ACT: ONE
CHAPTER ix: ' pricy pillow talk. '

The tension in the Shelby family kitchen couldn't have been cut with a knife. It was not as thin nor soft as a slice of cake. No, this tension was as hard as frozen ice, solid like the finest metalwork and stretched on for days, it's longitude seemingly never ending.

Eli hadn't known what to expect when she decided to take matters into her own hands and force Ada to confront her with whatever it was the brunette needed to ask her. Despite, the blonde trying to get Tommy to budge on his "Ada's business is not my business" attitude in the car when she'd asked him what it was Ada had been wanting to ask the Montgomery girl, he hadn't given anything away. Although, Eli suspected he had simply been reciting what Ada had told him. She got the feeling the dry humour in his voice had been more than he initially let on.

Ada, despite Tommy telling Eli the Shelby girl wished to speak with her a fortnight ago, had been all but evading Eli's presence like the black death which, in turn, only doubled the blonde's confusion and curiosity. It didn't help she couldn't fathom any possible reason that would lead the younger girl to avoid her. But alas, the curiosity had slowly turned into a strong itch in the back of Eli's mind until she could no longer ignore it — hence, the reason she asked Tommy for a lift to their house.

She was determined to get answers and the Shelby sister was no longer able to escape Eli's interrogative stare, sitting across from her at the kitchen table while Polly prepared them some tea. Eli barely blinked, observing Ada's posture, eyes cast down at her hands fidgeting under the table.

What on earth made her so anxious to be in Eli's presence?

Tommy had all but left Eli to her own devices as soon as the pair had stepped into the household. He headed straight for the back rooms connecting to the betting shop, never sparing Eli a fleeting glance whereas the blonde made her way to the kitchen where she found Polly and Ada whispering like two gossiping hens. Of course, they both went silent upon realising another soul had entered through the doorway. Polly had greeted her warmly, as per usual... Ada, however, seemed to pale at the sight of the Montgomery woman and spontaneously choose to take a holy vow of silence.

So when Polly finally joined them at the table and kindly poured their tea for them, Eli was eager to be the first to address the elephant in the room. "Tommy says you had something to ask me, Ada." She paused and noted the way Ada nervously flickered her eyes between Polly and herself. "You've also been avoiding me... Am I suppose to guess why?"

Polly sent Ada a pointed look, encouraging her niece to hurry up and confess. But Ada quickly glanced away from the two, avoiding both their gazes in hope the ground would swallow her up before she had the chance to open her mouth. Polly sighed and rolled her eyes at the young girl. Deciding to take matters into her own hands, she turned to Eli herself and answered for the brunette, "Our Ada was thinking of getting herself a job so she was—"

"Pol!" Ada scolded, her eyes snapping back to her aunt in a heavy glare.

Polly simply rolled her eyes again and shook her head. "Ada, either ask her yourself or I'll do it for you. You can't go ignoring Eli just because you're afraid she'll say no."

Eli glanced between the two and tried to tune out the fact they had taken to speaking as if she wasn't in the room with them. She arched her eyebrow as Ada groaned loudly and sheepishly looked back to her. This must be serious, Eli thought, Ada's never been shy a day in her entire life.

"I-uh, um, needed to ask... Pol?" Ada quickly turned to the eldest of the three, pleading with her eyes for some help.

"Oh, for Christ's sake, Ada." Polly snapped towards her before looking back to Eli. "Ada suddenly wants to be a strong, independent woman who doesn't have to rely on her brother's for money. She was wondering if there was a chance of getting a part-time job down at your shop."

Keeping her face impartial, Eli switched her gaze back to Ada's apprehensive expression, overstrung with fear that the woman might say no. "That's what you've been avoiding asking me?"

As if she wasn't sure whether to answer honestly or not, Ada flickered her eyes over to Polly for permission to answer truthfully. When Pol nodded, she gave a simple, "Yes?"

A smug smile curled Eli's lips upwards, taking her time to blow on her freshly boiled tea while the tension thickened as Ada awaited her answer. Polly rolled her eyes at the blonde's dramatics and silently cursed her for being so alike herself. Ada was practically hanging off the edge of her seat in anticipation by the time, she spoke again, "Jesus, I was starting to think you were gonna tell me you were pregnant by the way you were getting on. You didn't have to be so dramatic and go about avoiding me, Ada."

Ada paled at the thought, considering the amount of times she'd slept with Freddie Thorne, it was actually surprising she wasn't knocked up yet. Whereas Polly snorted, "She'd need to have a man on the go before she could go about growing a young baby in her belly."

Neither of the two seemed to notice to slightly flustered look on Ada's face and if they did, they simply brushed it off as mere embarrassment at the accusation.

A light chuckle left Eli's lips. "You can work Tuesdays and Saturdays. Be at the shop at 9 o'clock sharp first thing Saturday morning."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Eli!" Ada beamed brighter than Eli had ever seen her do before and stood quickly from her seat to lean across the table and envelope her new boss in a hug. Unfortunately, the abrupt and poorly thought through action cause both Ada's cup of tea and Eli's to knock over and the contents of each fled in the blonde's direction.

Polly rushed to her feet to grab a tea-towel as Eli let out a string of curses at the piping hot water that had scalded her lap where the tea had spilt through the fabric of her dress. Ada's eyes widened at what she'd unintentionally done and gasped in horror. "Oh, fuck! I'm so sorry, Eli! I didn't mean to!"

"I know you didn't," Eli gritted out but the pain laced in her tone didn't ease Ada's growing guilt, "it's okay, Ada."

"Bloody 'ell, what's with all the racket?" Arthur's voice echoed through to the kitchen as he joined them with John and Tommy not long after.

The girls all ignored them as Polly returned to Eli's side with a towel soaked in cold water and pulled up the hem of the blonde's dress to get a look at the damage. The boys' eyes widened at the unexpected action but they soon caught sight of the raring red skin on Eli's legs. Polly quickly lay the wet towel on her lap, gaining a squeal from Eli.

"Christ Pol, what the fuck did you to do to the poor woman?" John asked while Tommy clapped him on the back of his head for being so thick. The tea cups lying on their sides in front of Eli should have been enough to answer the question for him. "Ow, the fuck was 'at for?"

Running her hands through her hair, Ada's face scrunched up in panic. "Shit. You're not gonna fire me for this?"

Eli managed a laugh, the quick flash of pain dying down with the coolness of the towel partially easing the burning sensation. Polly, however, was not as amused. "Ada fucking Shelby, I did not just hear those words leave your bloody mouth."

The innocent look Ada shot back to her aunt initiated an argument between the two women that Eli quickly tuned out.

John nudged Tommy with a small smirk that only gained him a dark look in response. "Hey, at least, we can say we got a free view of Eli's legs."

"Alright, alright," Arthur slapped his second youngest brother on the shoulder and pulled him back out the doorway, "let's go. Eli's fine now. You, on the other hand, won't be if you keep opening that bloody mouth of yours. Back to work you go, Johnny boy."

Eli was peeking under the towel to see if the redness had died down yet when she caught a glimpse of Polly's chair being pulled out again and she glanced up just in time to see Tommy sit down beside her. He shot her a raised eyebrow, non-verbally asking what it looked like.

He looked down as her long, dainty finger peeled back the tea-towel to see her bright red skin. She let it fall back down and flipped the towel in hope the other side was cooler after her burning skin had managed to warm the towel where it rested on her legs.

"I leave you alone with my family for all five minutes and my sister's already scalded your skin off with boiling water." Tommy said, drawing her sapphire blue eyes up to his.

"Is this the part where I say, 'perhaps, you shouldn't leave me alone then?'" Eli inquired with a cheeky smirk on her lips.

Tommy licked his drying lips at her words. His eyes glued to her and his ears had quickly blocked out the sounds of Polly and Ada still arguing by the sink. He leaned closer to the blonde, a half-smirk crawling onto his face at the way her chest quickened as he lessened the space between them. "Is it? I think it depends on what you actually want to say, love."

Eli hadn't realised when they'd unconsciously engaged themselves in a staring competition, but she certainly wasn't about to back down — not even when his arm rested itself on the back on her chair and his breath grew dangerously close to mingling with hers. The scent of whatever rich cologne he wore invaded her senses and she felt her insides twist in delight... At least, she had forgotten about the, now dull, but still present, burning feeling on her legs.

"I'd say I'm pretty well acquainted to looking after myself."

Tommy shot her a mildly amused look. "And this is looking after yourself, is it?"

"I survived a brutal attack by a Shelby, didn't I?" She retorted, her glistening with an emotion akin to gaiety. "How many can say that with all their limbs still in tact?"

He huffed out a breath of air, breaking their eye contact for a second before reconnecting them as he spoke, "Aye, you did. Perhaps, I should be the one saying you shouldn't leave me unaccompanied. Never know when I could use your gallant protection." His thoughts had momentarily shifted back to that morning when her warning of checking under his car for a bomb had saved his life.

"Apologies, Mr. Shelby," Eli began in a light mocking tone, "I don't believe that line of work would do anything to satisfy me."

His eyebrows rose in mock offence. "And spending your day in my company, wouldn't do the trick?"

"Not quite."

"And why's that, sweetheart?" He noticed the way her eyes brightened in the slightest manner at the return of the flirty nickname.

Eli boldly placed her hand on the middle of his thigh as she leaned closer to him, determined to establish she was not intimidated by his dominant presence like all the rest of Small Heath were. "I don't trust you."

She watched his eyes drop down to her lips before he swallowed and returned his gaze to hers as he replied, "I'd be worried if you did."