Page 11 of Obsessed

The storage room at The Pointe.

Quickening his steps, Rain reached the wedding hall in minutes, going in through the side of the building and managing not to bump into anyone he knew until he reached the door to his potential new place.

He hadn’t been in there since the okay threesome. It turned out that Bryce and Caden had made a half-decent team and Rain had even managed to come a few times, but the ambiance had been off in the middle. He couldn’t put a finger on why but the storage room had felt haunted, as if ghostly eyes had been watching them.

Well, if someonehadbeen there, then they’d certainly gotten a show.

Opening the door, he took a few steps toward the back but stopped as Dylan poked his head in.

“You need something, man?” The chillest dude around, Dylan kept things running at The Pointe by pitching in wherever help was needed, and he never failed to keep the vibes up.

Rain gave him the standard fist bump greeting. “Naw, just seeing how far it goes.”

“Bro, you could get lost back there.” He waved his hand in front of his nose. “I needed to air it out a few weeks ago because someone boinked on the couch but like, all that’s back there is kitchen equipment and the old Christmas tree and some boxes.”

Rain raised his eyebrows, feeling called out. “Aw, I was hoping to find a treasure chest or a cute fireman.”

Dylan chuckled and gave him another fist bump. “For real.” Jolting, he placed a finger on his headset’s earpiece, listening, and then shook his head. “The bride is here and Marci is feelin’ strong today. I swear, her aura is ten times bigger now that she’s planning her wedding.”

“I hope we all survive,” Rain stated solemnly as Dylan jolted again, this time listening more intently and flipping on his microphone.

“Sure thing!” Turning it off, he gave Rain one final fist bump. “Gotta skedaddle, duty calls!”

“Bye.” Waiting until Dylan was well out of sight, Rain closed the door and headed to the back. When he finally got to the infamous couch he stared in hopeful excitement, a smile growing on his face.

This could actually work.

He’d been at The Pointe for over two months and with all the extra shifts he’d come to know the place pretty well. Since food deliveries arrived in the early mornings and event cleanup ran past midnight, the security system was on for only four hours in the middle of the night. However, it didn’t extend into the storage room, so as long as Rain stayed put and didn’t stray out into the hallway, he’d be fine.

His only problem was the weekends. Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, The Pointe’s alarms would be set for longer than Rain could hide, even with a bottle to pee in.

Sighing, Rain cracked his neck; he’d figure it out. This was still better than the street andmuchbetter than Gage’s place. He just needed to buy a drape for the couch and fresh bedding that he’d put in one of the boxes when he wasn’t around. That way, if anyone did wander back, then they wouldn’t realize that he was sleeping there, but that probably wouldn’t happen. Considering that everything in regular rotation was at the front, no one ventured in very far, and he felt safe enough to set up camp.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he sat on the arm of the couch. He’d rarely felt safe with his mother in his life, so he’d settled on safe enough, and it had been a while since he’d even felt like that. His shoulders drooped, exhaustion taking over. He hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in a long time. Sure, he’d have to be vigilant for a bit but if things stayed quiet, then he’d be able to enjoy this temporary Pointe Hideaway.

Glad that he had shown up early, he began to move things around despite his fatigue, and by the time he had to start upstairs he’d cleared a little space for himself. He left the couch where it was, facing away, so he’d be shielded from anyone who might walk in, and he’d pushed two crates in front of it, forming a makeshift table. He’d even found some old curtains and laid them on the floor, giving him more cushioning from the concrete. Tomorrow morning he’d slip out and do some shopping, but first he had to get through another wedding.

On his way up the grand staircase, he passed Finn. According to Kate, he’d been visiting Ollie in treatment every day and while Rain couldn’t imagine being that obsessed with someone, he had to admit that Ollie had gotten lucky. Finn was a whole snack and Rain would love a taste, but he knew when to keep his mouth to himself.

He held up a hand in greeting.

“Hey, Finn. How’s Ollinator doing?” Since he and Ollie were mainly texting buddies and the clinic encouraged healing offline, they only spoke when Rain visited.

“Hi, Rain,” he smiled, his deep brown eyes crinkling at the edges. “He’s improved even more.”

“Good. I’m glad.” Rain returned the smile as Finn nodded enthusiastically.

“Trust me, no one is happier about that than me. I’ll tell him you asked about him.”

“Thanks. I’ll visit with Tommy again soon.” And eyeball more hot doctors, maybe they could help him take his temperature.

Giving Rain a quick clap on the back, Finn continued downstairs and Rain meandered into the kitchen, noticing the new sous chef.

“What happened to Doug?”

“Evergreen made him an offer,” Kate piped up from her side of the kitchen. “Snatched him out from under us.”

Boasting a majestic fountain and a full-glass ceremony room, The Evergreen Club competed with The Pointe for both customers and staff, and somehow Kate had spies over there. In fact, there was a pastry chef network running through the local wedding halls that could put the CIA to shame, which was another reason why Rain didn’t want to share his problems.

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