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Chapter 16

Noah

The next few days went by in a blur, it was Tuesday and I had agreed to shoot with a photographer who was willing to pay for my time, not brand work just a casual photoshoot on The Embankment which runs alongside the River Thames.

Chelsea and I had been texting non stop since our date on Saturday afternoon, I had thought of bringing her to Daniel's funeral tomorrow but I'm not sure a funeral is the best idea for a second date. Alice had told me as much when I put the idea to her yesterday.

After what had happened between Alice and myself over the last week had been fun and unexpected but I'm so happy that neither of us feel awkward about the situation, I love that we have just managed to carry on as normal, she's shown no hard feelings towards Chelsea, if anything she's been really supportive.

I was almost ready to leave my apartment and make the journey to meet my new photographer, Kevin. I've been a huge fan of his portrait work for a while now and was honoured when he approached me about this shoot on Sunday. Today was the only day we both had completely free, so there wasn't much time to prep.

We had agreed on a Peaky Blinders style shoot, which meant I had to get my tweed suit dry cleaned in a day, fortunately I was on good terms with the dry cleaner on my street and he had agreed to get it ready in a day. I'm sure the extra few pounds in his pocket that I slid his way helped.

My suit was now as good as new, the white shirt underneath was as crisp as the day I bought it, the brown shoes on my feet clean and ready to go. The waistcoat over my shirt in place. Placing the final piece of my attire on to my head, looking in the mirror making sure the flat cap was straight. A double, a triple check and I was ready to go.

It had been ages since I had role played a photoshoot but it was always something I had enjoyed, it allowed me to be someone else for a few hours, play a different part in life and what better way to do it than being a 'Fucking Peaky Blinder.'

Daniel has given me full inspiration for this shoot, he was the one who kept going on and on about this tv programme that was receiving rave reviews but I was never one for being sucked into tv series. I didn't want to be one of these people who sacrificed my life for a space of time for the sake of a tv show.

Saying that, after the first episode, I was hooked. I almost watched the first 6 episodes in one sitting. I managed 5 before my eyes wouldn't allow me to stay awake any longer.

Since then, I have watched every season and have fully caught up with everyone so I'm now able to talk about it when it was brought up in conversation around me. And I owe this to Daniel, my friend who was taken too soon. So this shoot is dedicated to you, my friend.

One last check in the mirror and I decided I was ready to be a Peaky Blinder. I was now Thomas Shelby and would be for the rest of the afternoon.

                                      ~~~

The shoot was immense. Kevin had taken so many good shots, I already couldn't wait to receive these back and start posting them to my Instagram. Ready to show people that I was more than just a one trick pony, selling cheap streetwear and brands. It was time to up my game and head to the next level in my career.

Kevin and I had just sat down in an old fashioned East London pub. The smell was a mixture of damp and old cigarette smoke which was still evident on the walls, which were yellow and full of tar. Which was pretty bad since the ban on smoking in pubs has been in place since 2008. This place hadn't been deep cleaned in a while but I think it would lose its character if it were to lose the old smells and I'm sure these walls would tell many stories if they could speak.