Page 60 of The Broposal

“Whoa, sorry, bro—I mean… sorry?” Han put his hands up in surrender.

We both stared at each other for a moment too long, not sure what to do next.

“Why are you doing this for me?” Han finally asked.

“What are you talking about?”

“You have a baby coming… Why are you still marrying me?”

I started answering without thinking. “We already talked about this. You can stay. We’ll be able to save on—”

“Taxes, yeah, I know… Forget it.” He waved me off. Was he having doubts? I realized then that I didn’t know what I would do if Han changed his mind. Iwantedto marry him. I wanted to kiss him again, hold his hand, be his… something. God, evenIwas annoyed with myself. I knew by now Han was more than just a rebound, but Han seemed pretty set on forgetting our post-wedding kiss. He must have wanted to stay friends, so I couldn’t complicate it like that. It had to stay uncomplicated, or as uncomplicated as a fake relationship/real friendship could be.

Han didn’t meet my eyes as he stared at the floor. “I know you’re not doing all this just to make Jackie jealous…”

I sighed. He was right. “I know.”

“So why are you doing it?”

“Well… for you, Han.” I stared softly into his deep brown eyes. “I’m obviously doing it for you.”

“But why? Why risk everything for me? Why now? When Jackie’s pregnant? Just, why, bro? I don’t get it.”

There was that “bro” again. Heat rose up in my face for some reason. “Look, I know you’re allergic to commitment, but this is fake, remember?” I said sharply.

Han looked like I’d just punched him in the gut. “I can commit to things.”

I laughed. “That’s a lie. You’re so afraid of being vulnerable that you come up with an excuse to break things off the second they get real.”

Shit, I’d said too much. I couldn’t let Han know things were getting real. I knew I was crossing a line, but I couldn’t stop. It was almost like IwantedHan to get mad.

“That’s not true,” Han said, his tone hurt. “Besides, it’snotreal.” Han’s tone was icy now. “You’re the one who only wants to kiss me to make Jackie jealous or convince our ‘audience’ of something. How is that real?”

“I—I didn’t—” I started, unable to form the words. That was the farthest from the truth. But I couldn’t go telling Han the real reason I set the no-kissing rule.Thatwould definitely make things too real. “I’m sorry…” was all I could manage to say.

“Jesus, cut it out with that shit,” Han said, still sounding cool and unbothered despite his harsh words. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. Kissing is back off the table. It’s fine. It’s fake. No big deal.”

For some reason, Han’s words cut deeper than Jackie’s nails. “Then why do you say ‘bro’ at the end of everything nice you say to me? If it’s fake, what’s the point? We’reengaged. You can’t be calling me bro!”

“I don’t get the big deal about calling you bro. It’s just us.” Han’s cool demeanor just annoyed me even more. Why wasn’the getting mad? Henevergot mad. Even if I was being a dick. Even if I deserved it. I immediately felt bad for trying to provoke him. Han wasn’t like Jackie. He would never say or do anything hurtful. No matter how bad I felt I deserved to be yelled at. I rolled my eyes. There was no point in arguing with someone who wouldn’t get mad back, as annoying as it was.

“Right, it’s fine. No worries… whatever,” I said. Then I got up to go to bed.

“Good night. Love you, bro,” Han said, a contagious grin on his face.

I grabbed a pillow from the couch and whacked him on the head with it.

After about an hour of sulking in bed, the same pillow was thrown against my door. “What?” I called out, but Han didn’t answer.

Then my phone rang. I braced myself for a call from Jackie, but it wasn’t. It was Han. I laughed to myself.

“You know I can hear you if you shout, right?”

“Why would I want to shout when I can just call you? Get your ass over here.”

I hung up and groaned. I didn’t exactly want to get out of bed, but Han probably needed help with something, so I got up anyway. When I made my way to the living room, Han was sitting on the couch staring at his phone.

“What’s up?” I asked.

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