Love and Lies • 𝑇𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑦 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑏𝑦

Chapter Thirteen

"Thank you." Ann said, as Tommy placed his jacket over her shoulders. The Birmingham cold was consistent, if anything.

Right before the doors to the Garrison swung closed, Arthur shouted a 'To Celia', and she glanced back to see him raise his glass with a wide inebriated smile on his face. Ann chuckled and waved goodbye just as the rest of the crowd echoed him in a toast.

Her introduction to the Shelby brothers had started off shaky, as Arthur and John shared constant looks throughout all her attempts at conversation. They even went as far as to change languages and talk to Tommy like she wasn't there. Two exchanges of empty whisky bottles for full ones passed with the same tension. It wasn't until a dart - from a nearby game that a few men were playing - landed on their table did things get interesting.

Ann saw the piece of plastic from the corner of her eye, before she leaned back in her chair to avoid its impact. Instead, it hit the bottle of whisky and landed on their table.  

"I'm so sorry, Mr Shel-" A man ran up. He trailed off in his apology, obviously sensing the tension from the table. He glanced at the three men, then at Ann. "-bys." She watched him almost audibly swallow, so to save him from himself, she picked up the dart and offered it to him, hoping he'd take it and leave, but he just stared at the plastic in her hand. 

A second passed, with her hand still raised, before she glanced at Tommy, who was already looking at her. "It's okay George, just take the dart and ago." he said, and that was all it took for the dart to leave her hand. 

But before George could leave, another one of the men he was playing with walked up and offered his own set of apologies, clapping his hand on George's shoulder. Similary, he looked at the men at the table and then at Ann, but his gaze lingered a little longer. 

"We were just starting a new game, but we could use an extra player if any of you are interested," he said. 

"No." Arthur grunted, looking at Tommy with a knowing focus. He may not understand why he thought bringing this woman here was a good idea, but she was still here with him. "We're okay."

Knowing that once the interference left, the table would return to an uncomfortable silence, without thinking Ann said. "I'll play." and all the men looked at her simultaneously.

George was the first to speak, sending a not so subtle shake of his head to his friend. " No- that wouldn't be- I mean we're playing a betting game, so..."

"I have money," Ann shrugged and stood up, taking the dart from George's hand. His friend clapped his hands, returning to the dart board with a smile.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Tommy said, setting his drink on the table. Ann ran her hand along his shoulder and let her fingers ghost the back of his neck. 

"That's because you've never seen me play. I swear no cheating this time." It took a moment, but he conceded, tapping his foot against hers in acceptance.  

At the dartboard, George and his friend - Graham - teamed up, leaving her with the third of the group, Michael. A few warm up throws from all four of them got a few laughs, as hers barely landed on the board at all, with one missing it entirely.  

She covered her face - the cold of her palms cooling her heated cheeks - and glanced back at the Shelby's who were still watching. 

"It's okay. When you lose, I think you can find another way to pay us back. You can keep your money." Graham said, and Ann's attention snapped back. He sounded innocent enough, but his leering gaze said otherwise. 

Her embarrassment quickly fell away, because it was obvious now that he thought she was a prostitute. She glanced at the Shelby's again, and this time Tommy straightened up, from the look on her face. His eyebrows rose slightly with question, but she gently shook her head. He was too far away to have heard what Graham said.

"How about we make this game a little more interesting? We double the price, and I play as a single team, so that your poor friend here doesn't have to suffer for my lack of hand eye coordination." The men looked surprised. "Come on, like you said, if I lose, we can always find another way for me to pay you back."

Graham chuckled, running his hand over his head before nodding.

The game started off slow. Graham made the first shots, all in the single area of the board, with one almost touching the outer ring of the bull's eye. 

When it was her turn, she twirled the dart between her fingers and then let it fly. It landed right in the centre of the inner ring bullseye, and she heard a short cheer that didn't sound intentional from John. The next two darts she let fly one after the other, and they landed in a cluster in the centre with her first. 

Ann didn't even bother to look at Graham and his friends as she went to retrieve her darts. It wasn't long before she was fifty points away from winning, and somehow the entire pub had become an audience.

Graham took his last shot of three, it landed in the bullseye, and some of the men cheered. He only needed ten more points. Her turn came round, and the pub slowly quieted down, peering forward in wait. 

Ann twirled the dart again, and then let it fly. As it landed, her consecutive streak of inner ring bulls-eyes broke. The dart struck just outside of the centre, giving her twenty-five points, but the men cheered anyway, because to win, she had to hit a different mark.  

"You might want to try for the singles, take a bit pressure off yourself." Graham said with a cocky smile. 

Ann smiled back, then without no more than a glance at the board she threw her dart. The cheers that erupted as some men stood up and clapped each other on their backs was all she needed to know that she'd made the shot, right in the outer ring bullseye, 25 points.  She stuck out her hand, and Graham reluctantly gave her the bag they'd placed the betting money in, his eyes passing over her, from head to toe.  

She made her way to the bar through the offers of 'congrats' and 'good game,' which she thanked with smiles. She gave the bag to Harry and told him to put it towards a round of drinks for everyone. She turned to head back to the Shelbys, but Tommy already stood before her. 

"What?" Ann questioned his silence. "I swear I didn't cheat." Her face screwed up with teasing thought. "How would someone cheat at darts anyway?" 

"Where does the daughter of a horse breeder learn to shoot like that?"

"That wasn't shooting, that was a game of darts." Ann said, stepping around him. "I'm a much better shooter." She threw at him before walking back to his brothers. 

This time around, things were a hell of a lot less tense, and they even managed to have a conversation where Arthur pulled out his gun and joked, if she'd ever tried her aim with bullets.

"Some rich families don't only force their children to take Latin lessons, some are...eccentric." Ann fibbed, as they walked through Small Heath. She took Tommy's arm and pulled him closer, because if she was still cold in his jacket, she couldn't fathom how he was feeling. He adjusted their stance so that his arm was wrapped over her shoulder. Her face nestled against his chest, his lips at her temple for a second before they kept walking. 

***Show love through votes and comments.