Page 21 of Flirty Dancing

21

So Now What Do We Do?

Archer was searching helplessly through his locker for the shoes for his hip-hop costume when Mateo leaned against the lockers next to him.

“So… Caleb apologized to me,” Mateo said, sliding his hands into his pockets.

Archer looked up, stomach fluttering at the sight before him. God, Mateo was fucking handsome. First of all, his hip-hop costume was painfully sexy—dark jeans, an indecently tight bordering-on-translucent white tank top, and an unzipped black hoodie over it. At one point in the show, Mateo ripped that hoodie off and threw it to the side. That part always got Archer’s heart pumping a little faster. But now, with Mateo staring at him, he also had to contend with those full lips and with those dark eyes burrowing into his…

Archer cleared his throat. “That’s good to hear. How did it go?” Then he flushed, wondering if Caleb said the same thing to Mateo about them fucking onstage.

“Good… I guess.” Mateo ran a hand through his hair, exposing a strip of washboard abs over his low-slung jeans that Archer did not stare at. “I kind of get what he was thinking. I’m mad at me, too.”

“You’re a really good person,” Archer blurted. “I mean, forgiving him like that.”

Mateo looked away, blinking. “I’m not sure many people would agree that I’m a good person.”

“Hey.” Archer placed a hand on Mateo’s forearm. “I know you are.”

Mateo swallowed hard, then his gaze swung back to Archer’s. “So now what do we do?”

“Uh—” Archer stammered, pulse thrumming, eyes on Mateo’s lips. Kiss?

“I feel like I need to say something after the disaster last night, rally the troops or something,” Mateo continued, sighing. “I don’t know… Despite what Eileen thinks, I’m not sure I’m the leader they need.”

“Listen,” Archer replied after a pause, relieved he hadn’t answered Mateo’s question out loud. “You know that feeling you had when you were dancing alone on the stage that time? Before I interrupted?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s it. That feeling. You love dancing. Your soul is dancing. You need to share that with the others. They need to feel that love.”

Their eyes met again. Mateo seemed to be searching for something in Archer’s gaze. Then he nodded. “Thank you, Archer.”

“For what?”

“For being you.”

Archer floundered, unable to make any words leave his tongue, as Mateo whirled and spoke to the room. “Everyone grab a seat. Let’s talk.”

They were all there, even Ben and Beau, who sat on opposite sides of the room, both of them far from Caleb.

“I just wanted to say,” Mateo started, once everyone was settled, “how proud I am of all of you. Last night went to shit, let’s be honest. And yet, here you all are, ready to go back out there.”

The other dancers shifted in their chairs, sitting a little taller. Archer’s heart swelled as Mateo continued.

“We have some things we need to sort out, for sure. Ben, Beau, it must be hard for you, but we appreciate that you’re here. There’s been a lot going on for all of us, so let’s take a minute right now. I want you all to close your eyes and think of a time when you were dancing and you were happy. Really happy.”

The room stilled as everyone—even Caleb—closed their eyes. Archer shut his too and thought about dancing their pas de deux in the moonlit clearing.

“Really feel it—when there was nothing but you and music and joy,” Mateo continued. “ That’s the feeling I want you to remember. That feeling is why we’re all here. You are all amazing dancers, every single one of you, and I know we can put on a good show tonight. Right?”

“Right,” most of them replied in murmured agreement.

“So…” He looked over at Archer and smiled. “Let’s fucking dance.”

“Good job,” Archer whispered to him after the other dancers scattered. “Look at you, leading.”

Mateo shrugged, the corner of his mouth lifting. “I asked myself what you would say.”

Archer’s stomach flipped on his way to go find his damn shoes.

Was the show perfect? No. There was still some tension between Beau and Ben, not to mention Caleb. At least twice, Archer had been prepared to drag those two apart based on the looks Beau was throwing. But, in the end, no one cried or fainted or bled, so it was miles better than the night before. The troupe agreed to gather at ten o’clock the next day for a meeting and rehearsal so they could talk about any adjustments that needed to be made and to polish up the choreo.

Archer was surprised and also somehow not when they arrived in the greenroom the next morning and saw Stewart talking animatedly to Mateo, Judy tucked under his arm.

“Stewart! You’re back. Again.” Archer hugged him and gave Judy a scritch behind the ears.

“Archer, darling.” Stewart squeezed his arm. “How lovely to see you.” He greeted the rest of the group as they hugged him and fussed over Judy before taking seats around the room.

“We missed you,” Archer said to Stewart, adding and that’s putting it mildly in his head. He wondered if Stewart had heard about the dumpster fire he had run out on.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, it was an emergency that required my immediate attention. We’ve settled the matter, but it put Judy out of sorts, didn’t it, Judy?” Judy licked at his hand. He patted her head as he continued. “We needed some time to recover. I hope things didn’t go too badly after”—his voice dropped to a whisper—“the breakup.”

“Uh…” Mateo hemmed, exchanging glances with Archer. “What was it you wanted to tell us, anyway?” he asked.

“Did I not tell you before I left?” Stewart frowned. “How odd.”

“Well, the…” Archer waved a vague hand around the room. “… and then you left. I hope the emergency wasn’t too serious?”

“Oh, yes, that’s right. Would you believe that Judy’s food supplier up and moved to Canada? Ridiculous! Just when I found a suitable organic high-protein whole-meat, whole-grain food with glucosamine and probiotics, they relocated! And they canceled the rest of my orders, if you can believe it. Anyway, I spent half the night on the phone, but it’s all sorted now. They’re going to charge me an arm and a leg for shipping, of course, but Judy’s worth every penny, aren’t you, my darling?”

“Stewart. What was the news?” Mateo asked patiently.

“Oh, yes. I’m terribly sorry.” He cleared his throat, and the few bits of chitchat around the circle quieted as everyone paused to listen. “I have been informed, from the most reliable of sources—you may know Cici McLannister, I directed her in The Sound of Music in ’92, she made a lovely Maria, if not a touch platitudinous on occasion…” He paused for dramatic effect, relishing the rapt attention he had. “Cici’s agent told her that Breckon Galloway is coming to our end-of-season show.”

There was a collective gasp. “Breckon Galloway?” Caleb repeated. “You’re kidding!”

Everyone knew who Breckon Galloway was, of course. Producer of last summer’s smash hit, Great Scott! , a musical adaptation of Back to the Future told from Doc Brown’s perspective, which was still almost impossible to get tickets for.

“He’s coming here?” Dominik said, voice climbing an octave. “No fucking way!”

The room swelled with excited chatter.

“We need to do something extra special,” Dominik said over the hum. “Blow his mind.”

Mateo was watching Archer thoughtfully. “What about Archer’s idea?”

“Which idea?” Archer asked.

“When we got that bad review for Around the World , you suggested adding acro.”

“Oh, that was only a thought, we don’t have to—”

“It was a great idea. Let’s put together a whole new show for the final night. Eva Stiff will do a few numbers, and we can do our best pieces, plus a new acro routine.”

“Love it!” Dominik said. “Sounds so fun.” A chorus of voices joined in agreement.

“It’ll be extra rehearsal,” Mateo warned them.

Not one person protested, although a few cast sidelong looks at Caleb.

“Sounds good to me,” Caleb said pointedly. “Let’s do it.”

“Brilliant!” Stewart said, with a thump of his cane on the floor. “We’ll run through all of the shows today and tomorrow, then on Sunday we can start planning our finale.”

They got right into a rehearsal of Around the World , but Archer found time to sidle up to Beau during a water break. “Hey, Beau… you doing okay?” he asked.

Beau offered a weak smile. “Not really. Three years, Archer. We’ve been together—we were together—for three years. To have it end like this—so abruptly, and publicly… with Caleb . I mean, God. I punched Ben!” He shook his head, blinking back a new wave of tears. “Then again… it wasn’t that abrupt, was it? If I’m being honest with myself, he’s been slipping away for a while. Maybe that’s why I was holding on so hard.”

“I’m sorry, Beau. That sucks.” Archer slid an arm around Beau’s shoulders and gave him a hug.

Beau rested his head briefly on Archer’s shoulder. “Yeah.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“I don’t think so. But I appreciate you asking.”

“Are you going to be okay dancing with him for another month? Maybe we could rework the pairs—”

“No.” Beau shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’m a grown-up. And Ben and I dance so well together.” Another weak smile. “I hope that doesn’t change, at least.”

Archer gave him another hug. Sometimes hearts get in the way.

There was a hum of excitement in the air when they gathered on the stage on Sunday.

“What pieces do we want to include in our finale?” Mateo asked, uncapping a whiteboard marker. “Let’s make sure we showcase everyone’s strengths.”

“Your pas de deux, of course,” Betty piped up. “Write that down.”

Mateo nodded, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. “Okay.”

“All the tango duets!” Dominik called.

“Bollywood!”

“The hustle.”

“Ben and Beau’s paso.”

“ Grease !”

Mateo scribbled down the rapid-fire suggestions. Archer grinned, watching the excitement on his face. Stewart sat in his customary seat in the front row, sipping his tea and nodding wisely.

“Now what about acro, Archer?” Mateo asked when they had a list of more than enough numbers for the big show. “Where do we start?”

“Me?”

Mateo’s eyes crinkled. “It was your idea, and you have more experience than most of us.”

“Alright, well… We should probably start by figuring out who are the bases and who are the tops—Dominik, stop!” Archer cut off Dominik, whose mouth was already open for a tops joke.

Caleb snickered.

“Fine,” Dominik muttered. “It was a good one, though.”

Once they were paired off—Archer was with Betty—he reviewed toe pitches, where the base took the top’s foot in their hands and boosted them up into the air, then braced them as they landed. It wasn’t long until everyone had the hang of it, and they progressed into handstands and other more advanced skills.

He left the theater a few hours later feeling better than he had in weeks, but got a mild pang when he saw he had a text from Lynn. Time for a call? He realized he hadn’t talked to her since right after he and Caleb broke up. She answered after only one ring.

“Archer! Hi, boo! How are you? How are things?”

“I miss you, Lynnie! And, well…” Archer flipped through the events of the last week and a half in his head. “How much time do you have?”

“I’m on the couch with a full glass of wine and have nowhere to be. Talk.”

So he found a bench down by the water and told her the whole story—the ugly and public breakup with Caleb, The Broadway Broad , and the subsequent disaster show—bleeding, fainting, black eyes and all.

“Oh my God, Archer. That’s insane! I’m sorry about Caleb and the whole mess. Are things better now?”

Mateo’s relaxed and open face came to mind. “They’re good,” Archer said. “Really, really good.”

“And… Mateo?”

Archer smiled like an idiot into the phone. “Well… we’re definitely friends.”

“Just friends?”

“Yes,” he replied firmly. “Just friends. I’ve learned my lesson. I don’t want to fuck anything up by hooking up with someone else.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. I’m glad you’re friends, though.”

“Me too.” He stretched his legs out and thought about Mateo’s hands on his waist last night during their pas de deux. Friends. “What’s new with you? Did you ever figure out your trip with Sasha?”

“As a matter of fact, yes! That’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk.”

“So? Where are you going?”

“I found the most amazing resort in the Catskills! They had a cancellation, so we were able to get in for a weekend at the end of August.”

“Which resort?”

Lynn laughed. “Shady Queens, dummy!”

Archer gasped. “You’re coming here?”

“Yes!”

“That’s amazing! Oh my God, I can’t wait to see you!”

Lynn giggled. “I’m excited too. I finally get to propose to Sasha!”

“It’s going to be so great. I’m imagining a candlelit dinner with the sunset behind you…”

Lynn squealed. “Right? And I’m dying to meet Mateo and Caleb and everyone.”

“Hmm. You’ll behave yourself, won’t you?”

“Of course, Archer, darling. How dare you suggest otherwise?”

Acro rehearsals went better than expected. Every dancer could do a back walkover, and several were also able to pull off aerials or back handsprings. They had lots to work with, and a flashy routine started coming together. Dominik lobbied hard for a Taylor Swift song, and they went with “Shake It Off.”

Archer laughed at Dominik twerking in celebration, cheered when Gage lifted Grace up with a toe pitch so she was standing on his hands for the first time, and took a moment to admire the way Mateo’s biceps bulged while he balanced River above him in a handstand.

Archer was smiling as he and Mateo stepped into the early August sunshine on their way to grab dinner before the Around the World show that night.

“Archer, Mateo!” Eileen waited for them at the stage door. She was cooling herself with a paper fan, painted with delicate cherry blossoms.

“Eileen!” Archer hugged her. “How are you? We haven’t seen you for a while.”

“Yes, indeed.” She smiled and fluttered her fan. “I met a lovely woman from Texas who was staying with her sister’s family here for a couple weeks. We spent quite a lot of time together.”

“That’s great,” Archer said, exchanging a knowing glance with Mateo. “I’m happy for you.”

“How has it been for you two? I heard something about someone passing out on stage last week?”

“Oh…” Archer looked at Mateo and chuckled. “We had a few bumps, but it’s all okay now, isn’t it?”

Mateo’s smile was like the sun. “It is,” he agreed.

Archer savored the bass in Mateo’s voice and the sparkle in his eye.

“Would you two like to come for tea again?” Eileen asked. “I’d love to hear more about how things have been, beyond the fainting.”

“That sounds great,” Archer said.

“An evening tea, perhaps,” she said, blotting her forehead with her sleeve. “Avoid the worst of this blasted afternoon heat.”

“Actually…” Mateo paused. “Would it be too much to ask if all of the dancers came for tea? Archer and I will help,” he added hurriedly, “with the baking and setup and cleanup and everything. But I think it would be really nice if everyone could come.”

The urge to touch Mateo’s arm was overwhelming, so he did. “That’s an amazing idea.” The spark he felt each time their skin touched was only growing stronger.

Eileen tilted her head up and smiled at them. “ Hell of an idea. Let’s do it. Sunday?”

“Sunday.”

Archer and Mateo tracked down some extra folding tables from the dining hall and set them up in front of Eileen’s cabin Sunday morning. They also borrowed a carafe for hot water and some extra mugs. They spent the afternoon in her kitchen making food—cucumber sandwiches, blueberry scones, and petits fours. Eileen even made some gluten-free vegan fudge to make sure everyone had a treat, but Mateo was all over the rest of the baking.

“The trick to fluffy scones,” he explained to Archer, “is using frozen butter.”

“Oh, is it?” Archer replied seriously, trying not to smile at the smudge of flour Mateo had on his forehead and his overall aproned adorableness. “And you have frozen butter, do you?”

Mateo turned and rummaged into Eileen’s freezer, then triumphantly pulled out a foil-wrapped brick. “You do when you plan ahead.”

Archer wanted to giggle. “Wow.”

Mateo’s eyes narrowed. “Are you laughing at me, Archer Read?”

“Me?” Archer pressed a hand to his chest and batted his eyes. “I would never, Mr. Dixon.”

“Good. Fluffy scones are no joke.” Mateo unwrapped the butter and pulled a cheese grater out of a cupboard.

“And why do you have a cheese grater?” Archer fought the urge to slide his arms around Mateo’s waist and rest his chin on that broad shoulder while he worked.

“For the frozen butter, of course. Keep up, Archer!”

Their laughter filled the small kitchen as they worked, hips bumping when Mateo reached into the bowl to show Archer how to mix the butter into the dry ingredients. “You want it to be coarse like this, see?” The way Mateo’s hands squeezed the dough gave Archer ideas that were entirely inappropriate for the situation.

Archer studied Mateo’s face instead. “Got it.”

Eileen bustled around making the sandwiches, and Archer had no idea why she winked at him when Mateo took Archer’s hands to help him properly knead the dough.

The tea party was a smashing success. As Archer carried another loaded tray outside, he paused on the step to look at the scene before him. Sixteen happy faces, laughing, eating, drinking, bathed in the pink and orange sky and scent of primroses. Eileen threw back her head, giggling at something Dominik said, then she leaned over to murmur a few words to Betty. Even Beau and Ben were smiling broadly while Caleb chatted with Grace and Seta.

Amid the hum, Mateo looked up at Archer and smiled.

Archer smiled back, his heart thudding.

Just friends, he told himself. Just friends.

Fuck.