“You told me to stop,” Trent mocked. “I heard you the first time. But I need something for my lunch tomorrow, Pops, and I don’t feel like stopping at a store.”
“Whatever. Just make sure you call me as soon as you hear from Bishop,” Mike breathed.
“I already said I would. We’re about to go home. I have to get up early.” Trent was on his way out of the kitchen but halted midstep at Rayne’s fruit bowl and eyed the large oranges he’d picked up from the market yesterday. “I’ll just take a couple of these too.”
“Hey, those are Rayne’s,” Mike fussed.
“It’s okay, I can buy more.” Rayne chuckled when Trent turned pleading eyes on him. “Take whatever you want, Trent.”
“Jesus, don’t fuckin’ tell him that. He’ll take the whole damn refrigerator.”
Trent didn’t pay attention to Mike and instead told Rayne, “You’re gonna be a cool-ass stepdad, man… even though I’m like two months older than you.”
“Oh gosh.” Rayne shook his head, heat flushing up his neck. “Are you and your brother always going to remind me of that?”
“Probably.” Trent shrugged nonchalantly. “We been thinking of some names for you, Rayne, besides our younger-than-us stepdad.”
“Great,” Mike mumbled.
“Bishop likes step-dude, or step-guy,” Trent chuckled. “But I think we should call you our old man—y’know, pun intended.”
“You guys sure you don’t wanna just call me Rayne?” he asked, his cheeks warming with excitement. Bishop and Trent thinking of him that way made him feel as if he’d been whisked into another world where he had a family again. Rayne closed his eyes and leaned into Mike’s calloused hand. It didn’t escape him that anytime Trent or Bishop teased him about being their stepdad, Mike never corrected them. It was as if he fully expected them to be together forever.
Trent clapped his dad on the shoulder on his way past. “I like that you have some actual stuff on the walls now, Mike. This place was so boring it made me feel like I was in a safe house or witness protection.”
Rayne was glad someone had noticed his decorations. “Thanks, Trent. I like going to yard sales, flea markets, or consignment shops. You can find some real hidden gems in places like that.” Rayne pointed at the four-piece canvas set of a scenic mountain he’d hung over the couch. “I got that for only five bucks at a yard sale, when it probably cost forty on Amazon. People glorify online shopping, but it drives me crazy now.”
“I liked it better when the Amazon was a rainforest that needed saving,” Mike chided. “The real Amazon is dying because of all the goddamn shipping boxes the fake Amazon sends out every day.”
“Dad, stop acting so fuckin’ old. Rayne, I like the way you added stuff to the entertainment stand, and that rug is fly too.”
“Yeah. He’s making this place into a home.” Mike gazed into Rayne’s eyes, and it wasn’t the first time he could see the vast feelings he had for him. Mike wasn’t a man who wore his heart on his sleeve or expressed his emotions in a healthy way, but he showed Rayne every day with his actions just how he felt about him.
“All right, Pops, I’ll talk to you later. Wood and Manny already took the trash out. The grill isn’t cool enough to put the cover on it yet, but I pushed it under the awning just in case it rains in the morning.”
“Thanks, T,” Mike said. He got up to give his son a one-armed hug when both of their phones chimed at the same time with a notification.
Mike was the first to check his phone. “It’s my li’l homie. Finally.”
Trent pulled out his phone as well and tapped the screen a couple of times, then read his message. Rayne felt a sliver of relief that Bishop had reached out, but when he saw the expression on Mike’s face, his heart skipped a beat. Something was wrong. Very wrong. God, what now?
“Please tell me you didn’t do that, brother,” Trent said more to himself, his eyes wider than Rayne thought capable as he cast a concerned gaze up at his father.
Mike was staring at his phone as if someone had just sent him a random dick pic. “Babe.” Rayne touched his hand to the center of Mike’s back, gasping at how tight his muscles had bound together. “What’s wrong? Is Bishop okay?”
Mike just continued staring at his screen until his hand started to shake.
“Dad,” Trent said cautiously.
Wood and Manny burst through the back door with their phones in their hands. Shit. Did they all get the same message? Rayne was the only one left in the dark. Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?
“Mike.” Manny took careful steps toward his best friend. “Don’t overreact… I’m sorry Bishop decided to—”
“To cut me out! Goddamnit!” Mike hollered before he turned and threw his beer bottle against the wall, sending shards of glass and beer all over the eat-in kitchen wall. “He fuckin’ eloped!”