"I think they already know what I do to you, given how often the store it closed for long lunches," Joel points out with a bright grin. He's always so proud of himself when he makes comments that border on suggestive in such a manner and he knows he's nowhere near as good at them as Spencer is, but every once in awhile he manages to make one that sounds almost natural coming out of him. So he's grinning, pleased with himself, but he's taken a step back, too, giving his body the space it needs to stop responding so favourably to Spencer's mere presence. It's probably best for him to actually leave the room and go stand alone in the hall for a moment, but he doesn't want to just abandon his husband and so he wanders the perimeter of the library, pretends to look at books and then, when he feels like they've both had enough time to deal with themselves, he reaches his hand out toward Spencer and then nods toward the door. "Ready?" he asks.
The rest of the party really isn't at all difficult. They open gifts, the two of them and Erin, and people seem to generally be having a good time. Joel is stunned by the generosity of their friends, the sheer number of wonderful gifts people have given to their baby and the fact that so many people brought things for Erin, too, hasn't gone unnoticed. Joel has never really enjoyed a party before and he's never enjoyed being the centre of attention, but this party and being able to share the attention with Spencer has made it all a lot easier. It's a good afternoon and if anyone has really noticed that the two of them disappeared for a significant period of time, they don't say anything. Not that Joel would feel guilty about it even if someone did point it out, but it's nice to know their friends are discrete enough to give the two of them a few minutes away from a party without comment.
And he's surprised by how quickly the rest of the afternoon goes. It doesn't seem like it's that long before people are leaving and Joel is cataloguing the gifts so that he knows who gave them what and what they'll be writing on the thank you cards. During the unwrapping, Ellie had written down the gift on every card, so it doesn't look like it's going to be much work and Joel is thankful for that, too. He never would have thought to do something like that in the moment and he's grateful his mother has been so on top of things right from the beginning. She's been waiting for something like this, though, she's been waiting for her first grandchild and since Joel had taken her first child's wedding away from her, he's been more than happy to leave this in her very capable hands.
It's as he's cleaning up dishes that Ellie takes them from him and nudges him away. "Out of the kitchen," she says. "You and Spencer had a big day, I'm sure Charlotte and I can take care of the dishes. Go find your husband."
That's as much permission as Joel needs and he kisses his mother's cheek before he returns to the living room to find Spencer carefully making piles of the gifts. "Hey," he says, sliding his hand against Spencer's lower back before he hooks his fingers in one of his belt loops. "We've been given permission to leave the clean up to my mom and sister, which I'm sure Charlotte is going to be furious about, so we might want to escape while we have the chance."
He doesn't need to specifically go back to the library, but it would be a lie to say he hasn't been thinking about it since they had to leave it a few hours earlier. The problem with Spencer putting ideas into his head is that Joel tends to fixate on them and be unable to focus on anything else. He's done a fairly good job this afternoon, but now that they have the opportunity to be alone again, getting Spencer back into the library or their bedroom or anywhere private is really the only thing he's able to think about.
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The rest of the party really isn't at all difficult. They open gifts, the two of them and Erin, and people seem to generally be having a good time. Joel is stunned by the generosity of their friends, the sheer number of wonderful gifts people have given to their baby and the fact that so many people brought things for Erin, too, hasn't gone unnoticed. Joel has never really enjoyed a party before and he's never enjoyed being the centre of attention, but this party and being able to share the attention with Spencer has made it all a lot easier. It's a good afternoon and if anyone has really noticed that the two of them disappeared for a significant period of time, they don't say anything. Not that Joel would feel guilty about it even if someone did point it out, but it's nice to know their friends are discrete enough to give the two of them a few minutes away from a party without comment.
And he's surprised by how quickly the rest of the afternoon goes. It doesn't seem like it's that long before people are leaving and Joel is cataloguing the gifts so that he knows who gave them what and what they'll be writing on the thank you cards. During the unwrapping, Ellie had written down the gift on every card, so it doesn't look like it's going to be much work and Joel is thankful for that, too. He never would have thought to do something like that in the moment and he's grateful his mother has been so on top of things right from the beginning. She's been waiting for something like this, though, she's been waiting for her first grandchild and since Joel had taken her first child's wedding away from her, he's been more than happy to leave this in her very capable hands.
It's as he's cleaning up dishes that Ellie takes them from him and nudges him away. "Out of the kitchen," she says. "You and Spencer had a big day, I'm sure Charlotte and I can take care of the dishes. Go find your husband."
That's as much permission as Joel needs and he kisses his mother's cheek before he returns to the living room to find Spencer carefully making piles of the gifts. "Hey," he says, sliding his hand against Spencer's lower back before he hooks his fingers in one of his belt loops. "We've been given permission to leave the clean up to my mom and sister, which I'm sure Charlotte is going to be furious about, so we might want to escape while we have the chance."
He doesn't need to specifically go back to the library, but it would be a lie to say he hasn't been thinking about it since they had to leave it a few hours earlier. The problem with Spencer putting ideas into his head is that Joel tends to fixate on them and be unable to focus on anything else. He's done a fairly good job this afternoon, but now that they have the opportunity to be alone again, getting Spencer back into the library or their bedroom or anywhere private is really the only thing he's able to think about.