by Nikki Ash
“Thank you for paying him. I will pay you back.” Kaden shakes his head. “I don’t care about the money, Ash. What’s going on? Liz said Tristan isn’t going to Cooper’s Gym anymore.”
“He’s spending the summer at my parents.”
“You know he loves MMA. Why would you do that? If it’s the money, you don’t need to worry about that. I paid his membership in full for the year.”
“What the hell, Kaden! I didn’t ask you to do that!”
“You’re right, you didn’t ask. You never ask for anything. You’re my best friend, Ash and I can see you are struggling but you won’t let me in. Let me in, please.”
Now would be the perfect time to tell him the entire truth but I can’t. I can’t make this his problem. I can’t count on another man to let me down.
“I appreciate you paying for his MMA but he’s spending the summer with my parents. And as for me, I am fine. I will pay you back as soon as I can.”
He assesses me for a moment and I know he doesn’t believe a word I’m saying but instead of calling me out on it, he simply nods once.
“Ok, let’s do something fun tonight. I miss my best friend.” Kaden throws his arm over my shoulder and pulls me into him giving me a kiss to my temple. To him, it’s nothing more than a friend being affectionate but unfortunately, my body and heart don’t see it that way at all, and the butterflies in my belly prove that.
“What do you want to do?”
“How about we go to dinner and go watch the Fountains at Bellagio. We can take a walk on the strip.”
“Ok, that sounds good. Let me get dressed.”
And just like that the tension between us is gone.
“Morning.” I roll over and see Kaden lying next to me in my bed. We had a blast last night; we ate dinner at a delicious steakhouse and then walked down the strip acting like tourists going in and out of all the little shops. We stopped at the fountains and watched two of the shows before heading home to watch a few episodes of House on DVD. It’s one of my favorite shows and months ago I insisted Kaden watch them with me. Now he’s as addicted as I am to the crazy doctor. We eventually fell asleep watching one of the episodes.
“Caleb texted asking if we want to go to breakfast with everyone. I guess they were all kidless last night and are going to breakfast before going to pick them up.”
“Sure, I’m going to jump in the shower.”
“Sounds good. I’ll take one after you.”
We get to the diner that Hayley always insists we eat at and everyone is already there. Hayley and Caleb are sitting across from Liz and Cooper and Kayla and Bentley are sitting across from Alex and his fiancée Jessica. Toward the back there are two seats open across from Stephen and whatever girl he woke up next to this morning. We say hello to everyone and make our way to the two empty seats.
After everyone has ordered, the conversation is flowing. It shifts to Alex and Jessica’s upcoming wedding. “Caleb, we should do Alex’s bachelor party at your club!” Stephen suggests.
“Does it bother you that your husband owns a strip club?” Stephen’s date asks. Rude much?
If her question bothers Hayley at all, she doesn’t show it. “No, not at all. Plus, Liz works there several days a week, so I’m sure she keeps him in check.” She winks at Caleb and he laughs, leaning over to give her a kiss.
“I’m not planning to be there as often as I have been. I am still getting things situated but once it’s all under control, I am planning to train someone to manage the place.”
“Before you do that you need to hire a dancer,” Liz says. “Shayla got married and left last week.”
“Yeah, I know. Any chance you can set me up a couple interviews? Weed out the crazy chicks…”
Liz laughs. “Already done.”
“So… what about the bachelor party?” Stephen asks again.
“Yeah, I don’t see why not. Just let me know the date and I’ll make sure I put it down so you’re taken care of.”
“Nice, dude!”
Kaden’s phone goes off and he checks it, frowns, and puts it back in his pocket.
“Everything ok?” He leans over and gives me a kiss on my temple like he always does, and as usual the butterflies appear.
Hayley catches my eye waggling her eyebrows. I roll my eyes at her. Things between Kaden and I will never be more than friends, and I have accepted that. Whatever it is he is looking for isn’t me.
“My mom is asking again about my flight to Colorado. It’s my grandma’s eightieth birthday coming up toward the end of August. Any chance you and Tristan would want to join me? I know they would love to see you guys.”
“Tristan goes back to school at the end of August so as long as we are back before he starts school, we should be good to go.”
“Yeah? Awesome. I’ll book our tickets tonight. You and Tristan joining me will definitely make this trip better.”
The waitress delivers our food and it all looks delicious. I ordered pancakes, while Kaden ordered bacon, eggs, and potatoes. He is forever eating healthy, except for when I cook for him. Then he gives in to the temptation of the delicious carbs.
I attempt to snatch a piece of bacon from his plate but I am rejected when he blocks my hand.
“Hey! I just want a small piece,” I say with a pout. He laughs knowing I am a faker. I will eat all his bacon if he turns away for too long.
“A small piece to you is the entire strip!” He rips off a piece of the bacon and places it up to my mouth. I part my lips and snatch the piece with my teeth biting the tips of his fingers in the process.
“Oops, sorry.”
“Yeah, I bet you are.” He feeds me another bite and I take it this time without nipping at him.
“Let’s go get Tristan,” he says.
“Huh?”
“Let’s bring him back. I paid for his membership. I don’t want him missing class. If you need to work I can watch him. Please. I miss him.”
His comment makes my stomach do somersaults. For so long it’s just been Tristan and me. It’s weird to have someone else care about him aside from my parents.
“Ok.”
“Good, we can go get him together. I haven’t seen your parents in a while.”
He puts another piece of bacon up to my mouth, smiling when I bite his fingers completely missing the bacon.
Chapter Four
Kaden
Tonight, is the night of Alex’s bachelor party and while I should be excited to see some ass and tits, the idea of hanging out with these guys while watching some naked women shake their ass on stage does nothing for me. I would much rather be hanging out with Ashley and Tristan. Ever since she took on more hours at Double D’s she rarely has time to hang out, and as much as I love hanging out with Tristan while she’s at work, I miss hanging out with Ashley. Tonight, just happens to be her night off and while she’s at home, I’m stuck going out.
Instead of lounging around her house watching one of her crazy shows, I’m in a limo on my way to Assets, Caleb’s strip club, to party with Alex and the other guys before he gets married in a couple weeks. The bachelor party was originally scheduled for next weekend but when the promotions manager of the UFC said they need him in New York to do a photo shoot for his upcoming fight we all got a text last minute letting us know it’s happening tonight.
After getting dropped off at the front, we walk up to the hostess stand. Caleb greets her and lets her know we are going to be using private room C. She marks something off on her paper and tells us to enjoy ourselves.
Once inside, I can see why this club is ridiculously popular. Looking around, I see the walls are all a matted black with shiny marble flooring. There’s blood red accenting the dark room making it look seductive yet romantic; it’s all tastefully done. The booths and tables are high quality black distressed wood with plush black leather seats throughout. Everything is clean looking. If it wasn’t for the women currently dancing on the stages in the back of the restaurant you w
ouldn’t even know it’s a strip club.
We walk past the bar, which has mirrored walls behind it going up two floors with black glass covering the bar tops, to the steps leading to the second floor.
“Damn, Caleb. This place looks great!” I tell him. I know he’s been hard at work turning this club around while he couldn’t fight, and it shows.
“Thanks, you know I wasn’t keen on the idea of owning a strip club. It seems like living in Vegas, the term stripper is given a bad name. But once I started working on the one in Colorado, I realized I could make them classy. I had no idea they would blow up to be this big, though. I just sold the one in Colorado for way more than I thought I would be able to get for it.”
“You should be proud of this place.”
“Thanks, man.”
Upstairs, the music is a bit faster unlike downstairs where the music is slower and quieter. There are two girls dancing, one on each side of the stage, and the place is packed with guys sitting at the bar and tables that are surrounding the two circular stages.
We get to the end of the area and there’s a narrow hallway filled with several doors on each side. Each door has a small letter on it. When we get to the letter C, Caleb opens the door and the club’s red and black theme continues. The room is obviously smaller than the open areas but it doesn’t look any different. It’s just a smaller version of the same setup. We have a seat at the tables surrounding the stage and I can hear the faint sound of music playing in the background.
There are about a dozen of us here celebrating the end of Alex’s bachelorhood. Most of the guys are from the gym, but there’s a couple others I was introduced to but don’t know. A couple of them are his brothers and one is his future brother-in-law. I think there’s also a couple guys he knows from high school.
I sit at the table with Caleb, Bentley, Cooper, and Stephen. We aren’t even sitting down a few seconds when the stage lights turn on and Black Widow by Iggy Azalea comes across the surround sound of the room.
At the same time, a woman wearing a tight red tank top that has Assets written across her tits in black appears handing us menus.
“What can I get you fellas?” She smiles seductively at me and while it should do something to me, turn me on in some way, it does absolutely nothing. Not too long ago, I would have found this woman attractive and would have been figuring out where I could take her to fuck her. Now, while I am not blind and know a beautiful woman when I see one, the only woman on my mind is Ashley. She is going to be the death of me.
I decide to keep it simple. “I’ll take a Jack and Coke.”
“Sure thing, handsome.”
She moves on to the other guys and I take the opportunity to check my phone. I have a couple new texts from Ashley. They were sent a couple hours ago.
Ashley: Hey can you watch Tristan tonight? I got called into work.
Thirty minutes later.
Ashley: Ok, you must be busy. Tristan is spending the night at Hayley’s. If you want to come over later I should be home around 2.
Me: Alex’s bachelor party got moved to tonight. I will come over when it’s over.
I know she doesn’t keep her phone on her while she’s at work so I stick my phone back in my pocket without waiting for a reply, then look up to see the curtain opening and a woman walking out onto the stage. It’s too dark to see her at first but once she gets to the center of the stage where the pole is located, I can see her clearly.
Caramel colored brown hair pin straight down her back and light eye makeup making her hazel eyes pop are just the beginning. She is wearing a black lacy top that is just not see-through with her perfect sized tits peeking out enough to tease me. My eyes trail down her toned stomach and land on black silky looking shorts. Her legs are long and toned and she is wearing black fuck-me heels.
She walks to the pole but doesn’t stop until she is standing in front of it. Raising her hands above her head she grabs the pole behind her with both hands and drops her body almost to the ground allowing her back and ass to glide down the front of the pole. She is without a doubt fucking stunning.
Lowering herself a little farther to the ground, she bends backwards causing her shorts to stretch, giving the entire room a sneak peak of what’s underneath. The sight of her body on display shakes me out of my frozen state of shock and it hits me. The stunning woman isn’t just any woman; it’s fucking Ashley! What in the actual fuck!
I look around at the guys gauging their reactions. The ones who know Ashley are all sitting in silence unsure of what to do. The ones who don’t know her are making comments about her body and how they would love to have her beneath them. Caleb looks over at me with wide eyes, and it hits me; he isn’t shocked to see Ashley on stage. He is shocked that I’m seeing her on stage.
Without thinking, I get out of my seat, knocking it over in the process, and jump onto the stage. With her back to the tables she doesn’t see me coming but the instant I grab her by her torso and fling her over my shoulder she screams not knowing what is going on. She starts hitting and kicking me, trying to get me to let go of her and put her down but I’m not having it.
“Don’t fucking move!”
“Kaden?” She stops trying to break free when she realizes it’s me carrying her.
“Yeah.”
I am not even sure where I am going at this point but I know I need somewhere quiet to calm down. I find a door open at the end of the hall and walk into it slamming the door behind us. There’s a couch up against the wall and a mini stage in front of it. I drop her onto the couch then back up needing to take a minute to calm down.
“Kaden…”
I turn around and Ashley is no longer sitting on the couch. She is standing up and walking over to me. She places a hand on my arm.
“I don’t want to argue about this.”
“Argue about what? About the fact that you aren’t really a fucking cocktail waitress at Double D’s? About the fact that you are a goddamned stripper!! Or how about we don’t argue about the fact that you would rather take your fucking clothes off for money instead of just letting me help you! What the hell, Ash! How the fuck did I not know that you were stripping at Caleb’s club?”
Her hand goes to her hip and her head tilts to the side slightly; her telltale sign of her defenses going up.
“You didn’t need to know! It’s my business. I needed the job and Caleb gave it to me. It has nothing to do with you.”
“When the fuck did you start working for Caleb anyway? How long have you been lying every time you leave for work while I watch Tristan for you?”
Ashley
Three weeks ago…
I walk into Caleb’s recently acquired restaurant and strip club Assets for the first time and it’s gorgeous! What he has done to this place is nothing short of amazing. It’s only four in the afternoon so the place is deserted and quiet. I am assuming someone is here or the door wouldn’t be open.
“Oh, hey Ashley! What are you doing here?” Liz walks down the steps to greet me, giving me a hug.
“Do you guys just let anybody walk in?” I ask, stepping back to check out the place.
“No, there’s a silent bell that rings in our offices. I unlocked the door because Caleb has a couple interviews today.”
“That’s actually why I am here.”
“You have an interview?”
“Umm… No, I don’t, but I was hoping I could apply for the dancing position.”
Her eyebrows raise slightly. “Ashley, you know if you need any help with money…”
“Liz, I love you for offering but you know I won’t accept any money from you or from anyone for that matter.”
Liz gives me a hug holding me tightly. “I know but I had to try.”
“And I appreciate it.” She releases me from her embrace.
“I’ll let Caleb know you are here to see him.”
“Thank you… and Liz…”
“Yeah?”
“Can you please not tell anyb
ody I’m here?”
“My lips are sealed… but if you need anything….”
“I know. You got my back. Thank you.”
I follow her up the stairs and down the hallway until we get to the last door on the left.
“Why don’t you give me a minute to let him know you are here?”
“Ok.”
A few minutes later she comes out, giving me a small smile.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
She nods her head. “Just knock before you go in.”
I walk over to his door and give it a small knock.
“Come in.”
Caleb is looking down at something on his desk but once I enter he looks up. Then he stands up and tells me to have a seat.
“Is everything ok?”
I close my eyes and swallow thickly trying to work up the courage I need. When I open my eyes, I take a deep breath and say, “I need your help, Caleb. Please. I am begging you.”
“What’s going on?”
“You said you were hiring a dancer. I would like to apply for the position. I have taken pole dancing lessons for several years and I am good. Actually, I am more than good. I worked at Double D’s for close to six years so I know how this business works. I can work the bar when needed, waitress, work private parties, whatever you need.”
He stares at me in shock but quickly snaps out of it. “Why do you need this job so bad?”
“I was let go from my teaching job and Double D’s doesn’t have the availability to give me the hours I need. Plus, dancing means getting the lap dances and private parties, which means bringing in more money. And I need the money. Waitressing isn’t enough.”
“If you need money, I can…”
“No, stop, please. Liz already offered. Kaden has offered over a dozen times. I am not taking a dime of anybody else’s money. I just need a job, please.”
“Does Kaden know you are here?”
“Kaden has nothing to do with this and I need you to promise not to say anything. He can’t know. He would be so pissed I chose to strip instead of taking money from him. Nobody can know I work here, please.”