Page 31 of The Broposal

“See? Acting isn’t that hard,” he said, but “acting” wasn’t the word I would’ve used. I wasn’t sure what just happened, but it felt like I’d gotten swept up in some sort of spell, one that left me struggling to find my feet again.

“That didn’t help at all,” I said. Kenny just grinned.

“So, how about holding hands? Like in public,” Kenny asked.

“Sure. Gotta sell it, right? What about… uh… kissing?” I almost wanted to tease Kenny about that drunken kiss but decided against it. I didn’t need him feeling weird about this. Everything was so nerve-racking as it was. And drunken kisses aside, I was sure we’d at least kiss during the “proposal.”

“That’s what I was about to ask. I’m cool if you are.” Kenny winked. I wished he wouldn’t be so damn charming, even if he was kidding. It was making it hard to concentrate.

“I’m not really sure how we’d do a proposal without kissing,” I admitted.

“Exactly. But, um, like I said… you’re not the best actor.”

“Oh. You think it’s too risky, then?” A public proposalwasa bit ambitious.

“I just mean… maybe we should practice? I can give you some pointers. Like, use your real emotions to fuel the fake narrative. We have to look convincing if we’re kissing in public. It’d be obvious if it was the first time, you know?”

Heat rushed from my chest into my cheeks as I glanced at Kenny’s lips, remembering how soft they were, even sloppy drunk.

“You want to practice kissing?”

“Don’t be weird about it.” Kenny was blushing now, too. “It won’t work if we can’t even do a practice kiss.” He bit his lip. “Are you okay with that?”

I took a big gulp of my beer, then set it down and leaned forward, pressing my lips firmly and eagerly against Kenny’s. It was a kiss that said “I’m sure about this.” A quick kiss, one that lasted less than a second but didn’t help release the heat in my cheeks. It was my first time kissing a dude on purpose, but I had no time to second-guess it. Kenny had kissed guys before, so maybe he wasn’t as nervous as I was.

“Okay, that was a start.” Kenny practically giggled, his cheeks red as hell. “I was thinking more like this…”

Kenny gently cupped my cheeks in his hands, and my stubble shifted under his fingers. He was moving painfully slowly, like he was showing off his acting by milking every moment. It was hard to keep my lips from twitching, since I was hoping to just get it over with. But maybe also because part of me just wanted those lips on mine.

Okay, okay, okay, maybe that “homophobia” I was so worried about was just straight homo. Minus the straight.

But that was irrelevant when it came to Kenny. Because this was all fake.

Okay, focus.

Real emotions to fuel the fake narrative. But I didn’t know what kind of emotions I was supposed to use. Happiness? Passion? Love? I wasn’t exactly great at channeling feelings, real or otherwise. Instead of thinking, I slid my fingers behind the nape of Kenny’s neck, feeling the ends of his freshly cut hair stand up as I gripped him softly. He leaned in so our noses brushed against each other like two ships barely escaping collision. If this was a game of chicken, I sure as hell wouldn’t be the first to back away. We both closed our eyes, and for a moment I thought maybe I was dreaming.

Finally,finally, our lips touched. And touched. And touched. Kenny’s parted slightly without intruding. An invitation I gladly accepted. His soft lips turned up into a slight smile when I parted mine. His hand shifted to the back of my neck, running through my hair. I let out an unexpectedly embarrassing noise at the sensation.

Just when I felt my jeans get tight, Kenny pulled away.

“Whew! That was—great job!” He said it like he was nothing more than an acting coach and not the first man I’d ever kissed. “Let’s try a proposal kiss now.”

“A proposal kiss?” I asked breathlessly.

“Yes, propose to me, lover!” Kenny grabbed my hand, pulling me off the couch so I could kneel.

I managed to laugh out a proposal between fits of childlike giggles. “Kendrick Bautista, will you marry me?” The words came out easier than expected.

“I’d love nothing more from life!” Kenny swooned, wiping his tearless eyes. I stood up and hugged Kenny the way I’d seen couples do in engagement videos. We laughed and kissed again. I wasn’t one for sappy confessions, but something about it beingfake filled me with giddiness and giggles. Hopefully our real performance would be better than this one.

We practiced several different kisses, just to be safe. One where Kenny leapt into my arms and we kissed while I carried him. Kenny was cut, but lean and a bit shorter, so it wasn’t too hard to hold him. We kissed again while pretending to cry happy tears. And another where we channeled the passion of two lovers who just got engaged. I felt myself getting lost in the performance as the acting filled me with warmth.

Once the night was over, I felt like an expert in acting, or at least in kissing Kenny.

I went to bed dizzy and giddy. I was going to marry my best friend. I was getting my green card. I drifted to sleep with a smile on my face.

Then I woke up to Kenny’s silhouette in the door once again. This time he was sober, but he still crawled into my bed, pulling the blanket over himself and snuggling up to me.

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