Page 38 of For the Rest of Forever

The fullness in Greg’s chest almost brought tears to his eyes, the gentle banter so much more... normal for them. Greg let go of Allen’s hand and slipped his arm around his husband’s waist instead, and their walking slowed just a bit to accommodate theembrace. He tried to think on the crossword puzzle clue, but he was too distracted by Allen’s warmth next to him, and for a moment, it was all he could think of.

Allen was all he could think of.

His smile brightening up Greg’s day. His touch making Greg’s skin feel afire. His laugh and his eyes and...him. All of him.

They stopped at the base of the steps to the library, and Allen moved away enough to fish his keys out of his pocket. “Ah, you know what you can help me with this morning?”

“Hmm?” Greg followed Allen up the steps, reaching out to place his hand at the small of Allen’s back.

“Unless Annabeth took care of it yesterday, and I’m guessing she probably didn’t, we’d planned to set up the new rug in the children’s reading room before the preschoolers came in today. And we’ll need to stack up the chairs and move them to the storage room. The kids do much better sitting on the floor. Hence the new rug.”

“I can take care of that.”

Allen stuck the key in the lock on the door and then glanced at Greg with a soft smile. “Thank you, dear. I need at least a good half hour to work on that proposal for the city council, since I’ve gotta get it sent off by this afternoon. And if you can take care of the children’s room for me, I should be able to get the proposal done with no problem. And that’ll be a huge weight off my shoulders.”

Allen grinned again, a little more broadly this time, and as he pulled the door open, he leaned over, stretched up, and pressed his lips to Greg’s. It was a short kiss, but that warmth was there again, a slow burn radiating outward from Greg’s chest. He whimpered a protest as Allen pulled back, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Allen watching him with an amused half-smile.

“And if you help me, I justmightexplain that crossword puzzle clue to you,” Allen teased, and then he winked and headed inside the library, leaving Greg holding the door and staring after him.

When his brain finally caught up with Allen’s tease, Greg let out a loud laugh and shook his head. “Hey, wait a minute now!” he called out, pushing the door open a little more and following Allen inside. “I didn’t realize we were negotiating here!”

Chapter Sixteen

Allen

Allen stared at theprinted proposal on the desk, absently tapping the eraser of his pencil on the top of the page as he read through it one more time. The library had already closed for the day, and his 5:30 p.m. deadline was fast approaching. The proposal was probably about as good as it was going to get, he knew. He’d already spoken with two of the city council members who were in support of the expanded after-school program he and Annabeth had developed, but the other members of the city council were toss-ups. He hoped he’d done a good enough job explaining the benefits of the program to the community and how the added cost would be worth it.

Just as he’d flipped back to the first page of the five-page report, there was a light knock at the office door, and Annabeth peeked in. Her eyes were soft but showed a hint of concern.

“Hey, Allen. How’s it going?”

“Not bad, actually,” he said with a smile and nod. He was happy to be able to tell her that. Hehadbeen feeling surprisingly okay most of the day. Much more like himself. The exhaustion he’d been fighting that morning had even lifted shortly after lunchtime, when Greg had come back and brought takeout from Allen’s favorite sandwich shop in town. “I was just about to email this proposal out. Did you want to take a look before I do?”

“No, no, I’m sure it’s fine,” she said, and he gave her a short nod before turning back to the computer.

“Great. So I’ll get it sent off, and then I’ll shoot Greg a text. Do you...” He hesitated for only a second, the part of his mind that hated feeling like he was a burden warring with the other part that justknewhe shouldn’t—couldn’t—be at the library alone right now, regardless of how well the day had gone. He let out a sharp breath and then looked back up at Annabeth, who still stood there in the doorway, watching him with a kind expression. “Uh, that is, do you mind waiting until Greg can get here? It should only take him a few minutes.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

“Thanks. I’ll hurry here. Let me just text him first, then I’ll send that email, and... yeah.”

Annabeth chuckled quietly. “No rush, Allen. Really.”

He gave her another nod, and she seemed to pause for a moment, studying him with her soft smile. Maybe she wanted to talk, to ask him something or other, but instead, she just said, “You look like you’re feeling a bit better today. And I’m really happy about that.”

He’d known Annabeth for over a decade now. The two of them had worked together at the library since shortly before he and Greg had gotten married, and he’d consider them to be pretty close. She certainly knew he struggled with his mental health, although she didn’t really know any of the specifics. Despite that, he didknow she was someone he could absolutely trust, and so, he should probably tell her a little more... of something.

He swallowed tightly and lowered his eyes to the proposal again, twirling his pencil around in his fingers. “I am, yeah. I saw my therapist on Monday, and that really helped. Plus, Greg...” Allen shook his head as thoughts of his husband distracted him momentarily. He smiled. “Greg’s just been wonderful. He’s—”

“Isn’t healwayswonderful?” Annabeth cut in teasingly, and when Allen looked up, she was grinning at him, her arms crossed over her chest.

He couldn’t suppress a smile, and he leaned back in his chair and shrugged. “Well, I dunno. I mean, he leaves his dirty socks lying around in the living room. And he hogs the covers at night.Andhe puts the toilet paper roll on in the wrong direction. I’m really not sure why I still put up with him.”

That got a chuckle from his coworker, and Allen found himself smiling yet again. Even still, he sobered up quickly when he remembered how their conversation had started. He cleared his throat.

“Heiswonderful, and he’s been reminding me...” Allen shook his head again, and his smile tightened a little. “You, too, really. You and Greg and everyone in this community—you’ve all been reminding me of—of why... I’m... here.”

She’d read between the lines, he knew. Annabeth was a smart woman. Smart and caring and kind. And shedidknow him well, even if he’d never really opened up to her about everything.

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