Raine I have a job I tolerate but don’t really like—where my ex also still works and finds constant reasons to harass me. My love life is… depressing. Including a recent ‘boyfriend’ who thought I was just a convenient booty-call. But the final straw came when I showed up for a dinner at my parents’ house dressed in the same clothes as my middle-aged father. It was time for a whole new Raine Morrison. Being the logical man I am, I made a list. First up… getting a tattoo to symbolize my commitment to crafting a new me. Carter When he showed up for an appointment at my tattoo shop, I for sure thought the guy was lost or a government lackey come to bust my balls. Instead, I find out he’s just a guy looking for… something. To figure out who he is. I can sympathize. I spent so many years crafting my external image to be who I want people to think I am, to the extent that I still hide parts of myself—even from my closest friends—and I’m no longer sure how much of who I am is real or pretend. But Raine makes me feel like I don’t have to pretend. I can just be. And as our friendship grows… it seems like we might just find out who we really are… together. CW: Mentions of parental homophobia, estranged relationships with parents, mention of parental and spousal abuse—not depicted on page—between relatives of one of the MCs, on-page workplace harassment, mention of cheating by an ex, and on-page alcohol usage to the point of intoxication.