𝐞𝐠𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 · 𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬

𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

SUBTLE WASN'T A word that one would use to describe Alfie Solomons. The man wasn't afraid to show all of Camden Town that he was now seeing Evelyn Shelby. He wasn't scared to lead her into the distillery everyday holding her hand – still yelling profanities towards his workers, but seeming a little less angry when he took her into his office with a beaming smile on his face. Nor was he too shy to pull her hips to his and place a deep kiss on her lips in front of everyone. 

Evelyn didn't think she will ever meet a man who compared to Alfie. The man had made her laugh more in two months than she had her whole life back in Birmingham. She could talk to all sorts of people, but no conversation would come close to any that she held with Alfie.  He made her feel the thrill of being completely infatuated with another soul for the first time – the man captured her attention wholeheartedly. 

Her aunt used to always say that she would meet someone and just know they belonged together; that it would just work between them no matter the circumstance. Evelyn knew that person was Alfie. 

Evelyn found herself staying at Alfie's house pretty quickly. The first time it happened she had stayed late in his office, chatting his ear off as they both read through deals people were hoping to make with the Jews. The girl was seated on his lap, Alfie's head resting in the crook of her neck peppering kisses to her flushed skin, arms wrapped around her waist as he held the document in front of the pair of them. 

Evelyn's eyes had began to droop and her hand that was lazily running through Alfie's hair in a soft massage ceased, his eyebrows furrowed and he lifted his head to see her falling asleep. With a soft snicker, Alfie lightly pinched her hip; causing her eyes to fly open and push slightly away from him with a squeal. 

"Alf," she whined, burying her face in her palms as she rubbed her eyes. "What the fuck was that for?"

With a laugh, Alfie lifted the girl off his lap as he pushed his chair back, "yer' fallin' asleep, love." He grinned, raising to his feet himself. 

"I was not," Evelyn argued, before a yawn interrupted her. 

"Yeah, right. Sure you ain't fuckin' tired, that yawn was just for fun, innit?"

"Shut up."

Laughing to himself, Alfie gently took Evelyn's hand in his while making sure that all the documents on his desk were sorted before switching off the lamp; encasing the pair in darkness. It was late by the time they locked up the distillery, the only people wandering the streets being a couple of drunks causing Evelyn to tuck herself closer into Alfie – the man smiling to himself when he noticed. 

It didn't take the girl long to realise that Alfie was leading her in the opposite direction of her house, confusion coursing through her body as she looked towards the handsome man on her left arm.

"Alf," she whispered, drawing his attention to her. "We missed my street. Where are we going?"

"Home," the man responded with a shrug, walking towards his own house; kissing Evelyn's forehead once before she rested her cheek against his bicep with a hum. They made love for the first time that night, two souls intertwining in a passionate bond. From then on, Evelyn found herself spending more time at Alfie's house than her own – which is exactly where she woke.

Rolling over in bed with her eyes still closed, Evelyn reached her arm out; expecting to be met with the solid chest of her boyfriend. Boyfriend was a term that Evelyn was still getting use to referring to the brooding gangster by. Instead, she was met by the cold feeling of the mattress.

Peeking open one of her eyes, Evelyn immediately noticed that Alfie wasn't beside her or in the room, causing a slight groan to emit from the back of her throat. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, Evelyn wrapped the blanket on the bed around her body at the sharp chill of the air around her – the window Alfie had left open the previous night, letting the breeze through.