Page 98 of Flirty Dancing

“He’s coming here?” Dominik said, voice climbing an octave. “No fucking way!”

The room swelled with excited chatter.

“We need to do something extra special,” Dominik said over the hum. “Blow his mind.”

Mateo was watching Archer thoughtfully. “What about Archer’s idea?”

“Which idea?” Archer asked.

“When we got that bad review forAround the World, you suggested adding acro.”

“Oh, that was only a thought, we don’t have to—”

“It was a great idea. Let’s put together a whole new show for the final night. Eva Stiff will do a few numbers, and we can do our best pieces, plus a new acro routine.”

“Love it!” Dominik said. “Sounds so fun.” A chorus of voices joined in agreement.

“It’ll be extra rehearsal,” Mateo warned them.

Not one person protested, although a few cast sidelong looks at Caleb.

“Sounds good to me,” Caleb said pointedly. “Let’s do it.”

“Brilliant!” Stewart said, with a thump of his cane on the floor. “We’ll run through all of the shows today and tomorrow, then on Sunday we can start planning our finale.”

They got right into a rehearsal ofAround the World, but Archer found time to sidle up to Beau during a water break. “Hey, Beau… you doing okay?” he asked.

Beau offered a weak smile. “Not really. Three years, Archer. We’ve been together—weweretogether—for three years. To have it end like this—so abruptly, and publicly… withCaleb. I mean, God. I punched Ben!” He shook his head, blinking back a new wave of tears. “Then again… it wasn’t that abrupt, was it? If I’m being honest with myself, he’s been slipping away for a while. Maybe that’s why I was holding on so hard.”

“I’m sorry, Beau. That sucks.” Archer slid an arm around Beau’s shoulders and gave him a hug.

Beau rested his head briefly on Archer’s shoulder. “Yeah.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“I don’t think so. But I appreciate you asking.”

“Are you going to be okay dancing with him for another month? Maybe we could rework the pairs—”

“No.” Beau shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’m a grown-up. And Ben and I dance so well together.” Another weak smile. “I hope that doesn’t change, at least.”

Archer gave him another hug.Sometimes hearts get in the way.

There was a hum of excitement in the air when they gathered on the stage on Sunday.

“What pieces do we want to include in our finale?” Mateo asked, uncapping a whiteboard marker. “Let’s make sure we showcase everyone’s strengths.”

“Your pas de deux, of course,” Betty piped up. “Write that down.”

Mateo nodded, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. “Okay.”

“All the tango duets!” Dominik called.

“Bollywood!”

“The hustle.”

“Ben and Beau’s paso.”

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