Page 94 of End Game

That kills most of my amusement.

Because we have been doing exactly that.

And mostly, it has worked.

Mostly.

Griffin gives Cami space to be with any of us, and I pull Dex away when Griffin needs Cami. I’m pretty sure Ronan knows when I need Dex. Cami somehow seems to know when one of us needs something before we’re willing to ask for it.

We’ve gotten good at moving around each other.

But that’s not the same thing as having rules or having structure.

Or even knowing what happens when two people need contradictory things.

Ronan watches me realize it.

“Yeah,” I say quietly.

“I also think sometimes we’re conflating two completely different things.”

“Which are?”

“Relationship hierarchy and power hierarchy.”

I stare at him.

Then point my cigarette at him. “There it is.”

“What?”

“That’s why you’re talking to me first.”

Ronan’s expression changes.

Barely.

But I know him.

“Yes,” he admits.

I look toward the house.

Dex is somewhere inside. Probably still asleep, considering I left him facedown across half my bed with one leg hanging off the mattress.

My boyfriend.

My partner.

My person, in a way that doesn’t diminish what I feel for Cami or what Ronan means to me.

And also… someone who sometimes kneels for me.

Those things intersect, but they aren’t the same.

“I think you’re right,” I say.

Ronan nods slowly.