Page 45 of End Game

Ronan looks as if he’s reconsidering every decision that led him to this night.

Griffin reaches for his beer and says, “I’d just open the door.”

We all look at him, eyes wide.

He pauses with the bottle halfway to his mouth.

“What?”

I tilt my head and narrow my eyes at him. “Nothing.”

He sets down the beer and looks around the table. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Cami lightly clears her throat and reaches over to squeeze his hand.

That’s the only answer he’s getting.

He must accept that, because all he does is shrug and take another sip of beer.

Ronan looks down and says. “Griffin opens the door.”

I make a heroic effort not to say anything.

Micah’s face shifts to something close to approval.

See? I try to tell him with my eyes. Growth.

None of us call out the fact that Ronan skipped Griffin having to roll or anything else. Apparently, he really wanted us to go through the door.

“The room beyond is narrow,” Ronan continues. “Maybe five feet across. You’ll have to go through one at a time.”

Cami makes a tiny noise that is almost a snort, almost a scoff, but incredibly quiet.

Micah turns toward her.

Ronan continues, “There is no visible light source. The passage is too tight for all of you to enter together.”

Cami’s lips disappear between her teeth as she tries to contain the laugh.

Micah looks down, the corners of his mouth turning up.

Griffin’s shoulders shake again in a quiet laugh as he takes another sip of beer.

I can’t do it.

I really fucking can’t.

“So you’re saying it’s dark, tight, and we have to take turns?” I blurt out.

The others are still trying to keep their laughs quiet.

Ronan’s eyes slowly rise from his notes. “Yes, Dex.”

“Just clarifying,” I reply. “I like to be thorough.”

“Oh, most of us know,” he responds.

Something about the way he says it sends a spark straight down my spine.