Page 35 of Flirty Dancing

Archer was a little nervous about their director leaving already, but he had to assume they really were ready to keep it going on their own.

“Um, Stewart?” Archer asked as the others began to head out into the night. “Do you have a second?”

“I have many seconds for you, Archer,” Stewart replied, gesturing to the front-row seat next to him. “Please sit.”

“Before you go,” Archer said as he settled, “I wanted to thank you for… for this opportunity.”

Stewart waved his hand. “The pleasure is all mine, Archer. You are quite the dancer.”

Archer flushed. “Thank you so much, but… that’s just it. I—Well, I’ve been auditioning for shows in the city for months, and I haven’t gotten anything yet…”

“Terrible business,” Stewart agreed. “Talent has little to do with it, doesn’t it? Not naming names, but there’s a certain rising star known for pounding more than the boards, if you know what I mean.” Stewart leaned forward and winked. “Not that there’s anything wrong with putting a little Jesus Christ in one’s Superstar, but one doesn’t want to, er, go full Daniel Radcliffe, does one?”

“I…” Archer paused, wondering if he was still following Stewart’s metaphor.

“Anyway…” Stewart whistled for Judy. “If Cooper Knox did it, I’ve no doubt you can, too, Archer. If everything stays as tight as it is now, and you all put on a flawless show, it will no doubt catch the eye of the right person.”

What if it doesn’t, Archer wanted to say, but Stewart had bent down to pick up Judy and was leaving little kisses on her tiny head. “Thanks,” Archer said instead, getting to his feet. “I hope so.”

After Archer’s shower, Caleb pounced on him back in their room. “It’s time to go!” he announced.

“Go where?” Archer asked, toweling his hair.

Caleb eyed Archer’s bare chest under his unbuttoned shirt. “To the cabin. Saturday is Game Night,” he said, as if it was obvious.

“Game Night? What kind of games?”

Caleb slid a finger into the waistband of Archer’s shorts and pulled him closer for a kiss. “You know, games! Monopoly, Scattergories, charades… anything, really. The winner gets to pick next week’s game. There’s like a hundred of them in the cupboard in the cabin, plus Dominik brought a suitcase full.”

Archer worked on his buttons, remembering Lynn’s advice and leaving three open. “So what are we playing tonight?”

“Oh, we start every season with Monopoly, but we only play it the one time. After that, we get too annoyed with each other, and we can’t even finish the game.”

“Of course.” Archer had somehow never played Monopoly. An only child, no cousins around his age… He never had the chance, although he felt like he had a pretty good idea how it went and doubted this bunch would make it through the whole game, even tonight.

When they got to the cabin, Archer was surprised to see all of the dancers there, including Mateo. The Monopoly board was set up on the battered coffee table with the mismatched furniture pulled around it and cushions scattered on the floor so there was enough seating for all sixteen ofthem. Ben and Beau were cuddled up in an armchair with Gage and River next to them on the ground. The couch on one side was full, as was the love seat. Betty sat at one end of the second sagging couch and Mateo at the other. The only seating left for Caleb and Archer was to squish in between them.

Archer sat next to Mateo, who was wearing loose-fitting black shorts and a soft berry blue T-shirt that turned his eyes to an inky midnight black.

“Didn’t think I’d see you here,” Archer said, trying to settle with an inch of space between them.

Mateo raised an eyebrow at him. “Why not?”

Archer wanted to snort. “You don’t seem like the type to play board games.”

“Oh, you’re not allowed to miss Game Night,” Mateo said seriously, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

Dominik stood. He had freshly shaved his head that morning and his mohawk was extra pointy. “Welcome to the first Game Night of the season! Listen up: You drink every time you buy a property. If you go to jail, you finish your drink. Free parking is a thing, and if you win it, everyone else drinks. Every time you build a hotel, you get to make someone else drink. Otherwise, you know what to do.”

Now that Archer knew it was Drinking Monopoly, Game Night made more sense. Then he examined the game board more closely. “We’re playing… Star Wars Monopoly?”

Dominik grinned. “Fuck yeah, we are. This is my board. Okay, so there’s only eight pieces—I lost the Threepio—and since there’s sixteen of us, we have to play with partners. Can we go in pairs like how we’re sitting?” He pointed around the table, pairing them off… and Archer was with Mateo.

Caleb rumbled in annoyance. Archer sighed inwardly,wondering what on earth possessed him to sit next to Mateo. Then again, Caleb and Mateo would probably have been a worse team.

“I’m Boba Fett,” Dominik announced, lunging for that game piece.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Seta piped up. “Why do you get first pick of the pieces?”

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