by G. Bailey
Kaiden- Ellie has accepted the job and is cool with the stripping.
“You gotta see this man,” I say and chuck my phone at Todd. He reads it and chucks it back.
“So, she wasn’t that disgusted.” He says with a low chuckle.
“I’m surprised,” I tell him and he nods in a silent agreement. I don’t know how Kaiden managed to convince her to take the job or how the hell he convinced her to come back here after she ran out. Kaiden has a way with women, we all do to a certain extent but somehow, he can make women do whatever he wants.
“Have you told your aunt about Ellie and the baby?” Todd asks and I shake my head thinking of my Aunt Mel and how I’ll have to tell her in person. It’s not something I’ll tell her over a phone call. She is the only blood family I have that stuck around from when I was a child. I know she wanted me to live with her but she’s in a wheelchair and couldn’t adopt me when I was younger. My aunt needs a lot of help and has a live-in nurse who helps her. Mel had a serious car crash when she was twenty-four and it messed her up. Not only did she lose both her legs, she had to have many operations to cope with the internal damage. I know she’s in a lot of pain still, and there is little else the doctors can do to help her. She is getting too old for any more operations, being that she’s now sixty-four. I’ve offered to move her into the house we have. The house is big enough and my parents left it to me in their will when they died five years ago. It’s the only thing I ever got from them, but Mel said she wants her own space.
“No, I’m going to see her soon and I might take Ellie, if she wants to come.” I add in the last part as an afterthought.
“I’m out for the day, got to go and babysit my sister’s kids.” Todd says. I feel bad for him at times because Todd has three sisters whom he looks after, one of them has two kids and her husband walked out on her recently. She is struggling, so we take turns babysitting when she needs it so Todd doesn’t get too stressed out.
“Need any help?” I ask him, I need some sleep but it doesn’t matter.
“Nah man, this is your night. You need to get some real sleep.” He tells me.
“You’re up, Todd,” Louie shouts from the stage. Louie is one of the more experienced back-up dancers and can easily do a few dances on his own. Louie does a lot of the private dances that we don’t do and more of the dances where he pulls women up onto the stage. I glance back at Todd, who’s dressed up like a firefighter and doing a dance that the girls all love.
“Good luck man, there are a few hen do’s tonight,” I laugh and he grimaces before stomping out of the room. Man, I love the hen do’s, the women always drink a lot and spend a lot, but Todd can’t stand them.
I walk out the side door and to the private bar we have backstage, that’s just for us, and next door to the office we use.
I open a beer and sit down on one of the sofas as I look at my phone. I don’t even have Ellie’s number, something I need to sort out.
“Hey Andre,” a female voice says behind me, snapping me out of my thoughts of Ellie. I groan mentally when I see the bubbly blonde walking over. Fucking hell, I thought Todd had talked to his sister about coming back here. Todd’s sister, Cleo, is a stunning woman but I would never touch her. She must have snuck in because if Todd saw her in the tight red dress she’s wearing and the matching red heels, he would have lost it.
“Cleo, you should leave,” I say and she ignores me as she sits right next to me. I give her one thing, she is persistent. I don’t know how many fucking times I’ve told her I’m not interested. She keeps coming back.
“But Andre, baby, we could have so much fun,” she says in a throaty voice as she runs her hand up my arm.
I clear my throat as I jump up off the sofa, my beer spilling over my hand.
“Fuck sake,” I say and I hear a slight sniffling from Cleo. Fucking hell, I’ve made her cry.
“Cleo, you’re a pretty girl and you need to find someone decent. That’s not me,” I tell her, standing awkwardly as she cries. What man has any fucking idea what to do with a crying woman?
“Am I not pretty enough for you?” she says through her sniffles, and I can just about understand her words.
“You’re gorgeous, Cleo, but there is someone else in my life, and you’re my best friend’s little sister. Also, you are ten years younger than me,” I tell her, I’m thirty and she is just twenty. There’s something not right about the fact I’ve seen her when she was a ten-year-old with a chocolate covered face.
“But there was always this thing between us,” she sobs out. Fucking hell, there was no thing between us but I want there to be. I want the thing to be a whole lot of fucking distance between her and me.
“I have to get back to work,” I say, lying through my teeth and walking around the sofa.
“But, but,” she says trying to grab my arm as I walk past her and I shake my head as I walk out. I really need to have a long fucking conversation with Todd about his sister.
No woman is getting between me and my friends again.
Ellie
The ringing of my phone is the first thing I hear when I open my eyes after a long sleep. I reach around my bed until I find my phone and manage to press the green button as my eyes get used to the bright light in the dark room.
“Hello,” I say in a croaky voice and clear my throat.
“Hello Ellie,” the cold voice of my ex-husband comes through the phone. I nearly drop it in shock but manage to save it. I pull the phone away to see it’s an unknown number.
“Why the hell are you calling me, Drew?” I ask straight away. I haven’t spoken to him since I last saw him at my solicitor’s. The last words he said to me were that I was going to pay for walking out on him. I guess I did with my home, that he burnt down.
“Can’t I call my wife?” he asks, a hint of sarcasm in his words.
“Ex-wife and no, you can’t,” I say through gritted teeth.
“I want to see you, I miss you,” he says but it sounds cold and toneless, like he’s telling me about a show on the telly that he misses.
“Leave me alone, Drew,” I say and disconnect the call. What an idiot, why on earth would he think I would want to see him?
I play on my phone, checking Facebook and Twitter before sending a text to Liz.
Hey you, I have a new job and some things to tell you. Can we go for lunch next week after my scan? Love ya x
I leave my phone on my bed as I go for a shower and change into my black jeans and a slim fitting purple top. I leave my hair down and straighten it so it falls nicely to just over my shoulders.
There’s no message on my phone when I come out the bathroom, so I go downstairs in search of some food. When I walk into the kitchen, Todd is cooking something that doesn’t smell good. In fact, when he turns to see me walk in, I run over to the empty sink just in time as I puke my guts out. I feel Todd rubbing my back and holding my hair out of the way with his other hand as I seem to throw up everything I can.
“Wait there, El,” Todd says when I stand up, holding my hand over my mouth. I use my other hand run the water in the sink to get rid of the sick. I smile a little when Todd hands me a tea towel. I wipe my face as he fills a glass of water and hands it to me.
“Sit down,” he says strictly, as he holds a stool out for me. I watch as he chucks the ham omelette he was making in the bin and opens the window before he comes back over to me.
“How are you feeling?” he asks me gently, standing right in front of me and making me look up to meet his eyes.
“Good, sorry, it’s just the ham,” I say and he nods.
“I will chuck it all out and warn the guys not to buy it,” he says and I shake my head.
“No, its fine, I just,” I say and he comes closer, so his firm stomach is pressed into my knees. I freeze as he moves a little bit of hair off my face and forehead. I resist the urge to lean into him as his soft lips press carefully to my forehead.
“Are you feeling sick anymore?” He asks m
e 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 repeating in my mind again and again.
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 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.
“Me and Andre, 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 club’s 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 I answer, 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 seat. 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 too. So yes, it’s nice.” I say and he chuckles.
“Come on smartass, I’ll show you the office and the private room we have,” Kaiden says.
“I need to get ready, but will you come and watch one dance?” Andre says and I look him over slowly. I can do this, I need to do this because I’m having his baby and this is his job. I don’t want to upset him by saying no and I can always look away.
“Okay,” I say and his face lights up as he smiles. Holy ducks, he looks hot when he smiles and my cheeks light up with the memories we have between us.
I let Kaiden lead me towards the door left of the stage and he holds it open for me as he lets go of my hand. The room is small, with a wooden bar on the one side with stools lined up in front of it. There are two sofas and a chair in the room but not much else. The floors are wooden and it has freshly painted white walls.
Kaiden walks in the room and moves towards one of the two doors in the room at the back.
“This is the office and that one is for the changing rooms. Unfortunately, the only staff toilet is through the changing rooms. I don’t think you’ll want to use the public ones we have out there,” he tells me and I nod. I walk into the office and Kaiden switches the light on for me. The room is a good size with a large desk and a big comfy looking chair. There are two filing cabinets and three piles of papers on the desk.
“So basically, I’ve been doing the accounts and I’m shit at it, so there may be a few messed up parts,” Kaiden tells me and I chuckle.
“It can’t be that bad,” I say, as he goes around the desk and switches the computer on. It’s a modern computer with a big screen and a fancy- looking wireless keyboard. The mouse is wireless as well and lights up in a few colours.
“Come here, then,” Kaiden waves me over and I take my coat off, leaving it on the hook by the door.
“There’s nowhere to sit,” I say as I move next to his chair. I squeal like a little girl when he wraps an arm around my waist and gently pulls me onto his lap, my hands falling to his shoulders. I know I must be blushing like crazy as he looks down at me with a cheeky grin.
“There’s plenty of room on my lap, you’re tiny,” he says and then looks over my head at the screen. I squirm a little to get comfy
and I hear him silently swear.
“Is something wrong?” I ask him and he chuckles.
“No, I just didn’t think this through,” he says, but it’s quiet and not meant for me to hear.
“Think what through?” I ask.
“That having a sexy woman wriggling on my lap while I’m trying to teach her about the work accounts, would be a distraction.” He chuckles out.
“Oh,” I say and he laughs.
“Oh, is right,” he replies and I force myself to look at the screen as he moves to start loading the accounts. About an hour later, I finally have a good understanding of where they are but there is a lot of work to be done and none of the expenses have been put in for the last two months. There isn’t one Excel sheet in the site and there’s an email account full of receipts.
“Looks like I’ll be spending the next few weeks catching up,” I say with a sigh. This is a lot of work and it will take ages before I can even touch the normal things. I lean back when I feel Kaiden playing with my hair and I look up at him.
“Just take it easy, you’re pregnant and I don’t want you exhausting yourself,” he tells me, his tone is kind and gentle.
“Okay, Kaiden,” I say and he smiles. Kaiden is really something to look at, with his deep green eyes and long dark lashes. I can see how women love him and like to see him lose his clothes.
“How did you get into dancing?” I ask him as he continues to twirl my hair around his finger. He gives a slight smile and I know it’s because I choose to call it dancing rather than stripping.
“I don’t talk about it with anyone,” Kaiden says and I nod, I try to get up but his arm tightens around my waist.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t tell you, it’s just not something I like to talk about,” he says and I glance up at him.
“I had a great upbringing, the perfect parents and perfect life. We had a big house and more money than we needed.” He tells me before he stops and clears his throat.