Christ, that laugh made Ray think things he'd never thought before in his life. Things his Ma would send him to Confession for, things he should repent with a few hundred Hail Marys. But it was hard to care about his eternal soul burning in hell when Asher was doing that with his tongue. Talk about distracting.

Going with his gut, working entirely on instinct, Ray dragged him the rest of the way into the kitchen and dodged around the corner, pressing his back against the wall and catching his breath around the last few remnants of his own easy laughter.

"No need for a hat anymore, huh?" He flashed a grin and tugged Asher towards him, ignoring the din of voices in the background. Everybody else seemed to just melt away.