“He’s quiet for a minute, then grins again. “I can’t believe you think I’m hot.” “Shut up.” “You probably faked passing out the other day, just so you could be carried in my hot, sweaty, manly arms.” “Shut up.” “I’ll bet you fantasize about me at night, right here in this bed.” “Shut up, Holder.” “You probably even…” I reach over and clamp my hand over his mouth. “You’re way hotter when you aren’t speaking.”

“You probably faked passing out the other day, just so you could be carried in my hot, sweaty, manly arms.”

“You’re not gonna kill that doctor I just saw, are you?" Carmine asked, the heavy dose of morphine in his system clouding his thoughts. "I know you killed that other one, so I was just wondering."Corrado said nothing, and Carmine wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad."I don’t think you should," he said. "He’s just a doctor.""Carmine?""Yeah?""Shut up."Carmine decided then he should probably shut up.”

“So you did get it?” I asked, suddenly babbling. “I wasn’t sure. I mean, sometimes we don’t get very good reception at school. But I guess you know that, living on a farm and all.” Shut up, shut up, shut up .He smiled slowly. “Hunter, are you nervous?”“Shut up.”“Are you going to ask me to prom?” he teased.“Shut up,” I repeated, choking on a horrified laugh.He grinned. “I look pretty good in a tux.”I rolled my eyes, suddenly comfortable again. “And you’re so refreshingly modest.”

“Shut up…let me tell you, LET ME. Every time I look at your face or even remember it, it wrecks me. And the way you are with me and you’re just fun and you shit all over me and you make fun of me and you’re real. I don’t have enough time in any day to think about you enough...I don’t even think about women anymore. I think about you.”

“And if you don’t agree, I’ll tie you up—and not in the fun way—and lock you in your bedroom.”My mouth dropped open.“Okay, maybe in the fun way. Like later, after everything is done, I’ll come back and—”I cut him off. “I’d like to see you try to tie me up.”His eyebrow arched. “I bet you would.”“Shut up,” I growled. “I’m being serious.”“So am I. You’re wearing the opal.”I scowled. “This makes no sense.”“It makes perfect sense.”