Preview Chapter one! ;)

Chapter One

The warmth of the summer sun heated the grass below. The elegant feet of ladies in heels and gents in their pristine polished shoes trod on the green grass. Thousands of people in pretty dresses, hats and suits walked around with their drinks in hands having a great time. In the distance, galloping hooves could be heard pounding the dry ground. The blue sky contrasted with the fresh green grass and the white fences around the track. At the bar there was a group of people chatting with their friends, laughing about the days events and counting their winnings. A typical day at the races.

A gentleman stood alone, sitting casually on a bar stool, he had his suit jacket hung over one shoulder. His blue eyes looked around as he took a shot of whisky. The gentleman ran his hands through his hair as he leaned against the bar. The choppy layers in his hair fell randomly, with the slight fringe falling to the side, just above his eyebrow, like a frame. Although it was a light brown, in the sun, his hair could have been mistaken for blonde, the light reflected and showed golden strands. The brown and gold tones matched perfectly with his blue eyes. This gentleman was clearly very conscious of his appearance, yet he made it look so easy to look so good.

He observed his surroundings, watched as people laughed and drank cocktails and champagne in the sun. In the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a girl walking at a very quick pace, with her shoes in her hand. She paused a second, looked around her and put her shoes on, she then pulled out the hair clip that she had been wearing and let her hair fall.  The young girl walked up to the vacant space in the bar, just happened to be next to the gentleman.

Her little black dress fitted her well; it clung tightly to her tanned skin. She wore a hat, it seemed the done thing to do in England at the races. Her golden blonde hair was curled and rested just above her shoulders. She glanced over at the lonely  gentleman and smiled at him.

“Hello” he said coyly, in his british accent, with a strong hint of London. “You look very beautiful” he sounded almost nervous.

The girl in the black dress turned around at his compliment. She looked positively stunning with her appearance and she seemed to ooze confidence. All the other women were clinging onto their men and yet this girl had just strolled up to the bar alone. The way she had smiled at him was like she didn’t know any other facial expression, it came so easy to her, to be happy. The gentleman probably expected to be knocked back with some comment about how he was ‘out of her league’, but instead she smiled that stunning smile again and glanced up through her fringe that hung sweetly in front of her face. Innocently, he reached up and moved the curl away from her eyes. He looked her in the eyes for the first time, those green eyes that glowed like emeralds and sparkled like diamonds.

“Thank you” she replied in a soft accent that hinted she had spent a lot of time in the American South.

“You’re not too bad yourself”, she said with a grin.

“Hello there, what can I get you Jack?” asked the bartender, interrupting their tender meeting.

“Whisky please, Cole. I’ll also get one for this beautiful lady in black” the gentleman winks at the young girl.

“I’ll have one of the same please” she returns her gaze to the gentleman. “First name terms with the bartender. You must come here pretty often” she jokes with him whilst the bartender gets their drinks. The gentleman takes the drinks from the barman, “I like to see what I can win” he replies with a mischievous smirk. “My name is Jack. You drink whiskey? You’re not like the other girls around here”.

“Lily-Rose. Why would I want to be them, when I can be me?”, she takes her drink from Jack’s hands, they touch for a second, the warmth of their skin seems inviting. More people approach the bar, making conversation hard between the two. “Lets get outta here, Jack”, Lily-Rose paused before saying his name. Having always been good with people and men in particular, Lily-Rose was no stranger to a charming gent, but for some reason Jack was one who intrigued her.

Together, they walked away from the bar and the massive crowd. They walked in silence for a while, something about one another made them revert to childlike manners, being shy around each other, with nothing but a coy smile. “Lets go to the stables, I want to see what I’m betting on” says Jack as he strolls with his left hand in his pocket and his whiskey in the right. Something about him just seems so relaxed, so calming.

The noise of the crowd slowly fades away into the distance and instead is replaced by the sound of horses neighing and pounding the ground with their hooves. After a short while, Lily-Rose and Jack approach the stables, a jockey waves to Jack and greets him. The Jockey is walking a beautiful Chestnut Gelding, he looks stunning and proud next to his rider and is calm and placid whilst he talks. His strong, muscular body suggests the horse has done a lot of training for this race, it looked healthy and happy. The horse nudges Lily-Roses arm in an attempt to gain her attention. Lily-Rose goes to stroke the horse whilst the men engage in short conversation about the race.

The conversation is short but friendly as if they had known each other a long time. As the jockey leaves, Lily-Rose comments “Is there anyone you’re not close to here?”. She perches herself upon a bale of hay, crosses her ankles and leans back onto her arms. Her positioning accentuates almost every curve in her body, with the figure hugging black dress, she looked unbelievable.
“You” Jack swirls the ice in his whiskey and smiles back at Lily-Rose, it’s almost impossible for him to look anywhere else, but he tries. He glances out towards the racetrack but then returns his eyes to Lily-Rose.

“Oh just me is it. Well all that could change” Lily-Rose replies playfully and shoots her whiskey down in one. Jack’s eyes widen a little at the sight. “I’m from the American south, can’t you british boys keep up”. Jack smirks at her, subtly surprised and downs his drink in one, he places the empty glass next to her leg.

“I can keep up. But that was my third, so I’m thinking its you that needs to catch up” Jack winks at Lily-Rose.
She slides herself off the haybale placing her body very close to Jacks, so their shoulders touch. Placing one hand on his shoulder, she pulls herself closer to him and whispers in his ear; “That was my fifth”. He turns to her and they can feel each others breath on their faces, they smile and she walks away.