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RAIN

SIX WEEKS LATER

In the beginning, it was easy to avoid Gage. Rain worked a late schedule and when he got home Gage was usually in bed, sometimes loudly fucking Eve, but Rain had learned to block out that kind of stuff when he was in preschool.

Prioritizing his safety, Rain had beefed up the security from his old place, quickly adding a new doorknob to his new bedroom that looked the same but had a different key. He also bought a doorstopper, a series of portable locks that people used in hotels, and two cameras he’d picked up cheap online. One had been placed prominently as a decoy while the other stayed hidden near the window since it was solar powered.

Nothing had happened yet, but Gage was stalking him like a tiger with its prey, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, and the suspense left Rain in a constant state of dread. His best and only option was working his ass off, which took him out of Gage’s hands and padded his escape account; plus, if he hooked up then he didn’t have to come back for days. As long as he answered his mother’s texts and calls, which were rare, then she didn’t care what he did.

It had always been like that. She’d told Rain that she had him so she’d always have a friend, but he wasn’t her friend; he was her son, and a lot of the time he was her therapist, her verbal punching bag, and her errand boy. Thankfully, once they’d moved in with Tristan his childhood had somewhat stabilized. He’d even gotten a best friend his own age but since Gage’s house was over an hour away, using Tommy as a potential roommate was starting to look worse and worse.

“I’m giving you one more chance to move in with me,” Rain stated, staring into his phone, but he already knew what the answer would be.

Desperate to get out as soon as possible, he’d visited a shoddy apartment complex before work. The units were disgusting but they were also the only thing in his price range. If he wanted something better, then he had to stay at Gage’s a little while longer. Sharing a place with Tommy had been his last great hope and he’d called him as soon as he’d stepped out of the dingy building, heading to work on foot.

Sighing, Tommy pinched his lips together, stressed out, his blonde curls messy as he looked at Rain from the screen. “I wish I could but Ollie just went into treatment. I can’t leave my parents now. My mom’s climbing the walls and my dad’s been crying every day.”

“No, no, I get it.”

“And I have finals next month. And Amanda’s been talking about living together.” Tommy ran a hand through his hair, plopping down in his desk chair, and the room spun around him as he got comfortable.

“It’s fine.” Rain tried to look chipper.

“It’s not fine.” Tommy leaned in. “Is Gage still being a dick?” Tommy thought they didn’t get along, which was technically the truth, and that’s how Rain wanted it because Tommy Clark and his welcoming family were an escape. Besides, he’d learned as a child that his problems were best handled on his own.

“Kind of. I don’t see him a lot, which is good.” Turning left, Rain approached the center of town. “But that’s not a solution. I need to leave.”

“Sorry again, Rain. I wish I could help.”

“Shut up , Tommy. You have to be there for your family and I get that. I’m worried about Ollie too.” Over the past few years, Tommy’s brother had transformed from a caterpillar into a butterfly. Part of that transformation had included weight loss that had spiraled into an eating disorder and he’d gotten himself into a scary state. Thankfully, his family and Finn - the love of his life - had stepped in, getting Ollie the help that he needed.

“We can visit him once he’s more stabilized.” Tommy gave him a wan smile.

“I’d love that. I bet there are some hot doctors there.” Waggling his eyebrows, Rain made a pouty face.

“One track mind.” Tommy’s smile became real and Rain returned it.

“Always. I want to thank Ollie in person anyway because I loooove working at The Pointe.” Even though his home life was a shitshow, at least he’d gotten a fantastic job at the wedding hall where Ollie worked. The hiring process had been a whirlwind; Ollie had given him a number and he’d made a call, met their ma?tre d’ Marci, and started his first serving shift in under forty-eight hours.

“Yeah?” Tommy’s smile widened.

“Yeah. I’ve waited at a few places but this pays the best , probably because I deal with drunks all night.” Rain weaved through people on the sidewalk, noting the ones who stared at him in interest or admiration.

“How many of them have you bagged? Hmmm? ” Pulling the phone close, Tommy filled the screen with his eye and Rain started to laugh. While Tommy wasn’t gay, he was a wonderful ally who enthusiastically cheered on Rain’s conquests. He was the opposite of a slut shamer; he was a slut supporter, and Rain considered him a platonic life partner. A lot of people thought the two of them had slept together but they’d known each other since they were ten. Tommy was sexless to Rain but he’d never say that to his face.

“Nope, I can’t touch the guests,” Rain sighed, walking across The Pointe’s parking lot. “Marci saw me eyeballing this smokeshow of a groomsman the first night I was there and tore me a new asshole about it. She said that I can fuck any of the staff but the guests are off limits, and I’m not about to argue because she’s cool but also a little scary.”

Tommy raised both eyebrows. “That’s what Ollie says.”

“I’m not upset about it though. There’s enough staff to keep me busy for months.” Rain pulled the phone to his mouth, waggling his tongue at the camera.

“ Ew! ” Tommy declared. “And I’m sure you already started.”

Pulling the phone back, Rain smirked at the screen. “Of course I have.”

“Guess who slept with Bryce and ghosted him?” Emma announced as Rain entered the kitchen. Some of the servers and line cooks gave him judgy glances but he expected it, distributing winks as he wiggled his way to the back, where The Pointe’s head pastry chef looked over a three-tier wedding cake.

“How did you know?” Rain curtsied, pulling the jacket of his uniform tux wide.

“The usual.” Nodding with approval, Emma waved at a few of the wait staff, who slowly picked up the cake and headed for the main room. “He came over here about four or five times, sniffing around.”

“And she was mean to him.” Kate popped her head around the corner, wiping icing from her face.

“I wasn’t mean,” Emma sniffed. Almost fifty, she had a wicked sense of humor and less-than-zero fucks to give. Her directness sometimes scared the staff but it was exactly why Rain liked her.

“Really?” Kate put her hands on her hips, twisting her expression in a perfect mimic of Emma. “She was like ‘Are you looking for that pretty boy who wore you out? Get in line. He’s not going to call so you can stop looking.’ ”

Rain laughed so hard that he had to lean on the counter. “Poor Bryce. He’s going to be afraid of the kitchen now!”

“I am too old and too tired to be wasting time on your soap opera of a life,” Emma snorted with a grin, going to the next station and readying the trays of pastries.

“You love it,” Rain stated, smirking when she turned back to him, pinching her thumb and index finger together.

“A little.”

“Rain, where are you? We’re low on people for setup!” Marci barked through the headset and Rain jumped, hitting the button on the microphone.

“Be right there!” With a wave, he left the kitchen, losing himself in his shift until he was too busy to worry about decrepit, moldy apartments or Gage.

In fact, he was so focused that he didn’t notice who the photographer was until after the ceremony, and he almost dropped an entire tray of stuffed mushrooms when he looked out the window and saw Mason taking pictures of the bride and groom.

“I didn’t know he did weddings,” Rain murmured to himself. He’d seen Mason once from afar while helping Ollie move in and his interest had immediately pinged over his friend’s odd landlord.

Close up, Mason was more striking than Rain had expected, with dark brown hair curling over his strong forehead and thick brows crowning brilliant sea-green eyes. Those full lips looked very kissable, and Rain wanted to run his hands over the stubble around them and continue south, down that strong build. Solid, but not overly muscular, Mason was more suited to art rather than sport; however, his biceps stressed the seams of his black dress shirt and Rain burned a hole through the glass with his stare.

“Who?” Passing through the cocktail hour room, Kate stopped beside him, glancing outside. “Mason?”

Rain nodded. “We’re allowed to fuck the vendors, right?”

Her eyebrows pinched together. “You probably shouldn’t.”

“Why? Brief me on him.” Word traveled fast at The Pointe and it was mostly due to Kate. She had an innocent face so people told her everything and Rain used that knowledge wisely.

“He’s strange but he takes amazing pictures, Marci is considering him for her wedding. Some of the couples hate him because he’s kind of grumpy.” She waved her hand toward the front, where Mason took photo after photo with a sour expression. “He’s not nasty or anything, he just keeps to himself. He’s polite enough, I guess.”

“I wonder if he’s gay. I bet he has an enormous dick,” Rain declared and Kate’s cheeks turned pink.

“U-Um, you say that about everyone.”

“Do I?” Noticing that the newlyweds were heading inside, Rain winked at her and raced to the foyer, skulking in the back by the potted plants.

The bride and groom had stopped in front of the stairwell and Mason hovered around them, taking photos while they chatted. Once he was done, he swung his hand toward their suite and they thanked him before heading upstairs, obviously not too put off by his personality.

This was Rain’s chance. Once the bride and groom were out of sight, he strolled over, trying not to look too thirsty.

“Hi.” Tilting his head, he looked up through his lashes, tucking a stray wisp of hair behind his ear. “Do you remember me? I’m Rain, Ollie’s friend.” He held out a hand in greeting.

Mason only stared, eyes flicking between Rain and his hand.

“I remember you.” The timbre of Mason’s voice rippled through Rain as did his touch, for when he finally grasped the outstretched hand in a large warm palm Rain had to bite his lip. Shaking it once, Mason quickly pulled away but there was heat and something else in his piercing gaze, something unrecognizable, and it piqued Rain’s curiosity.

“So, I work here now.” Gesturing around him, he turned his seductive smile on Mason, hoping to have a crumb of conversation, but Mason took a few steps back, hands on his camera.

“I have to take more pictures.” And then he was gone.

Rain blinked at the spot where Mason had been and then burst out into surprised laughter. Did Mason just run away ? Why? Was he straight? Afraid of Rain? Afraid of liking Rain because he was straight? It didn’t matter because Rain clearly had an effect on him, which meant he’d won half the battle.

Forty minutes later, Rain saw Mason again in the same spot photographing the bride and groom from behind as they were about to walk into their reception. Taking a wide berth around them, Rain stopped in the corner, pretending to check his notepad while using The Pointe’s shiny and partially mirrored walls to watch Mason, who grabbed more pictures of the couple from various angles.

And then he quickly turned the camera in Rain’s direction and pressed the shutter hard.

Rain tried not to move or give any signal that he knew, but he allowed himself a small smile. It looked like his hooks were already in; he only needed to reel Mason to shore, but this game was very interesting. Would Mason continue to steal photos throughout the night?

There was only one way to find out, and since Rain’s curiosity was already at full blast he played along. Over the next few hours he hovered nearby yet out of reach, watching the reflections, and it rarely took more than twenty seconds for Mason to snatch a photo.

Rain considered trying to flirt with him again, maybe go a little harder, but his gut told him to wait it out, to reel Mason in slowly. Still pondering exactly why he was so invested, he ran into Emma downstairs after the cake was cut.

“How’s it going with your photographer?” Her eyebrow raise was immaculate, like she’d majored in it, and Rain didn’t have to ask how she knew because Kate was her assistant.

“It’s going, I think.” Rain bit his lip, smirking.

“With Mason? Really?” She paused, looking him up and down. “You must have some kind of witchcraft going on in there.”

“Thank you, queen.” He curtsied again. “But he’s going to take some work.”

Kate passed through with an empty cart. “Are you talking about Mason? Because I saw him staring at you and taking sneaky pictures.” She put her hands on her hips. “That’s creepy.”

“I think it’s hot.” Rain made a face at her and Emma snickered like a demon.

“You’re both children.” Pursing her lips, Kate shook her head. “Anywhooo, I have to refill the crepe station. Rain, can you put this cart in the storage room?”

“Sure,” Rain told her, earning him a kiss on the cheek. Grabbing his quarry, he took the back elevator downstairs, evading servers like it was a video game until he came to a large door that blended in with the hallway. Opening it, he flicked on the lights and placed the cart with the others.

According to Kate, all the shelving in the front had fallen a few months ago, so everything had been nicely reorganized; however, the room went very far back, bending in an L-shape, and Rain looked over his shoulder, closing the door behind him before winding his way to the reaches beyond.

It took almost a full minute for him to pop out into a slightly open area surrounded by shelving, there was even a couch and some tablecloths placed on the floor. Although it looked like no one had been back this far in ages, Rain took a chance and sat down, testing the couch with a nod. It was actually quite comfortable, if not a little dusty, but that could be easily taken care of. If things got bad enough at home, he might be able to use this little haven, but for now, he had to get back upstairs because Marci was in his ear again asking for help with cleanup.

The first few bars of “Save the Last Dance for Me” rang through the building as Rain left the storage room, going back into busy mode and the game, secretly rejoicing when he stared into one of the dark windows and caught Mason stealing a few more shots of him.

Kate had it all wrong. The sneaky photos weren’t creepy; they were strangely seductive, keeping Rain’s head in the clouds all the way to Bar None. Most of The Pointe was there too, along with Marci’s fiancé who co-owned the place and Liam who was a Pointe alumnus. The two of them sat at the end of the bar on either side of Marci, going through color palettes for her and Isaiah’s upcoming wedding.

Rain had officially met Liam a few weeks ago. He’d grown up in the same town as Rain and Tommy but was two years older. Of course, Rain had heard about Liam’s parents dying in that car accident, and after Liam had disappeared the rumor mill had churned for years. Somehow, he’d ended up at The Pointe and, according to Kate, he’d struggled a lot during his first few years. The whispers said it had been grief which spun into drug abuse but now he was thriving. He looked happy and healthy, and his relationship with Owen Parker, the venue manager, was something Kate often sighed dreamily about to Rain.

Meanwhile, Rain wondered if the couple would be up for a threesome because Liam was almost as pretty as he was, and Owen seemed very climbable. It was clear he was packing some goods below the shorts but the two of them didn’t seem to be the open type.

Playing with the end of his braid, Rain glanced around. Hopefully, he could find someone to roll around with, maybe stay the night, but he couldn’t pull from the servers again. Bryce had tried to grab him seven times during the party and Rain had ducked and covered, so he needed some distance, but the pickings at Bar None were very slim.

“Hey, heartbreaker.” The Pointe’s head chef, Angelo sauntered up with a drink in his hand, giving Rain a friendly slap on the back.

“How am I breaking hearts?” Rain arched a brow at Emma as she approached, Kate right behind her. “I’m just having fun and it’s not like I’m asking anyone out or making promises I don’t keep.” Tipping his soda at them, Rain took a sip. It was important for him to be in control at all times, so he didn’t drink or do drugs. He also didn’t do relationships because they never worked out. Why waste his time and energy? There was a smorgasbord of dick out there and he wasn’t about to miss it by being tethered to someone.

“With that face, hun? You should know better.” Emma pursed her lips at him, nodding at Angelo, who let out a hum of agreement.

Rain held his hands up. “Okay, okay, I know when I’m getting ganged up on.”

“And you’d enjoy it,” Emma cracked, and Angelo practically spit out his drink.

“I would!” Rain toasted them again. “I’ve always wanted to be fucked to death.”

This time Kate choked on her beer, turning beet red. “Okay, I think that’s enough Pointe for the day. Time to go home.”

“Guess what? I have a new boyfriend.” Bryce popped up behind Rain as he was setting tables for the reception, and Rain had the urge to dump breadsticks on him. It had been two weeks; when was he going to take a hint and leave Rain alone?

Making a half-hearted noise, Rain continued to plate, double-checking his work. Today’s party was a big deal; he’d heard from Kate that the mother of the groom was a force to be reckoned with. Marci called her The Wicked Witch of the West and there was tension in the air as everyone strove to make things perfect.

Unfortunately, Bryce followed him to the next table.

“It’s Caden,” he finally blurted, as if he wanted a medal.

“Good for you.” But it really wasn’t good for Bryce because while Caden was a solid nine on the looks scale, his skills in the bedroom were a four at best. Rain had test run that particular ride and it had been incredibly boring. He’d almost gone home halfway through.

“Thanks.” Bryce lingered despite Rain giving fuck-off vibes, scratching the back of his head and looking uncomfortable. “Um…”

Tossing the empty breadbasket aside, Rain raised an eyebrow at him, crossing his arms. “Yes?”

“Um…so, me and Caden, we are um, wondering if you wanted to hang out after work.” Bryce finally made eye contact, his gaze full of lust. “With both of us.”

He acted like Rain had never been in a threesome before. Rain tried not to laugh. “Maybe.”

And then his breath stopped because all of a sudden Mason was standing in the center of the room, laden with camera bags and a small ladder. Just as sexy and smoldering as ever, he scanned the tables, his piercing eyes lingering briefly on Rain before carrying on, and then he turned on his heel, heading up the grand staircase.

Smirking, Rain grabbed the champagne bottle from his cart and handed it to Bryce, using his seductive voice. “Could you please fill the flutes for me? I have to take care of something.”

“S-Sure,” Bryce nodded, his floppy hair all over the place, and Rain didn’t need to be told twice. He took off, catching up to Mason outside the bridal suite.

“Need any help?” Rain asked in the same tone.

Stopping, Mason gave him a sidelong glance. Slinging a camera around his neck, he knocked on the door.

“No.” And without a second look, he slid inside, closing the door behind him.

Hands on his hips, Rain huffed in surprise and made a face at the room, hoping that Mason felt it. If it were anyone else, Rain would throw in the towel, but for some reason Mason’s resistance spurred him on, wound him up, and made him want to win.

It wasn’t lost on him that Mason treated him the same way that he treated Bryce. Maybe this was karma. However, as Rain watched his reflection throughout the event, he realized that he’d been wrong on both counts. Rain didn’t take pictures of Bryce behind his back because Rain wasn’t interested in Bryce. He was interested in Mason, and despite the brush-off upstairs Mason was interested in him, and he proved it through his less-than-sneaky photos.

It turned out that Rain didn’t even need a shiny surface or a dark window; somehow, he’d become attuned to the lens resting on him and the pressure of those sea-green eyes behind it. Watching. Capturing. It riled him up like a physical touch, turning him on so much that by dessert he wanted to be filled like the éclairs he was serving.

As the reception ended and Rain’s tables emptied, he scanned the crowd for Mason but it looked like he’d run off as soon as he could. No one blamed him. The Wicked Witch had been just as hard on him as she’d been on the staff and he’d looked downright angry the entire night.

Horny and disappointed, Rain thought about running out to the parking lot to check, but that would make him seem desperate, and Mason was probably long gone.

“Is that maybe a yes now?” Appearing in Rain’s peripheral vision, Bryce swooped in for the kill, a hopeful look on his face.

Rain tilted his head. He couldn’t go home until Gage left for work at four in the morning and his rim was twitching with need, so this very mid threesome was his best bet.

“Sure.” He tried to sound excited. “I can’t do my place, it’s either yours or Caden’s.”

“We both live with our parents,” Bryce pouted, and that’s when Rain remembered that they’d fucked in Bryce’s shitty car. “And Caden isn’t out.”

“I’m out but my mom doesn’t care.” Rain had told her when he was twelve and she’d blinked, said okay, and then asked when Tristan was coming home. Tristan had been more supportive, revealing that he identified as bisexual, telling Rain that he was brave, and getting him ice cream to celebrate.

Rain almost teared up. Damn, he missed Tristan. Even though he’d been getting weekly texts and pictures, it wasn’t the same.

“We could rent a motel room,” Bryce thought aloud.

“No,” Rain snapped harshly, not wanting to spend his hard-earned money unless he had to when a sturdy couch popped into his mind. “How about the back of the storage room? No one’s here after cleanup and there’s furniture we can use.”

“Yeah, that sounds kinky,” Bryce winked but Rain just stared at him. This was why he wanted Bryce to be a one-and-done but Mason had left him so stirred up that he wasn’t thinking clearly.

“See you there when we’re finished.” Rain waved him away and dove into clearing tables, where busy hands meant fewer thoughts. Once the main lights were off and only a few people were left in the building, he came back to reality, shrugging off his tux jacket and loosening his tie on his way downstairs. Sounds still came from the kitchen but that would wind down over the next hour and no one would hear anything unless they lingered outside the door.

Reaching the bottom of the staircase, Rain turned toward the hall when he kicked something. Squinting in the half-dark, he bent down to pick it up, studying the gold circular disc. It seemed like a decoration but it could be a piece of DJ equipment. Shrugging, Rain placed it on top of the railing in plain sight in case someone came back for it, and went to the storage room, stopping as he rested his hand on the doorknob.

It was stupid but he wished that he was walking into Mason’s arms instead. He wanted that intense gaze on him, so he could find out what was behind it.

But Mason didn’t come back for over a month.