i found you .. and you found me // Thomas Shelby

56 - baby i

"Baby I got love for thee, so deep inside of me I don't know where to start ... I love you more than anything, but the words can't even touch whats in my heart," Ariana Grande-Butera

As Mae Carlton approached the riverbank, Tommy made it his priority to meet her there and escort her back to his office. He loved his wife, he really fucking did, but there was still a large part of him that wanted to reignite the flame that was burnt before he met his wife. That wasn't to say he would sleep with the woman, but Tommy was unpredictable, and even he himself couldn't predict what he would do if he was faced with it. 

As he watched the boat come to a halt, his stomach twisted with nerves and guilt. Was he really stood here waiting for a man who he fucked all those years ago when his wife had walked out on him all those hours ago because she was that upset?

It kicked him in the stomach harder than he'd expected. Tommy wasn't sure how many times he and his wife had to drift apart for him to realise that meeting up with woman whom he previosuly had a relationship with was not a good fucking idea. 

But then, this was him. This was the Thomas Shelby she fell in love with and this was him, and he was not going to change that. He couldn't change it no matter how hard he tried. He wanted to use the war as an excuse, but he couldn't. He was shaped into the man he was today by many factors in his life. Maybe he was a poor excuse of a father and a man, but Tommy couldn't change the way he was. Lord knows he wish he could, but he couldn't. He knew he would end up losing everything in the end, and the thought frightened the life out of him.

"If Her Majesty smells of paraffin its becaus my old lamp is smoking for want of fuel," Charlie Strong announced as Mae took Tommy's offering hand and helped her off the boat.

"I hope your insistence that I take a boat rather than a cab from the station wasn't purely for your own amusement," Mae commented as her heels hit the cobbled streets of Birmingham once more. 

"No, for the avoidance of death and kidnap," Tommy told her. 

"By boat, you get to see the nicer parts of the city," Charlie commented, tipping his hat towards the woman.

"He got us here, now. You'll be alright. This way," Tommy lead her on the small walk back to his office, past Lizzie Stark. 

"Good morning, Lady Carleton." 

"I'm not a Lady," Mae fired back, following Tommy into his office.

"Too right you're not," Lizzie mumbled back. 

Placing a wad of cash on the desk in front of Mae, he listed his reasonings for such a pay. "Shoeing, stabling, feed, two hours a day in the gallops. Did you think of a name?" 

"Yes," Mae said, "Dangerous." 

Furrowing his eyebrows, Tommy wet the filter of his cigarette between his lips as he thought about the name. "'Dangerous', eh?"

"A horse called Dangerous won the Epsom Derby in 1833, so I stole the name. I thought you'd approve."

Lighting his cigarette, Mae continued. "You should visit her." 

"If I leave Small Heath, I'll be shot dead," Tommy told her, sighing. "Anyway, I'm busy."

"Well, the good news is your horse is the fastest filly I have ever ridden. These are her registration papers, ready for your signature." 

Placing the papers on Tommy's desk, he studied her. He was a man of many skills, many talents. He knew when a woman wanted a fuck, and he knew she hadn't travelled all the way for a signature.