Page 27 of Caden's Situationship

She nodded. “Yeah, you were the topic of the day. Glad you were able to join us tonight, especially since I was told you have no idea what’s going on.”

“And my guess is that you’re more than willing to tell me, right?” Nudging her in the arm, I flashed her my pearly whites.

“You’re right,” Drew said to Kat. “She doesn’t quit, does she?”

Kat shook her head. “Not even a little.” The lights in the entire space dimmed, and slowly, the room began to quiet.

I glanced around, slightly in awe that everyone seemed to know what was going on except for me, but thankfully, it didn’t seem like I had to wait much longer.

“Good evening, ladies.” The sound of Caden’s deep, rich voice made me perk up in my chair, my eyes flying to Kat.

“Is that Caden?” I whispered, glancing her way. All she did was smirk back at me, but it didn’t matter. I knew it was him.

“We want to thank you for coming out tonight,” he continued, remaining in the dark corner so that it was hard to make him out. “And as a special gift for being the beautiful women you are, we’re enhancing the pleasure and giving you an extra-long show tonight.”

He finally stepped into the light, my mouth dropping at the sight of him.Black cowboy boots. Chaps over his jeans. Black cowboy hat dipped low. Delicious abs glistening under the dim light.The room erupted in screams and catcalls, my mind racing at the scene before me. He was every bit of a southern woman’s wet dream wrapped up in a brown country boy package and tied with a rustic bow.

It took me a few minutes of panting over him on stage to comprehend what I was seeing. “Oh my word,” I whispered low so that only Kat and Drew could hear me. “Is Caden a stripper?”

“They prefer exotic dancers,” Drew said. “Or adult entertainers in professional settings.”

Exotic what?I was dumbfounded, torn between how appetizing he looked on stage, versus the fact that the man I’d been spending a good amount of time with was working the stage and doing moves that I’d only seen in movies.

No way was this the man who backed away from me the first time we almost kissed. Absolutely no chance this was the same man who rushed upstairs to put on a shirt when he realized he hadn’t been expecting company.

“Pretty weird, right?” Katrina asked.

“That’s the understatement of the century.”

“DJ, let’s give the ladies what they came for,” he yelled to the crowd, moving to a methodical R&B beat with a country mix that made the audience go crazy.

When he smirked, people lost it even more. I didn’t even listen to the rest of his words, mesmerized by the way he worked the room. Granted, I’d always known there were different sides to Caden. A sexiness that was nowhere near the nice guy persona he often wore. But this was … I didn’t even have the words.

“What in the world am I even at right now? And better yet, how did he get into this?”

“Tonight is Nashville’s annual women’s appreciation event,” Kat explained. “It’s planned by Black Lush Adult Entertainment. But as far as how he got into this, that’s his story to tell you.”

“And that’s my cue, ladies.” Drew stood from the table. “I have to get onstage. Cordelia, it was worth me taking a few minutes from work to see your surprised face. I’m sure we’ll see each other in the near future.”

“It was nice to meet you,” I told her, my eyes never leaving Caden’s act. When it was just us at the table, I asked, “Why does she have to be onstage?”

“Usually, Drew does introductions, but Caden wanted to do so himself since this is all new to you,” Kat explained. “Drew’s also the roadshow manager.”

“You mean, they don’t just do this show in Nashville?”

Kat laughed. “Sweetie, you really need to talk to Caden about all this. But tonight, how about you just enjoy the show? You can’t tell me you’re not dying to see what the guys can do.”

“I didn’t even think about the others,” I told her. “Are Hou, Wade, and Linc strippers, too?”

“Oh yes, honey.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I reminded her that, “You told me you looked at them like brothers.”

She shrugged. “I lied. You were asking too many questions.”

She was right. I always did ask a lot of questions. However, seeing Caden move to the beat of the music with a rhythm I didn’t even know he possessed, all I could do was watch and enjoy. I’d never been to a strip club before, and although it was a little fuzzy as to what I was actually at, the one thing that was clear as day was that Caden Madden was worth all the naughty fantasies I’d ever had about him.

The way his muscles moved and flexed, a light sheen of sweat already dripping down his body, I couldn’t look away if I tried. And trust me, I wasn’t trying.

---