Page 4 of The Broposal

“I’m sorry, was I talking to you?”

“Guys, stop,” Kenny pleaded. “Can we just have fun for one night?”

Shit. I had promised Kenny I’d play nice with Jackie tonight, then immediately did the opposite. And there Kenny was with his goddamned kicked-puppy eyes.

“Sorry, bro,” I conceded.

“Is Kenny really the one you should be apologizing to?” Jackie said, arms crossed.

“Yeah,” I answered matter-of-factly. Why the hell would I apologize to Jackie? “You should apologize to him, too.”

Jackie looked like she was about to jump over the table and strangle me, but I elected to ignore her, turning my attention back to Leti, who was introducing the next round of contestants.

“Kinky Kanines…” they said suggestively, and three performers dressed like werewolves stepped to the stage. They had two minutes to dance, pose, and vogue their way down the runway in an attempt to upstage each other and impress the judges.

Once the music came on, the werewolves started voguing their asses off. One with furry thigh-high boots duckwalked down the runway to the judges’ table, then jumped up and landed in a shablam, her leg held up high. The other twofaced off, posing high and low, trying to outdo each other with every beat. They twisted into positions that made my back and shoulders hurt just looking. Leti counted down on beat, and the music stopped so the judges could choose their winner: the duckwalker.

Between acts, Leti held everyone’s attention by clowning on the audience members’ costumes. Once the category with sexy Freddy and Jason lookalikes concluded, Leti looked at Kenny and shook their head in disappointment.

“I’m not usually one to go after family, but how can I not when this guy shows up to aHalloween balllikethat?” Leti gestured their arms in Kenny’s direction. The audience booed, but Kenny didn’t miss a beat before standing to pose for them, which had a few in the crowd catcalling and whistling.

“Sitdown.” Jackie tugged the sleeve of Kenny’s sweater.

Luckily, Leti moved on quickly by introducing the hero category.

We got another Wonder Woman (whom Tatiana whistled loudly for), a Hawkgirl, and a Sailor Moon.

Before the category was over, Jackie cleared her throat once the music stopped.

“I’m leaving,” she said.

“But the show just started,” Tatiana replied.

“This isn’t really my scene. Kenny?”

Kenny gave Jackie a guilty look. “Babe, I’m their ride.”

“Can’t they take an Uber?” Jackie asked.

My jaw clenched. Sure, I’d take an Uber if I had to, but it was kind of ridiculous for Jackie to expect that when we all came together.

When Kenny took too long to respond, Jackie snatched her bag from the table. “Fine.I’lltake an Uber. Seriously, Kenny,it’s like you’rehisboyfriend.” While it was usually a joke, Jackie saying it made my face burn.

“We’ll take an Uber. It’s fine.” I felt myself getting defensive.

“No, no. I’ll drop Jackie off, then come back for you guys,” Kenny said.

“Jackie, are you sure you want to leave?” Tatiana asked, not knowing that reasoning with Jackie was like breathing and swallowing at the same time.

Jackie frowned. “Yeah, I should get to bed since I have an early day at work tomorrow. Some people’s jobs are important.” I wasn’t sure if that last comment was meant as a jab against me or Kenny (and Tatiana by extension), since they worked at a restaurant and I was at a boring office job before getting fired—not that she knew about that.

I wanted to defend myself, but… she wasn’t wrong. She worked at a shelter for abused women, whichwasan important job. And Jackie knew it and never let anyone forget it.

She turned away, firmly grabbing Kenny’s arm as she led him outside. I wanted to walk after them and tell Jackie off for putting her hands on Kenny like that. But I knew getting involved would only make things worse.

Jackie was the type of girl who needed constant reassurance that she was a good person whom people liked. Calling her out on anything she did just reminded her I was one of the few people who never gave her that validation. We had a hard enough time around each other as it was. I didn’t want to go making things worse.

I should have been annoyed, but it was honestly a relief to be rid of Jackie. Finally, I could properly ignore my problems and relax into the performances. It sucked that Kenny had to leave, but I would take alone time with Tatiana over a whining Jackie any day.

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