Page 85 of Flirty Dancing

Archer held his breath as the tower swayed, then steadied.

“Alright, let’s see what you’ve got, Dominik,” Caleb crowed. “You—and this tower—are about to go down.”

Archer grinned, waiting for Dominik’s joke about going down, but Dominik was staring at this phone.

“Dom! It’s your turn!” Caleb prodded.

Dominik frowned without tearing his eyes away from the screen. “One sec.”

“Excuse me, judges,” Archer joked, “what’s the rule about stalling? The tower isn’t going to get any less wobbly while you wait!”

Dominik’s eyes grew wider as he read. “What the fuck…” he muttered.

“What is it?” Archer asked.

“My friend sent me this… It’s a link toThe Broadway Broad.”

“Ugh, that garbage?” Even relatively new to the scene, Archer knewThe Broadway Broadwas a trashy gossip site that posted mostly sensationalized news and sketchy rumors about Broadway shows and their stars. It was very popular in the industry, even though no one wanted to admit that they read it.

“Oh, shit.” Dominik swallowed hard and looked up. “I’m sorry, Mateo.”

Mateo stiffened. “Just tell me.”

Betty noticed the serious faces, and her group turned to listen, too.

Dominik began to read. “‘Mateo Dixon, disgraced star ofRobin’s Eggand all-around terrible person, has been spotted center stage at Shady Queens, the premier upstate LGBTQ+ resort and perennial favorite of this publication’s readers.’”

Archer’s stomach dropped. Mateo sat frozen, face unreadable, hands clutching his thighs. The group on the other side of them was listening now, too.

Dominik continued. “‘A source tells us he’s up to his old tricks, being rude to castmates and thinking he’s all that, but, wait until you hear whatreallywent down with him and Abby Hodge before he firebombed his career.’”

Archer’s jaw dropped.

Mateo’s eyes swung over to meet his.

“‘Our source informed us that Mateo told Abby she was a terrible actress and only got the role because she was trans.’”

“What…?” Archer’s brain raced to make sense of what was happening.

“‘And,’” Dominik read on, “‘to this day, he blames all of his horrifying behavior on the death of his parents. Way to avoid taking any responsibility at all, Mateo! No wonder you got fired. Who would want to work with you?’”

“Stop.” Mateo’s command was flat and low. But his face… the look of utter devastation—it was a knife to Archer’s gut. Every eye in the room was on Mateo now. He stood and took a slow step away from the couch, then another, like he wasn’t sure his legs were going to continue holding him up.

Archer stood too, his stomach trying to claw its way up his throat. “It wasn’t me! I didn’t talk to them!”

Mateo continued his measured walk to the back stairs.

“Mateo, please! I would never—” Archer followed, desperate to make Mateo understand. “I didn’t tell anyone, I—” It hit him. He did, though. He did tell someone.

He swept his gaze over to Caleb. Caleb met it head-on, defiant.

“You? Caleb… how could you?” Archer’s stomach heaved like it was considering unloading its contents.

Caleb’s face was stone.

Archer turned and chased Mateo to the bottom of the stairs. “I’m so sorry, Mateo. I didn’t mean to, I was—”

Mateo paused halfway up. He turned around. Their eyes met again, and the hurt Archer saw in them broke his heart. “Stop, Archer. Please… stop.” Then he turned back, and was gone, swallowed by the darkness above.

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