If you don't agree with guys being in love with guys, then you need to find someplace else to spend time.

Okay, these characters are not meant to resemble any living or dead persons.

I make no apology to anyone who is offended by anything in this story.

Let me know what you think of the story by emailing me at

_Hnstskr4@aol.com_

Copyright 2008 -2012 by Chuck B.

Jason and Shaun

Chapter 18 – The Engagement

Jason feels the time is right to take his relationship with Shaun to a new level. He dials his parents' house to tell them of his intentions.

"Williams residence."

"Hi Mom!" Jason says with a smile on his face. "How would you feel about having a son-in-law?"

The line went quiet; only a slight whisper could be heard. Jason was worried. Maybe, his luck has finally run out. He'll just have to wait and see.

"Are you thinking of getting married?"

"Yeah! I want to propose to Shaun tonight."

Jason is excited about the possibility of a wedding in his future.

"Jason, Dad says that you have our blessings."

"Thanks Mom, tell Dad thanks for me."

"I will sweetie. Is there anything else?"

Jason thought for a second and answered, "No. Love you guys!"

"Bye Jason." His mom hung up her phone. Jason quickly clicked the phone and then started dialing Shaun's parents.

This time, he's calling Shaun's dad's house.

"Clark residence, Sandy here."

"Hi Sandy, Jason here."

"When are you going to start calling me Mom?"

"I'll start today, but first I need to ask you and Dad a question and it's important."

"Umm... what question do you need to ask me?"

The question got stuck in his throat.

"May I have your permission to marry Shaun?"

Jason could hear Sandy messing with the phone. She then called for her husband.

"Jason, could you repeat the question again?"

"Ummm... sure!" Jason said. "May I have your permission to marry Shaun?"

There was quiet on the phone, but not in the Clark household. Jason could hear the excited screams coming from the other side of the house. He could have hung up the phone right then and there, but he didn't.

"Jason... you have our permission."

"I'll call you after he answers me."

"Sounds good, son!"

"Bye Mom, bye Dad!"

 

Now, Jason had to get his plan in motion. He picks up his phone again and dials April first.

"Hello Jason. What's up?"

"Something huge! I want you... no, I need you to be a part of it. I'm going to propose to Shaun and I want to do it over dinner. If I send you a menu, let me know what you need and I'll buy the food, and then can you prepare the dinner?"

"Anything for my bro! How many courses are we looking at?"

"Well, I'm looking at tossed salad, cornmeal, breaded fish, coleslaw, corn on the cob, peas, and cheesecake."

"Doesn't sound too bad! What type of cheesecake?"

"Blueberry cheesecake. I'll be there at 12:00 pm. So plan on eating by 4:00 pm or 5:00 pm."

"See you at noon!"

"Bye!"

Jason crossed out one more thing on his massive to-do list.

 

Matt's number is on speed dial, so at the touch of a button, Jason is able to call him.

"What's up Jason?"

"Matt, I need the biggest favor ever, and only you can pull it off."

"What exactly am I pulling off?"

"Today after dinner, I'm to propose to Shaun and I need you to play interference for me. Will you just keep him busy till I can call you?"

Matt was absolutely ready to explode with excitement. He couldn't believe his ears. This is one plan that he wants in on.

"Okay, I'm in."

"Cool, thanks!"

Ever so slowly, his proposal is being put together. The next thing he needs to do is run next door.

 

Jason knocks on his neighbor's door. Sarah opens the door and invites him inside.

"Sarah, I need your help."

She stares at him waiting to hear the rest of Jason's cry for help. This is one lady who doesn't just "Yes!" when someone needs something.

"I'm going to propose to Shaun, but I have no clue what ring to get."

She suddenly went into bride mode.

"Ummm... do you know his ring size?"

Jason had that information written down already on a piece of paper. He handed her the slip of paper and she looked it over.

"I know just the ring to get. Come on, we need to get a move on it."

She ran and grabbed her keys.

 

In a heartbeat, she had him in her car, speeding off to the store where Mark bought their rings a couple of years ago. As they got out, it hit Jason that this was finally happening. He was going to ask his partner to marry him. They walked into the store and immediately Sarah was pulled to a beautiful display of rings. Jason looked at each and every one of them.

"Do you see one you like?"

The salesperson stood next to them hoping that he could help them. She gave the clerk Jason's paper.

"I'm looking for a man's engagement ring, just a nice gold band would do."

He pulled out several bands for Jason's approval. Jason pointed to one ring. There was nothing fancy about the ring other than it was a ring.

"Can I see that ring up close please?"

The clerk held the ring up closer to Jason. Jason visualized the ring on Shaun's finger, and then looked at Sarah and smiled.

"I'll take it!"

"Okay! I'll ring you up over here. How are you paying for it?"

"Credit card."

Jason slipped his card through the card scanner. The clerk put the ring into a box and handed it to the young man.

"Thanks so much!"

Jason was smiling ear to ear; even Sarah was beaming.

 

While Sarah and Jason are out getting the ring, Matt is at his apartment and calls Shaun.

"Hey Shaun, I picked up that new game you've been wanting to play. You should come over and check it out."

Video games are one of Shaun's guilty pleasures and, Matt knows this and uses it to his advantage to lure him away.

"Sure man, I'll be there in a few minutes."

Shaun looks around for Jason and he can't find him. Grabbing a pen and paper, he writes out a quick note. Shaun always leaves notes letting Jason know where he's at. He even tried calling him but no good. The phone must be off. Shaun arrived at Matt's eager to play, but also a bit worried about Jason. On the other side of the city, Jason and Sarah arrived at the house. Jason has one more thing to do before his little plan can come to life.

Jason needs to catch Eric and Steve. What luck; the couple just stepped out of Sarah's house.

"Hey guys, would you mind helping me out later today? I'm going to propose to Shaun over dinner, and I was wondering if you guys could help me out tonight?"

Jason's hoping that that they'll say `yes'. Steve looks at Eric and Eric looks at Steve. They silently agree to help Jason. How could they not take part in something so romantic?

"We'll do it!" Eric answered.

"Thanks guys! It's a suit and tie affair, so look sharp. Oh, and keep your phone handy, because I'll call you when I need you."

Jason is a little worried about Matt.

"You can count on us."

Steve and Eric reached out and shook Jason's hand. Jason then ran back to his house.

 

Jason enters his house as April arrives to start cooking. Jason walks her into the kitchen and gives her a brief tour. While April is busy cooking, Jason sets the table. Everything is just about ready. Jason is having a hard time sitting down. He gets up and joins April in the kitchen, where he is put to work making the coleslaw. Back at Matt's, Shaun is still worried about his boyfriend.

 

Matt can tell that Shaun is getting nervous. He goes into his bathroom to call Jason.

"Hello, Jason here."

"Hey, it's Matt. Your man is like super anxious, what should I do?"

"It's okay. Bring him home!"

"Okay!" Matt was anxious to get Shaun over to Jason.

Now how does Matt get Shaun to turn over the keys so that he can drive Shaun's car back to the house.

"Shaun let's go for a ride, but I need your keys cause I'm driving."

Shaun wasn't sure what this was all about, but he wasn't about to hand over his keys. Matt could tell that Shaun wasn't about to turn his keys over to him. Shaun had to get home though; he was so worried about Jason.

"Look, Shaun do you trust me or not?"

Matt looked at Shaun as he waited for a response. Shaun handed over his keys to Matt.

"You better not pull anything funny Matt."

"I won't Shaun, but you have to trust to me."

"Okay, I trust you."

Matt pulled out a bandana and wrapped it around Shaun's eyes.

"Can you see?"

"No, I can't see, but is this really necessary?"

"Trust me, it is very worth it."

Matt leads Shaun out the door. Shaun's wondering if this has anything to do with Jason's disappearance. Jason's fiancé-to-be just could not stop worrying about his boyfriend. Matt takes the opportunity to focus, and as he does, a wave of peace washes across him; all his worrying melts away in that instant. When they pulled up to the house, Matt got out of his cellphone and sent a text to Jason.

"We are outside the house right now."

"Go ahead and bring him inside and set him in one of the chairs in the dining room."

Matt got out, walked over to the passenger side and helped Shaun out of the car.

 

Together, they walked into the house. Matt leads him to a chair and sits him down in it. Matt walked away and went into the kitchen. Shaun couldn't tell exactly where he was, but he started piecing stuff together. He could smell food, but it was too quiet to be a restaurant. At one point, he thought that he heard Jason. Is it possible that he is at Miss White's House? No, the cats would have come up to him. Next thing he knew, he heard Sasha's meows. There is no doubt in his mind that he was at home.

 

Jason typed up his text to Eric and Steve and hit send. Three minutes later, two handsome young men entered the house. Matt steps up behind Shaun and pulls the bandana off of Shaun's eyes.

"So I was right!"

Matt goes back into the kitchen. Eric and Steve gave Shaun a menu for tonight's meal. The guys stand quietly as Shaun looks over the menu.

"What's going on guys?"

Shaun looks at them as he waits for a response. They don't acknowledge Shaun at all. The fact that they didn't respond to his question only frustrated him. Jason finally appeared and sat down across from Shaun.

"What's going on Jason?"

Taking his boyfriend's hand, he kissed it as Steve and Eric went into the kitchen. "Trust me!" Jason said as he gazed into Shaun's eyes.

 

Dinner is ready now. Eric comes out with two freshly tossed salads. Steve followed behind him with two large glasses of water.

"Thank you!" Jason said to his servers for the evening.

As they ate their salads, Eric and Steve looked over the schedule for the rest of the evening. The two teens reappeared. Eric has one plate consisting of fish with a cornmeal breading, a large ear of corn-on-the-cob, coleslaw, and peas. Steve has a matching plate. Shaun knew something was going on, but Jason wasn't dropping any clues, so he would just have to wait and see what happens. Any time that Jason felt like Shaun was digging for information, he would instantly change the subject. As the guys finished their plates, the servers came out again with two huge pieces of cheesecake. Now the guy who planned the evening was starting to sweat. It's almost time for the ring to be presented. Jason knows that the future of their relationship will very soon be in Shaun's hands. Jason reaches forward to grab an envelope. It's something he wrote very soon after meeting Shaun. Carefully he opens the envelope and then starts readings.

"Dear Shaun,

I'm writing this letter on the night that you came out to me. I want you to know that I'll forgive you time and time again. You have such an amazing spirit about you. You've had me from day one. For whatever reason, I didn't see it right away. Knowing you has greatly blessed me. I needed a roommate, and you were there. I needed a friend, and you are here. I want you to always be yourself around me. There is nothing I won't do for you. I cannot imagine what it must be like to hide yourself from your loved ones.

As I heard your story, I heard the pain in your voice. You held back from me so that your heart wouldn't take any more damage. I wouldn't be where I am today without my family's support, and I can't imagine not having it. If at any time your family finds out, I know my family will gladly take you in as their own. I hope with all my heart that your family never finds out. I will never hurt you. I will never purposely do anything to hurt you out of anger or hate.

Shaun, I am ready to be with you. I want to face the challenges of life together. I've wasted enough of my life being alone. Shaun, I'm waiting to hear "Will you be my boyfriend?" come out of your mouth. I'm not very good with mixed messages, so don't expect me to pick them up. Shaun, I'm never going to cheat on you, and I hope you'll never do me wrong. I'm willing to work through any problem. I'm here no matter what. Remember, I love you no matter what!

Your friend always and forever,

Jason"

Jason read the note as tears flowed from his eyes. Shaun too had tears in his eyes. Steve peeks out from the kitchen to see how the evening was progressing. Jason waved at the boys signaling the boys to bring out the ring. Eric and Steve disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a box. Eric was sent across the way to get Mark and Sarah. When the crowd was gathered together, Jason dropped down to his right knee.

 

The moment of truth had finally come. The box holding the ring is opened and the guy's eyes meet for the first time. It finally dawns on Shaun what his boyfriend is doing. A warm smile from his boyfriend's face confirms what is going on.

"Shaun will you marry me?"

Shaun was shocked, even though he knew what was going on. There hasn't been one day since meeting Jason that he hasn't dreamed of this special day. Shaun smiled at Jason and said, "Yes!" Tears were still flowing down their faces. Jason slid the ring onto Shaun's ring finger and then stood up. They kissed for the first time as an engaged couple. Everyone started clapping as they kissed.

After they broke off the hug, Jason looked at everyone. "Thanks, everyone, for making this work!"

"Jason, I want to share the news with Miss White before we do anything else."

"Okay everyone, I guess my fiancé and I are going to a friend's house."

"Thanks everyone!" Shaun said as he looked at the group of friends gathered around him. Jason pulled out his keys.

Everyone left the house, followed closely by Shaun and Jason. They drove out to Miss White's apartment. A group of kids was playing near the door, and Shaun's mind turned to the thought of raising a little one with Jason. They pushed the button next to her name and Miss White's voice came over the speaker.

"Who's there?"

"It's your sons."

The guys decided to be funny and they say it together. She was excited to see them. The buzzer sounded and the guys walked inside the building. She already had her apartment door open. The boys walked inside and saw her sitting in her rocker.

"We have news for you."

Jason raises Shaun's hand and shows off the ring to Miss White.

"Bless your hearts! Have you picked a date?"

Shaun blurts out "Early next year!" Suddenly the atmosphere in the room changed.

"I... I... don't know if, I'll be here."

The guys looked at each other with great concern. She had to be at their wedding. It just wouldn't feel right without her there. After all, she played a major role in getting them together.

"What type of talk is that? You'll be there to see it."

Shaun won't admit it to her or to Jason, but she's scared him. `Is there something that she isn't telling us?' Shaun thought to himself.

"Look boys, I know my days are numbered and I want to be there."

"Maybe we can move it up."

Jason made the suggestion hoping it would calm things down with their older friend. Shaun smiled liking the idea of having a slightly earlier wedding.

"How does a summer wedding sound?"

It's only May. Shaun was hoping that his idea would work. Jason thought about it and decided that it would work.

"We have some phone calls to make, but we'll be back later!"

His idea seemed to calm Miss White down. Now they just have to plan a wedding.

 

The couple left the apartment and went home. They need to call their respective families. Jason picks up the phone and calls his parents. At this point, Jason is beaming. His dad picks up the phone.

"Hello."

"Hi Dad, I've got some news for you."

"Can you give me a few a seconds to gather the family together?"

"Umm... sure!"

His dad practically ran to gather up his family. They in turn ran to the phone.

"Okay Jason, everyone is here."

His mom knew exactly what Jason was going to say before he even said anything.

"Okay everyone, I have big news. Drum roll please!"

"Okay, tell us already!" his mom said to him.

"I asked Shaun to marry me and he said `yes'!"

Instantly there was clapping and crying for joy, and just general excitement could be heard and felt over the phone.

"Do you have a date?"

"We are looking at a summer wedding."

Shaun kept looking at the ring on his finger. He started to cry... happy tears. Jason saw it and kissed his lips.

"Jason, do you and Shaun have an exact date?"

"No!" Jason said as he looked at Shaun.

"How about sometime in July, maybe the 23rd?"

Jason liked that idea.

"Mom , did you hear Shaun?"

"Yes, I did. Now you need to pick a place for the wedding and for the reception. You can do that later. Go call Shaun's folks."

"Bye Mom, bye Dad, bye everyone!"

Jason ended his call and handed the phone over to Shaun.

Jason dialed the number to his dad's house. It took three rings before anyone answered.

"Shaun, what's up son?"

"Dad, can you gather up the family please?"

Shaun could barely hold in his excitement. There were a few minutes of silence before his dad came back to the phone.

"Okay Shaun, go ahead."

"Jason and I are engaged!"

His family went wild. A part of him wanted to call his mom's house, but he decided against it. There is no reason to ruin the day.

"We've set the date for July 23rd of this year."

"We'll have to get some vacation days lined up for it, but we should be able to come out there."

"Have you picked a spot yet?"

"No, Mom we haven't."

"Let us know when you pick a place for the ceremony, okay?"

"You know that I will.

"I... I can't... believe that one of my angels is getting married."

`It sounds like Sandy is crying.' Shaun thought to himself.

"I'm going to let you go; we have some stuff to plan."

"Be safe, son." Shaun's dad said this every time that they would go camping together.

Jason could tell by looking at his fiancé that he had made Shaun's day.

 

Shaun looked back to when he first met Jason. He had no idea at the time that Jason would end up being his boyfriend. This engagement feels like a dream. It's very hard to believe that such a thing is even possible. Shaun is floating out on cloud nine right now. He never wants to forget this day. Glancing over at Jason, Shaun notices his partner's eyes. They seem brighter today. Jason did everything within his power to make this a memorable day for both of them. Shaun has come a long way since meeting Jason.

Jason has somehow helped to raise Shaun up, and to some degree, change him. Prior to Jason's arrival, Shaun's once outgoing personality had turned inward. Payton's attack helped to make Shaun shy and untrusting. He didn't want to make the mistake of falling for someone again and getting hurt. Jason showed up and helped to turn Shaun's world around. He was patient from day one. When issues did pop up, Jason didn't blow up; instead, he talked things over with Shaun and together they fixed the trouble. Jason was never hostile with Shaun. He treated his roommate with the utmost respect. Once they were in a committed relationship, Shaun never once worried about Jason cheating on him. All of those qualities helped to seal the deal when Jason asked him to marry him.

 

Jason had one more surprise for Shaun. Shaun ordered pizza for the evening because by the time they called everyone and relaxed a little bit, they were hungry again. It fit right into Jason's plan. The plan is simple. It's all about spending time together as a couple. Nothing fancy; just pizza, a movie and cuddling.

"Jason, you've made me feel like a million bucks. I never once thought that I'd ever fall in love after Payton, let alone end up married."

Shaun leaned in to kiss Jason, and as they kissed, their penises responded as though they had been touched. Their kiss seemed to warm their lips. They had kissed each other multiple times, but this kiss seemed so intense. The kiss led to the couple cuddling on the floor. At one point, they turned off the lights and lit various candles around the room.

"I love you, Shaun."

"I love you too, Jason."

Jason could see the candlelight reflecting in his fiancé's eyes. Jason got up, went to the fridge and pulled out the sparkling white grape juice. He'd rather have wine, but to honor Shaun, he'll do without it. Tonight is all about each other. Shaun pulled out two wine glasses and went back to the living room. Jason filled their glasses.

"I want to make a toast," Shaun said as he raised his glass.

"To what?"

"To us. May we have many more years together and many more nights like this. Cheers!"

They clinked their glasses together and then drank the juice down. After their glasses were empty, the couple put in a movie and cuddled back up on the couch.

They sat there, watched the movie and held each other. Shaun's eyes were welling up. Jason's heart was ready to burst. He loves seeing Shaun this way. It speaks volumes when a guy is willing to show his emotions. His man has never been one to keep his emotions bottled up. Jason is hoping someday to be just as open as Shaun.

 

The movie ended and the couple retired to their bedroom.

"Jason, we need to find a place to hold our wedding and our reception."

"We can always use our backyard."

Shaun tried picturing the backyard, but he thought that it might be too small. Shaun grabbed a pen and a paper to jot down the invite list.

"There are only 19 people on my list. Did I forget anyone?"

"Jason, I know that I should send an invite to my mom and step dad but what's the use, I know they won't come, so I'm not even going to send it."

 

Jason skimmed over the list and was pleasantly surprised to see that no one was left out. The invite list was minor, but it did give them an idea of how much space was needed for the wedding and the reception.

"Looks like a pretty good list."

"Jason, I love you."

Shaun leaned into Jason and started to kiss him. Jason was overcome with passion and the two men fell asleep entwined in each other's arms. A new saga has started in their lives, and it's one that the guys will never forget.

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