Page 49 of Caden's Situationship

I nodded. “Yeah. It’s true. Although I personally prefer to be called an adult entertainer. An exotic dancer works, too.”

Jordyn pretended to faint. Crayson looked shell-shocked. Avery and Serenity were wide-eyed and seemed to be embarrassed for me. And Tyler … well, Tyler was staring at me in a way I’d prefer he not.

Knowing I needed to keep explaining before I didn’t get a chance to, I continued by telling them, “I’m not sure if you all know this, but Black Lush Adult Entertainment has an all-male revue that tours around the nation. Back when I was almost finished with college, Hou and I were approached by one of the managers at Black Lush about doing a show when a couple of their regulars backed out. We did, and since the cash was good, we kept doing it. We didn’t bring Wade and Linc into the fold until later.”

“So all y’all country motha fuckas just out here swinging your dicks on stage and shit?” Crayson asked.

“What they do is very tasteful,” Cordelia responded. “I’ve been to one of their shows and I was really impressed.”

“You went to one of the shows back in college?” Avery asked.

Cordelia glanced up at me, her eyes widening when she realized she let something else slip.

“Cordelia came to a show we put on in Nashville a couple weeks ago.”

“Hold the hell on,” Crayson said. “Nigga, I thought you said youusedto be a stripper.”

"I did. We were short-staffed and I had to step in."

“Then that means you still are a stripper,” Crayson shouted, pacing the floor. "I can't believe my holier than thou brother who was always spittin' that 'why are my brother's such players' mess is the one out her getting it in."

“Not really what I’ve said. Ever.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “See, this is why I didn’t tell y’all. You’ve only ever seen me a certain way. God forbid Caden do something out of character.”

“That’s not what he meant,” Malakai declared.

“Yes the hell it is,” Crayson retaliated.

Cordelia wrapped her arm around my waist, and I welcomed her support and comfort. “Listen, I know this is a lot to take in.”

“You damn right.” Crayson walked toward me. When he got closer, I could tell that hearing this news really was affecting him, so I was surprised when he said, “I know we’ve never been fair to you, Caden. And as triplets, I always wanted us to be closer. I had to accept that you and Carter would have a connection you and I would never share. But I’m hurt that you didn’t think you could tell me this.”

I studied his eyes, shocked by his words. “I didn’t think you’d understand why I was doing it. When I became a partner for the male revue division, you were the first person I wanted to tell.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Partner? Oh shit. So you legit deep in this business, huh?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Black Lush made Hou and I an offer we couldn’t refuse. Before Nashville, I hadn’t been on the stage in over five years.”

Suddenly, his face dropped. “Yo, do you do a lot of shows in Nashville?”

“I used to.”

Crayson laughed. “I remember being there for a liquor and cigar convention years ago, and there was this woman who swore up and down I was assigned to her table for her friend’s bachelorette party. She said they still talked about my moves, but I assumed she was delusional and had me confused for another nigga.”

I scratched the back of my neck. “Yeah, I honestly didn’t think about the whole telling you because we look alike thing. My bad, bro.”

“It’s cool. We just gotta do better on being open with each other and getting closer. Family is important.”

I almost stumbled backward because it wasn’t like Crayson to be so sentimental. “I agree. Family is everything. And I don’t think it’s too late for us to work on our relationship. Especially now that you know all my secrets.”

Crayson rubbed his chin. “Come to think about it, there are a few things I need to tell you to since we’re being more open. However, I’ll save it for another time. But what you could do, is let us know how we can get some discounts on those expensive ass Black Lush porn packages.” Crayson glanced behind him at Jordyn. “That I don’t watch because I’m in a committed relationship.”

Jordyn shrugged. “That makes one of us.”

“What does that mean?” he asked.

She smacked her lips. “It means what I said. I watch Black Lush all the time.”

Crayson’s eyes lit up as he rushed over to her. “Yo, then we could be watching the shit together on some sexy couple shit.”

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