6. Chapter 6
TRISTAN
“I have to ask, I saw you getting out of your car, is that an AT sticker? Did you do the trail?” The tall, dark-haired videographer for Marci’s wedding stopped next to Tristan in the main room.
“I did!” Flooded with excitement and nerves, Tristan quickly shook his hand. “I’m Tristan. Are you a thru-hiker?”
“Gideon. Nice to meet you.” His grasp was firm but friendly, and he had an easy smile that Tristan instantly gravitated to. “And in my dreams, in my dreams. I’m still trying to figure out what equipment I’d want to bring.”
Tristan took another quick glance around before putting his checklist aside. This was the biggest event of the year, but the servers were almost done and everything looked pristine. He could take a moment. “You should do it!”
“I’ve been thinking about the Pacific Crest Trail.
I like the different climates, going from desert to snow-capped mountains to forest, but I hear it’s tough to do a full thru-hike because of the fire closures.
” Gideon’s camera was on a gimbal the size of his arm, and it counterbalanced his movements as he placed it on the floor.
“It’s true. Sometimes hundreds of miles are closed, and it’s the same thing with the Continental Divide.”
“That’s too bad. I want to do the CDT too, and take the alternate through Gila National Forest,” Gideon talked to Tristan like an old friend, and Tristan hadn’t experienced that off-trail in far too long.
By the end of his relationship with Eve, Tristan was alone. She’d either driven off his old friends or tried to fuck them, and after the companionship he’d felt during his thru, he ached for someone local to hang out with. Gideon could be that someone.
“Yes!” Tristan grinned. “A hiker I follow online took a detour through the Wind River Range, and that’s on my bucket list now.”
“I’m looking that up as soon as I get home. We should go for a hike!” Gideon stated, holding out his phone. “Give me your number. I’ve worn out the trails in my town, but there’s a state forest nearby that I’ve been wanting to check out.”
“I love that place.” Taking the device, Tristan called himself, excited that he’d made a friend. “I know the best views.”
“You have to tell me about your thru when we have more time.” Gideon picked up his camera, placing the bottom of the gimbal against his hip. “I know you’re busy running Marci’s wedding today, so I’ll let you go, but just so you know? The other halls are talking about you.”
“Is that good or bad?” Adding Gideon to his contacts, he pocketed the phone and picked up his clipboard.
“They’re saying you’re Marci’s protégé, which means you’re already legendary,” he laughed. “Nice to meet you, man.”
“Likewise.” Tristan watched him head upstairs toward the bridal suite and then went back to work, trying to live up to the rumors.
Despite the pressures of the job, Tristan enjoyed being at The Pointe. He picked up new skills every day, and the energy at each event was palpable. To be honest, it was nice seeing people happy and in love instead of angry over their order or their table.
The money wasn’t so bad either. In a year, he’d have enough to thru-hike again, but he might be staying longer than that, because aside from the cash, the best part of the job was Jax.
Out of all the restaurants, hotels, and catering halls in the world, they’d both chosen to work at The Pointe, and Tristan didn’t know if it was luck or a curse.
That stunning face had returned to the forefront of his mind, except this time it took over, and Tristan couldn’t resist seeking out Jax every morning.
He had a vibrant, intense energy that made Tristan feel alive, but Tristan still couldn’t get over their age difference.
However, his doubts weren’t speaking to his libido because every time Tristan exchanged more than a few words with Jax outside of the kitchen, he’d wake the next morning with a yearning in his heart and an erection that could dent steel, feeling guilty as he took care of the latter in the shower.
“You should smash,” Rain declared at the end of the night, leaning against Tristan while they sat in one of the window seats.
Most of the tables had been cleared, the DJ was playing the last couple of songs, and Marci was busy hugging the dozen guests who remained.
It had been a long, successful wedding, but he had three weeks of running events ahead of him while Marci was on her honeymoon, so he’d feel pride once he got through that.
“Smash? What are you talking about?” Tristan blinked, confused.
Rain jutted his chin toward the bar where Finn and Jax stood, talking animatedly. Jax had shed his chef’s jacket, and in just a black T-shirt and pants, he was captivating. Even though the day had been beyond busy, Tristan had caught himself staring a few times, and apparently so had Rain.
“Jax?” He tried to play it off as nonsense, but he knew it fell flat. “He’s too young for me. He’s only four years older than you!”
“And Mason’s twelve years older than me, who cares?
” Rain fiddled with his camera. He’d also worked Marci’s wedding as Mason’s assistant photographer, and he’d told Tristan earlier that he wouldn’t be serving at The Pointe for much longer.
The exhibition had Mason in demand, and Rain wanted to manage the business and become a photographer in his own right.
But right now, he was an executive at Nosy Stepsons Inc. “Do you like him?”
“It doesn’t matter. We work together.”
“Owen fooled around with Liam on the couch in his office when they were boss and assistant,” Rain scoffed. “You’ll be fine.”
Tristan’s eyebrows rose.
“You shouldn’t be telling me that. Besides, Jax might not be attracted to men.
” Tristan knew the words were garbage the minute he said them, because the energy between him and Jax couldn’t be denied.
He’d been playing their conversation in the parking lot over and over in his head, finally realizing that Jax had gone on a small fishing expedition, trying to find out if Tristan was single, and it had worked.
“He’s gay.” Rain pursed his lips. “It’s obvious.”
Tristan chuckled. “To you, maybe. But he’s also in his twenties.”
“That’s ageist!” Putting his hands on his hips, Rain scoffed again. “He’s like, what? Twenty-six?”
“And I’m almost thirty-nine.”
“You’re right.” Solemn, Rain held back a grin, his lips wobbling. “I should find an old folks’ home for you.”
“Stop it.” Tristan bumped his shoulder affectionately.
“I can help you out with him if you want,” Rain smirked.
Tristan did not want that.
“He wouldn’t be interested in me,” he deflected.
“Wait, what is this bullshit?” Rain looked at him as if he’d said he liked bugs on his pizza. “You know you’re a smokeshow, right?”
“Are you supposed to be saying that to me?”
“You’re also a nice guy, like, too nice sometimes, and you give off dad energy.” Rain’s smirk was back. “You’re basically the whole package.”
“I think you might be biased,” Tristan chucked Rain under the chin as Mason walked up, looking annoyed and exhausted. Tristan knew that wasn’t a reflection of the person inside; Mason’s batteries ran low at the tamest of events, but his talent couldn’t be denied.
With a huff, he sat on the other side of Rain, whose face lit up with delight, and the two of them instantly became absorbed in Mason’s camera. A buzz in Tristan’s pocket tore his gaze away, and he checked his phone, his blood running cold.
Look outside, tris.
The message was from an unknown number, but Tristan knew without a doubt that it was Eve.
Was she at The Pointe? It had been weeks since the phone call, so Tristan had been hoping that Eve had either found a willing meal ticket or forgotten about everything; however, she’d just been biding her time.
Heart pounding, he stole a glance at Rain and Mason and clamped his mouth shut. He’d never seen Rain so relaxed, so happy, and he deserved to stay that way.
When Tristan had started dating Eve, Rain had seemed afraid of him.
He’d also had an extra lock on his door that looked like he’d installed it, and sometimes he’d slept under his bed.
While Tristan hadn’t had siblings or children of his own, he’d suspected that Rain’s behavior had stemmed from abuse .
But Rain had eventually come out of his shell under Tristan’s care, and now he was free, living a life without his mother in it. Tristan understood how much courage that had taken, and he’d do everything he could to keep Eve away.
Clearing a quick break with Owen, Tristan was in the parking lot in under a minute, his chest squeezing with anxiety as he peered around. Spotting her toward the back, on the hood of his car, he stormed her way, and she perked up when she noticed him.
“What are you doing? You can’t be here.” It had been a year since he’d seen her, and she hadn’t changed one whit. Ageless as always, she seemed closer to twenty than forty-two, but their time apart and his thru-hike had given him clarity, ripping her mask away.
Now, he saw her for what she was, a narcissist who leveraged her beauty and played the fool, doing everything she could to get what she wanted.
“I came here to see Rainy, but guess what?” She took a puff off her fruit-scented vape and blew a sickly-sweet cloud into the air. “I saw you . Did my baby get you a job? Tell him to get me one!”
“He doesn’t work here anymore.” Tristan was surprised at how smoothly that came out.
“That’s not true.” She jumped down from the hood, her eyes unusually sharp. “One of those nice young men by the door came over to check on me! He said Rainy’s here today with that cradle-robbing photographer who stole him from me!”
Disgusted by her antics, Tristan glanced warily at the staff smoking outside the kitchen. He was lucky that she hadn’t barged right into the hall; she tended to make a scene when she didn’t get her way.
“What do you want, Eve?” Trying not to frown, Tristan met her eyes, keeping his voice even.
“I want to see Rain,” she huffed. “I need his help.”
“You’re not getting money from him or me.” Tristan leaned on whatever backbone he’d managed to build. “You dug this hole yourself.”
“Don’t you dare turn me away, Tris!” Her voice got louder. “I’ll get to him one way or another. Or we can negotiate.”
“Negotiate?” Did she think he was stupid?
“Help me stay on my feet for a few months, and I’ll leave Rainy alone. ”
“That isn’t a negotiation, that’s extortion,” he sneered. “Haven’t you done enough-”
“ He’s my son!” she hissed, her eyes flashing. “Not yours. Mine . And he owes me.”
Tristan wanted to argue that Rain owed her nothing, but that wouldn’t get them anywhere.
“I’m not asking for a lot, Tris.” The anger in her gray eyes vanished as her voice went soft. “Just help me out for a little bit, and I promise I won’t look for Rainy.” She held her bejeweled hand up in a pledge.
Tristan could see the threat for what it was. If he didn’t do what she asked, then she’d ruin this place for Rain and him, and he couldn’t have that.
“Fine. But only for a few months,” he spat, hating himself but also feeling a strange sense of calm. Sure, he was going back on his pledge to have a backbone, but this way there’d be no more surprise visits. He’d essentially be paying her to go the hell away.
“Yes!” She jumped up and down, clapping her hands like a little girl, and Tristan let out a long sigh, looking back toward the building.
The group outside had gotten smaller, but there was a figure against the wall behind them, someone he hadn’t noticed before - a blond figure all in black, watching intently, and Tristan’s heart sank because he knew even from far away that it was Jax.