Page 12 of Obsessed

“Too bad, I kind of liked him.” They’d gotten handsy in the kitchen more than a few times and Rain had been hoping to score.

“Of course you did. His palm was glued to your ass.” Emma strolled in, taking her usual spot in front of that day’s wedding cake, looking it over with a nod. Stepping back, she raked her gaze across Rain, who stifled a yawn. “No sleep?”

“Yeah, uh, rough night.” Honestly, he didn’t want to think about it. Even though nothing had happened, he still felt violated.

Hand on her hips, she frowned and then shooed him to a stool in the corner. A minute later, Angelo put a plate in his hand.

“Eat up, kid,” he said with a wink and it made Rain tear up. These coworkers - no - thesefriendstreated him better than his own mother did.

“Thanks, Angelo.” Looking down, he blinked a few times, and a plate of sea bass came into focus. His stomach growled, letting him know that he hadn’t eaten since last night, and he immediately inhaled half the food. Tucked in the corner, he watched everyone hurrying around in a chaotic dance, the swinging doors giving him glimpses of the hall, and at one point the bustle of staff and servers parted and Rain almost dropped his fork.

Mason stood by the stairs, attaching a lens to his camera, and despite the fatigue Rain felt a little burst of excitement. Why was he so happy to see his photographer again?

Wait.Hisphotographer? Rain shook his head. He needed to pull back, and what better time than now because he was far too tired to flirt tonight. He just wanted to crawl up on the couch and sleep for fifteen hours.

True to his word, he didn’t approach Mason throughout the event, using whatever energy he had left to be a competent server; however, he stole far too many glances, once again knowing when the camera was pointed his way not by sight but by a tightening in his chest and his pants. At one point, they passed each other in the foyer, and when their eyes locked Rain could see the heat in that sea-glass gaze, making him want to linger.

Eventually, Kate called him away to help with the bananas Foster flambé, and suddenly he was in charge of wheeling the decorative table out onto a cleared dance floor and turning on the hot plate in its center. After that, he became Kate’s safety monitor as she added rum to sugared bananas in a large skillet, creating flames of impressive height as the wedding guests cheered.

By the time he helped serve it and finished with his tables, the party was over and he absently watched the DJ pack up. Mason had left without saying a single word to him all night and even though Rain had sort of wanted that, he still felt stupidly disappointed.

The two brides and their immediate family were still talking by the dais, and Marci hugged both of them before sidling up to Rain. “I have no idea why Mason lurked in the foyer for so long. He finally went home.”

Rain smiled, tryingnotto think that Mason had hung around to see him and failing miserably. “Did the couple like him?”

“I guess. You know how he is. But they’ll like their pictures. That’s why I hired him for my wedding.”

“I heard.” Through Kate, of course. “How did you get him to say yes?”

Marci grinned, somehow being sweet and menacing at the same time.

“I didn’t give him a choice.” She looked Rain up and down. “And I think he likes you.”

Rain couldn’t restrain himself. “What makes you say that?”

“Weeellll,” she singsonged, hands behind her back. “You give him a new expression. Mason usually seems bored or annoyed, and that’s why he doesn’t get hired as much as he should, but when he stares at you and takes a picture - which is creepy by the way but I’m sure you’re perfectly aware of it - he looks interested.”

“Interested?” Rain didn’t know if that was good or bad and as the exhaustion overwhelmed him, he became too tired to care.

“Yeah, and I’ve never seen interest on his face before.” She raised her eyebrow at him. “You need to get some sleep.”

“I do,” he nodded, knowing that tonight, despite the circumstances, he’d finally be able to rest.

The Pointe Hideaway had far too easily become Rain’s home. Sometimes he crashed with men he picked up at Bar None or a new staff member, but most of his nights were spent in the storage room. He’d purchased comfortable bedding along with a camping light, plenty of snacks, and a cheap gym membership so he could shower, and at first he thought he’d be roughing it, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Compared to the anxiety and paranoia he’d felt at Gage’s, staying in that musty back room was a dream.

After every shift he’d linger during cleanup and wait until the downstairs hallway emptied so he could sneak to his safety net, curl up on the couch, and either sleep or scroll on his phone. Sometimes he’d look at the landscapes and views Tristan sent, but he often found himself on Mason’s website, studying his photos.

For someone who didn’t emote, Mason certainly made you feel whatever the subject was feeling, and that intrigued Rain even more. He’d never had crushes or thought about any of the men he slept with, but Mason’s piercing stare haunted his thoughts.

He still had trouble with the weekends but it was better to worry about two days rather than seven. For the first one, Tommy had driven up and they’d visited Ollie. Afterward, they’d gone back to The Clark’s house and Rain had crashed there, soaked in melancholy nostalgia.

He’d wandered during the second one, taking a bus to the mall, spending hours on the nature trail, moving from coffee shop to late-night diner to bar, looping the streets and catching naps where he could until The Pointe opened again.

But on the third, he’d stopped by his mom’s office because he’d gone too long without contact and had woken up to a text.

check in w me baby don’t make me come to your job and cause a scene

She’d acted like she either didn’t remember or care about what had happened with Gage, and he’d never been able to rock the boat, so he’d let her coo over him and order lunch on the company. That night, he’d been lucky enough to find someone at Bar None who had let him stay and by the time dawn had broken Rain had already slipped out, wandering again.

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