"Is that another fire joke?" Not that Shannon didn't make quite a few of them himself in recent days, but it was always entertaining to hear others doing the same. Or to purposely misconstrue what they were saying as one. His grip on Eli's elbow remained strong in order to follow, but he seemed uncertain now, torn by the mixed signals of their movement and comfort and especially Eli's voice.

His chest shuddered with his breath at the hand unexpectedly placed on it. It wasn't his modesty so much as his dignity as he was worried about, but weren't those two closely related anyway? "Show's not even started yet," he protested.