Chapter Text
Stirring slowly from her slumber, Florence took comfort in the warmth of her sheets as her head throbbed. With a groan, she turned over, realizing quickly that the brightness of the room meant her curtains had already been opened. Eyelids fluttering open, memories of the previous night overcame her as she spied the figure of a disheveled Tommy sitting on the edge of her bed, his gaze hot on her.
“I’ll be round to pick you up first thing tomorrow morning.”
The races. In the chaos of the previous day’s events, it had completely slipped her mind, but after the night they had spent together, it was all she could think about that day. It was like old times, falling asleep next to Tommy. It reminded her that she wasn’t the innocent girl she once was all those years before, and things felt different. There was something there that wasn’t there before.
Barely twenty-four hours later, she was climbing into Tommy’s car in the crisp early morning. In her red silk dress paired with a similar shade of lipstick, Florence was a sight to behold. It was the finest she had ever looked, and it showed in the confident smirk that played on her red lips.
“Morning.” Tommy mumbled gruffly, removing his hat as she settled in next to him. His eyes avoided her as she slid into the passenger seat. He would be lying if he said staying the night with Florence hadn’t shaken him a little. Falling asleep next to her had been the most peaceful moment he had experienced since returning from France, and the restfulness he felt when he awoke left him unable to move, instead opting to watch her as she slept tucked under his arm. Her face was still red from crying, and guilt bubbled to the surface at the sight of the broken woman. It was then that he realized that Florence felt like home to him, a thought he needed some time to come to terms with after spending so long resenting her. He had almost uninvited her to the races then and there, feeling a sudden urge to protect her, but he knew he’d be lucky to get anything out of Kimber without her. Throughout the last day, she’d been in the back of his mind constantly, but he thought it better if Florence didn’t know that.
Dropping her small handbag down by her feet, she turned in the seat, presenting the open back of her dress to him. “Button me up, will you?”
“Eh?” His head snapped towards her and he seemed to recoil from her.
“Button up my dress, Tommy,” Florence said, snapping him out of the trance he had fallen into. He reached out and gathered her hair, draping it over one shoulder before thumbing the buttons closed swiftly, his fingers brushing the bare skin at the nape of her neck, his hands squeezing her shoulders and turning her back in her seat.
Clearing his throat, he started the engine, lighting a cigarette to start the journey. “So, Ada?”
Florence had almost forgotten about her run in with the Shelby sister. It didn’t take long to track her down – Ada was still in the same city and being a Shelby, everyone knew her face. “Ada’s doing just fine,” she said, eyebrow raised as she plucked the cigarette from his lips, taking a long drag.
“That all you got to say?” He glanced at her, still facing the road ahead, as she handed it back to him.
She scoffed at him in disbelief. “That’s all you asked me to find out. And no, I’m not going to tell you where she is. She’s alright, so you don’t need to know.” Tommy sighed at her response. Despite respecting her loyalty to his sister, Florence infuriated him sometimes.
The two travelled in silence for the duration of the journey, both ignoring anything unspoken between them. Florence felt as though she could hear the cogs turning in Tommy’s head. Looking over at him, she could tell from his expression that he was deep in thought, that he was plotting something.
She was the first to break the silence as the car came to a stop. “Have you got anything else to say to me after everything that’s happened? Anything at all?”
As if jolted from his thoughts, Tommy turned to look at her, his eyes meeting her own. “You can start work in the shop tomorrow. I’ll send one of the boys round for you in the morning.” He left the car, striding around to the passenger side to open the door for her. Stony-faced, Florence accepted his hand, gathering her dress in the other as she herself stepped out of the car.
Sneaking in through a side door in true Tommy fashion, she felt his arm on her waist and he pulled her into his side as they made their way inside the racecourse. “By the way, you look fucking good,” Tommy’s lips brushed her ear as he whispered to her.
Florence couldn’t hold back her smile. “Charming,” she said, shaking her head.
In a bustling hallway, they somehow managed to talk their way into the ballroom where Kimber would be waiting for them.
“Right, you’ll tell them that you lost the tickets in the bathroom,” Tommy informed her, his hand still firmly on her waist as he steered her away from the crowds entering the room.
“I will, will I?” Florence crumpled her face in disapproval, shaking off his arm as she placed her hands on her hips. “Why can’t you be the one that’s lost them?”
“Because, Florence, senseless women are more believable. Now, come on.”
The ballroom was unlike anything Florence had seen before. Yes, she’d spent a lot of time in dance halls in her youth, but never anything this lavish. She gawked at the men and women dancing in clothes that cost more than she’d make in a year, the band playing loudly in the corner.
She turned to Tommy, taking a step closer to him so he could hear her over the music. “What now?”
“We dance.” Florence looked at him as though he’d just told her he wanted her to swim the Channel.
With a smirk, she retrieved her small flask from her handbag, “You won’t get me dancing without a drink first.” Taking a swig, she offered him her hand.
“Alright, Florence. Let’s go.” Tommy pulled her onto the dance floor, eyes searching the room for Kimber but his mind on her. Firm grip on her waist as they stepped around the room to the music, he glanced down at her to see those eyes staring up at him, a small smile on her face.
“This all feels rather familiar,” she whispered, barely audible over the loud music. Tommy held her gaze, wondering how the woman before him had slotted back into his life as though she hadn’t left in the first place. A different, faster song began and broke them from their trance, Tommy picking up the pace, Florence secure in his arms as he led her towards the bar. As he craned his head to look behind her, she could feel his breath hot on her neck.
Pulling away sooner than she expected, Tommy’s attention was over her shoulder. “You wait here,” he said, his eyes trained behind her. Turning, Florence saw Kimber looking in their direction. Before she could respond, Tommy was gone.
“I think I’ll have that dance now.”
Hearing his leering voice from across the room sent a shiver down her spine. Florence had made her own decision to follow Tommy’s commands upon seeing the man. Instead, she silently raged at the bar. She knew this was coming, and she hadn’t fought it for Tommy’s sake, but now the moment was here she resisted it. Florence really didn’t like being told what to do.
Feeling an unexpected hand on the small of her back, she flinched, pressing her front against the bar.
“It’s just me,” Tommy breathed into her ear, “Just one dance and you’ll never have to look at that man again.”
She turned to look at him wearily. With the loud music and the crowded room and the prospect of being in the arms of that disgusting man, Florence felt completely overwhelmed.
“Just one dance and he’ll trust me. That’s all I need from you, Flo.” He knew it wouldn’t take much pleading – Tommy knew that she’d do what she needed to do to get herself out of trouble.
With a swift eye roll and another swig from her flask, Florence stepped out of his reach. “Fine,” she said, “But I know that won’t be the last thing you ask of me, so don’t start with all of that.”
Taking a deep breath, she approached Kimber, wordlessly surrendering her hand to him. Florence gulped as he pulled her close to him, the feeling of his hands on her waist making her skin crawl.
“Now aren’t you a pretty little thing up close,” he leered at her, overwhelming her with his hot breath. She didn’t dare look around to see where Tommy was, but she knew he’d be watching them. I’m safe, she kept telling herself.
Frustrated at her lack of response, Kimber grabbed her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Look at me, you silly little whore,” he hissed at her through gritted teeth as they still moved around the dance floor. “Who do you think you are? Pulling a gun on me… the Shelby’s put you up to it, did they?”
Florence didn’t answer. Or more like wouldn’t. There wasn’t a chance in hell that she would spare a word for this man. His words didn’t even register, instead every time they turned she glanced around the room for Tommy, but every time was unable to spot him anywhere. Her discomfort began to turn to panic.
“Answer me!” He roared at her, his spittle landing on her cheek as she flinched away from him as much as she could with his hands still on her waist. In that moment, Florence saw red.
Despite the rage she felt inside, she somehow managed to maintain her calm demeanor, maybe because she knew it would bother him more. “I agreed to one dance with you. I don’t remember agreeing to speak to you, or look at you, or even acknowledge you. So, my apologies, but I won’t be answering any of your questions today,” she spat back at him sullenly.
Suddenly pulling her close, he pressed a burning kiss to her mouth, biting hard on her bottom lip. Eyes wide, she scrambled to push him off her, but his grip was strong. Not wanting to make a scene with a struggle in such a crowded room, Florence brought her knee up and struck him solidly between the legs. As his grip slipped from her, she didn’t bother to look back at him, shoving him away from her and leaving the building as quickly as she could, not checking to see if Tommy was following behind her.
Turns out he wasn’t following behind her. It took him at least thirty minutes to find her waiting in the car for him, arms folded, and nostrils flared angrily. Florence certainly didn’t look as fine as she did that morning, her hair now frizzy from the humidity, her makeup smudged. She had wiped off all of the lipstick after her run in with Kimber. He slid into the car wordlessly, not giving anything away, and didn’t utter a word to her until after he had lit his cigarette.
“Why can’t you ever just behave, Florence? Eh?”
She looked at him, dumbfounded, as her mouth dropped open slightly. “Excuse me?” She exhaled quietly.
Pounding a fist onto the steering wheel, Tommy stared down at his lap, drawing a sharp breath and he turned to look at her. She could see the fire in his eyes to match her own. “Why do you have to make everything so fucking difficult? You can never just go along with the plan, can you?” He seethed. Florence could tell he was trying to rein it in, trying to not show his anger, but she was well-versed on reading Thomas Shelby.
Outside, the rattle of raindrops on the car could be heard as the heavens began to open, but that didn’t stop Florence in her pursuit. “The plan? What fucking plan? Maybe if you told me about the plan,” she mocked, “I’d be more willing to go along with it. I didn’t even want to dance with him, Thomas.” She spat his name as though it choked her.
“You’ve created some big problems for me, you know.” Tommy raised his voice to match her own as the rain picked up outside, streaming down the windscreen, a curtain concealing them from the world.
“I don’t give a fuck. You told me you wanted to keep me safe.” She was shouting now, tugging at her hair in frustration. She would never understand Tommy’s newfound motivation for success and money. He had been different before, before the war. It had hardened him in a different way than it had her.
“He’s never going to agree to a fucking deal with me now, is he?!” Swinging the door open, Tommy stepped out into the rain, tossing the cigarette to one side as he paced.
Florence followed him to the other side of the car, slamming the car door behind her, stopping within inches of him. “You don’t want to be working with a man like that anyway…”
They would be soaked through within minutes if they weren’t careful. Looking at her thin silk dress, he sighed. “Get back in the fucking car,” he uttered, grabbing her by the arm and pushing her into the back seat before climbing in next to her. Shrugging off his jacket, he placed it gently around her shoulders before retrieving his cigarettes from the breast pocket. Florence didn’t protest. “You don’t choose who I work with, I do,” he stopped to light another cigarette, “Because of that stunt that you pulled, I’ve told him we’ll go to his house for dinner this evening as a gesture of goodwill.”
Florence subconsciously pulled the coat tighter around her before the words of panic came tumbling out of her mouth. “Gesture of goodwill, my arse. I’m guessing you didn’t see him forcing himself on me, then. If you dare take me to his house… don’t even entertain the idea, Thomas, I mean it. You talk about how you want me safe, you better keep to your word.” She refused to set foot anywhere within the vicinity of that man’s home, and she would fight Tommy on it.
There it was. That fire behind his eyes again. “Or what, eh?”