Page 44 of Flirty Dancing

Archer sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Town?”

“Hallfield. It’s like an hour’s drive. Small, but they have a good general store, some cute shops, and a market on Sundays.”

It had been nearly a month since they arrived at Shady Queens, and Archer had gotten pretty cozy in this world,blocking out the outside reality most of the time. But the idea of venturing away and leaving cranky Mateo behind for the day sounded like fun.

He stretched. “Sure, I’m in.”

“Great, we leave in thirty. Let’s go, princess!”

Mrs. C loaned them one of the resort shuttle vans for the day, charging them only for the gas. Betty volunteered to drive, and it looked like most of the dancers were loaded up when Archer arrived. He climbed in and was shocked to see Mateo sitting against the window in the first row.

“You like shopping?” Archer asked, settling next to him since the back was full.

“I consume products such as toothpaste and deodorant, and on occasion I need to buy more,” Mateo said dryly.

“Okay, fine,” Archer muttered.

“Why are you always surprised when I join in on group stuff?” Mateo asked after a pause.

Archer parsed words in his mind so his reply didn’t sound too rude. “I don’t know, it seems to me like you prefer to keep to yourself.”

Mateo looked out the window. “True enough.”

Dominik made them listen to Taylor Swift the whole drive, although Archer didn’t mind. The music was loud enough that he didn’t feel like he had to talk to Mateo, so he leaned his head back and enjoyed the girl-power anthems and fresh air from the rolled-down windows.

Hallfield was about what Archer expected for a quaint tourist trap town in the Catskills. There was a main street without a franchise in sight—all independent cafés and shops, freshly painted clapboard fronts and hand-lettered signs.

But at the end of the street, behind a big sign for a farmers market, was an entire carnival. A Ferris wheel soared abovethe nearest buildings, and they could see a haunted house, a carousel, and other assorted booths and striped tents. It buzzed with excitement, the street crowded with people flooding in and out of the grounds.

“A carnival!” Betty squealed when they saw it.

“Can we go to the carnival? Can we? Can we?” Dominik bounced up and down in his Converse high-tops.

For some reason, they were all looking at Mateo.

“We can go,” he said. “We just have to have the van back by—”

But they were all gone, charging toward the ticket booth. Caleb grabbed Archer’s hand. “This is going to be so fun!”

Archer agreed. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been to a country carnival like this. They all bought tickets, even Mateo, then scattered once they got in.

“What do you want to do first?” Archer asked as he looked around.

“The haunted house!” Caleb announced.

Archer groaned. “I hate haunted houses!”

“Why?”

“I don’t like being scared.”

Caleb laughed. “Come on, you big baby. I’ll protect you!”

Archer hated every minute of it. The haunted house was comprised of the same narrow, pitch-black hallways he remembered from when he was a kid, but now they were even more cramped and panic-inducing. Every jump-scare sent his heart crashing through his rib cage, even though he knew they were coming, and he clung to Caleb with his eyes screwed shut when the man in the Michael Myers mask started following them. Still, he had to admit, once safe in the sunshine again, the adrenaline coursing through his veins was kind of fun.

“What’s next?” Caleb wondered, blinking in the bright light.

“The Ferris wheel!” Archer decided.

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