Unaware of their grins, Shannon tried to hold back the squeak for the second time and merely whimpered instead. With the hand in his hair, he couldn't even nuzzle Eli back; his only option left was to stand and take it. It wasn't much of an option at all as it seemed to hone him in on how close Michelle was, how distracting her body and its unique heat felt, the breath of his boyfriend tickling along his cheekbone. There was a lot to take in, only heightened by the sounds of people milling about them, and he was torn between enjoying what they were offering and being scared of going through with it where they were.

Safewording floated up at the corner of his mind, and he quickly shoved it away. He wasn't in danger here, hadn't even tried telling them to stop yet, because he knew it was his own stubbornness sitting in the way of making things easy. Anxious though he was with the situation at hand, they wouldn't go so far as to hurt him or push him somewhere irreparable. The least Shannon could do was let them shove him into the right state where he could let go of the tension and concerns. "Can't you just tell me now? Kill some of the suspense?"