Page 19 of Flirty Dancing

Sure,she smirked back at him.

Archer turned his head to ignore her, pointedly.

“What do you think?” Caleb asked when he got back, extending his bottle toward the beer pong table. “Think we can take those assholes from maintenance?”

Archer studied the fluid, muscled lines of Caleb’s body. “Hell yeah, we can.”

They could not. But they drank and laughed even more, fingers brushing, shoulders bumping, as they got their asses handed to them by the sturdy, well-practiced maintenance crew.

Mateo was there early on, hovering around the edges, glowering at his beer. Archer tried to ignore him, but his gaze continued to find that thick, brooding frame. Then, when Archer was leaning against Caleb, laughing at a catastrophically bad beer pong shot, he looked up and saw Mateo watching them.

Mateo’s face was blank, unreadable. They held eyes for a moment as Archer’s laugh faded. Something flicked over Mateo’s face, then he turned away. Archer watched his back disappear down the hallway toward the stairs.

“Okay, my turn,” Caleb said, nudging Archer aside with a hip, words slightly slurred. “I’ve got this.”

Archer shook himself and clapped Caleb on the shoulder. “Here we go. We need this shot.”

The night got louder and fuzzier after that. They did some shots with Betty and Dominik, then ended up back on the couch, Caleb edging closer and straightening the collar on Archer’s shirt. They might have danced for a while, bodies liquid, sweat beading on Archer’s hairline, Caleb’s hands on his waist, then back to the couch again.

“Archer!” It was Betty, he was able to determine, once the blond head floating over him came into focus. “Dude, it’s threeA.M.You good?”

“So good.” Archer knew he was hammered, and his wide, blurry smile was fooling no one. Caleb’s hand was on his thigh. He blinked at Betty. “What’re you still doing here?”

“Get to bed, you guys.” She patted his shoulder. “Rehearsal is in five hours. And please, for the love of God, drinksomuch water.” She fluttered her fingers at them, shaking her head, then she was gone. Archer realized it was much quieter now, not many people left. One couple was slow dancing—if he squinted, it looked like Gage and River—and someone was passed out on the couch across from them.

“Fuck, man,” Archer mumbled. “We should go.” He stood and hauled Caleb to his feet. Caleb leaned on him, laughing as he sagged, and they managed to stumble outside and down the stairs to begin making their way up the dark, uneven path.

There was a bleary moment when Caleb paused, took Archer’s hand, and tilted his lips toward his, but Archer swayed and stumbled on.

That was the last thing he remembered.

“Archer! What the fuck? Wake up!” Ben’s voice called to him from far away. No, wait, that was Beau. “Archer!” A pissed-off Beau. “Get up, man! Rehearsal starts in five!”

“Wha?” Archer pried his eyes open. The light in the room clawed at his eyeballs. “Fuck.” He closed them again.

“Seriously, get your ass out of bed.”

A rueful chuckle from Ben. “We tried. See you there, Archer!” The door closed, a sound that bounced off the inside of his head in a clatter.

“I’m coming,” Archer mumbled, sitting up and trying to hold his throbbing brain in place. He swung one leg out of bed, then another. His stomach roiled. “Oh God,” he muttered. “What did I do?”

The night came back to him all at once. The drinking. The laughing. The flirting. Caleb. His head jerked over to Caleb’s bed, a move he instantly regretted. His bed was empty.

Then Archer realized he was naked. His boxers were crumpled under the covers. And so was another pair that he didn’t recognize. “OhGod.” Did he and Caleb sleep together? Or only… sleep together? And where was Caleb?

Archer rested his forehead in his hands, mind and stomach spinning. “Okay,” he breathed, hoping the burst of oxygen would help. “Get it together, Archer.” Rehearsal was now officially starting and he was still in bed. Not great. So he got up and stumbled to the bathroom, puked in the toilet, scrubbed his face with cold water, and studied himself in the mirror.

He lookedexactlylike he had been partying all night. He pulled on tights and a tank top for rehearsal, threw sweats on top, tried to drink some more water, and jogged over to the theater, despite his pounding head. Only ten minutes late. Could be worse. Except it was only day three. Fuck.He resolved to not be late the rest of the summer, knowing he was likely fighting a losing battle against his nature.

They were already into choreo for theAround the Worldshow. Looked like some country and western line dancing. Caleb was in place, fresh as a spring day. Archer approached the stage, gnawing on a lip.

Stewart stood from his usual front-row seat. “Well, well. Archer has decided to join us.”

His stomach quivered. The last thing he needed to do was give Stewart a reason to dislike him. “Sorry, Stewart. I, uh, slept in.”

Someone in the ranks snorted.

“Do not apologize to me, Archer.” Stewart waved his hand at the other dancers. “Apologize to your colleagues whom you have let down.”

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