Title: The Man I Love.
Summary: Emilie Francesca Davis, 19, is a daughter of a banker. Emilee dances with Dillinger at a bank party without even realising it at first! But when she does, she's terrified. She goes home pretty much after that. Now, little did she know, her life was about to change. Will she embrace it?
Rated: M.
Warnings: Violence, language and possible mature content.
Disclaimer: Anything to do with the movie Public Enemies; the characters, the storyline, places belongs to Michael Mann, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. I only own my characters and a few pit stops along the way in the plot. I make no my money from this.
Chapter One – And So They Meet.
It was February 19th, and there was yet another party I had to go to. To say, I was excited would be wrong. What I was feeling was the complete opposite. Tonight's party was the type of party I hated going to – stupid cushy bank parties. It wasn't just because my father owned a local bank, it was because I worked at the bank, as well. I wasn't a fan of these parties, as you could probably tell. I thought they were stupid and oh-so-ridiculous! Oh, and to make it any better than what it already was, sarcasm intended, tonight's party was one of those dancing parties which meant I had to dance with those "well-rounded individuals" as my father would call them. It was bad enough that I was made to go to these stupid parties, but dancing with these "well-rounded individuals" was a whole new story. Most of these individuals I had to dance with were drunk, very hands on, old men. Just-freaking-peachy.
It was just rolling on fifteen minutes after five, and that meant I had less than five minutes to finish getting myself ready before my mother came upstairs, telling me it was time to leave. I was lucky, I was almost finished. My younger sister, Laura, who was four years younger than me, was lying on her stomach in the middle on my bed, watching me in silence. Soft, calming music played in the background.
Just as I finished applying a light layer of makeup, a knock sounded at my bedroom door. I knew it was my mother. It was time to leave. I released a sigh as I put down the eye-liner pencil down on my vanity table. I stood up and stepped around the seat, careful not to tread on the dress I was wearing. "Come in."
As the door opened, I looked over, and my mother's head popped through the space. A large smile appeared on her lips before she stood up to her full height, opened the door wider and entered my bedroom. "Oh Em, you look absolutely beautiful", she complemented.
I smiled weakly at my mother before I turned and walked over to the floor length mirror to look at myself. As much I hated going to these parties, I didn't mind taking the time to make myself look exquisite for them, and I would like to say that I wasn't being vain in any way, shape or form! I was suited into a gorgeous sky-blue, silk dress. It featured a beaded top with a high neck Peter Pan collar, a ruched skirt which was highlighted by a daring split, and it had a matching belt. For shoes, I wore a pair of sparkling silver opened-toe heels. The shoes sported a thin, but a very high heel. A diamond bracelet was secured nicely around my right wrist and I wore a pair of intricately detailed, sky blue topaz diamond earrings. My long, naturally curly hair was swept up into a low ponytail to the side of my head. For make up, I only wore a light layer of eye-liner and mascara to highlight my blue eyes, and red lip stick on my lips.
"Emilie, I agree with mother, you do look amazing", My sixteen year old sister, Laura, said and she got up from her spot from my bed. She walked over to me and stopped beside me. She stared at me through the mirror, and smiled. "I can't wait to be at the age where I can go to these parties. I can't wait to get dolled up and look absolutely amazing like you."
I turned to face my sister with an eyebrow raised and a small smile on my lips. "You ain't missing much, sis, let me tell you that. These parties truly do suck."
Laura faced her and rolled her eyes, "Everyone has their own opinions on things, Em."
"Oh, whatever", I replied and poked my tongue out at Laura. "You say that now, wait til you go. You'll feel the same as I do. I know you will."
"Sure, sure. Whatever", was all Laura said. "Now, have fun tonight. I know that must sound hard to you, but relax. Let loose. Have fun. Just... don't get too drunk, yeah? I expect to know the details of tonight by tomorrow afternoon."
"Fine", I answered. My younger sister smiled back at me, innocently. I narrowed my eyes at her. God, Laura could be annoying sometimes, but I loved her to death, no matter what. I wouldn't trade her for anyone. Laura pulled me in a tight hug, and instantly, I returned it. The embrace didn't last any more than a minute before Laura broke it. I dropped my arms back to my side and turned to switch the record player off. I grabbed my clutch from my vanity table as Laura stepped back from me and turned and went over to our mother. After a kiss on the cheek, Laura danced her way out of my room.
It was silent for a few moments before my mother decided to change the subject. "So what do you think?"
I took in my mother's attire for tonight's gathering. She went for a much shorter hemline in a tea-length dress with an exploding lace bustier, a full skirt, kicky heels and glittering jewels. Her hair was set in loose curls and she wore red lip stick on her full lips. I looked my mother in the eyes and with a smile, she said, "Mother, you look absolutely stunning."
"Naw, thank you, Emilie." Mother said with a bright and beaming smile on her lips. She changed the subject again and her smile fell. Her face went to more of a serious look as she held out her hand to me, "Now, come on, we better go. Your father is waiting downstairs. You and I both know how his higher boss is if we are a minute late."
I nodded in a understanding matter. That was true. I walked over to my mother and grabbed her extended hand. After we exited my bedroom, I shut the door behind us. We walked down the hallway and as we descended the stairs, I held up my dress so I didn't fall down the stairs. Knowing my luck and all. I wasn't the most graceful person on the planet.
My father, Benjamin, stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking very sharp in his suit. I couldn't hold in my laugh as I saw my father's mouth hit the floor as and my mother and I descended the stairs. Once we were standing with my father, we said good night to the younger kids – Laura and my two younger brothers, William and Alexander; they were twins brothers. I walked out the front door and walked down the pathway to the car in silence as my father and my mother followed behind. My father opened the car door for me, and I held up my dress again, making it easier to get into the car. Once I was actually in the car, I let go of my dress, and got comfortable in the back seat. Like for me, my father helped my mother into the car before he got in himself. He started the car and soon enough, we were well on our way the party.
While I was stuck at these dreadful parties, my parents hired a sitter to look after Laura, Alexander and William as they were not old enough to attend these sorts of things. Yet. Laura had two years, Alexander and William had a while yet; eight years.
Stupid, cushy bank parties.
Oh, how I loved these bank parties. So. Damn. Much. No, not really. I absolutely hated these things with a passion.
An hour and a half into the party, and all I wanted to do was go home and sleep... but unfortunately, I couldn't. There were three hours to go, and I honestly couldn't wait. I can put up with this, I can do it, I thought. As much as I didn't want to, I knew I had to.
I was currently dancing with this old man. He happened to be very dunk and very hands on, as well. That was always nice, right? His hands kept trailing down to my buttocks and giving it a firm squeeze. This guy was really pushing my buttons. I was ready to knock him out, and I wasn't even lying. I didn't give damn about if it wasn't ladylike. This guy deserved it. It was simply self-defence.
As I was dancing and getting even more annoyed, I got the feeling that a pair of eyes were on me. It was like this person was watching me every move. The feeling would wash over me for a few minutes before it would disappear. Then it'd be back, and then it would disappear. When the feeling washed over me again, I looked over and caught a man in the act. He was definitely watching me. But why? I wasn't special or beautiful. Well I didn't think so, I didn't think that I was beautiful or special. I just didn't see myself as it. Although, I've been told different, and again, I was not being vain in any way, shape or form.
The man didn't look away either, he kept his eyes locked on me, he grinned at me. This man is definitely confident, I thought and smiled back at him, just to be nice. Of course. I studied him for a moment. This man looked strangely familiar. I thought for a moment as I tried to figure out who this man was. Not getting anywhere closer to finding out identity of the man, I looked away from the familiar yet unknown man.
John Dillinger's Point of View. I sat at a table with Pierpont, Makley and Hamilton. The table was crowded with steaks, oysters, and frog legs. Pierpont, Makley and Hamilton were busy engaged in a conversation while they stuffed their faces, while I remained silent. I occasionally added my input and thoughts into the conversation when I wanted to. I casually sipped my drink as my dark eyes were glued to a blonde-haired woman on the dance floor. As I watched her, she was currently dancing with this older man. The man looked to be in his late fifties and it seemed he couldn't keep his hands on her hips which was where they are suppose to be while dancing. My eyes narrowed slightly as I saw the man's hands move down to her buttocks and giving it a squeeze. As they swayed around, I got a good look of the woman's face and just by seeing the look on her face, she was ready to deck him, but I could tell she was refraining. This told me that she doesn't take any crap of anyone.
The beautiful woman suddenly looked over in my direction and caught me in the act. I didn't look away. I gave her my best grin, and she smiled back at me. She kept her eyes locked on me, and I could tell she was studying me. I couldn't help, but wonder if she knew who I was. She looked away from me which told me that she didn't know. And if she did, it just hasn't clicked yet.
Finally looking away from her, I turned my head and looked over my shoulder to see Alvin Karpis and Homer Van Meter approaching the table. As I took a sip of my whiskey, Alvin sat down beside me. I adjusted my chair and that made me shoulder to shoulder with Karpis just so I could watch for the girl. She definitely had my attention.
"Hiya, Alvin. You hungry? How's Freddie and Dock?" I asked Alvin as I moved my attention to him.
"Everyone's good", Alvin replied as he turned to me. We started talking quietly between us.
"We got a mail train we been lookin' at, too." Alvin told me, his voice at a normal tone again.
"Say, by the way, if someone got pinched here, who can get'em out real fast?" I asked.
"Lawyer named Piquett. We all use him." Karpis replied and wrote down a phone number on a piece of paper before he handed it to me.
"What about this train?" I asked him as I pocketed the piece of paper.
"I need two, maybe three more months to set up. I need seven or eight real right guys to take it down", Alvin told me.
"Sounds like Jesse James", I smiled.
"There will be about seven, maybe eight million in the train." Alvin told me in a low tone and I looked at him. "It's a Federal Reserve shipment. It only runs twice a month. This is the kind of score you go away on after." Alvin continued.
We spoke a bit more about the possible job. It was a train! This was something Nelson would cook up. But I'll be honest, this job did sound tempting. But if it we do the job and exceeded, the result was the kind of score you go away on after. A million dollars each and that did sound nice.
As Alvin left us, I looked over at the dance floor, searching for the beautiful woman. I found her still dancing with the same man. I spoke with Pierpont, Homer and Makley a little longer before the three of them got up and left the table. Hamilton and I stayed sitting there.
"Homer stayin' steady?" I asked Hamilton.
"He's okay", he replied.
"Three rules I learned from Walter Dietrich. One: never work with people who are desperate. Two: never work with people who aren't the best. Three: never work when you're not ready", I told him.
"Well, I got rule four: stay away from women." Hamilton added and nodded his head in the direction of the beautiful woman that held my attention.
"Without women, I might as well have stayed in stir", I replied.
"That's why they invented whores." Hamilton said, and I looked over my shoulder to see Anna approaching with a young girl. I looked back at Hamilton and smiled at him as he stood up from his seat. He pushed his chair in and walked around the table, stopping at the women and wrapped his arms around them. They walked away from the table, leaving me to myself. I downed the whiskey and stood up from my seat. I'm going to ask her for a dance.
I walked towards the dance floor, my eyes on the beautiful woman. I weaved my way through the crowded dance floor. When I finally got to her, her back was to me. I tapped her lightly on the shoulder, and she looked to her right and looked directly at me.
I gave her my best grin. "May I have this dance, miss?"
A look of relief and startle crossed her face. She nodded and let go of the man, who grunted in response. I watched as she narrowed her eyes at the drunk man and said something to him under her breath. My eyes went wide and from that moment on, I couldn't take them off her. After saying what she needed to say, which shocked me, she turned to me and smiled.
I reached out and grabbed a hold of her hand. I lead her to a different part of the dance floor. I couldn't help but feel how her hand felt clasped around mine. It was like her hand belonged in mine. It was weird how I barely knew this woman and she had me thinking like this. Softly shaking my head, I cleared those thoughts and stopped walking. I turned to face her and released my hand from hers. I grabbed a hold of her hips in gentle matter as her small hands found their way to my shoulders, softly resting there. Billie Holiday's voice floated above our heads like low-slung stars. We begun to sway along with the music.
As no words were spoken between us, I took the opportunity to take in her appearance. I was automatically captured by her beauty. She was even more beautiful up close. She had a clear, tan complexion and blonde hair which was swept up into a low ponytail to the side of her head. She had almond eyes the colour of the ocean in Caribbean. It was merely the colour of her eyes that were are so captivating. Her brows were fair in colour and had a dramatic arch, and that highlighted her eyes even more. Her gorgeous blue eyes were framed by long curled lashes that fan outwards in a dramatic and almost in a feline way. Her nose was average in size and was dusted with light freckles, as were her shoulders. Her ears were average in size, as well. She had high cheek bones accented by a strong angled jaw line, and full lips.
I cleared my throat and broke the silence. "So, what's your name?"
"Emilie Davis", she answered, her voice soft; feminine. Emilie Davis. God, her name was beautiful, just like her.
"Has anyone told you that you are beautiful, Emilie?" She asked her, and she looked at me with her beautiful Caribbean Sea–coloured eyes. She nodded slowly. That doesn't even surprise me, not even the slightest. "Well I'm going to put it out there, I think you are very beautiful."
"Thank you", she said and a small smile appeared those lips of hers. Even in this dim light, I could see a blush flourish onto her tan cheeks. I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips. "So, you got a name?" She changed the subject.
She didn't recognise me.
"Jack Harris", I lied to her.
I felt bad lying to her, but it was something I had to do. She didn't recognise me. If I told her who I really was, she could go to the damn G-Men, and I didn't want that.
"Well it's nice to meet ya' Jack", she said and flashed me a smile, showing off two rows of perfect, pearly white teeth. God, she had a beautiful smile, I couldn't help, but think before I smiled warmly at her.
"You too Emilee", I replied as we continued dance. It then became silent between us. Emilie moved closely to me and rested her cheek on my shoulder. I smiled at that.
"Jack, you look strangely familiar. It has been eating at me since I caught you starin'", Emilie suddenly said as she pulled back and looked at me, more carefully this time.
"Why, you don't recognise me?" I asked, and I heard her gasp. I grinned at her.
"Y-you're John Dillinger!" She said and quickly pulled from my grasp. She stepped back and created a space us. "I'm sorry Mr. Dillinger but I have to go. It was nice meeting you. Thank you for the dance." She was shuttering.
"The pleasure is all mine", I smirked. "Have a good night now."
"You too", she replied and gave me a small smile. She turned and walked away. She looked over her shoulder, her gaze falling on me again before she quickly reverted it. I watched her as she walked over to two people who I assumed were her parents, well, they had to be. Emilie looked just like the other woman...only younger. She was talking to them for a few minutes before she walked away from them.
I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair before leaving the party myself. As I drove back to the apartment with Hamilton and his "entertainment" for tonight, my thoughts drifted back to the very beautiful Emilee Davis.
Emilie's Point of View. I can't believe it. I just danced with John Dillinger without even realising it! Why didn't I see it? I knew he looked familiar, it just never clicked.
Has anyone told you that you are beautiful?
Well I'm going to put it out there, I think you are very beautiful.
His words continued to replay over and over again in my mind. I felt the butterflies flutter around in my stomach. Did he really mean it? Of course he did, right? Because he wouldn't have said it in the first place if he didn't, right? But there was that possibility he could have be using flattery to get some "entertainment" for the night. Well if that was the case, he'd have another thing coming as I wasn't that type of girl.
Shit, please excuse my language, but I just realised I've made a very stupid mistake; John Dillinger asked for my name, and I gave it to him. How could I be so stupid?
As I was walking over to my parents, I could feel a pair of eyes on me, watching me. Stopping, I curiously looked over my shoulder to see John Dillinger still watching me. I stared at him for a few moments before I reverted my gaze again. I walked over to where my parents stood. While I spoke to my parents, I felt a gaze on me. It didn't take a genius to know who was watching me. John Dillinger. Ignoring the feeling of his eyes on me, I told my parents I was going home. When they asked why, I just told them I had a headache and that I was beginning to feel sick. When I finished speaking to my parents, I left the venue and hailed for a taxi. As I stood on the sidewalk, waves of guilt washed over me. I hated lying to my parents, but I lied to them for a good reason... right?
It wasn't long until the taxi stopped in front of me. I opened the door and slid into the back seat. I told the driver my home address and he sped off into the night.
When the cab came to a stop outside my house, I paid the driver, and said thank you. I got out of the cab and softly shut the door behind me. I walked up the pathway, stopping at front door. I opened my clutch, searching for the house keys. I pulled them out, and pushed the key into the lock and turned it. I pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Stepping back, I leaned against the wooden door, and let out a sigh. My mind begun to wonder about what has happened tonight; the party, the dancing, John Dillinger and the complements. Sighing to myself again, I stood up properly and turned around, locking the door. I knew my parent's had their set of keys with them.
After heading upstairs, I made a quick pit stop to my room to light some candles and to get out of my heels before I made my way to the bathroom. Treading as lightly as I could, the floorboards still squeaked beneath my feet. Entering the bathroom, I walked over to the basin and turned the water on. I splashed my face with the cold water, and I washed my make up off and then brushed my teeth. I yawned as I walked out of bathroom and headed back to my bedroom. Closing the door behind me, I got out of my dress which left me in my slip. I put the dress back on its hanger and hang it back up in my wardrobe. I walked over to my vanity table and removed my jewellery. I placed them on the vanity table. I blew the candles out and navigated through the darkness to my bed. I got into bed, and pulled my blankets over me and moved onto my side, and got comfortable. Soon after that, I fell into darkness.
Reviews are loved and constructive criticism is welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed it.
Next chapter will be up soon.
Love Bree.