The Girl with the Fire Heart

When he steps inside the lounge, he places his hand on the small of her back again, steering her away from Elliot and towards the seats they previously occupied. Damon, glad to be away from Elliot, relaxes into his seat, crossing his right leg over his left just as he did before and leans his body into the armrest of his chair to be closer to Valentina. She crosses her left leg over her right, mirroring his position and pushing her body into the armrest to be closer to him.

Wanting to prove a point and itching to run his fingers through her hair, which she left down for the day allowing her wavy hair to flow in the wind outside, Damon throws his arm over the back of her chair letting his fingers gently brush against her shoulder, occasionally grabbing a strand of hair between his fingers and twisting it around before releasing it and letting his hand fall back on her shoulder again.

Soon enough, an announcement is made that the race is set to begin in five minutes. Valentina sits up in excitement, looking towards the starting gates while the countdown on the clock begins. Damon chuckles, something he can’t seem to stop doing in her presence today, and looks around the room for the waiter. When he sees him, he lifts his hand to call his attention and the waiter moves swiftly to their seats.

“Sir?” the waiter asks once he arrives.

“Is it possible to get a hold of the roster of horses?” Damon asks.

“Of course. Just a moment,” the waiter responds and then he is gone before Damon can utter another word.

He turns back to Valentina who is looking at him curiously.

“Why did you ask for the roster?” she questions.

“So you can see what number Grey is,” he tells her. She smiles and ducks her head clearly embarrassed at his attentiveness. Damon reaches out and pulls another strand of her hair between his fingers, twisting it around and around until he sees the waiter coming back with a small pamphlet settled on a tray.

The waiter bows down and Damon retrieves the pamphlet, passing it to Valentina who thanks the waiter. The waiter, already turning to leave, stops short at her politeness and turns halfway back to look at her.

“I’m sorry, miss?” he asks her.

“Thank you,” she reiterates. This time, she says it more hesitantly.

The waiter’s eyes widen, surprised she would thank him for doing his job. Damon, sensing that the man is unused to such manners, speaks up.

“My apologies for my rudeness. Thank you, sir,” he says.

The waiter looks over to Damon, and for a brief moment, Damon wonders if he sees tears glistening in his eyes. The waiter clears his throat, nods and bows, and leaves saying, “It was my pleasure.”

Valentina leans into Damon, practically climbing over the armrest and whispers in his ear.

“What just happened?” she asks.

“Most people that run in these circles don’t thank the staff for doing their job. I’m ashamed to admit that I myself have acted in that same manner,” he tells her.

She looks into his eyes and Damon realizes, sitting this close to her, that she truly does have the most beautiful eyes he has ever seen. She pats his leg twice, a silent reassurance at his lack of manners over the years, and turns back to the window, eyes locking on the clock that now reads two minutes remaining.

The excitement of the races starting has everyone rushing around, sitting in any space that’s open. Damon absently notices that those sitting around them hesitated before sitting, unsure of only who knows what. When the clock shows thirty seconds remaining, the entire atmosphere changes. The room is buzzing with barely contained enthusiasm and good-spirited competition.

Valentina pats Damon on his knee once more, gesturing to the pamphlet in her hand.

“He’s number 21,” she tells him. Damon looks down and sees the last minute addition of Grey, the number 21 listed next to his name. The third column on the pamphlet shows the total betting amount while the fourth column shows the number of people who bet on the horse. Damon sees the amount he bet on Grey and the number one marked in the fourth column. He is the only person who bet on Grey.

The alarm rings out and the sound of gates unlocking ring out signaling the start of the race. Both Valentina and Damon's heads snap up to see all the horses barreling out of the gates. Immediately, Damon's eyes lock on number 21, Grey. He sees a small man with a gray vest to match the coat of the horse riding Grey and pushing him to run. Grey, needing no instruction, gallops at a steady pace, keeping momentum with the average racehorses.

Valentina leans forward in her seat, uncrossing her legs and placing both feet on the floor. Her right leg bounces up and down in nervous anticipation. Damon sits tense, uncrossing his legs to sit up straighter. As the horses turn the bend, Grey pushes just a little harder needing no urging from his rider to run faster. Valentina pushes herself forward in her seat just a little. Damon leans forward, resting his arms on his knees.

Grey pushes himself faster again. Again, he needs no urging from his rider to barrel past number 17, a horse with ten bets placed on him. Valentina creeps forward in her seat again. Damon inches forward in his seat just the same. As they watch on, Grey gallops faster, pushing past two other racehorses, numbered 12 and 9 respectively, each with 14 bets on them.

The end of the race nears, the horses hooves pounding against the dirt and the riders shouting at their horses to run faster. But Grey keeps his pace, pushing just a little faster each second he runs until there is only one horse between him and the finish line. Valentina is too nervous and too excited to sit. She stands up, placing her hands on her cheeks gripping them tightly as she watches Grey catch up to the horse in front of him, ironically numbered number 1. Damon rises to his feet, feeling a sense of foreboding claw at his chest.

He leans down to quietly talk to Valentina

“I need to tell you something,” he says mysteriously.

Without looking at him, she says nervously, “Okay.”

“Do you know why people usually bet on familiar horses other than for the fact that they are familiar?” he asks her.

“No, why?” she asks.

“They do that because if the horse they bet on wins, not only do they get their money back, but they get a percentage of the guaranteed winnings offered by the Company. If a lot of people bet on one horse, that percentage of the winnings gets smaller and smaller because the money needs to be divided amongst all the people who placed their bets. However, the less people that bet on a horse, the greater the percentage the betters will receive from the winnings, including their own betting money,” he informs her.

“Why are you telling me all of this?” Valentina asks. Just as she asks this, both Damon and Valentina watch in shock as Grey runs past number one and gallops faster than he did at the start, crossing the finish line with at least a fifty foot lead on the other horse.

Damon turns to Valentina, putting a hand on her arm and gently turning her to face him.

“Because I am the only person who bet on Grey. We are the only people who bet on Grey and Grey just won the race,” he tells her. Then he says, “What I’m trying to say is that we are leaving with 100% of the winnings guaranteed by the Company as well as the money we placed on Grey.”

“How much money is that?” Valent asks hesitantly.

“We’re about to find out,” he says.