Page 38 of Flirty Dancing

“Whatever,” he fumed. “This is such a stupid game, anyway. Everyone always breaks the rules. I’m going to bed.”

He was met with a chorus of boos and tossed cushions, but he flounced away anyway.

Archer sighed and saw Mateo watching him. “I guess I’d better go after him,” Archer said.

There was a shift to Mateo’s features that Archer couldn’t quite read. “Guess so.”

Archer followed Caleb out into the night, wishing he was still in the cozy circle around the coffee table.

9Tea for Three

Archer couldn’t find Caleb anywhere. He was not on the path ahead of him back to their dorm, and he wasn’t in their room or the bathroom. So Archer shrugged and got ready for bed, figuring Caleb would show up when he was done pouting. He fell asleep quickly, the exhausting week and promise of a Sunday morning sleep-in pulling him down into a deep slumber.

When he woke to the sound of Beau and Ben stumbling off to breakfast in the morning, Archer allowed himself the luxury of rolling over and burrowing back under the blankets. The second time he blinked into consciousness, the room was empty. He soaked in the silence, stretching out each finger and toe, enjoying the shiver in his muscles. When he felt ready to face the world, he grabbed his phone and saw a message from Lynn:How’s things?

Great!he replied.We made it once through all the shows. Pretty smooth.

Her reply popped up right away.And Caleb?

Yeah, we’re still… hanging out.

Just hanging? No other “ing” verbs?

Not yet… I don’t know… He’s hot but it

doesn’t feel quite right?

In the words of the divine

Ms. Natasha Lyonne, it’s sex, not

a space shuttle launch.

Archer laughed at theAmerican Piereference.I know… but I could very well be heading back to Ohio in the fall, so no point in getting heavily involved with someone. Or what if we break up before that and still have to dance together every night?

True, true… or do you have your

eye on Mateo still?

Archer’s cheeks reddened, remembering the heat of Mateo’s body pressed to his on the couch last night.Definitely not. So, any new proposal ideas?

Ugh, we are absolutely swamped

at work right now. We’re in court in

two weeks for a huge case. Proposal

might have to wait a while.

Okay, I’ll keep thinking.

Me too. Thanks, Arch. Talk soon.

It turned out he had slept right through breakfast and was in danger of missing the lunch window, too. He had a quick shower, threw on some sweats, and jogged up the path to the dining hall. Most employees had already clearedout, but he saw Caleb sitting alone at one of the long tables. Archer gripped his tray and went to sit next to him.

“Hey,” he said, prepared for some frost, or at least some remnants of the sulk from last night.

But there was nothing. “Hey, you,” Caleb chirped, leaning over to give Archer a kiss on his cheek. “Man, you were out cold when I got up this morning. Have a good sleep?”

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