Page 108 of My Family

His championship medal hangs around his neck.

"That's basically the property line," I say.

"I know."

"If Griff sees him…"

"I know."

Ethan is already pulling his shirt back on. "Come on."

"We're naked," I point out.

"Then get dressed."

We throw on clothes and slip out, down the stairs, through the lobby, past a front desk clerk who pointedly does not look at us.

Outside, the air is cool. Grit crunches under our feet as we cross the parking lot.

Reed doesn't look up until we're almost beside him. Then his eyes flick to us, flat and unimpressed, and he looks back at the street.

"Griff can't see you here," Ethan says.

"I know where the property line is."

"You're practically on it."

"Almost isn't the same as over it." He turns the medal over in his hand. "Go back inside."

I sit down on the wall next to him.

Ethan stays standing, arms crossed, doing his Ethan thing.

Reed glances sideways at me. I can tell he wants to tell me to leave.

He doesn't.

"You're not going to run, right?" I ask.

"No."

"Then what are you doing out here?"

He's quiet for a moment.

The HOIDAY INN sign buzzes above us, that missing L a dark gap in the orange light. A car passes on the street, headlights sweeping across the pavement.

"I like it here," he says finally. "Right on the line. Not in, not out."

He pauses.

"I do it everywhere. Find the edge of whatever's allowed and stand on it. See how it feels."

"That sounds fucking exhausting," I say.

Something moves in his face. Not quite a smile.

"Yeah," he says. "It is."