Page 50 of Milked

Five more days.

Five more days before I relived that hell again.

Her long brown hair waved in the wind as we drove with the windows rolled down. Fall was almost there, but the day was warm. She laughed at one of my stupid jokes, throwing her head back against the headrest of her seat, her eyes gleaming in humor—humor that vanished the next day forever.

That visual would never leave me for the rest of my life. It was the last happy memory I had of her.

With excruciating pain and a strength I didn’t know I had left in me, I swallowed the growing lump in my throat and sat up.

My heart suddenly leaped, forcing a startled cry when someone pounded on my door.

“Ryder! Dude, you’ve been in there all day. Are you okay? You sick?” Atlas said on the other side of my door.

“I’m fine… just… tired. I’ll be out in a minute.”

He left without another word as her face flashed in my memories again. Shoving it down into the recesses of my mind, I got out of bed and picked out what I wanted to wear tonight for work.

I selected a pair of black slacks and a black, short-sleeved button-up that was covered in small holes, looking like it was crocheted. It was another thing Finn had bought for me.

I laid them on my bed, then headed to the kitchen for a bite to eat before I took a shower.

It was Saturday, so all my roommates were home. They all looked at me with concern, but I waved them off. “I’m not sick,” I said before they could question me.

I opened the fridge and pulled out some salami, cheddar cheese, lettuce, mustard, and pickles. In the pantry, I grabbed some whole wheat bread. It wasn’t much, especially since I wouldn’t eat again until I got home at three in the morning, but I couldn’t stomach much else.

Atlas came bounding over, shirtless, wearing only a pair of joggers. He sat at the table we all shared in the kitchen—his curly dark hair still damp from a shower.

“Guess what?”

“Uhm, you’re suddenly straight.”

He gasped and feigned shock. “Ew. I wouldnever.”

Emma and Luna cracked up, busy with their own projects. Emma with her knitting, and Luna engaged in something on her laptop.

I put on a smile I didn’t feel as I spread mustard over the bread slices. “Well, I give up then.”

He ran his spread hands over the wooden table and gleamed with dark brown eyes. “I got the job!”

“You mean with… Cross Corp, right?”

“Yep! Even better? My bosses, Mr. Cross and Mr. Pierce, aredreamy! I haven’t started working yet since I had to give the coffee shop and restaurant my two-week notices, but I got to meet them!” He threaded his fingers together, pressed them against his cheek, and batted his eyelashes, making me chuckle. “Hugh and Linden are adorable and sexy and… Oh, I cannotwaitto work for them.”

I laid two slices of salami, a slice of cheddar, and some lettuce onto the bread and closed the sandwich. Then I grabbed a pickle slice and put it on my plate before taking a large bite of my meager meal. “Don’t fuck them, Atlas,” I said with my mouth full. “Or if you do, just… be careful.”

Then I thought about my own situation, how quickly on board I was about being with my boss and his stepson.

“Don’t encourage him,” Emma scolded me. “He’s going to lose his job before it even begins.”

Atlas huffed. “You’re no fun, Emma-boo. I’m the king of being discreet.”

Luna snorted a laugh and shook her head. “Sure you are. About as discreet as an elephant in a china shop.”

He waved a dismissive hand. “Ignore the sourpuss. I’m not going to fuck them, but a boy can dream, right?”

I wanted to tell him about my boss, but I wasn’t allowed, so I took another bite of my sandwich. “Just be careful, Atlas.”

“But of course!”

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