Page 20 of Caden's Situationship

As soon as the words left my mouth, I mentally asked myself what I was doing. Inviting her to stay was the opposite of trying not to think about her. Inviting her to stay meant I was setting myself up for an uncomfortable night of trying to hide her effect on me. Surprisingly, instead of me questioning my motives any longer, I was patting myself on the back when she said, “I’d love to stay and watch a couple episodes.”

I nodded, studying her eyes as I wondered if she was thinking the same thing I was. In college, we had movie nights all the time. Cordelia used to always surprise me because, unlike most girls, she loved a good villain. But, we were kids back then, laughing at the funny shit while rooting for the bad guy in an action flick.

It was funny how much I remembered given that we hadn’t even known each other a full year then. And now, the energy that crackled between us whenever we were in a room together was even harder to ignore. Like in this moment, when I watched the rise and fall of her chest. Or the way she worried her bottom lip as if she wanted to say something, but was holding back.

Instead of doing something stupid, like asking her what she was thinking, we both settled in to watch the series, each of us on our respectable couch cushion. As minutes ticked into hours, I was reminded of how much she liked to talk during movies, whereas, I much preferred to watch television in silence.Except when watching anything with Cordelia.With her, I loved how into a show or movie she got, talking to the characters as if they would talk back.

“I can’t believe we watched four episodes already,” I announced four hours later.

She shook her head. “Me neither, but I’m enjoying this series.”

I wasn’t the type to feed into what everyone said they liked, but I had to admit, I understood the hype. Problem was, I had to be up and working on the ranch in a couple hours and I didn’t want this time with her to end. So instead of suggesting we pick up on the rest of the episodes later, I found myself asking, “Would you like to watch another one?”

The entire night we both kept a safe distance from each other, the only physical contact being when we both reached into the popcorn bowl at the same time. “Aww, Cay, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re enjoying my company.”

I threw back my head in a robust laugh at the old nickname she used to call me. “I can’t believe you still remember that whack name.”

“How could I forget?” she said with a giggle. “You used to get madder than a snake who married a garden hose when I called you Cay.”

“Yeah, because it sounds like a girl’s name. If I remember correctly, the only way I got you to stop calling me Cay was when I called you—”

“Don’t say it!” Leaning over, she placed a hand over my mouth. “The nickname I gave you was always better than the one you gave me.”

“Which one was worse? Because I had plenty,” I reminded her after I removed her hand from my mouth. “You never liked when I called you Delia, and you always rolled your eyes when I called you CeCe.”

She shook her head. “I still don’t like either of those.”

But the name that always made her ready to drop her proper etiquette and give me a tongue lashing too dirty for her appropriate ways was, “Cordy … If I recall, you hated when I called you Cordy.”

She groaned. “That’s still a terrible nickname. I’ve always been way too girlie for it.”

“I guess you’re right,” I said with a shrug. “How can I call you Cordy when you spend most of the day dressed in layers of pink lace and ruffles?”

Her mouth dropped open. “Caden Andrew Madden, you take that back right now!”

“Got you pissed enough to use my government name, huh?”

Picking up a pillow on her side of the couch, she whacked me over the head with it. “I took pity on you and re-watched two episodes that I’d already seen just to spend time with you, yet you use the name you know I absolutely hate.”

I shrugged, grabbing a pillow and tossing it her way. “You shouldn’t throw around nicknames if you can’t handle the heat.”

“Oh yeah?” Her eyes sparkled with a feistiness I hadn’t seen since she arrived. I wasn’t surprised when she started tossing as many pillows and blankets my way that she could reach.

I felt like a big ass kid having a pillow fight with her in my living room. Or at least, I felt youthful until I grabbed both her wrists and pushed her on her back.

Her laugh teased my ears. “No fair.”

“You started it.” She wiggled for me to let her go, but all I could do was breathe in her sweet scent that reminded me of strawberries and vanilla.Figures she’d smell like my favorite dessert.I wasn’t much of chocolate guy, but place some strawberry cake and vanilla frosting in front of me and I was a goner.

I felt the moment the mood went from playful to sexual, forcing me to figure out what my next move should be.

"We're like one of those teenybopper films right now," she whispered. "You know, the part in the movie where the couple comes to a crossroads of what to do next?"

“And what should we?” I asked, wanting to know what she expected more than I’d wanted to know anything before.

“You know what happens next,” she stated. “Boy hangs out with girl. Girl playfully fights with boy. Boy pings girl on couch. Girl laughs and pretends to shimmy out his grasp, when really, all she wants to do is have boy do what boy has been avoiding doing since she arrived.”

I swallowed the lump in the throat, pretty sure she could feel my dick rise because I wasn’t trying to hide the shit. When she licked those sweet lips that were void of any of the lipstick she had on earlier, I figured wasting a second chance at kissing her would be the dumbest shit I’d ever done.

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