Page 37 of Obsessed

“Cats are demanding.” Mason stared after her but neither of them had moved yet, and Rain took advantage of the distraction, planting a kiss on Mason’s cheek and leaving the comfort of those solid arms before things became awkward.

Drying off, Rain donned his white robe, putting product in his hair and combing it through while Mouse circled his feet, begging loudly.

“Mousey-girl,” Rain raised an eyebrow, judging her. “This whole thing right here? It’s not a good look.”

She paused for a moment, as if she were thinking about the comment, and then let out a mournful cry.

“I’ll feed her.” Towel around his waist, Mason strode by, droplets of water streaming down his back, and Rain almost dropped the comb, wanting to lick along those trails and start another round.

“We shouldn’t feed her every time she asks or she’ll ask all the time.” Grabbing the blow dryer, Rain plugged it in, flicking the dial to low. Mason didn’t reply as he pulled on his clothes, slipping out and taking the begging feline with him. Rain could only grin; she had Mason wrapped around her paw.

Once his hair was more manageable, Rain twisted it up and went to find the two troublemakers. As expected, Mouse was in front of the food bowls eating like she’d never had a square meal in her life but Mason was scowling at his phone.

“Is everything okay?” Rain quickly approached, hoping that Mason’s family hadn’t struck again.

Letting out an annoyed huff, Mason turned the screen to Rain, showing him that the new cameras worked. “Ollie and Finn are on the porch.”

“Really?” Rain smiled but then reality kicked in. “Oh, wait. I’m not supposed to be here.” A part of him wanted to open the front door and surprise Ollie, but he should probably talk to Mason about that first.

“Stay down here. He’ll be quick. He’s picking up the boxes.” Although Ollie had moved in with Finn, some of his influencer mail hadn’t been forwarded, and Mason had stacked everything in the foyer.

“Okay.” Nodding as Mason headed up, Rain couldn’t help but feel guilty. Ollie had been through a lot and Rain didn’t like keeping things from him and Tommy. Plus, he wanted to have them over. He missed seeing his friends.

Distracted, he didn’t realize that Mouse had finished eating until he didn’t see her anymore.

“Mousey-girl?” Looking around, he checked under the couch but she wasn’t there. Straightening up, he headed toward the bedroom when he noticed the door to upstairs was cracked open and his stomach dropped. To Mouse, that was The Forbidden Land and she ran up there anytime she got a chance. Hopefully, he could get to her before she paraded around in front of Ollie and Finn.

Padding up the stairs as silently as possible, he glanced around the kitchen, cringing when Ollie’s voice rang through the house.

“You know what’s a good name? Mouse. And you can come out now, Rain!”

After everything he’d done for Mouse, she’d thrown him under the bus. With a sigh, Rain straightened his spine and strolled into the foyer.

Luckily, Finn ended up being the shocked one while Ollie took it all in stride, more focused on the fact that he didn’t know about Mason’s basement apartment even though he’d lived in the house for six months, and he demanded to see it.

Now that his living situation was out in the open, Rain felt lighter than he’d expected, but Mason wore a deep frown, annoyance around his eyes as Ollie and Finn looked around, his sour mood boiling over when Ollie jokingly asked to see the bedroom. Barking out a no, Mason stormed off to lock himself in the darkroom, where he stayed until Rain knocked twenty minutes later.

Mason didn’t open the door right away; in fact, it sounded like he was moving things around, and Rain listened to the scraping and banging, wondering how big the darkroom was. It was one of the few spots in this house that he still hadn’t set foot in, but he had no reason to, and he stepped back once the lock popped and Mason slid out.

“They’re gone. Ollie said bye,” Rain supplied, noting that Mason’s frown hadn’t gone away. “Are you mad that they know about…” He wanted to sayusbut he couldn’t form the word. “About me living here?”

“No,” Mason answered immediately, putting Rain’s doubts to sleep. “It’s Finn. He irritates me.”

Sometimes Rain forgot about Mason’s aversion to people, which showed Rain how inner circle he’d become. “Well, you’re gonna have to get used to him because they’re engaged now.”

The frown twisted a bit. “Typical. Ollie could do better.”

“Why don’t you like Finn? Is it because he teases you? I promise he’s not bullying-”

Mason shook his head, interrupting Rain’s train of thought. “I know that. He’s smarmy. It’s annoying.”

“Smarmy? You think Finn issmarmy?” Rain raised his eyebrows. “I never thought I’d hear you say that word…butFinn?I dunnoooo. I think he’s a catch!”

Mason’s expression almost had Rain giggling but at the last second he stopped himself, catching something in that sea-glass gaze he’d never seen before, something that told Rain there might be feelings onbothsides.

Jealousy.

“Congrats, Tristan! You did it!” Rain gushed into the phone.

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