Page 9 of Strip for Me

"Good, good," Liz says, and I glance over to see her big, cheeky grin.

"So, are you still single? Because I know a certain pregnant girl that is," Liz says, and he chuckles.

"I am single, and thanks for informing me about Ellie’s status," Andre says. I watch as he goes back to eating his sandwich like he didn't just say something that makes me blush. I glare at Liz, who doesn't seem bothered at all as she eats.

"Ellie is moving in with us. We had a roommate who moved out last month, so we have a spare room." Andre tells Liz, whose jaw drops open.

"You sure about this? Moving in with your one night stand is a little–" she stops speaking when Andre stands up.

"Ellie was never a one night stand in my mind, and at the end of the day, we have a spare room. I’m not asking Ellie to move into my bed. Well, at least, not yet," he says leaving me shocked and takes my empty plate from me. I watch as he takes them to the kitchen and starts running the water in the sink.

"I'm going to give this a shot; the sofa is killing my back to sleep on, and you have helped me enough. A few months will give me a chance to get on my feet again and plan for the baby. I need to be responsible," I say, and Liz nods as she looks over at Andre.

"He cleans, too? Lucky you," Liz says with a sigh. I glance over at Andre.

I am definitely lucky.

Seven

ELLIE

Once all mybags are packed in the boot of Andre’s Nissan Duke, Liz hugs me goodbye.

"Text me when you’re back, and I want a text every day or I'm coming to find you," she says, and I know she is just worried about me.

"I will and thank you. I won’t forget how much you have been there for me," I say, and she lets me move away.

“Go, before you make me start crying,” she shoos me away, and I grin at her.

Andre is holding the car door open when I turn around, and it reminds me of the first night we met. I don't ask him anything this time, as I get into the passenger seat and clip myself in. Andre gets into the driver’s seat, and we sit quietly for a while as he drives. I close my eyes for a second as I watch the streets and the people walking down them. The next thing I'm aware of is a warm pillow I'm lying against, a warm hand on the bare skin of my hip. I blink my eyes open and move off the pillow, which is actually Andre. We are in a lounge and lying on the black sofa. The room looks like something out of a magazine, I notice as I sit up. Two L-shaped, black sofas and a large, flat-screen TV areall that's in the room. The floor has cream carpets and magnolia-painted walls.

Andre is fast asleep, snoring lightly, and his arm is resting across his eyes. I climb off his lap gently and freeze when he moves slightly, but he settles again. I wait until his breathing evens out before I move off the sofa. I walk to the two double, wooden doors in the room, and I open them quietly and slide out.

The entrance hall is empty, and the door to the kitchen is closed. The house is silent, and I can’t hear anyone around.

I want to go and have a look around, but I don't think it's the best idea.

I open the doors to the kitchen and see that the other door in here is slightly open. I can hear some noise coming from there, so I decide to walk over. The door leads to a massive conservatory. I stop in my tracks as I take in the site of Todd on a running machine. The rest of the room is full of weights and different exercise units I see, as I briefly glance around, but my eyes drift back to Todd and his impressive body. Todd's muscles are tight as he runs, and I see the wires of the headphones he has on, which means he can’t hear me.

Does he never wear a shirt?

I gulp and force myself to look away for a second to work out that the conservatory is designed like a home gym. Outside the conservatory is a large square-shaped garden with newly-painted, brown fences. It's mainly just grass, and at the end of the garden there is a small, apple tree. I can see some chairs and a table on the one side. The sound of the running machine stopping makes me turn my gaze back to Todd. I watch as he effortlessly gets off the machine, and he stops and stares at me. Sweat is dripping off every part of his body and holy ducks, he is stunning.

"Congratulations," he says slowly, and I give him a quizzical look. That’s not what I expected him to say. I was expecting something along the lines of, ‘why the hell are you staring at me’?

"Isn’t that what you say to pregnant women?" he asks as he picks a towel up off the machine and wipes his face.

"Not sure, I've never been pregnant before," I say dryly.

"Do you need anything?" he asks, not responding to my answer in any way.

"Andre is sleeping, and I don't know where my room is." I say, thinking of the first thing I can.

"Come on then, El," Todd says and walks around me to the kitchen doors.

"Did you just call me ‘El’?" I ask the giant of a man.

"Yeah, I did," he says but doesn't stop walking. This man is confusing. I never thought he would be nice to me and give me a nickname after our first meeting.

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