He Makes Me Quiet

Chapter 5

Dorian slammed the apartment door shut behind himself and dragged Tristan from the building by the wrist. Despite being a living, breathing person now, he still wasn't terribly hard to pull around. Not that he was fighting Dorian on it. That might've made a difference, if Dorian was being honest with himself. But he preferred to think he was just strong.

"Guess you left your manners back in Lexington, huh?" Tristan teased lightly.

"Oh, shut up. You know those two are happy to have time without us to plan Gansey's proposal."

"You think that's what they're doing?" Tristan's brow furrowed.

"Of course. Gansey hasn't said anything to you, so he must be planning it with Ronan."

"Oh," Tristan said, suddenly sullen.

Dorian turned to look at him. "What?"

"Why would he tell Ronan and not me?"

"Because he knows you'd tell me?" Dorian offered weakly.

He wasn't really sure what to say, but he knew he didn't like Tristan's sudden mood drop.

"Ronan doesn't lie."

"He's very good at omitting things, though. And it's not like I'm likely to ask him about it directly."

Tristan shrugged morosely. Dorian grabbed his other wrist, looking up to meet his eyes.

"This isn't about you, Tristan. You know Gansey loves the both of you like brothers."

"I know."

"So?"

Tristan shrugged again. "Just thought he'd ask for advice, is all."

"Maybe he will. Maybe he hasn't even asked Ronan yet. Maybe he's using the opportunity of today to tell Ronan he's got a ring hidden in his socks. Maybe he hasn't started planning at all. We may never know. But you and I? We have a proposal to usurp. So get your head in the game, Thorne."

Tristan laughed softly, beginning to cheer up. "You're a vicious taskmaster."

Dorian grinned. "You love me anyway."

"Course I do," Tristan smiled, lighting back up. "Now, let's go ring shopping."

Dorian climbed in after Tristan had unlocked the car— a bright blue Mustang that Gansey had bought him for his high school graduation. Tristan slid comfortably into the driver's seat like the car was an old friend. Dorian supposed that, after seven years of driving it, it was.

"Do we have a destination?"

"There's a family-owned jewelry store not far from here. I thought we'd start there."

"Good idea."

"I stole his class ring, too. For sizing purposes. It's not like he wears it."

"Classic."

Dorian smiled at him and he started the car with a wry grin.

•••

The shop was tucked into a strip of row buildings that had been modified for businesses, and looked less than exciting from the outside. But, when they entered, they were greeted warmly by a middle-aged man who introduced himself as Peter. He turned out to be the owner and was very excited to help them with their less-than-orthodox request.

"Most of his jewelry is yellow gold, so I want to stick with that," Dorian explained. "And nothing too fancy. I'm not really sure what I want. Nothing super flashy, though. He's not one of those rich boys."