Page 109 of A Quick Buck

It was a slick ensemble, and Noah liked how they looked together, but he balked at the tie.

That was, until Alistair told him he was going to show him how to put it on.

Then it wasn’t so bad.

“Every young man should know how to tie a tie,” Alistair said, flipping up the collar of Noah’s shirt. “There are two basic knots. A Windsor and a half-Windsor. A Windsor is a full knot, and it’s a much more formal style. For our outing this evening, a half-Windsor is more than appropriate.”

“Got it.” Noah fidgeted, staring at himself in the bathroom mirror and Alistair right behind him. “Thank you. You know, for doing this.”

“Of course.” Alistair smiled at Noah in the reflection and draped the tie over his shoulders.

“Skinny end always goes on the right?”

“Yes.” Alistair smiled. “You now take the wide end and cross it over the skinny bit. Hold it there and you’re going to wrap it around like so. Then you pass the fat end up through the opening here and down into the fold you created. Then you simply pull it through and tighten it.”

“Okay, I have no idea what you just did.” Noah laughed. “One second it’s a bunch of weird loops and then it’s a tie.”

“Here. Let us begin again.” Alistair pulled the tie loose, leaving it undone on Noah’s shoulders. “You try.”

“Aw, come on. It looked so good!”

“Go on, dear Noah.”

“Okay.” Noah stared down at the tie. “Okay, the fat one goes across in front?”

“Yes.”

“And loop it around—”

“Here.” Alistair’s strong hands guided Noah’s. “Hold it here and keep it tight.”

“Okay.” Noah’s cheeks warmed up, very aware of how close Alistair was now pressed up against him. He pulled the wide end around as Alistair had shown him. “And now what?”

“Bring it through the opening.” Alistair nudged Noah’s hand in the right direction. “Like that.”

Noah did, and he pulled it down, delighted that what he’d created actually looked like a tie. “Holy fuck!”

Alistair cleared his throat.

“Right. Holyshit.”

“I’m going to ignore that. Now pull the skinny bit and tighten it all up.”

Noah beamed at his reflection. “Damn. That looks pretty good, huh?”

Alistair leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Very good, my boy.”

“We ready for dinner now?”

“I’d say so.” Alistair took a step back and offered Noah his arm.

Noah took it, and he smiled the whole way downstairs. Despite the prospect of having dinner with a whole bunch of criminals, he was in a really good mood. Learning how to tie a tie had left him feeling pretty accomplished.

There was also the knowledge that he would be leaving the house for the first time in God knows how long and hopefully gain some valuable intel about his uncle. It was going to be fine; more than fine. It was gonna be great.

Now he just had to survive dinner.

As they got closer to the dining room, Noah could hear several excited voices all overlapping, practically shouting, and he clung to Alistair’s arm.