Page 10 of Strip for Me

I follow Todd through the entrance hall and up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, is a long, square corridor and another pair of stairs going up in the middle.

"Your room is up here, and ours are all on this level," Todd tells me as he walks towards the second set of stairs going up. I follow and at the top is an attic room. It's clearly been painted recently as I can smell it. The room has white walls and wooden floors. There is a large, wooden, double bed and a matching wardrobe. There is a little, white, fur rug at the end of the bed but little else. I'm relieved when I see my bags next to the wall under the two roof windows. The room is light and airy even if it slightly smells like paint still.

"This is the bathroom, and it's yours," Todd opens the other door in the room and shows me the small room. Its big enough and has a shower, toilet and sink. I can’t believe I’m going to have my own bathroom.

"This room is lovely and massive, surely one of you guys must want it," I say, and Todd shakes his head.

"No, it's yours," he says. I spot a notepad on the bed, and I walk over to pick it up as Todd walks out.

"Wait, this isn't mine," I say and pick up the worn notepad. Little splats of paint are on the cover, and the corners look worn down like someone uses it a lot.

"That's mine, shit, I must have left it in here," Todd comes over, and I give him the notepad.

"Why was it in here?" I ask.

"This used to be my room, it's the biggest," he says and does not look happy about telling me. I take a step back as his angry gaze hits mine.

"Why would you give your room to me?" I ask, but he turns around and walks to the door. I expect him to answer me, but he doesn't, the door being shut behind him is his answer.

Why on earth would he give me his room?

Eight

ANDRE

“At least,you found your one night stand that walked out on you,” Kaiden laughs as we sit around a table at the village café. The café is one of two in the village we have lived in for years. Todd’s sisters live around the village and that’s why we choose to stay here. We could have stayed in the city, but we like our privacy.

“Shut it, man,” I say and lean back on my chair. The little, old lady who owns the café is called Wendy. I smile as she comes over with our coffees and puts them on the table. I have fixed a few things for her over the years, and I always bring her a cheesecake from her favourite place in the city when I go. I know her husband used to do it for her before he passed away five years ago.

“Any woman tied you handsome boys down, yet?” she asks with a little smile. Wendy looks good for her age. No one would expect her to be eighty and still run a café that’s open every day. Wendy’s long, grey hair is up in a colourful bandana, and she wears multi-coloured dresses every time I see her, like today.

“No, I’m saving myself for you, Wendy. You know you have my heart,” Kaiden says with a cheeky grin that makes Wendy laugh.

“Ah, if only I was fifty years younger,” she says. The door makes a ringing noise as Todd and Dom walk in. They take the seats next to us after ordering drinks.

“So, Ellie?” Dom talks first, and they all look at me.

“I will move out with her if this is going to cause trouble between us,” I say, watching my friends closely. We have lived together for years, but I won’t risk our friendship, and I won’t let Ellie walk out of my life. I was serious when I said she wasn’t a fucking one night stand, the first time I kissed her I knew I wanted more than one night. I won’t say I haven’t had one night stands in the past, but it was different with her. I only watched her for a minute as she swayed her hips on that dancefloor, and I knew I wanted her. Ellie is elegant and beautiful.

“You and El are not going anywhere,” Todd says. I don’t think I am the only one that likes her. I narrow my eyes at him when he looks away with a tight jaw. I can’t remember the last time he gave anyone a nickname.

“The little missy might cause a few problems. There is a reason we don’t have women in the house, remember Casey,” Kaiden says, and I cringe internally at the mention of Casey.

She is the reason we don’t have women in the house. I glance at Dom as he tightens his fist on the table. Casey was Dom’s wife, and when she moved in, there was nothing but trouble.

“Ellie isn’t Casey,” I say, and none of them respond.

“She might run when I bring her to the club later,” Kaiden says, and I nod.

“Why don’t we just explain? She is pregnant, and it might be a shock. I doubt it would be good for her or the baby to be stressed,” Dom says. I go to agree with him, when Kaiden interrupts.

“Ellie won’t get what we do unless she sees us, and anyway, I have another reason for bringing her to the club,” Kaiden says.

“What reason?” I ask him.

“I did some research on our new baby momma, and she used to work as an accountant. We need a new accountant, and she is looking for a job. You know I’m shit at the accounts, and I can’t keep doing it,” Kaiden says, and I close my eyes. I don’t even want to know what illegal shit he did online to find out all this stuff about her.

“It would be a good way of keeping her and the baby close,” Dom says, agreeing with the mad plan.

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