Velvet Crowbar

“Tommy Riordan, if you don’t open that door in ten seconds, I’ll bust it down myself.”

Emma stood with her hands on her hips, a scowl on her lips. They were running late as it was and Tommy being the stubborn ass he was surely didn’t help their case. There was a low mumbled from the other side of the door before it swung open to see a disheveled looking Tommy. “Why the hell do we have to be there a day early, and what the hell are you wearing?”

“We promised JJ we would do the red carpet and the dinner after.” The brunette brushed a hand over the skirt of her dress. The cream color of the fabric accentuated her summer sun kissed skin.

Tommy found himself with a scowl to match his fiancé's. “More like you agreed and I just sat there.”

“Five minutes, Riordon.” She turned away from the door way, her hair cascading down her back. As she moved to bring the bags to the car, Emma called back over her shoulder, “I used my tips from last week to get that grey suit dry cleaned.”

The fighter groaned as he heard the door shut. Of course Emma wouldn’t ask him specifically to wear the suit; the fact that she spent some of her money on it said enough. Tommy turned to look at the grey ensemble laid out neatly on the bed. The eager look on his fiancé's face was enough to persuade Tommy to change his clothes. As he rolled up his sleeves, the door opened again and the sound of Emma’s heels on the hardwood floor echoed through the room.

Tommy walked out of the bedroom and headed straight for the door without so much as a word. Emma smiled at the sight of her man in her favorite grey suit. She followed after him and dropped herself in the passenger seat handing Tommy the keys. The couple drove in silence, their fingers intertwined over the center console. Upon agreeing to the red carpet press and dinner after, Emma saw it as an opportunity for herself and Tommy to get away from all the negativity that had been surrounding them in the Burgh lately.

Justice had yet to be served but the police department was closing in on the culprit. There were several other robberies within a five day span and one building was able to catch a fuzzy image of who the person was. Now all they had to do was wait for the image to be cleared up. Out of the corner of his eye, Tommy took a moment to truly appreciate just how well his life had turned out. Maybe this is was how Brendan felt when he decided not to leave.

Feeling the familiar angry sensation building up in his stomach at the memory of his brother staying behind, Tommy took his mind off his brother but not without making a mental note to continue that train of thought for his fights tomorrow. Taking the same route his pop had when they came just a month earlier for Sparta, Tommy quickly found the hotel. Emma stifled a laugh when the kid in charge of valet parking nearly shit himself when he realized whose car he was getting in.

By the time they finally reached the venue, there was already a substantial crowd formed around the entry way to the press junket. As they stepped out onto the carpet and were bombarded with the blinding flash of cameras and microphones being shoved in their faces, Emma instantly regretted pushing Tommy to come. She could tell by the way he held her hand just how tense and uncomfortable these types of events were.

As they gradually made their way to the entrance, JJ greeted them for a few photos. He wrapped his lanky arms around the brunette and gave her a quick look up and down, “You look amazing!” He bent down to be level with her ear, “Modesty is such a lost gem these days.”

Emma took a step to the side so photographers could get pictures of fTommy and JJ together. As she waited to move on, Emma began to take notice of the other women on the carpet before looking down at what she was wearing. Her light coat of mascara and dash of blush on her cheeks was nothing compared to the professionally applied foundation, mascara, eyeliner, and the whole nine yards. She bit her lip and nervously played with the hem of her cream coloured dress.

“Maybe this was a bad idea.” She muttered to Tom as he waited around in the lobby to be called on stage for interviews.

Tommy grunted and crossed his arms over his chest, “I could’ve told you that to begin with, didn’t want to be here in the first place.”

Emma sat down on the window sill, crossing her ankles, “I’m sorry.” Her voice was soft as she saw Tommy’s eyes following someone’s movements outside, “But hey! There’s a travel agency by our hotel; I thought it would be fun to go see some brochures for our honeymoon after this is over.”

“When this shit is over, I just want to relax in the room and go to bed.” The fighter couldn’t handle anymore wedding or honeymoon talk. “I told JJ I’m not going to dinner either.”

Before she got a chance to respond, a petite blonde tapped Tommy’s shoulder and pulled him away. The fighter was presented on stage and gave a small wave as he sat down. Emma watched for about the first five minutes before disappearing into the crowd. From his seat at the table, Tommy didn’t even notice she had left until he was finally released from the grips of the press.

With her toes buried in the sand, Emma ignored her ringing cell phone and reveled int he feeling of the sand slipping through her fingertips. She laughed to herself as she thought about how much she honestly hated the beach growing up and once she moved to Pittsburgh to live with Tommy, it was the one thing she found herself missing most. The sunset on the ocean horizon line was truly a piece of art.

“Emma, that you?” Tommy’s voice grew closer with each syllable.

She got up, brushing the sand off her bum. With her heels dangling from her fingertips, Emma looked up at Tommy as he approached her and asked the one single question that had been daunting her mind.

“Do you still want to get married?”