Page 86 of Flirty Dancing

Tears flooded Archer’s eyes. His brain pinwheeled in a hundred directions while his stomach twisted into a thousand knots. A tear spilled down his cheek, then he spun and bolted out the back door, letting his feet take him wherever they wanted to go.

19Caught

Archer’s feet wanted to climb, up and away, far from the lights, from the people, fromThe Broadway Broad. They climbed until he found himself at the grassy clearing high above the lake, short of breath and staring at the rock he and Mateo had rested on after blocking out their pas de deux.

“Fuck. Fuck fuck FUCK,” he spat. How could he have messed up so badly? Mateo had trusted him, confided in him. And now… Archer shuddered to think.

He slumped onto the rock and sat there long enough that he started to shiver as his sweat cooled, but he still had no desire to move. He wished he had never come to Shady Queens. That he had never even come to Manhattan, chasing his stupid dream. If he hadn’t signed a contract for the summer, he would have packed his bag and gone back to Ohio at that moment.

He sat there longer still until his phone buzzed.

You alright?It was Betty.

He sighed and wanted to ignore it, but also didn’t want Betty to send out a search party.No.

It’s okay, Archer. Everyone can see

that Caleb was clearly the shitty

person here. We’re all super pissed

at him.

Well, Mateo is pissed at me.

He’ll be okay once he has time to

process it.

That’s what you said about Caleb. Now

they both hate me.

Three dots, then no reply. Archer waited. Betty couldn’t argue with that. Then she started typing again.Please come back. It’s late. Get some sleep and we can sort it out in the morning.

I’ll be back soon. I just need a bit more

time.

Promise?

Promise.

The moon crept above the hills, so distant and tranquil, while words careened through his head. Angry words for Caleb. Ugly, furious words. And words for Mateo—anything for his forgiveness. Pathetic words. Inadequate words. When he ran out of words, he could do nothing but trudge back down the mountain.

Archer woke up Sunday morning after a few scant hours of shut-eye, remembered everything that had happened, thenburied his head under his pillow and fell back asleep. The next time his eyes cracked open, it was Sunday afternoon. He ignored Betty’s texts, other than to let her know he was alive and safe in his bed. But he did stare at his phone a long while still, all those goddamn words back and crashing around in his head.

I’m so sorry, Mateo.

It’s all my fault. How can I make it up to you?

I never should have said anything to Caleb. I don’t blame you for being angry.

Please don’t hate me.

He finally sent a message around three o’clock, heart pounding as he typed.Mateo, I want you to know how sorry I am. I shouldn’t have told Caleb anything. He was saying all this stuff that wasn’t true and I only wanted to explain. I realize now that I totally fucked up. I’m so, so sorry.

There was no reply.

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