Nicotine // [michael gray / peaky blinders]

Twenty

"You and Michael are moving in with each other?!" Jessie asks, her eyes wide and I nod.

"I joked with him that Tommy would already have a place for us to move into by the time I got back from London, but that's real. He's got us place on Hob Moor."

"Right by the office!" She says and I nod. "Look at us. Not even twenty and living like queens."

"Well, I knew that I'd always be getting married to a Shelby, I just figured it was going to be Finn." I say, downing the rest of my whiskey and she laughs.

"That's right." She nods, finishing her whiskey as well, pouring us both one more. "Thank God Michael came around then, eh? No awkward age gap."

"Yeah well, there was always the chance that I got together with John too. Remember when I almost said yes to marrying him when we were seventeen? My god." I shake my head. "Don't know what I was thinking."

"So, you've got a place on Hob fucking Moor." She nods. "Seems like everybody in the Shelby clan is finally moving up in the world."

"I've got a place in the country, too." I smirk. "Tom bought us two places."

"And that is how I know that he really fucking loves you, Flo. Tommy Shelby shows no love for anybody since that Jurossi girl died, then that Grace girl fucks off and he's broken, but he loves you."

"He's married to Grace, now." I point. "So, she fucked back."

"You didn't tell me that! Did they stay in touch?"

"Couple of letters back and forth." I shrug. "She had a husband in America, came to London two years ago, they fucked, never really stopped talking after that, and he proposed a couple of weeks after the Epsom Derby."

"Huh." She nods. "Quite mad."

"Yeah, and she was pregnant with their kid, that's why he proposed, I forgot to mention that. Charlie, his name is, my pride and fucking joy that kid." I nod. "I'm the Godmother."

"You have a title that has the word God in it?" She laughs. "Fitting, since you're such a bloody angel!" She says and my jaw drops.

"I am a saint!" I swat at her, the pair of us laughing our arses off.

"Florence, I'm meant to take you to the office, now." Ollie says, popping into the room we're in.

"All right, then, Ollie, let's go. I'll see you in a bit, hopefully I'll have Alf with me." I say and she nods and I leave the house, following Ollie out to a car. "How you been, then, Ollie? Haven't seen you in quite a bit."

"I'm good." He nods. "How are you? How's the boyfriend?"

"He's good. How are Alfie and Jessie?"

"They fuck a lot. I've been seeing a lot of butts, it's unpleasant."

"God." I shake my head. "Graphic." I nod.

"You staying the night?"

"Might go to Ada's. Not sure yet."

"Go to Ada's. They haven't seen each other all day. It'll be a loud night." He says and I laugh as we pull up to the warehouse.

"I'll keep that in mind, Ollie. Thanks for making me laugh, I'll see myself in. You park up." I wink and head into the building, waving at the man that was guarding the door. "Ollie's just parking."

"Follow me."

"I know my way." I wave him off and walk through the warehouse, unattended, and all the men watch me carefully as I pass by them, "baking their bread."