Page 22 of Flirty Dancing

The seamstresses descended with their racks of costumes, paying special attention to Archer, Beau, Ben, and Betty, who hadn’t had a chance to try anything on yet. The photographer and her assistant took over a corner of the stage and began setting up their equipment. Stewart shuffled and sighed his way around the hubbub while Mateo got them organized.

“Let’s get everyone into their contemporary costumes first for the headshots,” he decided, “then we’ll do a few pairs for each show after.”

The others seemed unimpressed with all the bustle around them, but Archer was secretly thrilled. This made it feel less like summer camp and more like an actual show. He stood patiently for the seamstress as she measured and pinned and sorted through his clothes. Each dancer would have their own rack backstage, a neat row of all their costumes for the six shows. His favorite had to be theLatin—slinky black pants and a loose-fitting dark purple and scarlet top cut down to his waistband. Mateo’s costume was black and sparkly, with hints of matching purple and scarlet shimmers. For a second, he pictured the two of them together, tight in their hold.

“You’re up, Archer,” Mateo called when the seamstress had finished checking Archer’s billowy contemporary shirt.

“Okay.” He stepped over to the screen, a little nervous. He hadn’t had dance photos taken in a long time.

“Stand on theX, please,” the photographer said. “Chin down a bit… That’s it. Now take a breath, and smile.”

Archer sucked in a lungful of air and let it out in awhoosh. It was hard to relax with Mateo and half the troupe milling around watching. He tried to think about the moment when he got this job and let that smile come out.

“Gorgeous,” the photographer said to him. “Just beautiful. Give me another smile. Great. Now how about a serious face… Ooh, sexy. Perfect. Do you want some with your shirt off?”

“Um, sure?” The rest of the men had done it, so he figured he should. He whisked off his floaty shirt and tossed it onto a chair, then turned back to the camera. Archer swore he caught Mateo’s gaze lingering before he whipped it away.

After the individual photos were taken, Mateo began sorting them into small groups. “We need a few shots for each show. How about Dominik and Daniella in theirGreasecostumes forBroadway, Nijah and Iris into belly dancing, and Caleb into capoeira forAround the World…” He continued giving instructions until only he and Archer remained. “And we can doLatin,” he finished.

Archer gulped. Guess he wouldn’t have to imagine how they’d look clinched together—he was about to find out. Archer slid into hisLatincostume, then watched as the others took their turns posing.

“I want these really dynamic,” the photographer said when Mateo and Archer were up. “Can you give me a few steps?”

Mateo took hold of Archer. “Let’s do the eight-count from the first lunge?”

“Sounds good,” Archer gasped, breathing him in and trying to keep his pulse from racing.

“Gorgeous,” the photographer mumbled, pulling back to study her screen for a second. “Do that again. God, you two can smolder, can’t you?”

Their eyes met.

Yup.

By the time the costume racks were sorted away and the photographer was packing up, Stewart was sipping tea in the front row with Judy in his lap, having lost his momentum for inspiring speeches.

“Alright,” Mateo said. “Time forBroadway.” He and the others helped Archer, Ben, Beau, and Betty break down the choreo, and, God, Archer loved it. They were doing a collection of songs from so many of his favorites—Grease, Newsies, Hairspray,andBeauty and the Beast.

Watching Mateo dance to theGreasesong was so exhilarating he was nearly dizzy. Archer would be one of the greasers during “Summer Nights” and watching Mateo as Danny… He was transported back to the theater when he was fourteen, falling in love with him. Not that he was in love with himnow, of course. Just, professionally… admiring him.

The day ran long and they were cooling down on the stage, in danger of missing dinner entirely, when Stewart shuffled over to speak to them.

“As you know, normally Sunday is your day of rest, but tomorrow we will use it for a dress rehearsal forRetro, and a run-through ofLatinandUrban. Be here by eight o’clock sharp. We must be out by two o’clock to allow setup for the drag show.”

Archer let out a low groan. He had been really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

“So excited to see Eva Stiff again!” Dominik piped up.

“Who’s Eva Stiff?” Archer murmured to Caleb whileStewart launched into a story about the early days of drag in New York.

“She’s a drag queen from Manhattan. There’s a group of them who usually rotate through and come out to do the Sunday shows. Eva is getting pretty big but she started out here so she always comes back for the opening and closing shows.”

“Can we watch if we want?”

“We never miss it.”

So?Archer texted Lynn, flopping onto his bed with wet hair and rubbery muscles after dinner and a shower.Are you engaged??? Are you having celebration sex this very minute??

It took a minute but her reply popped up: the grimace emoji.

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