“Yeah, keep telling yourself that’s the main difference.”
He wasn’t wrong, and that annoyed me more than anything else. If they were so similar in build, why was I attracted toForest and not to Kaelan? I mean, the kid was hot, objectively speaking, yet he did nothing for me. And it wasn’t because we were coworkers. If I’d run into him somewhere else, I still wouldn’t have wanted to hook up with him.
All of which suggested that Kaelan was right that at least part of my attraction to Forest was about more than physical, more than just sexual attraction. And that was not a discovery I was happy about, though it was hard to be pissy with Kaelan since I had practically badgered him into telling me. “I hate you just a little right now.”
“That’s okay, big guy. I can take it.” Then he grew serious. “Is he okay?”
I waited a long time before answering. “No, he’s not…but I’ll do whatever is needed to help him.”
“I know you will. You’re a good friend, Nash.”
“Friend… I thought you objected to me calling Forest my friend?”
He was still chuckling when I ended the call.
I leaned back in my chair and waited for Forest to be ready to talk to me.
Forest took about half an hour before he came out of his room to talk to me, and I spent every minute of that time worrying about him. When he finally emerged, he was pale and looked like he could keel over any moment.
I made us some tea, and then we settled on the couch. “What happened?” I asked softly.
He licked his lips. “I asked for the accommodations, like you told me. I know we made a whole list and everything, but Ifigured I’d only bring up the most pressing ones, like the block schedule.”
“And?” I prompted him when he stopped talking.
He blew out a shaky breath. “They canceled my classes.”
My eyes widened. “They what?”
“The woman I talked to claimed that they didn’t have enough students enrolled and that was why they canceled them, but whatever the reason, I’m out of a job. And they’re not gonna bring me back for the fall semester.”
They’d fired him. Those motherfucking pieces of shit had fired him.
I’d learned a whole slew of colorful curses over the course of my Army career, and none of them seemed sufficient right now to express the utter rage I felt inside. The burning, white-hot fury over what they had done to him.
Talk about kicking a man when he was already down. They had set him by the side of the road without so much as a thought as to how this would affect him. And, of course, with the way they’d done it, he didn’t even have a case for discrimination based on disability. They’d been smart enough for that. Or rather, sneaky enough because hell if I was gonna give them any credit.
“I wish I could say I can’t believe it, but unfortunately, I can. But I’m so sorry, honey. So, so sorry. It’s a despicable thing, what they did.”
“I need some time to figure this out,” Forest said, his voice so frail and thin. “After the move, I’ve only got minimal savings left, and with all the medical bills…”
Fuck, his medical bills… I hadn’t even thought of that. No job meant no health insurance. How the hell would he pay for the treatment he so desperately needed now?
If only I could put him on my plan. The combination of free healthcare at the VA and the health insurance from my jobmeant I was covered from every angle. The VA benefits applied to only me, but technically, I could put someone else on my health insurance through my job if they were a dependent…or a spouse.
A spouse.
The solution presented itself like clouds moving away to show off the sun after a day of rain. That was it.
And so I opened my mouth. “Marry me.”
Forest grew very still, his eyes widening. “Excuse me?”
“Marry me. I can put you on my insurance if we’re married.”
“Nash…”
“No, think about it. It’s a perfect solution. I have great insurance, and as my spouse, you would be covered. All of your medical expenses would be, minus the deductible, but that’s super low. It would solve that problem.” I forged ahead. “I know it’s not a permanent solution, but it would help you for now, if only until your medical situation has stabilized and you have a better sense of what to expect. And we already live together anyway, so it’s not like you’d have to change anything other than your marital status. I mean, you can take my name if you want, but you don’t have to, and?—”
