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9

RAIN

Walking into work, Rain tried to enjoy the beautiful summer day for he had many things to be grateful for. He’d landed a good job with decent pay and even better coworkers, he’d found a side hustle as a model, he was staying for free in a stunning house, Mouse was thriving, and he’d been getting some quality dick.

So why did he feel strange?

He’d been sleeping a lot. Finding random places to crash during The Pointe’s weekends had probably contributed to his fatigue, but he’d more than caught up on those hours and yet he still dropped like a rock whenever he got home from work. Still too tired to think big, he hoped to eventually have the energy and space for aspirations, to figure out who he wanted to be and what he wanted to do.

But he knew one thing. He didn’t want to flit from relationship to relationship and job to job like his mother, barely hanging on and using his looks for security. It sounded hypocritical, especially when he was using his appearance for money and housing with Mason, but he was doing this as a stepping stone, and for his mother it had become a way of life, which was why Rain wanted to be his own person and gain enough strength to leave her for good.

Nodding at the cluster of smoking waitstaff by the door, Rain strolled into The Pointe, smoothing his hands over his head. Today’s style was a slickback into a braided bun and Rain checked for flyaways as he headed toward the kitchen, running into Ollie and Liam when he turned the corner.

“Drizzle!” Ollie beamed, giving Rain a quick hug, and while it did Rain’s heart good to see Ollie with health and color in his cheeks, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. Earlier that week, during Ollie’s first day back at The Pointe, Rain had stupidly shown him a picture of Mouse but hadn’t thought about the background, and Ollie had instantly honed in on the table in Mason’s dining room. Although Rain had changed the subject and made a hasty exit, he knew he was living on borrowed time. Even now he could see suspicion in those sharp blue eyes.

In a way, Rain was an honorary Clark, so he shouldn’t be hiding things from his brothers, especially a familiar landlord and address, but there was something oddly private about his deal with Mason. Maybe he just wanted to protect his new safe haven and not have any complications.

Or maybe a part of him wanted to keep Mason to himself.

“Helloooo, Ollinator. Liam.” Rain exchanged hugs and cheek kisses with them as Liam gave him a gentle smile.

“Hi, Rain. I hear you have a new kitten?”

Unable to help himself, Rain puffed up his chest with pride, ready to talk about his girl, and Ollie snorted, playfully rolling his eyes.

“I do! Mouse is growing every day.” Ready for another interrogation, Rain had prepared neutral photos of Mouse in the grass and at the pet store. Selecting one, he showed it to Liam, who gasped, biting his lip.

“She’s adorable!”

Rain couldn’t help but notice how Ollie scrutinized it over Liam’s shoulder, flicking his gaze up to Rain when he found nothing. The longer this went on, the worse it would be for Rain when it came out, but today wasn’t the day for a reveal.

“Look at her,” Ollie pouted cutely at the picture. “She’s giving!”

“She’s the best kind of trouble.” Rain pocketed the phone. “Although she did puke on my jacket yesterday.”

“We all have bad days,” Liam stated, his eyes as gentle as his smile, which widened as Finn snuck up behind Ollie, wrapping arms around him. At first, he gently kissed Ollie’s cheek but with a smirk at Rain and Liam, that kiss turned into a raspberry.

“My makeup!” Ollie play-slapped his arm but he blushed, giggling, and Finn and Liam joined him, their laughter echoing down the hall.

Rain managed to crack a smile, his mind stuck on the interaction. Most of the time he wondered why someone wanted a relationship; he’d never wanted to be anchored down to something that would eventually fail. But this time his brain flipped on its side, picturing him and Mason in place of Ollie and Finn, and he didn’t want to gag. In fact, his cheeks flushed.

Shaking himself, he tried to clear his mind but all he could think about was Mason. How his face smoothed out when he slept, looking younger without the frown, how gentle he was with Mouse and how he allowed her to use him as a perch, how varied his expressions were, and how easily Rain could read them.

And how much Rain wanted to see him, right now. This was ridiculous; he needed to get his head examined because he was acting obsessed.

“My favorite people!” Owen came in from the side stairs. Stopping next to Liam, he kissed his temple. “Hi, Angel.”

“Hi! Rain was showing us pictures of his kitten.” Liam proclaimed, stars in his eyes as he looked up at Owen. Rain swallowed, hoping that he didn’t look at Mason the same way, and held out his phone so The Pointe’s venue manager could see Mouse’s photo.

“What a little cutie!” Owen gushed in the same way Liam did, like they were two peas in a pod, and then his attention shifted to the group. “I’m glad you’re all here because we’re getting seven additional staff members today. Three more people in the morning to take care of deliveries and prep, and four new servers who are downstairs now. So, please keep an eye out and help anyone who needs it?”

“Roger that,” Finn saluted him.

“My name isn’t Roger, it’s Owen,” he grinned. According to The Pointe’s lore, Owen and Finn had been best friends for decades, but Rain had figured that out during his first week. Liam and Ollie were also best friends now, so their little foursome was either adorable or annoying depending on who you asked.

“Don’t with the dad jokes?” Ollie melodramatically put the back of his hand on his forehead. “I cannot take it, sir!”

“What if I told a real joke?” Putting his hands in his pockets, Owen smiled broadly. “What makes a joke a dad joke?”

“It becomes apparent ,” Liam quipped, tucking in his lips and trying not to laugh as everyone groaned.

Ollie pointed a finger at Liam. “Traitor!”

“That was my line, Angel.” Owen drooped like a dog that had been denied a treat.

Liam reached up, patting Owen’s head. “I promise, you can have the next one.” Standing on his toes, he placed a kiss on Owen’s cheek and Owen lit up, his brilliant smile back on display.

“I’ll check on the new recruits,” Rain announced, his teeth hurting from the sweetness and his brain hurting from whatever was going on with him and Mason.

Giving them all a wave, he went to the kitchen and scoped out the four new servers who stood around Angelo. One of them was a solid eight on Rain’s bangable scale which meant he should be climbing the man by the second course but, once again, Rain didn’t care.

“He’s nice, right?” Emma gave the lanky waiter a considering glance.

“He is,” Rain agreed, trying to muster up interest but continuously falling flat. What was this strange phenomenon?

“Mhhmm…” Emma drawled and Rain could feel her eyebrow raise. “So, what’s his name?”

“Who’s name? That guy?” Rain gestured in his direction.

“No. The guy who’s got you locked down. ” Her sly smile told him that she’d been watching.

“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Unable to look her in the eyes, Rain busied himself with smoothing back his hair again, staring at the floor.

“You’re a bad liar.” Emma pursed her lips, tutting. “Did you think you could stop the soap opera without anyone noticing?”

“I just moved! I’ve been busy!” Rain huffed, meeting her gaze.

“Mhhmm…” This one was saturated in sarcasm. “And you still haven’t told me his name but my money is on Mason.”

He thought he hid his reaction well but Emma saw right through him.

“Get the fuck out of here.” She frowned in thought and then nodded. “ Wow . I thought you had to be a camera to land him.”

Rain barked out a laugh. “I did too but like…” He shrugged after a minute. “I dunno.”

Grabbing Rain by the elbow, Emma dragged him to the back of the kitchen, where it hadn’t filled up yet. “What do you mean?”

Rain stared at the tile floor. “I’ve never slept with one person for this long. It’s weird.”

“In what way, hun?” Crossing her arms, Emma leaned back against the workstation. “And listen, this stays between you and me. I know Kate means well but this conversation isn’t going to Lucy Loudspeaker.”

A melancholy warmth filled Rain’s chest. Why couldn’t his mother be more like Emma?

“I guess it’s weird because I expected to be bored by now but…I’m not.” Rain couldn’t quite put into words the unusual bond that he and Mason had built but it had been seeping into his pores and changing him, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it.

“That’s a good thing.” She gave him an affirmative nod. “Unless you want to be bored?”

Rain chuckled but it had no mirth.

“It’s more like… why am I not bored? And why am I not interested in…” he tilted his head at the new server.

“Do you like Mason?” Emma countered so fast that Rain answered immediately.

“Of course. Why would I be-” Catching himself before he completely spilled the beans, he coughed. “Why would I be a one-dick man?” While he trusted her, he wanted to keep some cards close to his chest, especially his living situation.

She studied him in the way Marci often did. “The reason you’re not bored or interested in anyone else is because you like him, dumbass.”

“Duh. I’ve liked a lot of guys though.” But he knew Mason was different, and he couldn’t explain how.

“Why don’t you see where it goes then?” Emma shrugged back at him. “Is he nice to you?”

Nodding, Rain tried not to smile. “He is.”

“Good.” She nodded again. “But really, Rain. What do you have to lose?”

True, what did he have to lose? Certainly not his heart.

Striding forward on the abandoned road, Rain tried to walk along the dotted center line but the deterioration made it difficult. Still, the buzzing of the drone spurred him on and he took step after step, holding his head high despite the drag of the cloak. Thankfully, the wind was in his favor, keeping his hair flowing back and fluttering the fabric around him; from above he was sure that he looked like a soul reaper or a vampire.

Mason had given him the outfit that morning, requesting another modeling session, and they’d driven an hour north to the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by pastures, Rain had frolicked around while Mason followed, and now they were getting shots with the drone. Everything Rain wore was black, and although the loose shirt and pants provided enough ventilation for the summer heat, he was starting to feel tired and sweaty.

“Done.” The drone zipped away, landing by Mason’s feet as he stepped away from the weeping willow he’d been hiding under. Larger than the one at home, it lorded over the pastures like a deity and Rain headed toward it, shedding the cloak.

Reaching into the cooler he’d lugged along with them, Mason handed Rain a cold water and a portable fan. “Are you hungry.”

“A little, thanks,” Rain couldn’t help but smile, happy that Mason had thought so deeply about his comfort. Chugging most of the water, he let out a pleased sigh, his eyebrows flying up as Mason took the bottle away and replaced it with a sandwich. Spreading out a towel on the grass beneath the tree, he gestured for Rain to sit down, so he did.

As Mason settled beside him, Rain peeled back the paper around his food and his eyes went wide.

“It’s the one you order all the time.” Opening his own sandwich, Mason dug in, flicking through photos on the viewscreen with his free hand, oblivious that his actions were causing a gooey warmth to spread through Rain’s chest.

Taking Emma’s advice, Rain had stepped back from analyzing things, deciding to go with the flow, and that flow seemed to include Mason being so strangely considerate that it made Rain’s head spin. Not only had he noticed Rain’s favorite item on the menu, but he’d also treated him to it, and he’d made sure Rain had been comfortable all afternoon, checking on him, adjusting the cloak, and helping him stay hydrated.

“It’s my favorite.” Settling down next to Mason, Rain bumped his shoulder. “Thanks.”

Rain knew that if he were anyone else, Mason would stiffen up, but he didn’t; instead, his lip lifted the smallest bit and Rain took it for what it was, a smile. He hadn’t seen that since the last modeling session, when he’d left Mason blissed out from a blowjob only to have him wall everyone and everything out hours later. Rain still wondered what had happened but he knew better than to ask.

Staring up at the branches, he watched them gently sway in the breeze, enjoying his lunch. The quiet moments in his life usually had to be stolen, requiring him to plan an escape, but now he had them in abundance. Whenever he and Mason sat together they didn’t have to speak, and Rain took this time to breathe in the silence, feeling it echo in his healing mind.

A viewfinder appeared in front of him and his mouth fell open as he saw himself walking along the broken road, and between the angle and the cloak he appeared to be floating.

“Wow.” Rain wished he had something better to say than that, like how do you make me feel more beautiful than anyone else ever has? But his lips and tongue couldn’t form those words. Instead, he went with something safe. “It’s so cool that you can fly a drone.”

“I can teach you.” By the slight shock in Mason’s eyes, the sentence must’ve slipped out. He’d been doing that a lot lately and Rain found it amusing until it started happening to him too.

“Really?” Taking the last bite of his sandwich, Rain dusted off his hands and stood. “Let’s do it! Do you have enough battery power?” By this point, he’d picked up a few things including the fact that drone batteries lasted roughly thirty minutes.

“I have one that’s still fully charged.” Putting the camera away in its case, Mason packed up the towel and their trash and then readied the drone. Once he started the propellers, he handed Rain the controller, which was a large screen with stats all around it like a video game, flanked on either side by a small joystick.

“Push the left stick up,” Mason pointed and Rain did so, gingerly. The drone rose a few feet in the air and he could see half of Mason’s head on the controller.

Adding a bit more force, Rain followed the drone with his eyes as it soared up into the sky.

“The left one is for vertical, the right is for horizontal.” Mason gestured at the other joystick. Pushing it to the side with his thumb, Rain watched it cross above him, and Mason pressed the record button on the edge of the screen, capturing video. “Practice. We’re in a field, there’s nothing to hit.”

Starting slowly, Rain took his time getting used to the controls and once he did, he had the drone zooming around hundreds of feet in the air, where he could see lakes miles away. Not expecting to enjoy this so much, Rain could barely tear his eyes from the screen as this small lesson took root in his new brain, giving it life.

“Holy shit, look at the farms! Coooows!” Rain squinted at the screen, gaze quickly flicking up toward the faint buzz and immediately back down. “Can I zoom in?”

Rain felt Mason before he saw him, and a shadow fell over the controller.

“Here.” Taking Rain’s index finger, he guided it to a small wheel under the left side as Rain’s cheeks warmed. “This is zoom. The other side tilts the camera.”

Torn between that touch and learning more, Rain surprised himself by fiddling with the wheels, smiling even wider when Mason didn’t step back.

“Anywhere you tap the screen is autofocus.” Mason did so and a small yellow box appeared over the cows.

“Nice!” Rain adjusted the camera, zooming in on a calf asleep in the meadow, its tongue lolling out.

Mason huffed and Rain didn’t have time to wonder if that was a laugh because he was suddenly engulfed. Putting his hands over Rain’s, Mason worked the joysticks, pulling the drone back diagonally. It required perfect balance between the vertical and horizontal, but Rain couldn’t concentrate because the way Mason pressed against him, gently guiding his hands while smelling like film and sage, had him hard in seconds.

But he didn’t want to have sex yet, he wanted to fly, and the strange phenomenon grew as Rain’s brain hijacked his libido, helping him refocus as Mason explained that a home point had been set, so if connection to the controller was lost, then the drone would return to them, that the exposure needed to be pushed in the negative because the drone shot a little too brightly, and that it always kept enough battery charge to return, so it would never drop out of the sky.

Scanning the bird’s eye view once again, Rain sighed happily. “I’ll never get tired of this.”

“Keep practicing. I need a drone assistant.”

“Really?” Halting his fingers, Rain looked up over his shoulder at Mason, who gave him a single nod, and Rain’s cock pulsed. “Okay.” He didn’t know why he was blushing like an idiot again but thankfully the controller started beeping loudly, asking for attention since the drone was out of juice.

Rain made a face at the sound, his erection fading as Mason pulled away.

“Bring it back.” Mason glanced up and Rain could’ve sworn it was to hide another one of those sort-of grins, so he turned that face onto him.

“Thanks.” Squinting into the sky once again, Rain located the drone, aligning it overhead and carefully lowering it. He’d brought it up so high that for a little while it seemed like it wasn’t sinking, but its buzz eventually got louder and it grew larger until it stopped about half a foot off the ground. The grass underneath it blew every which way until the drone’s programming kicked in and it descended perfectly, its propellers stopping along with the beeping, leaving quiet in their wake.

Mason immediately gathered it up, folding the legs in.

“That was super fun!” Rain handed him back the controller, making sure they brushed fingers, but Mason was used to his flirting and continued to pack things up. “Why don’t you do this by the house? Too many people?”

Mason shook his head, putting everything but the tripod into two bags.

“We’re too close to an airport and I’m not going to be one of those idiot pilots who doesn’t care about where or how high they fly. The last wedding I went to was in a no-fly zone and the videographer still had his drone four hundred feet up. I thought the police and the FAA were going to show up and arrest him.”

“…wow.” Rain’s eyes were wide.

Flinging one of the bags over his shoulder, Mason glowered. “What.”

“I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you say. Drones really get you fired up, huh?” Giving Mason a cheesy smile, he snatched the other camera bag, this time getting the small grin he’d missed before.

“Not drones,” Mason said after a few seconds, lifting the tripod. “Stupid people.”

Rain snorted in agreement as the two of them headed up the road, back to where they’d parked. “Understandable. I’ve worked with some servers who cried easily and couldn’t remember more than one drink order at a time.”

It was Mason’s turn to snort.

“Marci ate them alive,” Rain laughed, hearing another of those responding huffs that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle.

“I like Marci,” Mason stated and Rain’s eyebrows just about flew off his forehead.

“Wait, you actually like other people? I mean, other than me?” Rain pointed a finger at his chest.

“Yes,” Mason sniffed. “You. Dolores-”

“Who’s Dolores?”

“She owns the photo shop at the mall. Her friend is running the exhibition,” Mason supplied. They reached a T-intersection with a battered dirt road and turned left. “I also like Ollie, Owen, and Gran.”

They continued to walk, their footsteps the only sound in a silence that was unusually heavy. Peeking at Mason, Rain could see the walls begin to go up brick by brick, but he wasn’t about to let that happen.

“Tell me about her.” He kept his voice soft and serene, hoping that Mason would speak. More silence reigned, and just when Rain thought that he’d fucked up, Mason looked at the overcast sky.

“She used to call me Cricket.”

That was a much better endearment than Babeeee . “Why?”

“She said that when I was little, my cries sounded like a cricket chirping.” Mason shrugged but his shoulders were loose, his gaze lingering on the clouds.

“Cute.”

“She bought me my first camera. I wanted to be a painter like she was…” He shook his head, glancing at Rain. “No talent at that. Not like her.”

“Did she ever sell her paintings?” The walls upstairs were dotted with them; it was like walking through a gallery.

Shaking his head again, a tightness appeared around Mason’s lips. “My grandfather wasn’t supportive. He died before I was born. She never missed him but he did his damage.”

“Good riddance.” Rain could read between the lines. She’d probably been trapped in a shitty marriage, much in the same way Rain was trapped with his mother.

“According to her, my father is just like him, and so is my brother.” Mason delivered those words in a monotone, edging along some clearly uncomfortable territory. “We were the black sheep of the family and she always tried to protect me.”

Rain could see the guarded child inside of Mason and he more than understood. Apparently, they both had terrible parents but Mason had been lucky enough to get a caring grandmother, which explained why he had the house and why he lived downstairs. Sure, his apartment was top-notch but Rain rarely saw Mason on the other floors. He didn’t mind if Rain used anything upstairs as long as he was respectful and didn’t make a mess, and Ollie had lived there with the same rules, but it was like Mason couldn’t bring himself to be in that space without her.

“Your Gran sounds amazing, like, the perfect grandmother.” Rain joined Mason in looking up, and a wet drop hit his nose, that chance of showers in the forecast looking more like a certainty.

Mason huffed again and this one was definitely a chuckle.

“She was.” A few more drops hit them and Mason’s gaze snapped to him. “Why are you named Rain.”

“It’s nothing special.” Rain rolled his eyes playfully, chest warming a bit at Mason’s interest. “My mom hadn’t decided on a name and it was raining.” Gesturing at the sky, he gave Mason a self-deprecating grin. “That’s very on-brand for her.”

“It fits,” Mason stated, and Rain stopped in his tracks.

“What?”

Mason took a few more steps before realizing that Rain wasn’t with him and he turned. “Your name. It fits.”

Hurrying forward, Rain caught up to him. “You can’t just say that and not elaborate.”

The corner of Mason’s lip lifted in his telltale smile. “When do I ever elaborate.”

Rain blinked at him, his laughter bubbling up and spilling out. “Was that a joke , Mason?”

“No, it was a question.” But he didn’t say it like one. A beep sounded from the car, which they’d left at the edge of another dirt road intersection up ahead, its amber headlights flashing as they got close enough to unlock it.

“Well, the question was funny.” The rear door opened and they quickly packed everything away as the drizzle became steady. They’d timed out their session perfectly, managing to get back to the car without them or the equipment getting drenched.

But then Mason turned to Rain, swallowing him with that sea-glass stare, and Rain shut the door.

The odd expression in Mason’s eyes, the one Rain still couldn’t figure out? He couldn’t help but be drawn to it because no one had ever looked at him like that before, and while he didn’t know if it was creative need or obsession, he didn’t really care. All he knew was that they were out in the countryside with nobody around for miles and he should be taking advantage of that.

Fishing through his pants pocket, which was difficult with his cock bent and half-hard, Rain pulled out a condom and a small packet of lube, placing it in Mason’s hand.

“You can’t look at me like that and not fuck me,” he purred, wanting to feel every inch of Mason’s glorious cock in the great outdoors.

Even though Mason only stared, unmoving, Rain shimmied his pants down to mid-thigh, spread his legs apart, and placed his chest to the car. Holding onto the roof rack, he jutted out his bare ass and closed his eyes, counting. He made it to three before Mason wrapped around him, just as he had during the lesson. Their difference in size could be intimidating but to Rain it felt comforting. In fact, he didn’t think he could ever be afraid of Mason.

No words were exchanged, their only conversation being touch as Mason prepped Rain gently yet quickly, and once he slid in Rain’s cries echoed across the pastures behind them, scattering the birds in the trees above.

Stretched to his limit, Rain clenched around Mason’s cock as it pulled back but the first thrust sent him up on his toes, and his knuckles went white as he gripped the roof rack. His top had soaked through from the constant light showers and water dripped from his hair down his temples but he wasn’t cold because Mason’s body felt hot and wet against him, the slide of bare skin delicious.

“ Yesss! ” he hissed out, and thankfully Mason took that as a go-ahead, setting a punishing pace. Rain squealed in delight, seeing stars as Mason crushed that bundle of nerves perfectly every time. It was like Mason’s cock was designed for Rain, its girth pushing him right to the line, the tip hitting precisely where he needed it, making him come in ways that others couldn’t.

Out of all the men in the universe, Rain’s libido had been finely tuned to an introverted photographer and that was as much of a mindfuck as the setting, for the storm had made the sky darker, fogging the air around them. As their soaked bodies met again and again the mist made it feel like they were slowly being transported to another plane and Rain looked over his shoulder, meeting Mason’s gaze.

Those intense eyes were brimming with determined lust, drawing Rain in, and they kissed desperately, their tongues sliding around each other, Mason biting and nipping at Rain’s lips as he sped up even more, filling Rain so fast that he never felt empty.

Even though they’d had sex quite a few times already, this particular session seemed a level above, as if they were the only two people in existence, and everything swirled together until Rain became pleasure itself, losing his ego in the bliss, spinning up and up until Mason stuttered in his rhythm, driving in as deep as possible and growling into Rain’s neck.

The vibration and scrape of his stubble sent Rain over the edge and he knew he must’ve cried out and came, but everything went white. All he could do was float until he slowly resettled in his body, feeling wet, stretched, and surrounded by Mason. He’d never had an orgasm like that before, and even though the showers had drenched them, and his outfit felt scratchy, he wanted to stay like this for a while, snug in Mason’s arms.