by Diane Adams
"Of course not."
"Alex."
"Always Alex. It's a small enough thing to give him. It's…" Jared ran his hand over his face and shook his head.
"You aren't real big on talking about feely stuff." Without waiting for his response to the understatement, Clark took the hot dogs off the grill and laid them on the platter alongside the steaks. He motioned Jared over to the sliding doors.
"Stevie, round up the kids. It's a little too cool to eat out here," Clark called to his wife. He slid open one of the fingerprint covered doors and stood aside for Jared to go in first. "That's all a wedding is, right? Standing up in front of a bunch of people and spilling your guts?" Jared grimaced. Thinking about it made him feel a little sick. He set the tray on a nearby cabinet and returned to stand beside to where Clark stood looking out into the yard.
They watched as Stevie gathered up Kels and then called to Jay to find out where Xander and Jens had gone. Alex remained at the table, entertaining the girls with a story that made them all laugh.
"I guess so. I admit thinking about saying all that sappy stuff seems a little lame, but when you do it? It matters, Jared. Saying the words in front of witnesses makes more difference than you'd think."
Outside, Alex got to his feet and paused to admire Rachel's pet cat.
"That's next, you know." Clark nodded towards the yard.
"Cats?" Jared was baffled. "By the way you've got the ugliest cat I've ever seen."
"The cat came with Rachel, and I meant kids, not cats."
"Can't I get through this first?" he protested, stricken. "I'm gay, you know, I never thought I'd be dealing with any of this stuff."
Clapping a hand on his shoulder, Clark reached for the plate of meat. "I’ll get this on the table, why don’t you grab the potato salad and stuff out of the fridge.” The grin he turned on Jared was nothing short of wicked. “You’ve never been a normal gay, so this is what you get."
"Alex told me that, too. He thinks because I'm the only one who ever touched him intimately, we're…"
"As weird as me and Stevie. You might as well admit it." Clark laughed. He sobered and met his eyes.
"Clark, what?"
"You do realize he knows, don't you?"
Feeling slow, Jared tried to follow Clark's line of thought. Failing, he shook his head. "Who knows what?"
"Alex, he knows how hard standing up in front of all those people and saying in plain English how you feel about him will be for you."
"Of course I know he understands. Knowing he does is what will make it worth every embarrassing second." He opened and closed several cabinets before turning to face Clark. "Where the heck are your plates?"
Clark pointed and Jared shook his head. "Just so you know, I'm pretty sure that rearranging the kitchen cabinets so often isn't normal."
* * * *
The steak, potato salad, and greens were excellent, and Alex ate like he hadn't in a long time. Finally he pushed back from the table, groaning.
"If I eat one more bite I'm going to explode." He eyed the few bits still on the plate. "But it's so good." The feel of Jared's hand on his leg under the table brought his eyes up to meet his smile. Well aware of Jared's pleasure in his returning appetite, he didn't need him to say anything to understand what the look meant. "I wasn't that bad," he whispered.
Jared's smile dimmed, his eyes shadowed for a brief second before he pressed a kiss to Alex's temple. Sensitive to how he'd worried him, Alex laid his hand over Jared's with a slight squeeze of apology. His fingers pressed into his thigh briefly, smile returning to full wattage.
"So, who did you tell first?" Stevie interrupted their private interaction from her 'mom' seat down the table in the midst of her youngest children.
Alex laughed. "The guy that makes our coffee at the bakery, since Jared asking permission from everyone in the world, ensured everyone I know heard about it before I got to talk to them."
Clark looked up from his steak. "Permission?"
Jared blushed, no more than a slight stain of color on his cheeks, but it made Alex grin. "Yeah, he actually called Dad in Iran, but before that he asked my mom's blessing."
They all knew Frank had taken a contract job with a company doing IT work for the military and would be gone for at least another six months, but the news Jared had braved Alex's mother caused a hush to fall over those at the table old enough to understand. Annie's hand stole into Alex's.
"Grammy Ross? What did she say?"
Alex turned to look in her sweet, wide-eyed face. His heart turned over as he saw the worry in her innocent eyes and remembered that it had been Annie's belief in the power of love had led to his reconciliation with his mother.
He smiled reassurance. "Mom said she wants me to be happy. She helped Jared pick out the rings."
He held up his hand, focusing attention on the finger of his left hand, encircled by a band of white gold. Five princess-cut diamonds glittered on the face of the ring, accented above and below by a simple braid design worked into the metal.
Annie squealed and threw herself into his arms. He hugged her tight, half in delight and half in an effort to keep her from falling out of her chair. A brief memory of his mother's face the afternoon he confessed his sexual orientation flashed through his mind. Despite the healing between them, Alex would never forget her initial reaction. Thankfully the painful edge of that memory had been blunted by his mother's recent efforts to accept his choice. Annie had played a huge part in their reconciliation. "Mom's really trying."
"Oh, my God," Stevie breathed. "That's incredible."
"About damn time." Clark sounded exasperated but didn't say anything more.
Alex knew he would never completely forgive Janet Ross for the pain she'd caused, but neither would he do anything to mar Alex's pleasure at having his mother back in his life. Giving him an understanding look, Alex settled Annie back into her chair before he turned to face the rest of the family. "Best proposal ever," he smiled, feeling Jared's fingers tighten on his thigh in an affectionate squeeze.
"Yeah, we know, seen it on YouTube," Xander announced, shoveling more potato salad in his mouth.
Alex frowned. "What?"
"It's on YouTube." Jay picked up the thread of conversation when he realized his twin had stuffed his mouth too full to allow speech. "There's some college dude who goes around making candid videos of people. He's doing some kind of study about personality or relationships. I don't know. He talks about it on his blog. I never read all of it. It's pretty boring. Anyhow, he edits the videos, sets them to music. It's pretty popular. Yours has like 200 views already. There are a few homophobe crap comments but mostly everyone thinks it's… what did Annie say… oh yeah, 'the most romantic thing they've ever seen'."
Jared and Clark pulled out their phones. Alex frowned at the expression on Jared's face. He never took invasion of his privacy well. He'd opened up in the restaurant the night of the proposal far more than he usually did in public. The crowd had created a false sense of intimacy. It had felt like no one was paying them a bit of attention.
"I can't believe you didn't show me!" Stevie admonished her sons, hurrying around the table to look over Clark's shoulder.
"It's the first suggestion when you search 'gay proposal'." Xander laughed, having finally swallowed his food.
Alex leaned against Jared's shoulder and watched. The video had been filmed from outside the restaurant, he and Jared clearly visible through the window. He remembered how uncomfortable Jared had been when they first sat down. The night beyond the glass had turned it opaque on their side and it never occurred to him how clearly someone would be able to see them from the other side. He watched speechless as their evening together unfolded, accompanied by "Marry Me" by Amanda Marshall. The whole thing had been ingeniously edited, the boring parts clipped out giving the impression that the intense personal interaction had flowed smoothly from one moment to the next.
He found himself staring at his own face when Jared sli
d the ring box across the table and opened it. Saw the panic and confusion written there, read the word on his lips clearly. "Why?" His heart twisted. Not the most amazing response to a proposal. Jared's expression never changed. Love and understanding. Alex wondered what he'd ever done to deserve such devotion.
"You guys look kinda fucked out," Clark chuckled, pulling Alex out of the moment. Xander and Jay burst out laughing.
"Clark!" Stevie gasped, slapping his arm. "What a thing to say!"
Clark's laughter died on his lips when he looked up and met Jared's gaze. Jared raised a brow and he grimaced. "Fine, I'm sorry, but you got to admit you do look kinda—"
"Clark!" Alex wished he could reach to kick his best friend under the table. "Shut up."
"That's a pretty huge invasion of privacy." Jared had started the video again and watched it play.
"He'll take it down if you ask. He's done it for people before and apologized, but your video? It's kind of awesome." Jay shrugged.
"You two always have been a walking ad for gay love." Clark snorted.
"For what all love should be," Stevie amended his statement. She turned her attention to Jared. "I know this was personal between you, Jared, and how you probably feel about it being out there for everyone to see, but think about it a little while before you ask the boy to take it down. There's so much negativity about gay love everywhere. It's good for the kids to have something positive to see."
Jared wrapped an arm around Alex's shoulders and pressed a kiss to his hair. Neither of them commented, but he knew that despite the fact Jared didn't seem to be angry about the video, Jared would fire off an email to the owner of the recording and have it removed at his first opportunity. Alex hoped when they got home and he had a chance to explain what he thought, Jared would change his mind.
In the Spring
"Pi Day." Jared sounded a little shell-shocked.
"Pi Day." Alex kissed him.
"That's like thirty days from now."
"Or a year and thirty days."
The look Jared gave him made Alex laugh.
"Are you sure you can have a dress ready by then?" Jared smirked.
Alex smacked him. "Funny."
"Here."
He looked at the scrap of paper Jared handed him. A name and a phone number.
"Wedding planner. He did Stevie and Clark's wedding so he's had experience with people who want to get married yesterday."
"Vlad. I remember him. He walked around talking with a thick accent and waving his hands around. I could barely understand him. Did a hell of a job though. Didn't he cry?"
"He's from the Philippines and I have no doubt his tears were caused by sheer relief. He might cry in despair when he sees you walk in his store."
Alex smacked him again. "Full of yourself today, aren't you?"
"Not as full of me as you were last night." Jared leered and Alex rolled his eyes.
"You should go to work."
"I should." Jared snagged him by the waistband of his jeans, tugged him closer and pressed his lips against his ear. Alex shivered when Jared's hot breath stirred his hair. "But I thought we could go back to bed first."
Tempted, he leaned in and the hard length of Jared's body pressed against his made him shudder. "God, I wish." He rocked their hips together, feeling gratified when Jared moaned.
Jared's teeth grazed the soft skin behind his ear and he trembled, his fingers clutching at the front of Jared's shirt, fisting there.
Jared's phone rang.
Jared's eyes slipped closed as he rested his forehead on Alex's. "I hate technology."
"That's Clark's ring. He's waiting."
"Yeah, let him wait," Jared breathed and nuzzled his lips.
"I don't want to listen to him complain." He pressed a hard closed-lip kiss against Jared's mouth. "I'll be here when you get home."
Jared moved away reluctantly. "Promise?"
"In bed, naked, randy as a goat, promise." Jared's eyes darkened and he reached for him again. Laughing, Alex slipped out of reach. "Go!"
He stopped at the door and glanced back. "The wedding guy, call him."
Alex waved the bit of paper at him. "I will. Pi Day is okay, right? In our new yard?"
Jared shook his head. "It's going to be cold as hell, just you watch. But yes, Pi Day, our yard… make it happen." The door closed firmly behind him.
Alex grinned, feeling giddy. Every day he felt more like himself, and remembering why things had looked so bleak became more difficult. His therapist told him not to try. His depression had been the result of physical and emotional trauma and would fade as he healed. Dwelling on it served no purpose. The short time since his last graft had proven the doctor right. Remembering how his hopeless state of mind had driven him to thoughts of suicide scared him.
"Don't think about it, move on," he chastised himself.
He grabbed his phone off the end table and flopped back onto the couch. He looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds deciding if he needed help planning the wedding. He thought he could do it himself. After all, a small backyard wedding for him and Jared couldn't be that difficult.
The phone in his hand startled him when it began to play "Marry Me." Jared wasn't as amused by his new ringtone as Alex. He let the song play a few more bars. A stranger had created the connection between them and the song, but Alex had adopted it wholeheartedly. Remembering exactly how he'd convinced Jared to leave the video online heated his blood, and he wished he'd taken him up on his offer to go back to bed.
With a sigh of regret, he touched the screen to accept the call. "Yes, dear?" He chuckled at the sound of Jared's disgusted snort.
"I know you are sitting there thinking you can do this wedding thing yourself."
Alex frowned, pulled the phone away from his ear to look at the photo of Jared's smiling face and glanced around the room for hidden cameras. He put the phone back to his ear. "Lying here, actually, Mr Think-you-know-it-all."
"So you aren't thinking about planning the wedding yourself?"
"Nope, not a bit. I was getting ready to call him." He retrieved the paper from where he'd abandoned it beside the lamp. The technicality of Jared interrupting him before he made a final decision kept it from being an outright lie.
Jared made some hurmph noise indicating his disbelief. "If you want to get married in less than a month, you get help. If you don't, I swear to God it'll be a year and thirty days."
"Okay, I got it," Alex muttered, rolling his eyes despite the fact Jared couldn't see him.
"Alex." Jared's voice dropped an octave and his libido stirred, taking immediate notice. Stupid dick. "I don't want you to get so stressed and tired you can't enjoy our engagement. You understand?"
He pressed the heel of his hand against his swelling cock and counted back from ten. Getting undepressed had made him unbelievably horny. "Yeah, I do. Just for the record, I could have done it myself."
"I have no doubt."
Jared's assurance seemed genuine and he relaxed. Enjoying their short engagement wasn't a bad idea. "I'll tell you all about it tonight." He rubbed his thumb against the ring on his left ring finger, happy to have tangible evidence Jared's proposal had been real and not a dream.
"Can't wait. I'll see you this evening." Jared's sincerity and relief were evident in equal measure.
"Love you." Alex ended the call and looked at the phone number written in his fiancé's precise handwriting. "Whatever, Jared," he grumbled, but dialed the number without hesitation, ready to start planning his wedding. If using a wedding planner made Jared happy, he would go with it, though he was perfectly capable of doing it himself.
Alex pulled into the driveway ending at the porch of a small, well-maintained home that looked as if it dated from the early nineteen hundreds. Set in one of the oldest neighborhoods in town, the house had a quiet, well-preserved charm. It seemed like an odd place for a business. He noted the small sign on the front door, one he couldn't read from the car but appeared businesslik
e. The handicap ramp, and a smooth concrete walkway leading from the driveway directly to the porch were more evidence he had the right address, despite the family homes occupying the surrounding lots.
A few minutes later Alex discovered the sign was handmade, announcing in artistic script 'Vladimir Jaunez, Wedding Planner'. He cocked a brow, his memory of the small, brown-skinned young man who'd managed Clark's wedding seemed more colorful than the building suggested. He rang the bell and waited.
The door flew open.
"Darling!" The man he remembered stood there, his light brown skin a color reminding Alex of his favorite glazed doughnuts. Head shaved for some reason he couldn't imagine, though the look suited him, focused attention on his melted chocolate eyes and full lips. He was hot in a short, very gay kind of way. "Susmarvosep! Don't just stand there, come in, come in!" He stood back and let Alex brush past him.
Standing six feet tall in his socks, Alex certainly didn't consider himself short, but spending so much time around Jared and Clark, both several inches taller, made it easy to forget how tall six feet could seem. Vlad stood somewhere around five feet eight, and feeling like he towered over the guy made Alex awkward and uncomfortable. Vlad seemed eager to make up for his diminutive size with his bigger than life taste in fashion. His choice of a navy blazer with white piping over a pastel pink button down, a pair of low rider skinny jeans, a wide belt threaded through the belt loops and fastened with a huge silver buckle of two doves touching beaks, made him blink.
The door closed behind them, startling Alex who realized he hadn't said a word.
Blushing, he held out his hand. "Thanks, I called earlier. Alex Ross?"
He looked around the room, yet another contrast to the small man bobbing around him. It didn't look anything like a business office, nor did it reflect the wedding planner’s flamboyant manner. Instead the décor gave Alex the feeling of being in a tastefully decorated home.
"Of course!" The man’s smile gleamed brilliant white against his tan skin.
