A/N: Anna asked for a Jaitlyn for Christmas so I decided to do a continuation of "Dinner Disaster" for her. I hope she likes it! And I hope you guys do too! Thanks to Beth for the title!
Happy Reading and Merry Christmas!
angellwings
It's a Wonderful Dinner
By angellwings
Jason had been taking cooking classes, but he hadn't told Caitlyn. He'd wanted to surprise her. Sort of like that time when Shane secretly took ballroom dancing classes to impress Mitchie. That had gone very well for him so Jason figured the same principle would apply to cooking classes. He'd invited everyone over for a Christmas Eve dinner. He and his brothers would spend all Christmas day with their family so this would be the last opportunity they had to celebrate Christmas with their friends, and Jason thought it was the perfect excuse to show off.
As he predicted Caitlyn had shown up early. She burst through the door and Jason immediately blocked her way to the kitchen. He knew she'd want to check on his progress. "Caity, stop."
She gave him a skeptical look. "What'd you mess up, Jase? You can tell me."
He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Why do you assume I've messed up?"
"Because you won't let me in the kitchen."
"I didn't mess up anything. It's all good," Jason told her.
"You said that last time too," Caitlyn said. "I can't believe you offered to have a Christmas Eve dinner at your house. For a guy who can't cook that's pretty bold."
"Yeah, well, I thought I was ready to try cooking again," Jason said with an eager smile.
"Oh God," Caitlyn said nervously as she glanced down at her watch. "People are going to be here in fifteen minutes. What do you need me to fix?"
"Nothing," Jason said with a grin. "It's all done."
"All of it? Every single bit?" Caitlyn asked.
"Yes," Jason told her.
"Entrée?"
"Done."
"Sides?"
"Done."
"Dessert?"
"Done."
"Table setting?"
"Done."
"Putting away your frilly little girly apron?"
"Do—oh."
Caitlyn chuckled as Jason scrambled back into the kitchen and then quickly re-emerged without the frilly pink apron. "You borrowed Ella's apron again?"
"I don't have one, and I didn't want to mess up my clothes," Jason said with a blush.
"Much like that stoneware I bought you, I need to buy you your own apron," Caitlyn told him with a chuckle as she reached out and straightened his tie. "That pink apron just doesn't do justice to how sexy you are."
Jason raised an eyebrow at her. "Sexy, huh?"
"Very sexy," Caitlyn told him as she continued to fiddle with his tie. "So sexy that I really want to mess up this straight laced look you have going on right now."
"Oh yeah? How so?" Jason asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"For starters," Caitlyn said as she loosened the knot on his tie. "I'd get rid of this."
She peeled the tie off of his neck and tossed it aside. She unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and let her hands slip underneath the collar. Jason cleared his throat and gulped nervously. "Anything else?"
Caitlyn smirked and pulled her hands out from underneath his collar and then stuck them underneath his jacket and began to push it off of his shoulders. "The jacket has to go."
The jacket fell off his shoulders and Caitlyn tucked her hands back underneath his shirt. One hand went into the hair at the nape of his neck and Jason groaned. "Caitlyn, we only have ten minutes."
"I'm willing to risk it," Caitlyn said as she wrapped her fingers around his curls. "Are you?"
Jason let out a resigned sigh and immediately pulled Caitlyn to him for an urgent crushing kiss. She removed one hand from his curls and then fisted his shirt in her hands. She pulled him toward his couch and stopped kissing him long enough to push him down onto it. She smiled evilly at him before she crawled onto the couch and spread out across him.
"I think this is a little more comfortable. Don't you?" Caitlyn asked with a smirk.
"Shut up," Jason said as he put a hand behind her neck and pulled her lips down to meet his. If there were ever two words that Jason could have said to make Caitlyn melt…those were it. She'd officially melted into his couch, and she was going to stay there for the next ten minutes at least.
The doorbell rang nearly fifteen minutes later and Jason and Caitlyn immediately popped up off the couch. Caitlyn ran her fingers through her hair and tousled it back into place and sprinted off to find her purse.
"Where are you going?" Jason called as he tucked his shirt back in and calmed his curls.
"Reapplying my lipstick!" Caitlyn yelled as she found her lipstick and headed to his hallway bathroom.
Jason chuckled and headed for the door. He opened the door and saw a wary looking Nate on the other side.
"Is it safe to come inside? I saw Caitlyn's car outside and the last time—"
"She's reapplying her lipstick, Nate. You're safe," Jason said with an amused grin as he stepped aside to let Nate and Ella in.
"Thank you for tucking in your shirt before answering the door, by the way," Ella said with a polite smile. "It's appreciated."
Jason nodded. "You're welcome."
"If Caitlyn's touching up her lipstick," Ella said thoughtfully. "I think I might join her."
Ella kissed Nate's cheek quickly before running off to the hall bathroom to find Caitlyn.
Jason quirked a brow at his brother. "What was that?"
"What?" Nate asked as he feigned being clueless.
"Dude," Jason said with a chuckle. "You finally made a move!"
Nate cleared his throat and a small grin spread across his face. "We may have had a very successful date last night, and that's all I'm saying."
"In other words…" Jason said expectantly.
"No, I'm not saying any other words."
Jason laughed softly. "She slept over last night, didn't she?"
Nate chose to stay silent but his cheeks flushed and he brought a hand up to cover his growing grin.
"Alright, don't answer," Jason told him. "Believe it or not you're already giving me all the answer I need."
The doorbell rang again and Jason immediately answered it. It was Mitchie and Shane. Mitchie gave Jason a hug and pulled Shane inside when Jason opened the door a little wider. She looked around the room and frowned.
"Where are Cait and Ella?" She asked.
"Bathroom. Reapplying lipstick," Jason told her with a knowing grin.
"Oh! They better not have told all the juicy stories without me!" Mitchie exclaimed as she rushed to the hall bathroom. "See, this was why I didn't want to be late, Shane!"
"Do they seriously think they're all going to fit in that bathroom?" Shane asked as he watched Mitchie leave. "It's not that big."
"I don't know, man," Jason said with a smirk. "You'd be surprised."
Shane's face went blank and he shared a horrified look with Nate. "I don't even want to know what that means."
"I think I will steer clear of that bathroom from now on," Nate said with a huff. "You always ruin things for me with talk like that."
"Dude, it's my house," Jason said with a chuckle. "If that's how you decide what to steer clear of things then you might as well just stay home next time I invite you over."
"Wow," Shane said with a chuckle.
"What?" Nate asked.
"What would all our fan girls think if they heard sweet and innocent Jason making all these insinuations?" Shane asked in amusement.
"If it's anything like what I'm thinking now they'd be horrified and a little disgusted," Nate answered with a shudder.
The doorbell rang again and Jason quickly opened the door. Andy shook Jason's hand as he entered the house and Dana looked at Jason expectantly. He rolled his eyes and grinned. "They're in the bathroom. Supposedly reapplying lipstick, but I'm beginning to doubt that."
Dana rounded the corner and found her three friends fixing their hair and checking their make up in front of the bathroom mirror while they chatted eagerly. They paused when they saw Dana and raced to the doorway to meet her.
"Dana!" Ella exclaimed as she hugged her.
"Ladies," Dana said with a chuckle. "Catch me up. What's the hot gossip?"
"Ella and Nate Did It last night," Caitlyn told her with a grin.
Ella's eyes widened and she smacked Caitlyn's arm. "Okay, how old are we? Twelve?"
"What? You would have told her anyway," Mitchie said with a laugh.
"Yeah, but not like that," Ella grinned.
Dana chuckled and nodded. "Well, congratulations."
Ella blushed a deep red and spoke up quietly. "Thank you. It was fun."
Caitlyn laughed loudly. "Let's hope so. What's the point of it if it's not?"
"Speaking of fun," Dana said with a grin. "How are you and Jason?"
Caitlyn smiled brightly at them. "Perfect. Well, except for the cooking thing, but I will gladly sacrifice one item on my list for Jase."
"Oh really?" Mitchie asked with a raised eyebrow. "I thought one of your rules was 'never settle'?"
"This is not settling. Jason more than exceeds all my expectations. He's just…lacking in the cooking area. It's not such a huge deal. At least he's open to new and strange foods," Caitlyn said with a soft smile. "Besides, he makes the best pancakes I've ever eaten. He's no gourmet, but he's certainly not terrible."
"Love of your life?" Ella asked. "Yea or nay?"
Caitlyn blushed and her smile turned shy. "Yea."
"Have you told him yet?" Dana asked.
"He knows I love him," Caitlyn said. "He just doesn't know I love him more than anyone else I've ever known."
"He should know that, Cait," Mitchie told her. "You should tell him."
"Well," Caitlyn said with a smirk. "I won't be telling him anything until we eat and all of you go home."
There was a moment of silence before they all heard the sound of knuckles rapping on the door frame. They jumped and spun around to see Andy standing in the hallway smiling at them. "Jason says if he doesn't serve dinner soon it's gonna get cold."
"Oh hell no," Caitlyn said as she hopped off the bathroom counter. "We can't let that happen. Reheated food is never the same."
The girls stepped into the dining room and they all gasped. Dana leaned toward Caitlyn and whispered, "I thought you said he couldn't cook?"
"H-he can't. Last time he tried he charcoaled dinner," Caitlyn answered in a whisper.
"Well, I think he's been practicing then," Dana told her with a chuckle. "Cause this dinner looks delicious."
Caitlyn nodded mutely. She was right. It was beautiful. There were two roast pork loins with apples, potato gratin, and green beans. The table was set with his red stoneware, a green table cloth, candles, and small arrangements of poinsettias and white roses.
"Jase," Caitlyn said softly as she walked the length of the table. "This is gorgeous."
"You really think so?" He asked with a hesitant smile.
She nodded. "Definitely."
"Good," Jason whispered as he leaned toward her ear. "Because I did all this for you."
"Okay," Caitlyn said as grabbed Jason by the collar. "We need to talk."
"Alright," Jason said as she dragged him away. He turned to face the others as best he could. "Please, go ahead and start! We'll be back in a minute!"
Caitlyn slammed the kitchen door behind them and then turned on Jason.
"Did you order in?" She asked as she narrowed her eyes on him.
"No."
"You swear?" She asked. "Because I know I told you I like guys that can cook, but really it's not a deal breaker. I promise."
"Caity," Jason said with a chuckle. "I didn't do it to keep you. I did it to impress you. I just wanted to succeed this time. Is that so bad?"
She smiled softly. "No, that's not so bad." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Where did you learn to cook?"
"You know your friend Mario?" Jason asked.
"Yes, he's a chef," Caitlyn answered.
Jason nodded. "Yep, he's been…tutoring me, I guess."
"You've been taking cooking lessons from Mario? The biggest, most pretentious food snob I know?" Caitlyn asked with wide shocked eyes.
Jason sighed tiredly. "Yes, the only reason he didn't throw me out of his kitchen was because he adores you. I think he might be in love with you. I'm a little worried about that, actually."
Caitlyn rolled her eyes and laughed softly. "You have nothing to worry about. Mario's adoration of me only goes as far as his kitchen. He likes that I appreciate his work. That's all. Besides, there's no way I'd leave the love of my life for him. That's just not logical."
"The love of your—what?" Jason asked in confusion.
Caitlyn's eyes widened and she buried her head in Jason's chest. "Oh God, Oh God, I did not just say that out loud." She paused and hesitantly looked up at Jason. "Did I?"
"You most certainly said it out loud," Jason told her in a surprised voice. "I'm the love of your life?"
Caitlyn pulled away from him and started pacing. "Yes! Okay? You are! So, this has to work out, you know? In the end? You know what I mean? You'll have to marry me. I mean not now, but eventually. You want to, right? Someday? Or is this just like a fling or something? So help me God if this is fling I just might have to rough you up a bit. I mean I've never really felt like this before so I don't really know how to deal with it, and if this goes south…I don't know if I could take it. No, I take that back I do know. I do know, and I couldn't. I really couldn—"
She was interrupted by the sudden pressure of Jason's lips against her own. She relaxed immediately and allowed herself to be pulled into his crushing embrace. Her arms were sandwiched in between her chest and his, and it would have been uncomfortable if Jason's kisses weren't currently distracting her. He pulled back a few minutes later and smiled warmly at her.
"This will work out. I do know what you mean. Of course, I'll marry you. Doesn't have to be now. I'll marry you whenever you feel you're ready. There's nothing I want more. This is definitely not a fling so please don't beat me up. And I've never felt like this either. It won't go south. I won't let it. You're the love of my life, Caity. Truthfully," Jason said softly. "I promise."
She let out some sort of unintelligible squeak and launched herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed several short kisses on his lips. He laughed and tried to talk between kisses. "Caitlyn." Kiss. "We need to—" Kiss. "Get back out—" Kiss. "There." Kiss.
Caitlyn frowned at him and whined. "Why?"
"Because this is my house and they're my guests."
"It's your brothers, their girlfriends, and Dana and Andy. They'll be fine."
"Because the foods getting cold."
"We can reheat it."
"You hate reheated food."
"I'll deal."
"If we don't go out there they'll never leave."
Caitlyn immediately pulled away. "Fine, but let's get them to eat fast. I need alone time with you before Santa Claus comes." She winked at him. "I don't need him to find out how naughty I really am."