The Girl and The Gangster
Summary: After being turned down from every secretarial role in Birmingham, Alice becomes desperate. Unable to provide for her sick mother, herself and more importantly, her young child, she takes a chance on joining the Shelby Company ltd. But when she runs into a familiar face, her whole world comes crumbling down around her.
Chapter Six
No matter how many times Alice protested, Agnes was willing to care for Johnny while her daughter fixed her relationship with her grandson's father. She didn't understand why Alice objected, she was feeling fine and it was for not even twenty-four hours. Once Johnny was in bed, Alice came down the stairs, putting on the only pair of earrings she owned; a pair of tiny, slightly damaged pearls. She was reassured when her mother smiled at her and waved her over.
"Now, I don't want you coming back telling me to expect another grandchild," she said warningly as she fixed the bottom of her daughter's dress.
"Oh, mother please." Alice rolled her eyes playfully and took one last glance at herself in the mirror.
"What you're doing, it's to repair what I damaged and to make sure that Johnny has a proper family." Agnes fixed the blanket over her legs and took out her knitting needles from the side of the chair. "I also think it would be appropriate for me to meet this Michael Gray."
"I'll bring him into the house to say hello before we head off." She watched her mother in the reflection with a slight frown. She knew that she was getting better, at least she appeared to be, but she was still concerned about leaving her for the night. "Are you sure you're alright to look after Johnny? Michael's mother said that she would take care of him."
Agnes held her hand up, not wanting to hear another word. "Save your concerns, the boy and I will be alright."
Before Alice could say anymore on the subject, Michael knocked the door lightly. She jogged into the hallway, closing the living room door behind her before she opened the front. He was wearing a fancy suit and had his hair slicked back nicely; she had to admit, she was impressed.
"You look beautiful." He said with a smirk as he placed a kiss onto her cheek.
"You clean up well, yourself."
"Are you ready to hit the road?"
"Before we go, my mother wants to meet you." When he raised a brow at her, she took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "She only wants to chat, she's not going to bite your head off."
"Are you sure about that?" he said with a slight smirk.
"Quite sure, she's not able for that anymore." She led him into the living room and cleared her throat. "Mother, this is Johnny's father."
"Michael, I can see the resemblance. I always thought that Johnny looked like your father, Alice. Now I see that I'm completely blind." She pushed herself out of the chair slowly and hobbled towards him, feeling one of her legs go stiff. "Yes, now that I'm up close to you, I recognise you. It's nice to see you again."
"Alice told me you're ill, I hope you don't mind looking after our boy while I steal your daughter for the night." He tried to sound light-hearted, but after learning about why he wasn't involved in Alice or Johnny's life, he didn't have the greatest opinion of Agnes.
"As I said to my daughter, I'm capable of looking after my grandson."
"We should be on our way, mother. Sit back down and make yourself comfortable." Alice led her back towards her chair, letting her frail mother lean on her for support. Once she was back in her chair with her blanket wrapped around her, Alice placed a kiss on top of her head and stood by Michael once more. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Have fun you two," she resumed her knitting and called out, "not too much fun, though."
The journey to London was long, but it gave the two of them an opportunity to learn more about each other. He glanced at her as she primped her hair and fixed her dress with a slight smile. He thought that she was so beautiful, and it was hard for him to take his eyes off her. He cleared his throat and looked back to the road.
"How are you finding Birmingham?"
"Johnny loves it here, he's fitting in so well."
"I didn't ask about Johnny, I want to know if you like being in Birmingham."
She didn't know how to respond; she had mixed feelings about the place and the only reason for wanting to stay was Michael. "I guess it's not the worst place in the world."
"It's a lot better than the village, that's for sure." He panicked for a moment, fearing that he gave away too much emotion as he scowled. "There's more places to go and better people…"
"I liked the village where we grew up, didn't you?" she looked at him, expecting him to agree but she was met by stoic silence. "Why did you hate it so much?"
"My memories there aren't the best." His grip tightened on the steering wheel and he shifted in his spot. "Too many bad things happened there and the only good memories I have are with you, but you leaving soured anything good I have left."
She bit on her bottom lip and turned her head towards the window. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pressed on the matter."
He looked towards her once more and reached over to her, resting his hand on her knee. He turned his hand over for her to take it and when she did, he held it tight. "I don't blame you anymore. How could I when you were so honest with me? Look, I promise that I'll be more open to talking about the village when I'm not scared of losing you again."
She raised a brow at him before softening her gaze, he was battling something in his memories, it was apparent by the way he looked at her. "Why do you think you'll lose me?"
"It's my turn to be honest with you." He parked the car across the street from the club and turned in his seat to look at her head on. "I know how you feel about the kind of work that Tommy does, and before we go in here or before we commit to anything, I want to give you the opportunity to make a decision on me before you hear it from anyone else."
It felt like a knot was tightening in her stomach, she worried about what he was about to say but she nodded anyway; she had to know.
"I'm not as squeaky clean as I've been letting on to be. I haven't lied about working solely on legitimate business before you start to worry about Johnny getting dragged into things, but I have killed someone."
Her face dropped as she stared at him in disbelief. "Did Tommy make you do it?"
"Tommy doesn't make me do anything, I asked him if I could take the life and he let me."
"Why would you ask?"
"Because I was doing it to protect my family; the life I took was the man responsible for using Tommy's boy as a hostage. I would do anything to keep the people I care about safe."
Alice didn't like the fact that he had killed someone but the way she looked at it, the deed had to be done. She wasn't going to deny herself or Johnny a happy life because Michael chose to protect his kin, if anything it showed her that he was capable of looking after them.
The silence was killing him, and he couldn't read her face; the dread of pushing her away made his blood run cold. "Say something, Alice."
"You killing a man, it doesn't change how I feel about you." She slid closer to him and kissed his mouth softly. "You did what was right by your family."
He let out a relieved sigh and took her hand once more. "You still want to give us another chance?"
"Of course, I do."
She clung onto his arm as they stepped into the lively club, she had never saw anything like it before; women drinking by the bar unescorted, men and women dancing to the live jazz band and upper-class men partaking in everything that came with the partying lifestyle. If her mother had known where she was going, she wouldn't be so willing to let Alice go to London. As they walked through the club, people stopped to greet Michael and others stared at him, daring themselves to approach the couple. When they had found somewhere quiet to sit, she shrugged off her coat and joined him in a cigarette.
"Why are all these people talking to you? Do you know them?" she looked around at all the socialites and aristocrats, none of these people would've bothered with her when she lived in this city but now that she was with him, she could feel their eyes on her.
"The Peaky Blinders own this club. I guess they've never saw one of us in the flesh. They hear rumours and get excited." A waiter approached their table and set a bottle of fine whiskey and two glasses on the table. Michael stopped him and handed back the bottle. "Bring us champagne, the beautiful girl and I are celebrating."
The waiter looked between the two of them and nodded before taking the bottle and the glasses away. Alice smiled and rested her head on her hand. "What are we celebrating, Michael?"
"Second chances." Once the champagne arrived, he poured them each a glass and handed one towards her. "Do you like champagne?"
"I've never had it before." She admitted as she looked curiously at the expensive looking bottle.
"You'll like it," he placed his glass on hers as they exchanged a longing look, "to finding each other."
She took a sip from her glass and made a face. "It's very nice. If I could, I'd drink it more often."
"Luckily for you, we've a bottle to get through." He set down his glass and set his hand on hers. "Perhaps after a couple of glasses, you'll want to dance with me."
"You know how much I love to dance, I used to practice with you in the stables. I'll dance whenever you like." She took another sip and shrugged her shoulders. "Just say the word and we'll go."
He forgot how good she was at moving her body to the rhythm of the music, he was struggling to keep up with her. When he finally did get the swing of things, he twirled her under his arm and watched in delight as she laughed at grinned at him. This was how he remembered Alice, she loved having fun and was good at it. She was a little rusty at jiving, but he could hardly tell because every move she made looked planned. He was thankful for a slower song to play and once everyone started to wind down and grab their partners, he took her by the hand and pulled her closer to him, their bodies barely an inch away. Alice rested her head on his shoulder and swayed with him as he caught his breath again.
"I really needed this, a night off to remember how young I actually am." When he looked down at her, she continued, "I forgot that I'm much more than a mother and a daughter. You've made me realise that I'm desired and it's gave me a bit more confidence than what I had."
"You should've known that you were desired, by many more than just me and I'll bet my money on it. You just didn't grasp that people see you differently than how you see yourself."
Her eyes rolled up to meet his. "Tell me then, what do you see in me?"
"I see more than just your attractive face, I see how caring and thoughtful you are. That you're smart and love to have a good time. I know how amazing you are as a person, I hope you know that too."
She buried her face into his chest, her fingers gripping onto the fabric of his shirt. It had been a long time since anyone made her feel good about herself. "You're not just saying all of this to seduce me, are you Michael?"
When Alice looked up at him again, he raised a brow at her with a smirk. "No, I mean it. But what if I am trying to seduce you?"
"Well, it would be working." She lost her breath as he swept her up in a kiss, it was passionate and longing, she had never been kissed like that before. It made her tremble and when he broke away from their embrace, she wanted to kiss him again and again.
"It's getting late, we should probably go to the hotel." He draped his arm over her shoulders and led her back to their table, picking up the bottle of champagne and their coats before they left.
Their room was bigger than her home and it was better decorated. Alice had never experienced such decadence and if Michael was willing to gift her with that for one night, she wouldn't turn it down. The first thing she did after gawking at the room, was throw herself onto the comfortable bed. She hadn't slept on a proper mattress in years and she was amazed that there were no springs poking her in the back. Michael watched her from the other end of the room, he wanted to treat her, and it seemed to be exactly what she needed.
"You can come and sit with me, you know?" she said as she rolled onto her front. "I won't push you away."
"I know I can, but I just wanted to take in this view for a moment." He stepped towards the bed, taking his tailored jacket off his frame and draping it on the post of the bed. "Get some rest. You've had an exciting day and I'm sure you could do with the sleep."
She pushed herself up until she was kneeling and tilted her head at him. An early night was not how she imagined her night in the capital ending. Perhaps he was just tired himself, he showed plenty of interest in her back at the club.
"I'll go freshen up before I join you." She climbed off the bed and gave him a peck on the cheek before heading into the ensuite.
She leaned on the sink as she stared at her image in the mirror. She released the pin that kept her dark hair up high and unravelled it as it cascaded down her back. Once her heels were off her feet, she slipped out of her dress and left it on the floor. She wasn't dumb, she had a fair idea of what Michael wanted to achieve with this night out; she had to admit that she wanted it too. That's why she wore the nicest underwear she owned. With one last inspection in the mirror, she made her way back into the room, her eyes automatically turning towards the bed. But Michael wasn't in the bed, he had lit candles around the room and was at the gramophone, putting on a record. She leaned against the wooden doorframe and fell into the atmosphere he had created.
"I think you're the one that's trying to seduce me, Alice." He said as he looked her over, approving with what he saw.
"I thought you were going to try to sleep. I can see that I was wrong." She stepped away from the door and folded her arms across her almost exposed chest. "What is all this?"
He untangled her arms and embraced her, his hands cupping her face. "I wanted to show you how special you are. I wanted our first night together to be romantic."
"It's very romantic, you did good." She let out a playful squeal as Michael picked her up from the floor. Impulsively, she wrapped her legs and her arms around his body as if they had always been this close.
As he carried her towards the bed, she placed her lips on his; softly at first and once she was laid down on the bed, their caress became heated. Michael wanted to be gentle with her, she wasn't like those girls that made his acquaintance at the parties, but the way she pressed her body against his and pulled at his clothes; he knew straightaway how she wanted this to go down. He could only imagine how tense she was, she had admitted that he was the only one she was with. Five years of build up and he hoped that he could live up to her expectations of him. He took his shirt off and threw it onto the floor, looking down at her as he moved onto his trousers.
"Are you sure you want this?"
She nodded and pulled him towards her. Alice ran her fingers through his hair as he placed gentle kisses along her body. "I want you, more than anything."
When she woke up, she was pressed against Michael's back. Her arms were wrapped up in his as he slept soundly. She rested her head in between his shoulder blades before attempting to get out of bed without disturbing him. When she was free, she tiptoed into the ensuite and closed the door quietly. Her eyes fell onto the porcelain bath and as she waited for the warm water to fill it, she could only imagine how nice it would be compared to the steel bath she was used to. She dipped her toes in at first and once she was happy with the temperature, she lowered herself in; the aches and pains that she normally felt in her back and legs seemed to disappear. She closed her eyes and let herself fall into the lull of relaxation. She opened one of her eyes when she heard Michael get out of bed and when the door opened, she grinned at him.
"I see you found the bath." He sat on the edge and pecked on her forehead.
"I couldn't resist it. You could join me, there's plenty of room."
"No, enjoy it. Although, you could have more of these baths if you stayed with me at my home. You, me and Johnny every weekend. What do you think?"
"I'll let you know when we get back to Birmingham," she found it hard to relax now that the thought of her mother, alone and ill plagued her mind, "I want to see how mother coped without me before I agree to anything."
"I can wait on an answer, as long as you and Johnny are content, that's all that matters."
Michael being understanding was very astonishing; she knew how he felt about her mother and what he thought about her constant worrying of her; he thought that she should be living her life, not slaving away. His words took a load of pressure from her and that's what she needed; as her mother said, she wasn't going to be around forever, and Alice didn't want to be alone when she passes. He put her mind at ease, and he made her feel loved. Her mind was already made up, she wanted to spend the weekends with him and their son.
A:N Sorry I haven't updated this as quickly as I have been but I didn't have my laptop and then I wasn't happy with the chapter and rewrote it. I hope you liked seeing Michael and Alice together by themselves, I've a lot more planned for them, good and bad. Thank you for all your support!