Page 20 of Flirty Dancing

20

Chaos

Every jaw in the room dropped, except for Caleb’s and Archer’s. Caleb let out a groan and buried his face in his hands.

“Oh my,” Stewart said, eyes wide.

Mateo stared at Archer. “What—”

Beau came streaking through the door in a beeline. “You asshole!” he screamed, throwing himself at Caleb. They went down in a heap of thrashing limbs, the metal chair crashing to the floor.

The rest of the room exploded as everyone started yelling and swarming the pile, trying to pull Beau off Caleb.

Ben had raced in after Beau. “Beau, I’m sorry, it was—”

Beau’s fist went flying back as he wound up to hit Caleb, but he connected with Dominik’s face instead.

“Ow! Fuck!” Dominik yelled, falling backward and tripping over Ben. The two of them hit the ground, blood streaming from Dominik’s nose.

“Oh God, I hate blood.” Betty clutched at Archer’s arm as she started to tip over.

“Shit.” Archer helped her into a chair. “Put your head between your legs.”

“Beau!” Ben tried to explain from underneath a bleeding Dominik. “Can we please talk?”

It was unlikely Beau could hear a word anyone was saying as he attempted to pummel Caleb amid the chaos. It looked like he managed to land a few hits before Mateo and Archer got him around the waist and dragged him away.

“You piece of shit! You fucking asshole!” Beau let loose a stream of French curses as he flailed in Caleb’s direction. Archer took an elbow in the eye for his efforts at keeping them separated, but maintained his hold on Beau’s waist.

Caleb was curled up in a ball on the floor, arms over his head. Grace helped him up while Mateo tried to calm Beau.

“Easy, Beau. Easy,” Mateo breathed. “Deep breaths.”

Ben and Dominik disentangled themselves, and someone found Dominik a box of tissues, which he plastered to his face in handfuls. Betty still had her head between her legs.

Beau let Mateo guide him into a chair, eyes wet as he gasped for air.

Archer sat next to him and rubbed his knee. “That’s good. Keep breathing.”

Beau still glared daggers at Caleb.

“Seems to me, Caleb’s not the one you should be mad at,” Dominik pointed out helpfully, muffled through the tissue.

Beau nodded. “You’re so right.” He launched himself at Ben.

By the time everyone had calmed down the second time, Dominik’s nose was still bleeding, Ben and Archer had the beginnings of black eyes, Betty was still woozy, and the B-Boys were both crying.

“Well,” Stewart said, straightening his aqua-blue vest as he stood. “That was…”

“What did you want to meet about?” Mateo asked, eyes closed and pinching the bridge of his nose.

The sound of Beau’s sobs filled the room.

“Er… perhaps it should wait?” Stewart said.

“How could you do this to me?” Beau wailed.

Ben was across the circle, ice pack to his eye. “Beau, come on. We haven’t been happy all summer.”

“But with Caleb ?”

Caleb bristled. “That’s rude. Ben—”

“I’ll kindly ask you to shut the fuck up right now, Caleb,” Mateo said through gritted teeth.

“Stop telling me what to do!” Caleb screeched at him. He charged at Mateo.

“Oh, fuck,” Archer had time to gasp, before he threw himself between the two.

But Mateo was having none of it. He growled and launched himself back at Caleb. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Mateo yelled. “Who does shit like this?”

“I’m sorry I’m not as perfect as you!” Caleb screamed back, trying to dodge around Archer.

“Perfect?” Mateo reached for him. “ Perfect? You’ve done nothing all summer but tell me how shitty I am!”

“Boo-hoo, Broadway star!”

“Stop!” Archer cried amid the wheeling fists. “Please, stop, both of you.” He worried what might happen to Caleb if Mateo landed a solid hit, but Mateo was mostly only trying to hold Caleb’s wrists to keep him from landing a punch.

Caleb’s panted gasps turned into sobs once Mateo had a firm grip on him, then he slumped against Archer, the fight gone.

“Sit down, Caleb,” Archer said, easing him into a chair. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” he wept.

Archer met Mateo’s eyes over a sobbing Caleb. What now? he asked.

Mateo shrugged. “Nice shiner,” he said, mouth twitching.

Archer felt only slightly insane when he laughed. “Thanks.”

“Uh, guys?” Betty swayed in her chair. “We go on in twenty minutes.”

“Oh, God,” Mateo groaned, checking his watch.

“Okay.” Archer stood. “We can do this. Beau, do you think you—” He stopped when he saw Beau’s chair was empty. And so was Ben’s. “Er…”

“They left,” Dominik said from behind his bloody tissue. “When Mateo and Caleb were swatting at each other. Beau took off and Ben went after him.”

“Why didn’t you stop them?” Archer asked, exasperated.

“Oh, excuse me for not solving the world’s problems while bleeding from my head .”

“Please. It’s barely a trickle now,” Mateo snapped. “Suck it up.”

“And where’s Stewart?” Archer asked, realizing his chair was empty, too. He wondered if now was an appropriate time to start panicking.

“He got a call, said something about Judy,” Yuki informed them. “He said he had to go.”

Another giddy laugh bubbled up Archer’s throat. It came out as a hiccup.

Mateo stood, eyes determined, jaw clenched. “You all have five minutes to get dressed,” he announced. “We have a show to put on.”

Archer slid into his Latin costume at record speed, then met Mateo at the whiteboard as he was scribbling the numbers and pairings.

“This is going to be tricky.” Archer frowned. “Seta will have to tango with Caleb, but we’ll be missing an opening duet. Plus, the B-Boys have their paso doble showcase.”

Mateo chewed the insides of his cheeks as he studied the list. “What if we made our duet twice as long to fill the gap and did the paso in their place?”

“Yes.” Archer nodded without hesitation. “We can do that.”

Mateo’s lips curled. “Okay. That’s the plan.” He whirled. “Dominik, are you good to dance?”

Dominik was at the sink, washing blood off his neck. “I think so? Little lightheaded.”

“Betty?”

“I’m good.” She flashed a thumbs-up from the makeup table. “As long as no one else bleeds.”

“And… Caleb?” Archer asked. Caleb hadn’t moved from the chair. He had stopped sobbing, but his head was bent, rested in his palms. Archer went over and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Can you dance?”

Caleb’s laugh was devoid of humor. “It’s all I can do.”

Mateo gave a crisp nod. “I’ll take that as a yes. Time to dance, people. Archer? Let’s figure out what the fuck we’re doing.” Mateo took his hand and pulled him close. But instead of diving into the steps as Archer expected, Mateo stared into his eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked in a low murmur.

“Yeah,” Archer said quickly. “I’m fine.” Then he realized his knuckles were white where he gripped Mateo’s hand and every muscle in his body was pulled tighter than a drum.

Mateo squeezed his waist. “Close your eyes and take a deep breath.”

Archer obeyed, inhaling Mateo’s scent, and letting the tension drain from his muscles as he blew it out slowly.

“That’s good,” Mateo rumbled. “Better?”

Archer opened his eyes and met the dark warmth of Mateo’s. “Better.”

“Okay. After we finish here, let’s repeat the first eight bars…” Back to business, he began leading Archer through murmured instructions, in small, half movements, his hand always on Archer’s back or waist. “And then lunge, hold for four, back up slow, three, four, and snap to center, hold my eyes, seven, eight, good.”

His words rippled over Archer’s skin like the heat from a fire, setting an ember inside him aglow. His world was this cocoon with Mateo, hushed, focused, firm touches, soft breaths. He never wanted it to end.

“Do you know the paso?” Mateo asked when they finished working out that part, lips inches from Archer’s.

He willed himself to focus. “I’ve seen it enough, I feel like I do.”

“Okay, let’s try it.”

Mateo led him through, but Archer knew most of it. He was sure they wouldn’t be quite as sharp as the B-Boys, but it would do.

When they hit the final pose, Mateo’s gleaming eyes met his. “Ready to dance?”

Archer nodded. Dance? If you want, I could fly.

When Archer woke up the next morning, the dull ache around his eye was an instant reminder of what had happened last night. For a hot minute under the dazzling stage lights, he had thought they were going to pull it off. The extended tango duet he and Mateo pieced together was flawless… and scorching hot. Then Dominik started bleeding again. Betty fainted. Caleb cried through the samba. Half the routines fell apart as they had to deal with those disasters on the fly. Then Archer blanked on the back half of the paso, so Mateo had to drag him through the steps. The rest of the troupe was either embarrassed or mad or worried throughout, and it did not lead to many smiles. The audience seemed baffled, tittering at first when they thought the goofs were part of the show, then descending into awkward silence, and finally, the worst insult of all, pitying applause.

After the second show, which went marginally better, Archer had looked around for Mateo but there was no sign of him. “Did Mateo leave?” he asked Betty, who was sprawled on a row of chairs with a cold cloth over her eyes.

“Yes, he said he was—and I’m quoting—‘fucking done.’”

Archer’s heart sank with those leaden words. Oh. He had imagined the heat, of course. Mateo was a pro. He had had to find a way for the show to go on, so he did. That was it.

“Fuck,” Archer mumbled, now into his pillow. Such an idiot. Then Fuck again when he saw he had a text waiting from Mateo. He swiped it open, breath held.

Let me know when you’re up. I’d like to talk.

His stomach heaved. Was there anything worse than We need to talk without any context? His brain spun with possibilities, each more outlandish than the last. He blames me for what happened with Ben and Caleb. He needs to explain why he hates me forever. He wants to kick my ass. He’s going to make sure I never get another dancing job as long as I live…

I wanted to say again how sorry I am for what happened, Mateo, he started typing. So, so, so sorry. I understand if you hate me —he stopped, staring at his words. Jesus, Archer. He deleted it all and tried again. Hi, I’m up. When/where do you want to meet?

Dining hall in thirty?

See you then.

Archer grabbed only coffee and a bagel, knowing his stomach was too worked up for him to eat much. Mateo was waiting with a mug at a small table in the back corner. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he’d barely slept all night. Archer imagined he looked much the same. Plus a black eye.

“I’m so sorry—” Archer started saying as he sat, right when Mateo spoke.

“Archer, I—”

They both stopped.

“You go,” Archer said, swallowing down the urge to babble. His heart hammered.

Mateo took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

Archer blinked. “ You’re sorry? For what?”

“For lumping you in with Caleb. That was really unfair of me. You’re not Caleb, and it wasn’t the same thing, at all.”

Archer shook his head. “No, I never should have said anything to him—”

“Archer. It’s okay. How could you possibly have known that he would turn around and do what he did? That’s low, even for Caleb.”

“Still, I fucked up. I’m so sorry that I told him anything at all, even though I was only trying to defend you.”

“I know you were.”

Archer willed his heartbeat to slow down, because the thudding pulse was distracting. It’s okay, he said to himself as he took a deep breath. He met Mateo’s eyes. They both smiled. His cheeks flushed as his gaze dropped to Mateo’s long fingers wrapped around his coffee mug.

“Are you okay?” Archer asked. “Having that story out?”

Mateo shrugged. “I already went through it once. This is more of the same.”

“Yeah, but… God, I can’t imagine having personal shit like that in the news.”

Mateo nodded then paused, looking like he was debating if he should say the next thing or not. “I reached out to Abby.”

“You did?”

“Yeah.” He blinked, eyes watery. “I’ve spent so long trying to block out that part of my life, but this made me realize I never made things right with her. And now her name is in the press again, because of me.”

“Because of me ,” Archer said.

Mateo sighed. “Because of Caleb.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“Briefly. I apologized—for now and for back then—and asked if she would like a public apology, too. She said no, she doesn’t want to fan the flames. But… she’s in New York filming right now and actually asked if we could meet up for coffee sometime.”

Archer blew out the breath he’d been holding. “That’s great, Mateo. That must have been hard.”

“I should have done it sooner, but I’ve had my head up my ass a little bit. Guess I can thank Caleb for yanking it out.”

Archer laughed. “Now that’s an image.”

Mateo smiled, but then it slid from his face. “Why do you think he did it?” he asked quietly, almost as if he was wondering to himself.

“I think he was trying to get back at me.”

“No.” Mateo leaned forward, shaking his head. “That might have been part of it, but ultimately it had to be about me.”

“Either way, I’m sure he feels terrible about it now.” Archer took a sip of his coffee.

Amusement flashed in Mateo’s eyes. “Typical Archer, still seeing the best in people.”

“Oh, well…” Archer ducked his head. “I mean, I dated him for a while, he can’t be a total monster, right?”

Another flash. “If you say so.”

They talked until their cups were drained. “Can I get you another one?” Archer asked, standing. “Cream and a half sugar?”

Mateo nodded. “Sure, thanks.”

When Archer returned, he slid Mateo’s coffee to him and sat down again.

“How do you know my coffee order?” Mateo asked, before he blew on it.

“Uh…” Shit. “The same way I knew you don’t require much sleep.”

“Which is…?”

“This is embarrassing.” Archer slapped a hand over his eyes. “But… I think it was called Crush ?” Archer’s face burned. “Some silly teen magazine. You were a ‘heartthrob of the month’ once. They had your answers to all kinds of little questions like that.”

Mateo looked horrified. “Oh God.”

“Yeah, I know. Like I said, silly.” Archer busied himself taking a gulp of the steaming coffee, ignoring how it was slightly too hot to drink.

“And you remember my coffee order?”

“Yup.” No need to tell Mateo how many times he’d read it.

Mateo looked thoughtful. “What else was in there?”

“Let’s see…” Archer shifted and their knees bumped under the table. He wiggled away. “It also said your favorite color is blue, your dream vacation is Paris, and your pet peeve is when people don’t say how they really feel.”

There was a pause, Mateo’s eyebrow climbing. “When people don’t say how they feel?”

Archer shrugged. “Apparently.”

Mateo snorted. “I can guarantee you I never said anything like that. Also, my favorite color is not blue.”

“What is it?”

Mateo’s eyes flicked down to his own shirt, a soft, faded cherry red. “This color.”

“It looks great on you.”

“Thanks. This is my lucky shirt.”

“I see. Trying to get lucky, are you?” Archer instantly regretted his stupid joke, cringing internally. Why, Archer? Why?

Mateo blushed and shifted. Their knees bumped again. Neither of them moved away this time. “Um…”

“Sorry. Ignore me.” Archer shook his head. “That was dumb.”

“It’s fine.” They took a sip in silence. “I would love to go to Paris, though,” Mateo added, with a very kind topic change.

“Oh, same! Pain au chocolat for breakfast every day… er, and the museums, too, of course.”

Mateo laughed. “Of course.”

They chatted a while longer, finishing their second cups, and then Archer left the dining hall smiling, face and heart warm. There was only one thing still weighing him down. He headed straight back to the dorm and found the right room. He knocked.

“Hey, Steve,” he said when the door opened. “Can I talk to Caleb?”

The hulking man peered down at him, frowning. Then his face relaxed into a smile. “That would be great, Archer, thanks. He’s been a mess. I’ll leave you to it.”

Archer poked his head into the dim, silent room. “Caleb?”

“Come in,” the heap under the blankets sniffled.

Archer padded in and perched on the edge of Caleb’s bed. “Are you okay?”

“Don’t be nice to me,” Caleb muttered. “That makes it so much worse.”

Archer tugged at his blanket. “Can you come out from under there?”

Caleb emerged, bleary-eyed.

“So. You and Ben, hey?”

Caleb nodded and wiped an eye. “Yeah. But I swear nothing happened until you broke up with me. I was so fucking miserable that night, and we ended up walking back to the dorm together. He helped me move my stuff and, well… He was just trying to console me…”

Archer considered the day Caleb and Ben had spent alone in the woods, and all the other times they somehow ended up next to each other. “It wasn’t out of nowhere though, was it?”

Caleb stiffened. “I didn’t cheat on you, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

“No. But Ben cheated on Beau.”

Caleb traced the pattern on his blanket with a finger. “Ben said it was basically over. He was going to break up with Beau at the end of the season. He was only waiting because he didn’t want to cause any more drama.”

“Ha!” A sharp bark of laughter escaped from Archer’s throat. “Didn’t want to cause any more drama.”

“Yeah.” Caleb let out a dark chuckle. “Oops.”

“You’ve liked Ben all summer, though, haven’t you?” Archer asked gently.

“Yeah.” Caleb met his eyes. “But I liked you too, I swear!”

“I know, Caleb.” Archer sighed. “I guess they’ve broken up now?”

“They did. Ben texted me. They were up half the night talking. It’s over. For real, for real.”

“God.” Archer rubbed his forehead. “What a mess. Are you and Ben still…?”

Caleb shook his head. “Not for now. It’s too complicated. Ben wants to be more respectful of Beau and what they had.”

Archer nodded. “Probably for the best.”

“I’m so sorry, Archer,” Caleb blurted. “For what I did to Mateo and you.”

Archer nodded. “Thank you. That was really shitty. Mostly for Mateo, though. And probably Abby. You can’t mess with people’s lives like that, Caleb.”

“I know.” A tear slipped down Caleb’s cheek.

“You owe Mateo an apology, too.”

Caleb nodded. “I will. I’ll talk to him before the show.”

A question tickled at him. “Why did you do it, Caleb?”

“Fuck, I—” He stopped, wiping at the next tear. “I’m so fucking jealous of Mateo, okay? And he had it all, then he threw it away, and… why would someone do that? It’s not fair!”

“What? You don’t even care about the show here! And you’re jealous of him being on Broadway ?”

“I do care about the show, Archer!” Caleb exploded. “Of course, I do! But my parents think it’s a joke, that I’m a joke. I work in their studio, and every day it’s a reminder for them that I haven’t done anything with my life. So it’s easier for me if I just have fun here and don’t take it too seriously while I’m disappointing them.”

“Caleb…” Archer reached out to put a hand on his knee.

“And not only did Mateo get to have it all, be a Broadway star, he got you, too. I guess I wanted to hurt both of you.”

Archer’s cheeks flushed. “He didn’t ‘get’ me.”

“Oh, please,” Caleb said, eyes rolling so far back in his head his pupils disappeared. “You two are so fucking hot for each other it’s not even funny. It’s so obvious, Archer.”

His eyes widened. “It is?”

“Ha! Look at you blushing.”

“I am not.” He definitely was. “And I really don’t think Mateo is interested in me. He’s here to do a job.”

“A job that involves practically fucking you onstage.”

“What!” Archer laughed and swung a pillow at Caleb. “It does not.”

Caleb laughed too, blocking it with a forearm. “I’m saying, it’s a good job.”

Archer’s heart warmed seeing Caleb smiling again.

“Seriously, though…” Caleb’s eyes were earnest as his smile grew sad again. “I keep trying to tell you, Archer. There’s more to life than work. Sometimes… sometimes hearts get in the way, don’t they?”