An Afternoon at the Races

Any kind of romance with Tina had always felt like a long shot.

On a practical level, even running into her wasn't easy. As a third year, she didn't live on campus and wasn't in any of Andy's classes. On top of that, the idea of a Fresher dating someone in their final year almost seemed taboo. It shouldn't have been, since they were both consenting adults with only two years between them, but in the university bubble, that felt like a significant gulf in status. Certainly, Andy would be considered a legend among his newbie peers if he could pull this off.

"So who have you got for the next race?" she asked.

"Humble Spark"

"Huh? At twenty five to one? A bit of a long shot isn't it?"

"Maybe, but I've studied the form closely and I'm feeling confident"

"Okay then, I'm going to trust you. It's not like your instincts can be any worse than mine have been today"

Andy and Tina went to the counter together to place their identical bets, then walked back to the screens as the race prepared to be run.

"So, football, Orient and horse racing. It seems like you and I have a scary amount in common, Andy"

It probably did seem that way to Tina, though in reality he had no interest in any of those things, beyond knowing she liked them and being able to use the last one for easy cash this week.

"Hey, did you catch the O's game on Wednesday evening?" she continued excitedly "When Ballard got that injury time winner I could have kissed someone, if I hadn't been sitting on my bed watching alone like a total Billy-No-Mates"

Andy really needed to get to the point where Tina would invite him to her apartment for the match.

"I didn't see you at full time at my game though?" she noted, not accusingly, but with a hint of disappointment in her voice "We suck so much you couldn't handle it?"

"Not at all, something came up and I had to leave early. I thought you, personally, were brilliant in the first half"

"Thanks! Not so much in the second, though. We lost three nil"

"I doubt that was down to you. From what I saw your team mates were pretty much letting the other side use the game as shooting practice"

"Yeah, our side is still something of a work in progress, I..."

Tina lost her train of thought as her entire attention was suddenly fixed on the TV screen in front of her. Andy was so certain of the result he had barely bothered to look at it, and was instead concentrating on his conversation with her.

"Oh shit, Andy we might actually have this!"

She grabbed onto his arm excitedly. Andy got the impression Tina was something of an adrenaline junkie, and he knew those kind of emotions could very easily spill over into something else if the conditions were right. As the horses rounded the final turning, her grip on him tightened, and her body was pressed right up against his. As Humble Spark crossed the line in first place, she practically leaped into his arms.

"Andy, you fucking genius! That's two hundred and fifty quid!" she squealed "And you were never in doubt. You seriously know your shit, don't you? "

She smothered his cheek with kisses before finally letting go, clearly still buzzing with excitement. There was only one question on her mind now.

"So who are we putting our money on next?"

---

Andy left the bookies and received an enthusiastic goodbye hug from an extremely appreciative Tina. He felt bad for her that the thousands of pounds she had won would be gone at midnight, but at least the fondness she had now developed for him would remain. That might have been the single most efficient affection boosting activity he had partaken in yet.

As for Andy's winnings, he was going make the most of them before they vanished.

---

Andy arrived at the bar looking sharp in a tailored suit, and with his now fashionably styled hair, and walked right over to Gemma, knowing exactly who she was this time.

"Wow, someone scrubs up nicely!" she greeted him with pleasant surprise,

"I could say the same. You look absolutely breathtaking. I almost didn't recognise you"

Shit. That hadn't come out well, sounding at once like an inappropriately intense compliment and a dig at her usual style. Luckily, Gemma didn't seem to mind.

"Thank you, though I'm really not sure about breathtaking"

Andy was. Gemma was stunning when she did herself up, and the fact she didn't seem to realise that only added to her appeal. At this stage, all signs seemed to be suggesting that she was the girl most likely to break the loop for Andy - not that he even wanted that to happen any time soon with the amount of fun he was starting to have, but he really needed to make the most of the small window of time he had with her each week.

"Here, I bought you something since it sounded like you had a rough week"

He passed her a goody bag full of little relaxation treats he had asked an assistant in the local spa shop to put together for her. When Gemma opened it, she began to tear up.

"Shit, are you okay?"

"Yes, these are happy tears, honestly" she assured him as she wiped her eyes and composed herself "I really have had a rough week though. I don't think I realised how much I needed someone to do something nice and caring for me. Thank you so much!"

She leaned across and hugged Andy warmly, before setting the goody bag on the counter while he ordered their drinks.

"I was going to ask if you'd like to go to the end of Freshers' event together after we're done here?" she suggested, much as she had before "I assume you have a ticket and wouldn't have made the effort to dress up like that for one drink in the student bar with me?"

"I'd love to take you there but, for the record, I would have made the same effort for a drink with you wherever it was"

"Well, aren't you the charmer?" Gemma giggled, picking up her drink as it arrived and holding it aloft towards Andy's so she could make a toast "Here's to the start of a wonderful evening"