Page 29 of Flirty Dancing

“I’ll catch up with you at dinner,” Archer told Caleb, eyeing Mateo, who was over chatting with Francisco.

Caleb pecked his cheek. “Okay. See you there.”

Archer waited patiently until Mateo began to make his way off the stage. “Hey, did you want to go over our pas de deux again tonight?” he asked.

“It’s our opening night,” Mateo muttered, walking past Archer down the stairs. “There’s a party.”

Archer followed him. “Oh. Tomorrow night, then?”

Mateo stopped, hand on the door. “I don’t think so, Archer. We don’t need it.”

“Okay. I only thought—”

“You’d better go eat dinner,” Mateo interrupted, before pushing his way out, leaving Archer standing alone in the darkened backstage, trying to process what had just happened. This Mateo was a completely different person from the one who had danced with him in the clearing the night before…

No… surely Mateo Dixon did not give a shit who hekissed. Or maybe the kiss was simply Archer being unprofessional again? Maybe it cemented Mateo’s belief that Archer was only here to party. He sighed. There were no rules about employees hooking up… in fact, he was pretty sure almost every employeedidhook up somewhere along the way. He wasn’t going to marry Caleb or anything, but he was cute and fun and… if he wanted to fool around with Caleb, there was nothing stopping him. Except the little voice in his head, but that was easy enough to ignore.

Archer was returning his dinner tray when Betty scurried up to him.

“You and Caleb been awfully cozy lately,” she said with a knowing look. “Did I see him kiss your cheek on his way out?”

“Yes,” Archer said sheepishly. “He, uh… well, we actually, like,kisskissed right before rehearsal started.”

Betty smacked his arm. “Shut up! That’s awesome.”

“Yeah.” Archer shrugged. “I guess.”

“What do you mean, you guess? Caleb’s hot. And from what I hear, he likes to hook up with the hottest guy here, so”—she fired finger guns at him—“congrats.”

Archer nudged her. “Are you saying I’m the hottest guy here?”

She studied him with a scrunched face. “You’re okay.”

When they got back to the theater, Dominik had poured a round of shots for everyone in the greenroom and handed one to Archer with a grin. “First show tradition!” he announced.

As Archer clinked glasses with Caleb and tossed back the fruity concoction, he noticed that Mateo wasn’t there yet. It wasn’t until the shot glasses were collected and tidiedaway that Mateo came in. He didn’t so much as glance Archer’s way.

They did their own hair and makeup—Betty helped with his, a bit of a stage makeup expert, it seemed—and got into their sparkly whiteRetrocostumes. Archer examined his reflection in the mirror as a thrill raced through him. It might be a tiny cabaret in the Catskills, but he was proud of himself for being there and working hard the past week to learn so much choreography. The audience out there wouldn’t care if anyone was experienced or learned the choreo that morning. They wanted a great show, and Archer was ready to give it to them. And maybe, just maybe, the right person would be in that audience who could give Archer a break.

With a few finishing touches left, Stewart appeared, eggplant suit even more crumpled than it had been that morning. “Gather round, ducklings,” he said, waving his cane.

They shuffled together, arms around each other in a tight huddle. Somehow Archer ended up between Mateo and Caleb, both warm and solid under his hands, although Mateo was taller and bulkier. He could also smell Mateo’s fresh, forest-y scent again. Then Caleb squeezed his waist. Archer turned to him and smiled, squeezing his shoulder back.

“My darlings,” Stewart began. “The moment is upon us. The moment where you smile and shine and dance your fucking hearts out for the good guests of Shady Queens. It’s like I said to Cooper Knox ten years ago before his first show on this very stage—”

Cooper Knox?Archer mouthed at Caleb. Caleb nodded. Cooper Knox was the understudy for Elder Price inThe Book of Mormon. Archer had no idea that Cooper had danced at Shady Queens.

“—these guests want nothing less than your best, and nothing more than tofeel.” His gaze traveled around the circle. “Are we ready?”

“Ready!” they replied in a chorus.

“Hands in,” Stewart said.

They threw their hands into the middle. Archer’s heart was full as he scanned the smiling faces.

“Judy be with us,” Stewart intoned. “Shady Queens!”

“Shady Queens!” they cheered.

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