Page 24 of Strip for Me

“That I can’t stay away from her and I’ve been trying,” he says, and I nod my head, understanding him completely.

“If any of us can say we can walk away from her, then this won’t work,” Kaiden says and none of us say a word.

“Then for now, we have an agreement,” Kaiden says and pats me on the shoulder as he walks out.

Let’s hope this agreement doesn’t blow up in our fucking faces when Ellie finds out.

Twenty

ELLIE

“That’s our baby,”Andre says, and he holds my hand tightly in his as we watch the little alien-looking foetus moving around. It’s strange to think this is my baby, a baby I will have in my arms in a couple of months. I pull my eyes away and look up at Andre as he leans slightly over the bed, staring at the screen.

“Everything is looking healthy, and we will book you in for your twenty-week scan,” the woman tells me as she pulls away the scanner from my stomach. She gives me some towels to wipe away the gel.

“Can we buy photos?” Andre asks, getting out his wallet.

“How many?” the woman asks.

“Five copies,” he replies, and looks down at me as I give him a questioning look.

“The guys all want one,” he says, and I ignore the guilt I feel when he mentions them. I need to tell him about my feeling for Kaiden and Todd. Dominic isn’t speaking to me, and every time we’re in the same room he just walks out. I don’t want to admit how much that is pissing me off. Holy ducks, I just want to throw something at him and hope that stops him avoiding me like theplague. Ever since he saw Kaiden and me kissing, he won’t look at me. I wonder if he is disgusted with me?

“Well now we know where you’re living, we will send appointments in the post. These photos are free, but you will have to pay at the next scan. We might even be able to find out the sex if you wish,” the midwife tells me as I accept the folder of notes she hands me. The midwife explained to me about looking after myself and a lot of numbers I can call if there are any issues. Andre said he would drive me to my appointments with my local midwife every month, where they will check my blood pressure among other things. Andre takes the photos, and I see him put a ten-pound note in a charity box on the desk. The little gesture is sweet.

“Are you still meeting your friend?” Andre asks, and I shake my head.

“No, she messaged to say she was busy,” I say, and he smiles.

“Well, I want to take you somewhere,” he places his hand on my lower back as we walk out. I glance at him as he moves to hold the door open for me. Andre looks amazing as usual, today, and I don’t know if it’s my hormones, but all I want to do is kiss him. I shouldn’t because I’ve done enough kissing recently, and I’m not that kind of girl. I never wanted to be two-timing anyone, yet here we are.

“I kind of wanted to talk you about something,” I tell him, and he smiles at me. Andre doesn’t respond as he pays for the hospital parking, and we get into the car. He hums to the radio music as he drives us out of York and towards the village.

“I thought you wanted to show me something?” I ask Andre as he pulls into the driveway of our house.

“It’s here,” he tells me and gets out of the car. I undo my seat as he opens my door. I slide my hand into his open one and let him help me out. I shut the door, but Andre keeps my hand in his as we walk into the house, and he leads me up the stairs.He opens the first door on the left as he lets go of my hand and waves me in. I walk into a large bedroom, half of it is a wood work shop and not what I expected to see in Andre’s bedroom. In the far corner by the two windows, is a large wooden table with tools and bits of shaped wood all over it. The other side of the room has his double bed with blue sheets. It’s low on the ground and made from wood with an impressive, wooden headboard. There is a large wardrobe and an ensuite that I can see, as the door is open. I’m surprised how tidy the room is.

“If you brought me up here to see your bed, then holy ducks, I seriously underestimated how cocky you are,” I say, and it makes him laugh as he shakes his head.

“I got you back to my bed once, didn’t I?” he asks me as he puts his wallet, phone, and the pictures on his bed.

“That was different,” I say, and he walks over to me.

“Why was it?” he asks me but just winks at me as he walks around me and towards the wooden table. I cross my arms as I watch him open a drawer and pull out a fist-sized elephant made from wood.

“I made this for the baby, for when he or she is older, anyway,” he says, and I let my arms drop in shock a little when I look back at the table and recognise that most of the shapes are animal-like.

“Here,” he offers me the elephant. The wood is smooth and looks like a toy you would buy in a store.

“I’m going to paint it, but I had to order some proper, baby safe paint. I know babies chew on things,” he says, and I have to wipe my eyes as the tears fall. This is so sweet.

“Shit, do you hate it?” he asks me and moves closer as I shake my head.

“No, it’s perfect, and I’m sorry,” I say, and he moves his hands down my arms before he takes the statue out of my hands.

“Why are you sorry?” he asks me, and my mind comes up with a million answers. I’m sorry I moved into your house and kissed one of your friends. Sorry that I hugged another one, and I like the other. Sorry that I’m clearly a total bitch.

“I kissed Kaiden, and I wanted to kiss Todd. I like Dominic, even if he clearly hates me, and I have feelings for you. I want to blame it all on my hormones, but I don’t think it’s just that,” I say quickly, stumbling over my words.

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