Page 59 of Everything's Better With You
“I invited him.” Yeah, he was being coy. He couldn’t help himself.
“And I’m only booking one room? Uh, Joe? How long have you been in Iowa?” Arthur’s voice went way up at the end of that question.
“A week? But, uh, Leslie and I have known each other for a long time.”
“Ah.”
“Like, fifteen years long time.”
“Ah—Oh. Okay. You sure you’re ready for this? You know the press is going to go wild.”
The press. Joe wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He definitely wasn’t sure how Leslie would feel. They’d both kept their private lives out of the media for the most part. Not that Joe had much of a private life to speak of. There had been rumors about him and a couple of his co-stars in the past and he’d dealt with it by making flippant comments. He figured if he didn’t take it seriously it wouldn’t get to him. But was it fair to Leslie to expose him to the wolves at the beginning of his first season with the Jackets? And what about this fundraiser battle? If they ended up all over the news as an item, how would that affect their football vs cheer competition?
“You make good points, Arthur, once again reminding me why I hired you.”
“You did, and as your manager, and I will do what you ask, but I can’t control the media. On a personal level, I’m happy for you and I wish you well. But maybe this isn’t the best time to go public. I also have something else to discuss with you.”
Joe climbed out of bed and stretched. “Thanks and yeah, hit me.”
“Guillermo Diaz called me.”
Joe’s ears perked up. Guillermo was his producer from the limited run ofWest Side Storyover the summer. Joe loved working with him. He had a fantastic eye for detail and was really supportive of the dancers.
“And?”
“He was curious about your job at the college because he’s got you in mind for a new project.”
Joe stood a little straighter. “I’m listening.”
“He’s going to be auditioning principal dancers forKinky Bootsand he wants to see you. This could be huge, Joe.”
“Kinky Boots?” His heart pounded in his chest. “Give me the details.”
Joe stalked around his apartment the rest of the day until clinics. He left Leslie’s texts unanswered as he brooded.
Not only was he going to have to tell Leslie that he was hasty in inviting him to LA, but he also had some difficult decisions to make. Arthur’s call reminded him that taking this coaching job likely meant the end of his dancing career, a move he wasn’t ready to make, not really. His mind ran through any possible scenarios where he could do the show…
“Hey, Joe, where you going with that gun in your hand?”
Matty gave him finger guns as he approached, singing the off-color song off-key.
Joe smirked and waved. He wasn’t in the mood for shirtless Matty and his flirty finger guns.
“I take it it’s going to be loud in here?”
“Yep. Really loud.” Joe didn’t care if he came across as an asshole. He needed to set a boundary with this guy. “I’ll give you the practice schedule, but until we have the athletic center rebuilt, this is what we’ve got. I’m sure you understand.”
“Rah rah,” Matty said, pumping a fist. Joe started to protest but Matty held up his hands. “I’m just kidding. Cheer on, dude.”
Joe waved and entered the lounge, instantly feeling better the moment the bright sun hit his face through the large windows. The airconditioning worked really well, surprisingly, in Higdon, sometimes leaving him with goose bumps. He set down his things and lay on the floor on his back, just letting his body melt into the wood before running through some easy stretches. The sun felt great on his skin and the warm spot on the floor helped loosen his stiff and sore muscles and joints. It only slightly melted his foul mood.
“Hey, Coach.”
Joe turned his head to find an upside-down Leslie.
“Oh,” he said, scrambling to his feet. Too fast, apparently. “Head rush. Hang on.”
Leslie put a hand under Joe’s elbow and for a moment, Joe wished he could fall into Leslie’s arms and be swept away.
