Page 38 of Milked

“Fabulous! It’s my favorite part of modeling.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well, I thought I’d take you out to lunch, but perhaps we should take you shopping. I saw what was in your closet. You literally own like ten things.”

“Yeah, I don’t have tons of money to buy tons of nice clothes.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you have a rich friend.”

I huffed a laugh, pulled out a Huskers T-shirt from my dresser, and tugged it on.

“You don’t have to buy me things. I grew up simple. Mom and Dad raised us to be frugal.”

He shrugged and picked at my bedspread. “What else am I going to spend my money on? Yes, I buy myself things, but Father covers everything else. Come on… let’s go shopping. It’ll be fun, and I’ll get to see that sexy body in some gorgeous clothes. We can have some lunch and get to know each other, like you and Father did the other night.”

Was it weird that it kind of turned me on now when Finn called Knox ‘Father?’ Even when they weren’t together or doing anything sexual, it felt… taboo. I weirdly liked it.

Finn stood from my bed and walked toward me, tucking his fingers underneath my T-shirt and grabbing the hem. “This will not do to go shopping in, Ryder. Old college T-shirts are not acceptable to be worn in public. Sleeping in them or going to the gym is fine. Shopping at Tysons Galleria is not.”

He pulled the T-shirt up and over my head, and I let him. Finn tossed it to the bed, went into my tiny closet, and pulled out a short-sleeved button-up in slate blue—one of the nicer ones I had. It was plain, but the color was pretty.

“Put that on,” he ordered before pulling out a pair of dark wash jeans with intentional tears in the knees. “This is the best I can do. Trust me, we’ll get some fashion sense into you yet.”

I chuckled and shook my head. Finn was being a bit pushy, but I didn’t mind. After meeting the two men, I realized I liked being bossed around a bit, and I especially enjoyed not thinking. It was another reason I loved bartending in such a busy club. My mind was hyper-focused on the job instead of other things.

I must have been frowning as my mind got lost in those ‘other things’ because Finn tucked a finger under my chin and pulled my face up to look at him. “Where’d you go?”

I huffed a humorless laugh. “Nowhere. It’s not important.”

He carefully watched me for a moment as I got lost in his pretty green eyes. They weren’t a vibrant green, but more like the color of olives, and they were still gorgeous.

Finn dropped his hand and let it go, not pushing me to clarify. That was another thing I respected about the two men. They didn’t push me, even knowing something was off about it. Yet they cared how I felt.

He smiled brightly, showcasing his perfectly white, straight teeth. “How does sushi sound?”

“I, ah, haven’t had it before.”

Finn feigned shock, pressing a hand to his chest. “Be still, my heart. Oh, we need to get you better cultured, my dear corn-fed boy, if you’re going to live in such a diverse city. Trust me, you’ll love it.”

The sushi restaurant was small but busy. Finn had made reservations, so we didn’t have to wait for a table. The place looked like a dive, but I’d been told that sometimes dives served the best food. We sat down at a small table, and I looked over the menu, having no idea what I wanted or even what any of it was.

“Will you trust me, Ryder?” Finn asked, sensing my sudden distress.

“Okay.”

“You’ve never tasted fish quite like this. You’re going to love it.”

While I was uncertain about eating raw fish, again, I liked Finn taking over the decision-making.

When our server came, Finn ordered us some sake, along with an assortment of sashimi and two rolls, one with fatty tuna and another with thinly sliced octopus.

“The sashimi is just thinly sliced fish you can dip into wasabi and soy sauce. Or you can use a bit of ginger to eat with it. It will melt in your mouth. That’s a promise,” he explained when our server left.

“I’ll take your word for it.”

After a small carafe of sake was placed on our table with two small cups, Finn poured some for each of us. I took a sip of the rice wine, but I wasn’t sure how much I liked it being so warm.

“Father said he told you our story. What do you think about it?”

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