“Neither of them has much filter. Or tact. Or—”
“Teddy,” Finn stopped him, “quit it, they’re great. Your mother is too.”
The fact that Finn believed that further solidified how doomed Teddy had been first.
“I knowI’mlooking forward to meeting Dan,” Blaise said. “His tips on gluten free cupcakes were lifesavers. I think I’ll have some ready for taste-testing soon. Any volunte—?”
Everyone raised their hands, and Rose batted at Meagan’s beside her as if to beat out the competition.
They were a good group, friendly and open, without any judgment or expectations. Maybe that’s what Teddy had been missing for so many years, even while dancing—more people in his life besides his mother, sister, and best friends who didn’t judge the way his father had.
“Rick’s writing a new play, right?” Finn turned to Teddy, the firelight flickering beautifully across his face.
“He’s been having trouble, so I mentioned an idea of mine we’re thinking of doing. Together.”
“Youwrite?”
“No.” Teddy shot that idea down quickly. He could visualize storytelling masterfully, it’s what made him such a great choreographer, but that was manipulating others’ words or telling a story in motion. “I may have whispered an idea in his ear a time or two, but he’s the brilliant playwright, not me. It would be a collaboration with him at the forefront. We were thinking we might test it out on an audience here instead of in the city.”
“Community theater?” Meagan asked, which made Teddy cringe, but he couldn’t deny it.
“That does seem to be where we’re headed. If it makes it big in the city afterward, I promise, it won’t prompt me to move back.” He looked at Finn pointedly, and as he sipped from his beer anddropped his free hand between them, he felt Finn’s fingers clasp tightly with his.
“Well? Don’t hold us in suspense,” Finn said. “What’s it about?”
Now Teddy had to glance away, feeling everyone’s eyes on him. “Rick’s specialty is romance. He likes action and drama, but at his core, he strives to recreate something of his own love story again and again. Says it reinvigorates his love for his husband.”
“How sweet,” Meagan said, snuggling closer to Ronnie beside her. Rose and Blaise drew closer, too, while Carlos wore an adoring, eager expression that maybe one day he’d have his own someone to cuddle.
“Knowing that, I suggested something unique, an idea to give the mobility-challenged the chance to shine, where the main character can no longer dance the way he used to and secludes himself to cope with the loss, only to be seduced and drawn out of hiding by a handsome stranger.”
The group went quiet, just the crackling of the fire making Teddy fear he’d gone too far, but when he looked at Finn, though his expression was awash in surprise, he seemed honestly touched.
“Are you serious?”
“Write what you know, they say. If you don’t mind being the inspiration?”
“Of course not.” Finn gripped Teddy’s hand all the tighter, lighting up in a blinding smile. “That sounds amazing. I can’t wait to read it. And see it!”
Teddy had hoped Finn would appreciate the idea, but it was still so new, something he and Rick had only just discussed. He hadn’t been sure how to bring it up.
“How does it end?” Rose asked with her bewitching smile that reminded Teddy so often of Erina—which was probably what made him like her so much.
“Still figuring that out,” Teddy said with a look back at Finn, “but so far, so good.”
In that moment, the shadows behind Finn’s eyes that crept up from time to time seemed far, far away.
“Okay, but like, are we talking hard-core hazing with Rick and Dan or….”
“Carlos, you’ll be fine. Now, come on.” Finn motioned to the guitar in Carlos’s lap, which he’d been strumming off and on throughout the evening. “Play us something.”
Erina would love the musical side of him, though she probably already knew, given how much they’d been talking on the phone.
Teddy still had Finn’s hand. They had to release their grip whenever he switched from drinking to covering another cracker in spray cheese—he needed two hands for that—but they always found each other again.
“I need requests, man,” Carlos protested.
“Not ‘Kumbaya,’” Teddy said.
