Page 104 of I Think They Love You

This is ridiculous. It was a couple of drinks. One dance. A spontaneous kiss. Fine, two kisses, counting the gala. Oh, and the blow job on Braylon’s kitchen counter.

It all means absolutelynothingin the grand scheme of things. Denz needs to chill.

On his third lap of the room, his stomach makes a very unpleasant noise, so he orders a little of everything from the room service menu. Braylon returns just as the food arrives. He disappears into the bathroom with a large plastic bag from a nearby pharmacy.

Denz sets everything out picnic-style on the bedspread: a buffetof quesadillas, a bowl of mixed berries, one personal pizza, both seasoned and sweet potato fries, and chocolate-chip cookies.

“Sorry, are you wasted or high?” Braylon asks when he flops onto the bed.

Denz pops a berry in his mouth. “Both.”

Braylon’s shrugged out of his suit jacket. Slipped off his shoes and socks. Ditched the tie, undone the top two buttons of his shirt.

Denz tries not to stare. Reflexively, his eyes drift to the paper bag and—

Nope. He can survive one night.

He grabs drinks from the minibar—lemonade for himself, water for Braylon—before sitting pretzel-legged on the bed, keeping a manageable distance between them.

They fight over Netflix. Braylon rejects a holiday rom-com starring an actress Kami’s friends with. Denz vetoes anything where half the movie’s plot is just things exploding.

“How aboutMy Best Friend’s Wedding?”

Braylon swipes a fry. “Never seen it.”

“How?”

“No interest.”

Denz waves a dismissive hand. He’s already embarrassed for him. “It’s decided,” he says, clicking Play. There’s no way he can allow Braylon to live such an unfulfilled life.

Pizza in his lap, Denz shushes Braylon when the opening song begins.

Sharing a room with his ex isn’t as weird as Denz imagined. Midway through Julia Roberts’s elevator panic attack, they sit shoulder-to-shoulder against the headboard. Braylon demolishes the seasoned fries, a handful of berries, one of the cookies, but doesn’t touch anything else. Denz doesn’t complain. More for him.

It’s not exactly a WTN—he wouldn’t dare betray Jamie like that—but it’sfun.

Braylon laughs hysterically while Cameron Diaz sings karaoke.He squeezes Denz’s hand when the wedding party sings “I Say a Little Prayer” because, yup, the Sedwick sisters totally stole their act. After Julia Roberts kisses Dermot Mulroney, they pause for a ten-minute rant from Braylon.

“Theaudacity.”

When the credits roll, Braylon asks, “So, after all that, she ends up with her gay friend?”

Denz falls halfway off the bed, laughing.

He sends a check-in text to make sure Kami got home safely. After confirmation, his eyes scan over Braylon. He’s frozen, watching previews for related movies on the TV.

“My dad would’ve loved that movie.”

Denz lowers his phone.

“Sorry.” Braylon’s best attempt at a smile fails miserably. “I keep bringing him up—”

“No,” Denz interrupts. “I don’t mind.”

Braylon sighs. “He was a bit of a disaster.”

Denz’s wide-eyed expression tugs a fond guffaw from Braylon.

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