Page 70 of The Broposal

Leti kissed Tatiana’s cheek and smiled. “We are.”

With how well the two of them had always gotten along, even when Tatiana and I were dating, I couldn’t say it really surprised me that they hit it off well enough to try things out. Leti had been single for so long they were starting to get a little bummed, so I was happy for them.

I clinked my shot glass with Kenny’s, and we both downed them. I eyed the tamales, wishing I had some food to make my throat burn less. Kenny noticed almost immediately and got up to get me a plate. Soon enough he came back with the food and two more shot glasses.

“I’m good.” I waved away the shot glass. I had only wanted the one shot to numb the pain in my ankle a bit. I couldn’t be hobbling around drunk. That was just asking for another accident.

“You sure?” Tatiana asked. “You probably have lots of, uh, stuff to get off your mind.”

Leti gave Tatiana a death glare.

“You told her?” Kenny asked protectively, but I held a hand out to calm him.

“It’s fine. I’m fine, okay?” I said, annoyed that it seemed everyone and their mother knew what happened to mine. “Everyone needs to stop worrying about me.”

“More for me then,” Kenny said, and gulped down both shots in quick succession. If anything, Kenny was the one who had lots to get off his mind. Nothing a few shots wouldn’t fix. Tatiana and Leti were quick to follow Kenny’s lead so he at least wasn’t drinking alone.

Kenny leaned on me and sighed, his body limp against mine. I wrapped an arm around him and rubbed his shoulder, knowing exactly why he was trying to get drunk. He was going to be adad. No matter how bad his baby fever was, this was far from his ideal situation.

Then Kenny leaned into me and kissed my cheek, which got hot from the contact. I guess cheek kisses didn’t count when it came to the no-kissing rule. I couldn’t keep track of what we were or weren’t allowed to do at this point. And I wasn’t sure why the hell I wasn’t used to the flirting yet, but it still gave me a fluttering feeling in my gut that I couldn’t quite shake.

I leaned into Kenny’s embrace and took his hands in mine. If he wasn’t going to count non-mouth kisses, then I could play at that game. I brought Kenny’s hand to my mouth and pressed a kiss into his palm.

The immediate blush on his face brought a smile to mine. Then again, the blush could have just been from the alcohol. Before I could think too much into it, my phone rang, and I pulled it out to see a call from my dad.

I quickly pulled myself up by my crutches and went to my room to answer the WhatsApp call, closing the door behind me for privacy.

“Hey, Papi. Everything okay?”

“As okay as it can be, mijo…” There was a long pause. I didn’t break the silence because I didn’t want to rudely askThen why are you calling me?Finally, he continued. “I’m calling because I need to apologize to you.”

“For what?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“I wasn’t very supportive of you when you told me about your wedding. I just… I need to get used to this kind of thing. So… you’re marrying a boy. And that’s okay. I want to support you. You know you mean a lot to me, right, mijito?”

I felt the knots in my stomach unravel at those words. “Thank you, Papi.”

“Even if you’re just doing it for citizenship. This is none of my business—”

“I think I’m gay,” I blurted out. “I’m… definitely gay.”

I hadn’t told anyone yet, not even Kenny. But as soon as I said it out loud, it was like all the tension I’d been holding on to just floated away.

“Bueno. I thought it might be true. I love you.”

Just when I felt myself choking up, there was a knock on my door.

“Ale, mijo, don’t be so antisocial!” Tía Mary’s voice rang out.

“Coming!” I called out. “I gotta go, Papi. Thank you. I mean that. Love you.”

“Love you too, mijo.”

I made my way out of my room and back to the couch in the living room, where Kenny was still sitting.

“You’re back!” Kenny exclaimed, jumping up and wrapping his arms around my neck. So, Kenny was definitely tipsy, at the very least. We both sat back down on the couch, but soon enough, Kenny got out his phone and stared at it for way too long.

“I have to go. I’ll be right back,” he said, then rushed out the front door without another word.

---