Page 49 of Flirty Dancing

“Don’t worry about Mateo, Archer.” Caleb smiled athim, the sunlight poking through the trees and giving his skin a burnished glow. “It’s your birthday!”

They settled around the couches in their usual Game Night positions, and Betty presented Archer with a pair of vintage sunglasses from the boutique in Hallfield—large, square aviators with gold-tinged lenses.

“Those look amazing on you!” Betty announced when Archer tried them on. “The gold goes so well with your hair.”

“Thank you, I love them,” Archer told her.

The group put a wad of money into the beer fund to cover him for the next month, then Mateo handed him a small, flat paper bag stamped with purple flowers. “It’s just something small,” he said, shifting in his seat. “I saw it on Sunday when we were in town.”

It felt like a book, but when Archer reached in, his fingers first brushed a smaller square of paper. He slid it out of the bag and unwrapped the purple tissue to reveal a fridge magnet—a little wedge of pie that saidLIFE IS SWEET IN HALLFIELDin a round script.

His heart squeezed, emotion welling up his throat. “Aw, that’s so cute, Mateo. Thank you.”

Mateo shrugged. “I thought it would be a fun memento.”

“It will be, thank you.” Unexpected tears pricked Archer’s eyes. He reached into the bag again, head down, and pulled out an old illustrated copy ofThe Hobbit. His jaw dropped.

“And I found that at the used bookstore, if you can believe it.”

Archer blinked. “How did you…”

“I saw the copy you had in your room. It was falling apart.”

“Thank you so much, Mateo.” Archer shook his head. “I love it.”

Mateo shrugged again, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re welcome.”

“I—”

“And now my gift!” Caleb crowed, handing Archer a paper bag with the resort’s logo on it. “I didn’t know it was your birthday until we got back”—he shot a pointed look at Betty—“so this was the best I could do.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Archer insisted, peeking into the bag. It was an assortment of snacks from the gift shop, including his favorites. “Yum! Thank you, Caleb.”

“And…” Caleb gave him a meaningful look with an eyebrow waggle. “I have something else for you later tonight.”

“Um…” Archer flushed, for some reason looking over at Mateo, who was examining the armrest. “Okay. Thank you.”

The gang scattered after that, some heading out to the dock to swim, others wandering back to the dorm. Archer’s phone buzzed as he stood, and he smiled when he saw the caller ID. “I’ll meet you out there,” he told Caleb, and then he took the call out onto the deck and leaned on the railing overlooking the lake. “Lynnie!” he said when he answered.

“Happy birthday, Archer!” Lynn cried. “Oh my gosh, I miss you so much.”

“Aw, thank you. I miss you too.”

“Are you having a good day? I wish I could be there.”

“I wish you could, too. But I’m having an awesome day. The dance crew threw a little party for me.”

“Tell me all about it.”

So he did, but she cut him off when he got to the part about Mateo’s gift.

“Wait, wait, so… Mateo made you a cakeandgot you an incredibly thoughtful and personalized gift?”

“… Yeah?”

“Archer… he totally likes you.”

Archer opened his mouth to argue but it took his brain a second to come up with the argument. “I don’t know, Lynn. I really doubt it. He’s usually so grumpy.”

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