Dagger's Point

Chapter Sixteen

The track stretches out endlessly in front of me. There is nothing quite like this little bay filly, her ears trimmed with black and an extra bounce in her step. She is joyous in the mere fact of being on the track, her legs are thin spindles that snap out underneath of us as we gallop slowly around. Her head is up, short mane slapping against it; out of all the thoroughbreds I have ridden so far she is my favorite; Little Miss Hurricane. The name suits her, she is both polite as she is intense, nothing subtle about her.

"Looking good."

I hear someone whistle and it's Bea pulling up next to me with a large smile on her face. It is hard to talk as there isn't enough air in my lungs but I smile, because that is the only thing that I can do when we are running. My brain doesn't compute anything else, I just ride the high of adrenaline. It helps me to forget everything, from Dad to Dagger and everything in between. Her mouth on the bit is gentle, not pulling, merely waiting for me to ask for more. I never have to hold her back, but when we breeze I also never have to ask her very hard. She is perfect, in my eyes anyways, and the fact that she is on the second-string of racers is beyond me.

We pull off the track, my reins loose her head bouncing in the air as she turns to look at everything. Fred smiles at me, Aponi at her side with one that matches, splitting their cheeks and my own. I feel a bursting moment of pride, even though this mare isn't mine, I feel in some manner an attachment to her.

"She looks really good." Aponi says, eyeing the surplus of energy in the bay despite the long run.

"I think she's going to be ready to race in a couple weeks. But I want to take it slow, she'll be an Oak's contender next year as long as she keeps going the way she is."

I swing my leg over her back feeling a slight pull in my leg muscles, reminding me of my adventure with Dagger last night. I cringe, just a little bit at the thought, the ride wasn't a complete bust, but I feel like we didn't accomplish anything.

"That's all I have for you today Ollie." Fred says as I stand by the rail next to them, watching a couple of the younger horses play their way through their workouts, so much different than Hurricane.

I nod, dragging my feet like every morning, I want nothing more than to stay here forever and ignore everything that Oxford poses. But Dagger is there and I can't let him down, even if I am advertently threatening his life. When I turn I see a particular shock of bright red hair and a frown. He stands there just off to the edge, watching everything whilst rubbing his arm awkwardly. I don't know what he's looking for, but I drop my gaze before he sees me, walking around him. It's not that I am avoiding him, it's just that I don't know if I can bare to spend any time with him. I don't know how these things work.

"Ollie."

I am at my truck and he isn't too far behind me, obviously having spotted me. There is a small part of me that wants to jump in my truck and speed away, suddenly feeling too awkward and far from capable of holding anything that resembles a conversation with him. But I know that I can't do it, as my stomach flips and the corners of my lips rise ever so slightly.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was going to call you but I figured it might be easier to catch you here."

That doesn't explain why he is here, not really, so I wait, watching as a blush dances over his cheeks and he goes back to rubbing his arm.

"I know this is kinda weird and whatever, but do you want to go do something with me today?"

My mind instantly flashes to Dagger, he needs taken care of in some way, or another, I automatically open my mouth to decline, even though I want to go. There is no reason for me to say no, at least not really.

"Like what?"

"Uh, I don't know. The circus is in town." A small smirk slides over his lips and his eyes are sparkling, suddenly lacking the awkward unsureness that he had just had.

"And I have two tickets if you want to go with me and see some real lion tamers."

How can I say no to that?

"That sounds great!"

I move towards his truck, trying not to allow the giddy feeling in at that thought of spending more time with him. If this is going to become a more regular thing, I'm not going to complain. But then, as I close the door to his white truck I realize, this is almost a date. The thought seizes me by the throat, the awkwardness creeping back into me as I watch him back the truck up and head down the drive. Maybe this isn't such a good idea, I start to fidget nervously, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say. The silence building up around us uncomfortably.

"How far away is it?" I ask, trying to sound reasonable, though my heart clunks and so does my voice, as it catches in my throat.

"About an hour. I hope that's not an issue?"

He doesn't look at me after saying this, hands gripping the steering wheel as if it might get away from him, as he goes exactly the speed limit. I decide it's best not to look at him, as I feel a small amount of annoyance building up inside of me. This is definitely not a good idea.