“Well, I didn’t make sure,” Clay said, smiling that easy smile of his. “And you’ll make sure in future, right? Leland gave me a talking to about it, and no, it wasn’t fun.”
“He gave you a talking to?” Jamie asked, and once again his mind danced around. He was sorry Clay had gotten in trouble on his behalf, but was pleased at the same time because Leland had followed up on what had happened. “That’s my fault, I’m sorry.”
“Well, we live, we learn, right?” Clay reached over to the barrel someone had just filled with ice and cans and bottles, pulled out two bottles, twisted off the tops, and handed one of them to Jamie. “This is homemade root beer. A local guy makes it, it’s real good,” he said. “And it’s Leland’s favorite.”
“Thank you,” Jamie said. He’d learned something new about Leland, and tucked it away like a secret to take out later.
As Clay swallowed his first sip, he tapped the brim of his hat and went off to chat with some of the guests who were assembling for the dance. Which left Jamie all on his own, to be sure, but he felt lighter inside, knowing Leland hadn’t forgotten him.
Whether he would go on not forgetting was another question he didn’t really want to ask himself. It was better to stay in his own head and picture little scenarios, Jamie and Leland, working together. Taking breaks together. Sharing a cold root beer together.
As it got slightly darker, someone turned on the string of lights and iron lanterns, which were hung between poles around the dance area and rose to line the edges of the porch of the dining hall. The lights twinkled like shining fireflies, bobbing a little in the slight breeze, setting over the area like a beacon, drawing guests to the dance.
Jamie situated himself on the corner of the porch as he’d done before, grabbed another bottle of root beer, and watched because he had an idea that if he got up to join the dance, someone would be sent to tell him to sit down and rest. This made him smile, his lips curving around the bottle of root beer as he thought about it. How it might get back to Leland. How he might come over, that scold in his voice as he—
“Feeling better?” a voice asked from behind him.
He turned and stood up, and there was Leland, wearing a dark blue shirt with pearl-snap buttons with the sleeves already rolled up to reveal his corded forearms. He held his hat in his hands, his fair hair standing up like a baby duck’s behind.
Those grey-blue eyes of his were looking at Jamie, twinkling in the lights strung overhead. He stood there, hip cocked, ready at a moment’s notice, as always, for whatever action was needed. Jamie had never met a guy so ready and at attention. Never had a guy like that looking at him like he was.
“Yes, thank you,” he said, trying to be casual about it when his heart was actually racing. “Thought I’d come and add to the atmosphere.”
“You look better,” Leland said. “So much better. Next time, you’ll check in with someone if you’re not feeling well. Check in with me—” He stopped himself, and seemed a little confused, though Jamie didn’t know why. Then he straightened his broad shoulders and smiled at Jamie, a genuine, warm smile that he wanted to reach out and grab and keep with him forever. “Now, no dancing tonight, okay? But tomorrow, you can dance.”
“Okay,” he said. “I didn’t mean to be so much trouble.”
“Not a problem, Jamie,” he said, then pointed at the dance area. “I’ve got to join the fun, now.”
Off he went with those long strides of his, taking his place in the line, going through the motions of practicing the steps when it was easy to see he already knew them. He joked with the guests on either side of them, his smile easy and broad, including guests in front and in back of him in the fun.
When the older lady dressed as a cowgirl sang out the steps and the music started, everybody whirled and moved and shimmied. Beneath the lights twinkling overhead, it became kind of magical, in a way, regardless of the grace or talent of the dancers. There was energy in the fun and laughter, and Jamie promised himself that tomorrow he would pace himself and join the dance when the stars came out.
But right then, he wanted to sneak into the line beside Leland and tug on his shirt to let him know he was there. To laugh with him, and smile back at him, all nice and easy and handsome as he laughed with other people, and confident with the guests of the ranch.
A little glum, Jamie finished his root beer and walked into the darkness to cool off a little. By the time he got back to the dance area, the music had changed to something more swirly, and the cowboy lady was giving directions for a couple’s dance.
Leland had gathered a beautiful older red-headed woman in his arms, and together they danced, moving around the dance area, drawing everyone’s eyes to them. Jamie couldn’t imagine anything more lovely, but when one guest, a young man, came up to Leland and asked him to dance, Leland bowed, and took the young man in his arms like he’d done with the red-headed lady. As if there were no difference at all, and nothing special about him dancing with a man instead of a woman.
The young man wasn’t as graceful as the lady, but the two of them were having a good time. They laughed at each other’s mistakes, though Jamie suspected Leland pretended to suddenly forget everything he knew about dancing just to put the young man at ease.
If Jamie’d known it’d be okay for gay couples to dance, he’d have been practicing in his room this whole time while gathering his courage to ask Leland to dance. All this time and he’d never known—he could justaskhim. Or maybe he couldn’t because the rule might be that Leland only danced with guests.
Someone on the dance floor stumbled over someone else, and laughing, they helped each other up. The musicians, all standing on the wide front porch of the dining hall, stopped for a break, tuning their instruments, doing whatever it was musicians did. To Jamie’s surprise, in the quiet hush of a pause, Leland came over to him.
Sweat gleamed lightly across Leland’s forehead, and he wiped at it with his thumb. His smile was broad as he undid the bottle cap on his bottle of root beer and drank a swig, sighing deeply as it went down.
“I love this part of my job,” Leland said with a laugh, as though embarrassed to admit it. “Just love it. The atmosphere, the lights. Everything.”
He waved his hand at the dance floor that was actually dirt, but seemed, in the lights and the laughter, to be about as elegant and graceful as anything Jamie had ever seen. Beyond the dance floor, in the dark night, he could see the edge of the horizon between the trees, all dark blue and darker blue, and all at once the world seemed an enormous place, full of possibilities, full of happiness that he might find. And all because Leland had come over during a break in the dance. Had come over tohim, Jamie, now he was holding out an opened bottle of root beer for him.
“This root beer’s pretty good,” Jamie said, taking it, wincing as he realized how lame the words sounded. What he wanted to say was everything else. How handsome Leland was. How stirred up he was, just looking at him. “And you’re a pretty good dancer.” His face got instantly hot as he said those words, which were exactly what he’d been thinking. But of course Leland surprised him with his response, never saying or doing what Jamie expected him to.
“Thank you,” Leland said. “When I started last year, I was terrible. Over the winter I took a class with my mom, which kept us both off the streets and out of trouble.” He smiled that wide smile as questions buzzed in Jamie’s head.
“Your mom?” he asked, taking a huge swallow of the root beer. When it fizzed out of control, he had to wipe his lower lip with the back of his hand, feeling lame and clumsy all the while.
“She lives in Chugwater,” Leland said easily as he looked out over the crowd who were lining up once more. “Refuses to move out of a house that is entirely too big for one person.”
