Page 36 of Good Boys Don’t Bite

Ronan's head snapped toward him. Dylan smiled into his beer.

“Relax. Nobody heard me.”

“Keep fucking around.”

“What? You'll break my fingers?”

Ronan went still. Dylan noticed.

“What?”

“Who told you that?”

“Told me what?”

“About the fingers.”

Dylan frowned.

“You did.”

“No, I didn't.”

“You literally just said keep fucking around.”

Ronan stared. Dylan stared back. Then laughed.

“Figure of speech, man.”

Ronan looked toward Elliot. Still smiling. Still surrounded. A cold little thought passed through Ronan's mind. He dismissed it. Coincidence.

“I'm getting another drink,” Dylan said.

“You have one.”

Dylan looked at his bottle.

“Fair.”

He walked away anyway. Ronan remained by the doorway. His phone vibrated.

ELLIOT: where's your boyfriend going

Ronan typed:

RONAN: Come here.

Across the room, Elliot looked at his phone for the first time. He read the message. His eyes lifted. Ronan crooked one finger. Elliot smiled at whoever was speaking, said something Ronan couldn't hear, and extracted himself from the group. Three people stopped him before he made it across the room. Ronan watched each interaction. A handshake. A hug. A girl touching his shoulder. A guy grabbing Elliot around the neck and saying something that made him laugh. By the time Elliot reached Ronan, nearly two minutes had passed.

“You summoned me?”

“You're ridiculous.”

“That's not very nice.”

“Stop texting me from across the room.”

“Why?”