If it was any other moment, Eli would have stopped Shannon from touching him, but he was aware of how he was whenever his hair was touched and didn't take any action against the movement. The smile confirmed that Eli was right on the reward and he couldn't help but smile back. That was a good sign for continuing on.

He gently took hold of Shannon's hands and pulled them away from himself, placing them against Shannon's chest to let him know that they weren't supposed to be where he put them. It was more of a reminder than a warning, knowing that there was going to be a few missteps on the way through this and that they'd go through them together slowly and didn't want to risk taking a few steps in the wrong direction by pushing too hard.

Leaning back into Shannon's space, still not letting his body touch him, he moved so that his mouth was close to Shannon's ear, his hand reaching up to touch his shoulder as if to keep himself balanced. "Then it would make me very happy if you would find out." As he said that, he once again took a hold of one of Shannon's hands, but this time he placed it on his leather covered chest, giving him permission to touch him.