Lovely ∝ Thomas Shelby

Chapter 9; I met you, and I blinked.

Today was black star day. The day Tommy would be taking down Billy Kimber - and while I was happy about that, I knew Tommy would be in danger. And I couldn't help but wonder to myself that this was what I would need to get used too.

Tommy had been explaining to me exactly how they would do it all morning. It seemed pretty simple enough, but there was still that possibility that something could go wrong.

"I want you to come to pub today around noon." I stopped washing the two cups that we had previously used for tea and lay them down back in the sink. I turned to face Tommy just as he was putting his coat on. He looked at me, studying my face for a moment before walking over to me and I wiped the water from my hands with a dish towel. "If you want to be with me, Effie, then you need to get used to being seen in public." He told me as he placed his hands on my arms and pulled me closer to him.

"And why's that?" I asked, even though I was pretty aware of why. I just wanted to hang onto the only bit of my obscurity I had left.

"I'm a very well known man. You know that." He explained as I sighed slightly, but nodded.

"Why do you need me to come to the pub today?" I wondered as he moved his hands to each side of my face.

"We need to make our first public appearance sometime. It's better we get it over with quickly and I'd like to do it before we become the third largest legal racetrack in the country." He smiled ever so slightly as I returned his small smile. He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine, making me turn slightly breathless.

"Effie?" I pulled back from Tommy as I saw Jess exiting her room, and rubbing her tired eyes. I pulled back from Tommy completely before she saw us in our embrace and walked over to her as she smiled at Tommy.

"Tommy!" She said excitedly, waving at him. Tommy followed me over to her, a warm smile on his lips.

"Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?" He asked as she nodded. "That's good-"

"You finally made Effie sleep in her room." Jess said as my eyes turned wide. "Will you be staying here more often, Tommy?" Myself and Tommy glanced at each other, slightly taken aback by Jess' words.

"You know Tommy stayed here last night?" I asked softly as she nodded.

"I woke up and you weren't there, I got up to check if you were okay and saw you and Tommy snoring away in your room." She giggled as I couldn't help but laugh.

"You have you sisters curiosity, Jess." Tommy said with a small smile as he walked towards the door. "I have to go." He announced as I walked over to the door with him. I turned back to see Jess had sat herself on the couch, playing with one of her dolls. Tommy stopped before opening the door and turned around to face me.

"Will you come today?" He asked as I bit my lip and nodded. He took my chin between his thumb and index finger and pulled me towards his lips, leaving a sweet kiss on them. "I'll catch up to you later then." He said before looking over my shoulder. "Goodbye, Jess." He called as he opened the door.

"Bye, Tommy!" I heard Jess reply. Tommy glanced at me once more before leaving my house. I closed the door, leaned my back against it and shut my eyes, sighing deeply. I didn't even know it was possible to feel this way about someone.

"So, is Tommy your boyfriend now?" I jumped with a fright and opened my eyes seeing Jessica stood in front of my with a big smile, causing me to laugh.

"Come on, I'll get you some breakfast." I told her, leading her into the kitchen.

"Why did he stay here last night?" I laughed and leaned on the counter for a moment before turning around to face Jess.