Page 74 of The Broposal

“Hey, you don’t have to figure this out with me right now. Your fiancé is waiting out there for you.” Leti winked and walked out of the room.

I fell down onto my bed and closed my eyes.

I was so fucked.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

HAN

Isplayed myself out on the couch, not caring I was making a fool of myself. I was around mostly family, plus Tatiana. She seemed like the only one who noticed me then. Everyone else was at the table eating, but I didn’t want to move. Because of my ankle and because I’d had a bit too much to drink. The alcohol helped me stop overthinking everything. My brain and body just felt relaxed.

“Where did your fiancé go?” Tatiana asked.

“Where’d your Leti go?” I shot back at her, my words slurring together.

“Probably wherever your fiancé went,” Tatiana said, taking a quick swig straight from the bottle of tequila and then offering it to me. I took a pretty big gulp myself. I knew I was breaking my own drinking rule, but what could I say? It was a moment of weakness. The more I drank, the less my ankle hurt and the more untangled my brain got. I couldn’t complain about that. Soon enough, the pain in my ankle went from a constant fire toa distant burning, almost like it wasn’t even attached to my body anymore. I’d already resigned myself to sleeping on the couch so I wouldn’t get hurt on my way to bed. It would be fine.

Finally, Kenny and Leti came out from the hallway. Kenny lifted my head up from the couch cushion and sat down, placing my head back down in his lap. It was more comfortable like this than it was before. I felt like I might have been mad at Kenny, but I knew I had no right to be, so I just closed my eyes and leaned into his lap. Screw overthinking. I’d figure it out tomorrow.

“You’re a comfy boy,” I muttered, smiling lazily with my eyes closed. I heard Kenny laugh.

“Thanks, babe,” Kenny said. I knew he was just doing it for show, but I liked when he called me that. It had a nice ring to it. I’d been called “babe” before, by lots of girls, but never by Kenny until recently. It felt different. Good. Most things with Kenny felt that way.

I wrapped my arms around Kenny’s leg, using his thigh as a pillow, and closed my eyes. Right now nothing really mattered. I didn’t care about the guests, or Jackie, or anything but Kenny’s lap. I mumbled my goodbyes without opening my eyes as our guests trickled out of the house. I felt a few kisses on my forehead—probably from my tíos—and before I knew it, Kenny and I were alone again, just the two of us on the couch.

“Do you still love Jackie?” I asked as soon as the last person left. I didn’t know where the question came from, but I didn’t care.

“What? No. It’s… complicated. But no.”

“What’s complicated about it?”

Kenny was quiet for what felt like a full minute, but time was moving weird, so I couldn’t really be sure.

“I just miss having someone, you know?” Kenny finally said.

I frowned. “I don’t know. I never really had someone. I mean, I have you, but it’s different. Like you said. It’s fake.” I sighed, probably not doing the best job of hiding my exasperation.

“Um, right…” Kenny started playing with my hair, and I hummed at the sensation. I closed my eyes again, letting the comforting feeling on my scalp lull me to sleep.

Kenny’s fingers were still sifting through my hair when I woke up with an uncontrollable urge to pee. I couldn’t have been asleep for more than five minutes. Dammit, I would have to get up soon.

“Can you help me up? I have to take a piss,” I said, regretting the words instantly, because they made Kenny’s hands move away from my hair. He helped me sit up while I grabbed for the crutches so I could stand. It didn’t take long before I realized I was still way too drunk to use them. Kenny must have noticed, because he immediately came to my side and pulled my arm around his shoulder to support me.

“Thanks,” I said, careful not to say the word “bro,” since that had started bothering him, even if I had no idea why. I felt almost naked without saying it. Like the word was some kind of protection spell that kept things from getting too real. Maybe it was okay if they got real with Kenny. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was feeling the same way.

Kenny helped me all the way to the toilet. I wasn’t one to get embarrassed, especially while we were both drunk, and I would need help getting back to the living room anyway. I appreciated that Kenny didn’t make a big deal of it.

“Do you think we’re still on the same page about this?” Kennyasked, staring at himself in the mirror and fixing his hair, completely unfazed by the sound of me relieving my bladder.

“What page are you on?” I asked, unwilling to admit I might not have been on the same page as I was when we made the agreement. I still wanted to go through with it. Had to. But I didn’t know what page I was on when it came to relationships anymore. With Kenny in particular.

Kenny took in a breath like he was hyping himself up for something, then shook his head. “Nothing’s changed,” he said, and I didn’t know if I should feel relief or disappointment.

“Great. Same,” I said, even though it couldn’t have been farther from the truth. I hopped sloppily over to the sink, and after I washed my hands, I threw an arm around Kenny’s shoulder. If I couldn’t have Kenny for real, at least we could enjoy the pretending. “Take me to bed, lover.”

Kenny laughed. Instead of helping me walk out the door, he put an arm under my knees and hoisted me up. I was impressed he was able to carry me, considering how much taller I was than him. It was a little bit of a turn-on, if I was being honest.

Kenny started walking to my room, and when he nudged the door open with his foot, my weight must have gotten to him—or maybe the alcohol—because we both went tumbling to the floor. Kenny did some kind of superhero wrestling move midair, so I fell on top of him instead of the other way around.

---