Summary:

But Hayden had laughed, made a crack about being Shane’s excuse to go back to the room, and led the way down to the crowd that was headed out to celebrate their victory. Even though Hayden made it through about two beers before he started laying his head down on the table between rounds.

So maybe it wasn’t so surprising that his drunk, exhausted, possibly sick friend had reached the point of mental overwhelm where holding someone’s hand became instinct.