i had to unpublish and publish again bc wattpad was behaving a fool. leave a vote n a comment if u wanna :) <3
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Florence was sure that God had sent her an angel; and that angel's name was Charlie Shelby.
As the two sat by the Saltley Canal, Florence wept about how unfair her life was, and Charlie desperately wiped at every tear that fell, pressing sweet kisses to each flushed cheek with every sob that hiccuped out of her. The moment would have been much cuter if Gregor hadn't been standing awkwardly behind them, watching the moment transpire.
"What happened, Florence?" The Blinder asked, trying his hardest not to sound the slightest bit excited. "Did you and Bonnie break up, or something?"
Florence ignored him. Charlie turned and nodded his head. Gregor silently cheered.
After a moment's hesitation, Gregor came forward and took a seat beside Florence. She gave him a side-eyed glance, brow furrowing with confusion as his hand placed itself on her knee. After a second, she shoved it off, scooting closer to her brother.
"Y'know, maybe it's for the best," Gregor continued, scooting closer to Florence, erasing the space between them. "You hear stories about him, down at the gym. He's a brute with a temper, Florence. Not the type of man someone as gentle as you should be with."
Florence scoffed at his words, her arms crossing over her chest. "And who the fuck are you, my father?"
Gregor shrugged. "I'm just looking out for you, Florence," he said, staring into the water of the canal. "You deserve a man who treats you like the princess you are. You deserve a man like me."
Florence rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe her ears. "Gregor, you're nice and all, but you're just not for me," she explained, as nicely as she possibly could without offending the poor boy. "Besides, I like Bonnie. Things are just complicated right now."
"They wouldn't have to be complicated with me," Gregor pressed, his hand returning to her knee and gripping tight. This time, when she tried to shove him off, he didn't budge. "Besides, your dad loves me."
"Gregor, get off." Florence said the words with a cold anger behind them. She didn't like having to say no more than once; there was nothing she hated more than pushy boys. "If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. I'm just not interested."
Gregor opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could get a word out, he was cut off.
"I believe she told you to get the fuck off of her, mate."
At the sound of the voice, both Charlie and Florence turned their heads towards the culprit, who's shadow loomed over Gregor threateningly. The Blinder stood to his feet, towering over his confronter. He was half a head taller, but it didn't matter.
Bonnie Gold had taken down men double his size in seconds. Today would be no different.
"Bonnie?" He didn't break his stare on Gregor at the sound of Florence's voice, and it was then she realized that he was preparing himself for a fight. And Gregor wasn't backing down.
Florence scrambled to her feet, quickly sticking herself between the two men, a hand on each of their chests. She shoved, but neither man moved. Bonnie cracked a smile at her attempt.
"No fighting," she pleaded, turning to Gregor, who at least spared her a glance. "Not in front of Charlie."
She felt Bonnie relax a fraction of an inch below her hand, and she sighed in relief. Turning to Gregor, she raised a brow. He stepped back.
"I'm not leaving you alone with him," Gregor spat, arms crossed over his chest. "Your father asked me to stay with you, so I'm staying."
Bonnie opened his mouth to protest, but Florence held up a hand. "Fine, you can stay," she said, pointing to a park bench across the street, out of ear-shot. "But you can stay over there. Close enough if there's danger, but far enough that I can talk to my man without being overheard."
Bonnie smiled smugly as Gregor's eyes rolled, his insides going warm at the way Florence claimed him. My man. The sound of it coming off her lips kept replaying in his head, even as Gregor lifted Charlie in his arms and stomped across the street.
Florence turned to him, worry evident on her face. "What are you doing here?"
Lifting a hand to move the stray curls from her face, Bonnie cupped Florence's face in a warm hand, her cheek resting in his calloused palm. "I came to get you," he explained quietly, despite the fact that there was nobody around to hear him. "You looked so heartbroken when you left, I couldn't just let you leave like that."
"My father's not an idiot, you know," Florence said, stepping closer to Bonnie, resting her hand on his sides, tucked inside his coat. "He'll know you came after me, then he'll never give you that form."
Bonnie smiled. "I told your father to go to hell."
Florence paled. "You what?"
"I told him that if it came between boxing and you, then I would have to pick you." Florence stared at him, speechless. "I've always been scared of growing old and not having done anything exciting, or admirable. But then I realized that it wouldn't matter what I grew up to be, as long as I had you. So how could I let you go, dove?"
Florence was at a complete loss for words, absolutely unsure as to what the fuck she was supposed to say. All she felt was love; pure, unadulterated love. So she did the only thing she knew how to do.
She kissed him.
Only this kiss was so much different than the rest. The way Bonnie's hands held her face as though she was the most precious thing on earth stole her heart completely, his lips slotting against hers and holding her close against him perfectly. This kiss took Florence's heart and placed it directly in Bonnie's hands, saying here, this is yours now, and you can do with it what you please.
They were both gasping for breath when they pulled away, hands still holding onto each other as though they were the only thing keeping the other tethered to the earth. Florence leaned forward and rested her forehead against Bonnie's, biting down on her bottom lip. She didn't even bother trying to hold herself back this time.
"I adore you, Bonnie Gold."
