Love in Motion

Smoke Mate

The first time Tom met her, was at the Old Granada Studios in Manchester. It was a few days before the Peaky Blinders season two filming started in late Fall. All the cast, the writers, and the producers had a table reading session for the next three days. Tom has just joined the cast and was talking with Paul Anderson and Cillian Murphy, whom he was close with for having worked with them in the past. When his dog, Woody, suddenly ran to a woman who was coming towards them. The young woman stopped and squatted as she welcomed Woody with a big smile, scratching between his ears and then broke out into giggles when the animal licked her face. Tom was really surprised by his dog's behaviour. Tom had rescued him some months ago but he'd never seen Woody going up to a stranger like this before, it was like the dog already knew and trusted her. This feeling was shared by his owner because Tom had never met her before but of course, he knew who this woman was. Her name was Sasha Whitley, an actress who was half French from her mother's side and half English from her father's. Sasha was known for her breathtaking beauty, she was of average height with a perfect body and amazing curves with legs for days. With long brown wavy hair, a perfect doll face, and big deep blue almond-shaped eyes. She was emanating something unique, a mix of confidence, class, sexiness and elegance. Tom could easily understand why she'd been elected several times for the most beautiful, sexy or stylish woman in the world. Sasha was also recognized as a great and talented actress and had won many prestigious awards. She'd already filmed with the greatest directors, even though she was not yet 30 years old. She starred in the Peaky Blinders as Victoria Shelby, Tommy's twin, and the only sister among the Shelby brothers, but at least was as badass as them.

Despite her superstar status, she was approachable, unassuming and authentic, talking easily with everyone. On the set, she was a killer, focused, talented and very professional, but behind the scenes she was gorgeous, always dancing and singing or kidding with the boys. Everyone loved her, only saying nice things about her.

During the table reading sessions, it all started with short eye contact between Tom and Sasha. It gradually evolved into a playful flirt as they were both being able to hold the other one's gaze easily, smiling to each other like it was just the two of them in the crowded room. The sexual tension increased each day, Sasha would act innocently and the moment after she call him teasingly Mr. Hardy, flutter and bite her lower lip, Furthermore, Woody was literally stuck to Sasha, following her even to the toilets and guarding the door.

Tom and Sasha quickly became the best smoke mates at the Studios, and he never missed a chance to make his De Niro's face since he noticed how hard it made her laugh and how hard he loved to hear her laugh. They were becoming more and more flirtatious, talking a lot about their respective movies, about cars, motorcycles, music, and sports. They found out they had a lot in common and that they could spend days and nights talking and smoking. They were both sharing interest for animals, and especially of dogs, for charities and political commitments, and the list was endless. Tom was really impressed when he discovered Sasha got a black belt in Krav Maga, and when he wanted to know how she got to martial arts, Sasha explained that she'd always been very athletic, involved in dancing or surfing but that she also grew up with four brother's, so fighting and sports came to her easily. It was kind of a survival impulse.

Their lives had been so far relatively similar, except that she lost her mother when she was only twelve years old. As for Tom, she had done modelling after she played in a movie that was a huge box office hit when she was just a kid. They also both struggled with demons in the past, having an addiction to drugs, but got over it after all. She managed to establish herself as a great actress thanks to her amazingly talent, and always making the right choices for her career. Of course, her incredible beauty and femininity had something to do with her success, although she defined herself as a tomboy because she grew up among men.