Page 81 of Flirty Dancing

“Shut up, Dominik.” Betty glared at him and gave Archer a hug. “You okay?”

“I guess, but… that sucked,” Archer muttered into her shoulder.

“Yeah, breakups suck, but still better than dragging something out that doesn’t feel right, right?”

Archer’s eyes flicked over to Mateo. Mateo was watching him back. “Yes,” Archer said. “Right.” He cleared his throat. “Guess we’d better get moving. Show’s in a couple hours.”

Mateo’s face pinched with concern. “Are you going to be okay dancing with Caleb? You guys aren’t paired much, but—”

Archer shook his head. “No, I’ll be fine. You don’t need to change anything for me. I’m with you tonight forLatinanyway. I’m sure Caleb will be able to handle sharing the stage with me.”

Mateo cocked an eyebrow. “Are you, now?”

18It Teeters and It Totters

Caleb was huddled in the corner of the greenroom with Ben and Grace when Archer and Betty came in after dinner. The three heads whipped over, each giving Archer their own version of a death glare.

“Shit,” he murmured under his breath.

Betty patted his arm. “It’ll be fine. This isn’t high school, remember?”

“Sure feels that way.” About half of the troupe were apparently Team Caleb and had gone full-on silent treatment, when they weren’t whispering behind their hands as he walked by.

“It’s okay, Caleb,” Grace said loudly enough for Archer to hear when he went over to his locker. “You deserve someone who treats you right.”

Archer flipped through his costumes with a heavy sigh. He would just have to rise above the histrionics. He had a job to do. Time to shake it off.

Mateo came over. “You okay?”

Archer shrugged. “I suppose.”

“Do you mind if I ask…” Mateo leaned in and dropped his voice. “… what happened?”

Archer bit his lip as he considered how much to say. “Something was off, and I couldn’t ignore it anymore.”

“What was he so mad about? When he yelled that… stuff?”

“Oh.” Archer gave an awkward chuckle and pulled hisLatincostume off its hanger. “Nothing. It was—I told him I didn’t like the way he treated other people.” He flushed. “You, that is.”

“Oh.”

“So he took the leap to… Well, you heard him.”

“Oh.” Mateo said again. He fiddled with the hangers on the rack, ensuring they were evenly spaced out. “I appreciate you standing up for me, but I hope you didn’t…”

“I didn’t break up with him for you, if that’s what you’re saying.”

“No, of course not.”

Archer’s face heated. “Caleb and I weren’t the right fit. That’s all.”

“Okay, good.” The hangers could not have been more perfectly spaced.

“Good.”

“Good. I’d better get dressed.”

Archer watched him go. The glares of Team Caleb followed Mateo, too. “Ugh.” He looked over at Betty at the makeup table, acting like she wasn’t listening. “What were you saying about high school?”

---