→ CHAPTER FOURTEEN; THE WEDDING.
Waking up in Michael's arms was something that Hannah could get used to. The feeling of his warm skin relaxed against her stomach as he breathed in and out slowly was paradise and the craving to be around Michael only grew with every passing second. Slowly sitting up in bed, Hannah shifted so the sheets covered her body that was only clothed with one of Michael's work shirts, the material hanging from her frame as she observed his slumbering body, her heart bursting with joy.
She loved him.
Over the months of knowing Michael, Hannah always knew that there was something there, but she hadn't expected it to turn into love so quickly. The previous night at the bar, she had shut down the claims that she was in love with Michael and that he was in love with her, but the reality was, they did love each other dearly. It wasn't some school-girl crush, it was real.
"Are you staring at me?" Michael asked as he lazily opened one eye.
Hannah let out a breath of air before leaning down to kiss Michael on the cheek. "Yes, I was and I'm not sorry about it."
Michael chuckled before rolling over onto his back. "Don't worry about it. I watched you sleep for a while last night."
As he spoke, Hannah wondered if Michael was in love with her as well and if in the dead of night, when there was nothing but the sound of drunken men stumbling home or owls flying around the sky, he had realised his love for her. It was a fear of hers, had been since she was a youngster, that she would fall in love with a man at a rapid pace, just for them to not love her back. The feelings began to stir at the bottom of her stomach as she watched Michael light a cigarette for herself and one for him.
"I didn't realise that Tommy's wedding was coming up so quickly. I'll need to ask Sister Margaret if I can have the day off or swap shifts with one of the other nurses," Hannah said after deciding that she wasn't going to tell Michael that she loved him, at least not yet. It was something that could wait until Hannah was completely sure that Michael felt the same way.
"Two weeks, isn't it?" If Michael was being completely honest, he had kept away from the wedding planning and only listened when it involved him or Hannah. Grace was hastily trying to get the last things together, sort the dresses and catering out as well as arrange for her family to travel over to Birmingham from Ireland.
"Correct." Hannah sighed before dropping her free hand to Michael's. "It's going to be good, I can feel it."
Michael laughed loudly before shaking his head. "I can tell that you've never been to a Shelby event."
Hannah blushed before shrugging. "Well, here's the first to many more." Hannah raised the hand that was holding the cigarette and Michael copied her action.
"Oh, indeed."
+++
Two weeks later, after a lot of smooth-talking and pleading, Hannah was making her way over to the wedding ceremony in Michael's car. She had decided to try and not wear one of the uninteresting dresses that she brought down from London. So, with Alexandra by her side, Hannah had gone in Birmingham's main city centre and picked out the grandest dress that she could find with the budget that she had. Michael had kindly offered to put money towards the outfit, but Hannah declined.
Both Hannah and Michael had spent almost every day with each other since the night at The Garrison. On her days off, herself and Michael would travel into the countryside and have a picnic if the weather was somewhat reasonable - which usually it wasn't so they huddled in the car to keep warm with a few sandwiches that Polly had made - or Hannah would go over to the betting shop and help Michael with the statistics, him teaching her the ways of the Blinder's. Sister Margaret and Sister Maria had stopped questioning Hannah about Michael and allowed to her date him without restrictions, with the one firm rule that he didn't enter the convent.
Of course, the two of them had broken the rule when the convent was unoccupied, and Hannah knew that everyone would be gone for a long time, at least that's what she thought. Halfway through kissing on the kitchen table, Hannah sat on the wooden surface and Michael stood in between her thighs, the front door had opened, and Sister Maria's voice roared through the hallways as she spoke about a disturbing birth. Luckily, Michael was quick on his feet and had managed to sneak out through the back door before Sister Maria had spotted him. Hannah had to quickly wipe her lips and sort out her pinafore as she made conversation with the authoritative figure that could make her jobless and homeless at any moment.
"Are you nervous?" Michael inquired, quickly glancing in Hannah's direction before turning her attention to the road. "I am."
Michael wasn't talking about the wedding, he was speaking about the intimate night they would share when all the celebrations were over. Hannah was more than nervous, in fact petrified. She had never been with another man passionately, her focus in London was her work, not boys. The furthest she had gone with some crude groping and messy kisses in the corner of a club.
"Yes," she replied with honesty, her eyes not meeting Michael's as she stared out of the window at the country road. The bottom of her dress was calming her down as she fiddled with the exclusive material. "Make sure that I don't drink a lot otherwise nothing will happen tonight," she kidded.
Michael huffed before side-eyeing Hannah. "We don't want that now, do we?"
Hannah shook her head. "No, we don't."
Michael looked down at the leather seat for a second before blinking a few times. "Hannah, I l - "
"We are here," she interrupted, quickly identifying what Michael was going to say. Even though she left the same way, Hannah did not want to hear the words that would make everything become a whole lot more real. The time that they had been spending together was perfect, more than perfect, and she wanted it to last forever, but she still feared that everything would go wrong once they had established their love for each.
Michael sighed softly before opening his car door. Hannah had already stepped out of the expensive car and was making her way around to Michael's side, so she could grab onto his hand. Despite being in the attendance of his family many times, Hannah still worried about her wellbeing whenever she was around them. It was something that would pass but every time she thought that she was getting over the fact that they were immoral individuals, one of the mothers at the clinic would tell Hannah another story about the Shelby's and tell her to stay away from Michael - news about their relationship had travelled fast. Hannah had dismissed most of the stories and had told people to keep their nose out of her business but some of the things that she was told loitered in the back of her head.
"Hannah," Esme yelled as she ran over to her friend. Hannah good-humouredly rolled her eyes at Michael before embracing Esme in a hug. "Michael, you look dashing."
"Don't tell John hear you say that," Michael joked causing all three people to chuckle out loud. "Is everybody already inside?"
Esme nodded before looking back at the impressive building. "Just waiting on Grace to arrive so I would get in there and find your places soon."
Both Michael and Hannah nodded at Esme's comment and made their way inside of the beautiful building that Tommy and Grace had picked out for their wedding ceremony. Inside was just as lovely; the Shelby's on one side of the room and Grace's family on the other, all dressed in their cavalry uniforms.
"John isn't going to be happy about that," Michael said, referring to the men in uniform.
Hannah remained silent as she walked up the stairs and towards the seats that had been reserved for herself and Michael. Sat beside her was Linda, who Hannah had only spoken to a handful of times. The woman was looking down at her hands, as if she was trying to figure something out. When she noticed Hannah's stares, Linda gave her a quick smile before looking ahead at her husband who was stood at the top of the altar with Tommy.
"You alright?" Michael asked as he placed his hand on Hannah's thigh. With a quick smile, Hannah nodded before turning her attention away from Michael as she tried to collect her own thoughts. "Hannah..."
"Yes?"
"Are you angry at me?" Michael asked, his voice soft and child-like.
Instantly, Hannah felt bad for cutting Michael off in the car when he was about to announce his love for her. "No, not at all." Hannah placed her hand on top of Michael's and leaned over to kiss him unhurriedly, earning a groan from John who had sat down next to Michael.
"Fucking lovebirds," he muttered before smirking.
+++
"What do you call an animal with a prick halfway up it's back?" John looked around as he waited for someone to answer, a wide grin on his face. "A cavalry horse."
Hannah began to laugh at John's joke, easily entertained but trailed off when she noticed that no-one else was laughing. With an awkward cough, Hannah sat up straight in her chair and bit her lip as she waited for the empty plates to be taken away.
"This is why you are my favourite, Hannah," John said before raising his glass.
Hannah could sense Michael's smirk as he looked down at his lap, shaking his head. "Don't encourage him," he whispered to Hannah jokingly.
"He's a funny guy," Hannah responded as she tried to stop herself from laughing about the joke once more. She could already feel the harsh stares of Grace's family on her, possibly judging Hannah for laughing at the dig that John had made but she couldn't help it, John's humour was infectious, and nobody could deny the fact that he was a funny lad.
"I - "
Michael was cut off by Ada Shelby - the only Shelby sibling that Hannah hadn't met. She was a glamorous women and Hannah could see Ada and Alexandra getting on like a house on fire. However, Hannah had kept her distance and waited for Ada to make the first move. From what she had heard, Ada was a political woman, a mother and a widower which was the completely different to Hannah who had not been brought up around politics or even learnt about it.
"It's lovely to finally meet you, Hannah. My Aunt has told me a lot about you." Ada held her hand out for Hannah to shake and smiled as she took a sip on her Gin. "Now, what is a gorgeous girl like you doing with him?"
"Alright, Ada," Michael said before sighing.
"It's a joke," Ada responded, emphasising each word. "I've heard that you are a midwife which is nice. You've seen a lot of poverty?"
"Ada," Polly warned, her voice strict. "I'm sure that Hannah doesn't want to discuss politics at a party."
"I honestly don't mind," Hannah said, speaking up for herself. It would be nice to learn about politics and Ada's political views.
"No, honestly, don't do it. Ada will be following you around for the rest of the night discussing socialism with you," Michael whispered in Hannah's ear with a quick roll of the eyes. "And we have other things that we want to be doing, don't we?"
Ada leaned over Hannah's body and hit Michael's shoulder forcefully. "I'd prefer it if you didn't whisper about me behind my back. Anyways, there is a man over there who is willing to discuss politics with me, so I will go and speak with him instead without being judged. Hannah, it really has been lovely to see you and if you are ever down in London, let me know and you can come and stay at mine. That way, I can teach you about all things Marxism without being ridiculed for it."
Ada left after the melodramatic speech, throwing her head over her shoulder to give Michael a dirty look before sauntering over to an untrustworthy looking man who looked out of place compared to the other people at the festivity.
"You'll get used to her eventually," Polly joked as she watched her Niece. "Do you have any brothers and sisters, Hannah?"
Hannah shook her head. "I'm an only child."
"Lucky for some," John said, joining the conversation before leaving again to make more digs at the Irish men and women that were sat across from the rest of the Shelby's and blinders.
Michael's hand was resting on Hannah's thigh, his fingers wondering up and down at slow movements. It had been rested there for over half an hour, an innocent action that hadn't turned to lust until that moment. Hannah glanced down at Michael's hand and watched as it slowly pulled up the material of her expensive dress. Of course, Michael remained as suave as ever as he chatted to his mother about Ada and the business.
"Are you alright, Hannah?" Polly asked as she noted the younger girl's silence. Hannah looked up at Polly before gulping, her eyes flickering over to Michael who was looking down at Hannah was fake concern.
"I'm fine, thank you. Do you know where the bathroom is?" Hannah managed to get out, ignoring the well-hidden smirk on Michael's face that only she had clicked onto.
"Mary is outside, she will take you," Grace said, overhearing Hannah's question.
Hannah bowed her head once, gesturing that she had heard Grace's question before forcefully pushing Michael's hand away. A small grunt flew out of his lips, earning the attention of Polly but luckily, she didn't question anything.
"Thank you," she said, her voice barely audible and a smile on her face before giving Michael daggers for his mischievous behaviour. "I won't be long."
Michael watched as Hannah walked away from the long table that was filled with conversation about different topics, his eyes not leaving hers until she had successfully walked away with Mary.
"Michael," Polly said, grabbing the attention of her son. "Go after her."
With a puzzled look on his face, Michael shook his head. "I don't need to follow her to the toilet."
Polly sighed before scrunching her eyebrows together and scoffing. "You are a fool, boy. There is obviously something wrong with her and I suggest that you go and find out what is it before she begins to think that you don't care about her."
With a roll of his eyes, Michael scraped his chair away from the table and placed his napkin on the surface. No one turned their attention to Michael as he stomped away from the area, everyone invested in their own discussions about either the wedding or the business. Polly watched as her son walked away, a firm look on her face until he could no longer be seen.
Esme leaned over John and the table slightly, so she could speak to Polly without others hearing. "What was all that about?" she asked, her voice low.
Polly shrugged her shoulders before pressing her lips into a thin line. "I don't think it's going to work out, Esme. He is happy, and I am glad that she makes him happy, but something is going to break them up, I can feel it."
"You don't know that - "
"I do," Polly interrupted, her expression hard and strict.
Esme sighed before sitting back in her chair, not having the effort to argue with Polly. Even though Polly wasn't optimistic about the relationship between Hannah and Michael, Esme was. When she looked at the two of them, she saw love. From the way that they held each other's hand with Michael's thumb rubbing against the top of Hannah's hand, how Michael would constantly move his eyes over to Hannah, making sure that she was okay in certain situations - it was love.
+++
It took Michael a while to find the bathroom, due to the fact there was many in the house because of Tommy's need to own an over-the-top country home, despite there only being three people who lived there. Just as he had arrived outside of the bathroom, Hannah was walking out, causing the two of them to bump into each other.
"Michael," she said with a gulp. "Why did you come and find me?"
Michael placed his hands in his suit pockets before leaning back on the heels of his shoe. "Me mum told me to come and look for you, I don't know why. I reckon that she thinks that you are upset but you would tell if you were, wouldn't you?"
"I'm fine, there is no need to worry at all." Hannah shrugged her shoulders, not at all convincing.
"And I'm the fucking prime minister, tell me the truth, Hannah." Looking down at the ground, Hannah started to fiddle with the material on her dress like she always did, only to be stopped by Michael's warm hands engulfing hers. "Is it because of what I was doing underneath the table? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or - "
"No, it's my own fault. You'll be my first time and I'm nervous," she admitted with a little awkwardness.
"I don't want to force you into anything that you don't want to do. I am willing to wait for you, Hannah," Michael reassured. He didn't want to make Hannah feel as if she was forced to sleep with him; he would wait forever if it meant that she was happy.
"This is what I want, Michael. I just want it to be perfect..." Hannah trailed off. "And it will be perfect as long as it is with you," she added with a smirk.
Michael nodded his head once before holding his hand out for Hannah to take. "I believe that the party will be in full-swing soon, so I need to ask, will you please dance with me?"
"I would be absolutely honoured."
authors note; smut, smut, smut next chapter. gimme some time to write it ( might be up on sunday i reckon, maybe sat). and pls vote n comment, leave feedback x