd just thrown it back in my face.
For half an hour, I sat seething, then I couldn't take anymore.
Five minutes later, I was outside the pub, peering through the door. I spotted them at the bar. Arran with that same girl I'd seen the other night - young, slim, in super-tight leggings and a figure-hugging top.
She looked like a younger version of me......
Furious, I barged up to them. Arran's mouth fell open! Ignoring him, I turned to her. ‘I'm his partner,' I raged. The poor girl went pale! ‘I only met him last week...' she began, crying. ‘He didn't say he had a girlfriend!' Grabbing her coat, she fled out of the door.
‘It's not... not what it looks like,' Arran stammered. ‘She was all over me!'
‘And when you were kissing the other night?' I yelled. ‘I was only seeing her tonight to dump her,' he tried again. ‘It's you I love.'
But I'd heard enough. Fizzing with fury, I grabbed the bottle of beer in his hand and shook it like mad. Then I watched gleefully as booze sprayed into his face.
‘Come round tomorrow for your things!' I spat. ‘I warned you you'd be history if you cheated! Well, now you are!'
With that, I stormed home. I'd always squashed my fear of being traded in for a younger model but now the worse had happened. But I stayed strong as Arran came round the next day and scooped up his belongings into binliners.
‘I don't want to lose you, Kels,' he whimpered but it was too late. Since then he's texted me asking for another chance. No chance! I'm going to get another man in my life - a Cockapoo dog just like the one Arran said I couldn't have.
I wish I'd listened to my mates - and my instincts - and not let Arran schmooze me over. He might be a love drug, but to any other woman, my advice would be to just say no!

•Arran Herbert, 24, said: ‘I've been a fool. I was weak. I've been trying to get her back, but she's not having any of it.'


Kelly Ashcroft, 32, Seacroft, Leeds, West Yorkshire