Page 16 of Strip for Me

“Are you feeling sick anymore?” he asks me as he steps away, whatever just happened is stopped for now.

“A little,” I admit to him. I watch as he searches through a couple of cupboards until he finds what he was looking for.

“Ginger biscuits.” He hands me a packet of them, and I frown at him. Ginger biscuits are nice, but I don’t get why he would think they would help me when I feel sick.

“My sister swore by these throughout her pregnancy, I used to buy them for her. I believe ginger ale helped as well, and I’ll get you some,” he tells me, a slight redness appearing on his cheeks as he rubs the back of his neck.

“Thank you,” I say, hoping he knows I’m referring to holding my hair and, well, looking after me.

“Anything for you, El,” he says and then walks out of the room, leaving me with my heart pounding as I watch him go.

The word ‘anything’ repeats in my mind again and again.

Fifteen

ELLIE

“So,you ready to start your new job?” Dom asks, as he comes in the room, with Kaiden following him. I haven’t seen them today, only Andre for a few minutes before he said he was tired and had to go to sleep. I offered to do an online food shop, but Andre shut that idea down. He said they all take turns shopping, and it’s Kaiden’s week. He said I can do a shop after I’ve been paid by them, and he also made sure to get my mobile number. I was surprised that we had forgotten to exchange numbers.

“Sure, who is dancing?” I ask them. Kaiden has on jeans, a white top and a black jacket. His hair is styled to the side but somehow seems messy. Dom has a suit on, and he looks incredible. It takes me a few tries to pull my eyes away. I wonder if it’s one of those suits that have Velcro in them, so when they rip them off, they don’t waste clothes. The only reason I even know about that is because I’ve have spent way too long watching Magic Mike on YouTube on my phone, and other strip dance videos. At least, I think I’m prepared for what I’m going to see tonight.

“Andre and I, tonight,” Dom answers, and I nod my head as words escape me. I might have seen Andre with all his clothes off, but Dominic is like every girl’s, geeky-boy dream.

“Ready?” Andre asks, coming into the room wearing loose black trousers and a grey top, it feels cramped with them all in here, and all their eyes are on me as I stand up.

“Ready,” I say and catch Andre’s eyes. I watch as his jaw tightens, and he looks away from me. I feel like he’s upset with me, and the way he looks at me proves I might be on to something. I don’t get a chance to say anything as he turns to walk out, all of them have their coats and shoes on. I quickly shove my coat and my boots on.

I follow the guys out of the house, and Andre stops by the door.

“You’re coming in my car, Ellie,” he tells me, and I nod. I see Kaiden and Dom get into Kaiden’s car as Andre opens the door to his car for me. I slide into his car and strap myself in as I wait for him. The drive is awkward before I finally snap and say something.

“What have I done to upset you?” I ask him, and his hands tighten slightly on the steering wheel.

“Nothing, Ellie,” he says as he pulls into the street with the club on it. The street is a little empty, the clubs just starting to open, and the big number Four is flashing outside and giving me a little light to see Andre.

“Really? Because I’m not that stupid, no matter what you think. I know I upset you when I ran out of the club last night. I didn’t run out because I didn’t like what I saw, no. I ran out because I was in shock. I didn’t expect that, and it’s not fair for you to blame me,” I say as he parks.

“You liked what you saw?” he asks as he pulls the keys out of the car, and his warm, blue eyes meet mine. I gulp before Ianswer, the memory of him slowly pulling off that white shirt and the sexy way he moved. What was there not to like?

“Yes,” I say in a whisper, and he moves closer, our mouths inches away as he searches my eyes.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you, Ellie,” he tells me and moves his lips closer, they briefly brush mine before my door is opened, and I jump back.

“Everything alright?” Kaiden asks me as I unclip my seatbelt. I slide out of the car at the same time as Andre, but I don’t meet his eyes.

“All good, let’s go.” I say, and Kaiden slips his hand into mine. I don’t stop him, but I do see Andre’s eyes narrow on our hands. I’m surprised he doesn’t say anything as he moves to my other side as we walk up to Dom, who is opening the shutter doors to the club. Once he unlocks them and pushes them up, he opens the main door and holds it open for us. I also see how Dom’s eyes narrow in on my hand in Kaiden’s.

None of us say a word as we walk in, and I hear Dom locking the door behind us. Andre runs ahead and switches the lights on. The place looks just like it did last night, the same big stage and the circle of tables spread around it. I didn’t notice before, but there are glass bowls full of what look like little, red, glass balls in the middle of the tables. The floor is a shiny red and sparkles like the sparkly, white floor on the stage. The two poles on the stage are black, and the walls are all the same dark-red as the floor. The long bar is made of glass at the bottom and you can see all the different kinds of drinks they have here. The wall has tons of bottles, too. There are two doors next to the stage, and both say, ‘Staff Only’ on them. I didn’t see it before because I was too distracted with the hot men on stage, but above the stage is ‘Four’ in red letters.

“What do you think?” Andre asks me as he comes to my side, his fingers skimming my hand, but he doesn’t move to take my hand like Kaiden has.

“It’s nice,” I say.

“Nice? I’ve heard you have to worry when a woman says something is ‘nice’ or ‘fine’,” Kaiden says, and I turn to him with a small smile.

“I have never been to a strip club, so I have nothing to compare it to. So yes, it’snice,” I say, and he chuckles.

“Come on, smartass, I’ll show you the office and the private room we have,” Kaiden says.

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