Page 8 of Strip for Me

"Why don't I follow you back home, and we can get some of your stuff for you?" Andre offers changing the subject quickly as I see Dom about to say something.

"Sure," I say and follow Andre out.

"See you later," Kaiden shouts, and I wave goodbye at him. His devilish smile stays in my mind as Andre follows my car back home.

“So, you found your baby daddy?" Liz asks when I walk into her apartment with Andre following. Liz has thankfully changed out of the tight dress she was wearing earlier, and into a blue sundress. I have no idea how she isn’t freezing in just a small dress. I expect Andre to check her out, like my ex-husband always did, but he doesn’t. No, he smiles politely and shakes her hand. I'm not surprised she knows it is him, she did see him before at the club when I left with him. My stomach rumbles loudly, and Liz chuckles. Thank god that the apartment is tidy, as it is not usually because Liz is a little messy. The studio apartment is small, with an open-plan kitchen which doubles as a lounge, too. There is a tiny bedroom and a small bathroom which is perfect for one person but cramped for two. Living in the middle of the city is really expensive and most people cannot afford anything more than this. The kitchen is dated with brown cabinets and older appliances. There is cream carpet throughout the studio and painted, white walls. The lounge has three large windows that show off the park outside. It's the best part of the studio, the amazing view. Liz is an estate agent, so she would have found somewhere better if she could.

"I will make us all some sandwiches and drinks. I’m glad I didn’t start cooking the Chinese," she says and winks at me. I groan and turn to Andre who is looking around. I don't have much because everything was lost in the fire. I have only one bag of new clothes and what little of my personal things that escaped the fire. It’s really sad to think I only have four outfits, and I’m currently wearing one. It’s worse when I remember I’m pregnant, and I’m going to outgrow most of my clothes soon.

"Come and sit," I say and walk over to the sofa, I sit down, and Andre takes the seat next to me. He could have sat on the other side, but he doesn't, choosing to sit as close to me as possible.

"How is the baby? Have you had any scans?" Andre asks me after an uncomfortable silence, where he looked around the room. I wish I had hidden the photos of me and Liz at prom that are on the fireplace. My date that night was sick all over my dress when he decided to get drunk. Liz’s date also ended up drunk, so we left the prom and went to the fair. The picture is of us in our dresses in front of the big wheel. Some random person took it of us, and we both look very happy. We both look very innocent at the start of our adult lives.

Andre clears his throat, and I pull my gaze away from the photo to answer him.

"I think everything is fine, the first scan is next week if you want to come," I offer, and he nods.

"Thank you for finding me," he says. Our eyes catch as he moves that slight bit closer on the sofa. I watch as his hand takes mine, and he opens his mouth opens to say something,

"Chicken or ham?" Liz shouts over, and the moment is gone as I move away slightly.

I say back loudly, "Chicken, ham sounds–" I stop mid-sentence as I feel sick at the idea of a ham sandwich.

"Finally, a normal pregnancy thing," Liz shouts back.

"So, no ham?" Andre asks, and I nod.

“It makes me feel sick, some foods are–” I stop as I don’t know how to explain it.

“I will make sure no one has ham in the house and anything else that makes you feel sick,” Andre says, a wave of protectiveness in his voice.

"Tell me about you? The whole moving in thing is a way to get to know you," I say, and he leans back on the sofa.

"I was brought up in Birmingham, in a foster home. That's where I met Dominic. We grew up together," he tells me.

"That's a long time," I say, not wanting to ask him about why he was in a foster home. It seems too personal considering thisis the first time we have really talked. Andre just nods at me and changes the subject.

"I like to play guitar, and I play at the local pub once a week for fun," he says, and I smile a little, trying to imagine the hot man in front of me playing guitar for fun. In fact, the thought just turns into a sexy one. Andre would look beyond attractive playing guitar.

"What about you? How did you get to sleeping on your friend’s couch?" he asks me, and I look away as I answer. I really don’t want to explain all the details.

"I did have a house, but there was a fire," I say, and he nods, seeming to understand.

"Well, you can live with us and get yourself sorted while we look after you," he says and smiles gently at me.

"We?" I ask, remembering Todd's reaction. I don't think he will be helping look after me. Kaiden seemed to be okay with me moving in, and Dom did say I was welcome, but I doubt Todd really wants me there.

"Todd is a gentle giant, but he speaks before he thinks about it. Kaiden is a flirt, but every girlfriend he has had, he has always looked after them," Andre tells me, and I wait for him to explain Dom. I have trouble believing Todd is a gentle giant. Well, I believe the giant part, as he was huge, but I cannot see him being nice to anyone.

"Dom is, well, he has a complicated past with women, but he invited you to stay. He also let you call him Dom, I don't know anyone that calls him that other than us," Andre tells me. I wonder why he let me call him Dom, it seems strange considering I’m a stranger to him.

"Here you go," Liz hands us a sandwich each.

We eat in silence, before Liz says, "So, baby daddy, you’re not going to run when things get difficult? Because they will, and I will need to hunt your ass down," Liz says casually, but it stillmakes me choke on part of my sandwich. Andre pats my back, while I give Liz a wide-eyed look.

"Liz–" I start, and Andre puts his hand on my thigh, stopping me from talking.

"My birth parents gave me up when things got difficult, and I have no intention of doing that. I will be there for Ellie and this baby, no matter how tough things get," he says, but he looks at me as he speaks. The promise is for me, I’m no longer in this alone.

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