Page 28 of Flirty Dancing

“Oh, I… went for a walk.” His night with Mateo didn’t feel like something he wanted to share. “Did you have fun with Eva?”

“Hell yeah, she’s fucking hilarious. She told us this story about the time when she was just starting out and she lost her bra right before the show, so she had to borrow one from a waitress and stuff it with bar rags. But then the waitress’s shift ended in the middle of her show, and she cameon stageand demanded Eva give it back. Eva refused and the woman tackled her, and they ended up wrestling and everyone thought it was part of the show.” The table cracked up around him, and Archer laughed with them. As cool as it would have been to hang out with Eva, he had no regrets.

They had time to kill before rehearsal at two, so they all headed down to the dock for a swim and sunbathing. Caleb didn’t leave his side, touching his arm or thigh to gethis attention, offering to get him a drink from the cabin, and even brushing a piece of wet hair off Archer’s forehead when they climbed, dripping, out of the water.

When it was time to head to the theater, they traveled as a pack. Caleb slung an arm over Dominik’s shoulders, laughing at one of his jokes, then took hold of Archer’s hand.

“One sec, Archer.” Caleb pulled him back when they arrived at the theater, while the rest of the crew tramped through the stage door.

“What’s up?”

“Archer…” Caleb smiled up at him through his long eyelashes. “In case it isn’t obvious, I like you.”

“Oh.” He was surprised to hear Caleb say it out loud, and his cheeks flushed. “I like you too.”

Caleb smiled. “That’s good.” Then he leaned forward and kissed him.

Archer’s mind spun. On the one hand, it felt nice to have lips pressed to his again. On the other… it was probably a bad idea to go down this road with a fellow dancer and roommate—it would be awkward as hell if things didn’t go well. Then Caleb slipped his tongue into his mouth and Archer took a step back, ending the kiss. His jaw worked as he tried to think of something to say, but he didn’t need to say anything at all.

“Excuse me,” came the growl from behind them.

He whirled. Mateo. Mateo, looking angrier than ever, brow pulled down so far it almost met the tip of his nose. For some reason, Archer felt like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Sorry, Mateo,” Caleb said smoothly, stepping aside and pulling Archer with him. “We’ll be right in.”

Mateo leveled his gaze at Archer for a half second longer before he stormed inside.

“Oh, good,” Caleb said with an eye roll. “Mateo’s gonna be a dick again today. Anyway…” He smiled at Archer and squeezed his hand, giving him another quick kiss. “Guess we’d better get inside.”

“Yeah.” Archer smiled back and let Caleb lead him through the door.

The stage was abuzz with stretching dancers and the tech crew up in the rigging, adjusting lights and speakers and doing sound checks. The performers were still in warm-up clothes, although Stewart was in a fancy-yet-rumpled eggplant-colored suit. Judy had a matching sequined bow on her collar.

Dominik came running down the center aisle from the lobby. “Our photos are up!” he announced.

The entire troupe went charging back up the aisle, busting through the swinging doors into the lobby and over to the display. It was quite impressive and took up most of the black wall along the entryway. There was a framed poster for each show, Sunday through Saturday, with the headshots with their names below, all around the outside. Archer’s eyes went straight to theLatin Flameposter, and his lungs emptied.

Holy fuck.

Their picture…

Mateo was dangerously hot, of course, as expected, but Archer… he looked pretty hot, too. They were in their hold, Archer tipped back like they were mid-step. Mateo’s gaze was boring into Archer, burning with longing. Archer’s head was turned away flirtatiously, but his eyes were cast back at Mateo, lips curling in the faintest hint of a knowing smirk.

It was pure sex.

“Goddamn,” Betty murmured, sidling up to him. “That’s a great picture.”

Archer jumped, realizing he was staring. “Oh, thanks. Yeah, the photographer did a great job.” He waved at the display. “These are all great.”

“Yeah?” Betty asked with a teasing smile. “You’ve looked at all of them, have you?”

He wanted to hiss at her to shut up, but then Mateo was next to him, studying their picture, too. He nodded once before moving on down the line.

Betty winked at Archer.

They did a full run-through ofAround the WorldandRetro, then Stewart sent them all off to have a quick early dinner before they’d have to rush back for hair and makeup.

“It all happens tonight, my darlings!” Stewart cried. “Do not be late!”

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