Page 130 of I Think They Love You

“They’re wrong,” Braylon says, low and serious.

Denz wants so badly for that to be the only voice in his head, but it isn’t. It never is.

“I didn’t invite you to lunch to be my therapist,” he jokes.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Therapy? I don’t think it is.” Denz bites into his scone. “Never tried it.”

“It saved my life.”

Denz smiles, genuinely. “Then it’s the best thing in the world.”

He eats one-handed. Tells Braylon about the time Cheryl auditioned forAmerican Wonder,a short-lived reality singing competition. How she met Tevin backstage, reconnecting years later after Jordan was born. He admits KamithinksMikah’s first word was “Mom” when it was actually “shit” after a weekend of Denz babysitting. He gushes about better times with his family, when he felt like one of them instead of someone wearing a Carter face, trying to fit in.

Denz wants to ask Braylon about memories with his own parents but is scared to reopen a wound for either of them.

When Braylon finishes his tea, he pulls his hand away. “I bet loads of lads will be chuffed to see you back in the dating world. Once this is over, of course.”

It comes out of nowhere. Denz didn’t expect to have this conversation now. This thing always had an expiration date. But Denz is just learning Braylon again. The parts of him he never knew.

He’s notfallingfor Braylon—he swears—but there’s this unnamable, loud, fierce beating in his chest that he can’t shake.

“What makes you think that?”

“The comments on your social media are—”

“Thirsty? Bold?” Denz offers.

“You’ll have plenty of options.”

Yeah, Denz really can’t wait to update his profile:25. Cancer. Loves muffins, rom-coms, and being your perfect fake boyfriend.

He clears his throat, switching tactics. “What about you? I’m sure there are hot, eligible guys all over Atlanta eager to snatch you up.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Pink spills across Braylon’s cheeks like paint. “Work is my focus. I love what I do. I want to see Skye’s the Limit expand.”

“How’d you end up there, anyway?”

Denz isn’t avoiding the dating interrogation. Part of him believes Braylon’s full of shit. He can dateandhave career goals. Kami’s doing it. But his fight or flight has kicked in. He doesn’t want to hear about Braylon’s future boyfriends.

A smile quirks Braylon’s mouth. He launches into how Nora built Skye’s the Limit in honor of her nephew Skye, who “needed somewhere where he was safe, loved, and always allowed to be himself.” How she started paying attention to the lack of LGBTQ+ resources for teens in Atlanta. So she created her own. Hired people with the same mission.

“I stumbled on a video interview of hers after my dad’s funeral,” Braylon says, his voice a mix of sad and fond. “Nora had me in the first minute.”

“Really?”

Braylon describes his last weeks in London. The unhappiness. Constantly feeling lost. Then, his dad passed and he “never went back.” He emailed Nora for an interview a week after the funeral.

“Because of you,” he admits.

“Me?”

“Yes, you.” His laugh is endearing, unlike Javi’s. “When I heard Nora speak, I thought about when we first met. You were always so intensely yourself. You made me want to be the person I hid from others. All I thought about were the hundreds of Denzes in this world. They deserve a space where people care and fight for them. Where they can be themselves.” He pauses, eyes bright. “I thought about all the Braylons too.”

Denz lets out a quiet breath. He’s simultaneously weightless and grounded.

“I believe in what Nora’s doing,” Braylon says, beaming.

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