The Hating Game (15 page)

M
attie forced a smile. ‘Great!’ She’d show him. Give her five minutes and she’d be gliding about like . . . one of those famous ballerinas, whoever they were.

‘
Hello, my dolls!’ A man in a sparkly purple jumpsuit burst through the gymnasium doors and glided over to them. ‘Welcome to my studio!’ He gestured to the corner with a flourish and Mattie grimaced. Men over fifty should be banned from wearing tight-fitting Spandex, particularly those with pot bellies.

‘
Is this your boyfriend?’ she hissed at Charlie. His face flushed red and he ignored her. ‘You’ve been trading down, not up!’ Too late she remembered the mic under her clothes. Nate surely wouldn’t use that – would he? She’d have to remember to watch what she said. She wanted to come out the good guy. Girl. Whatever.

‘
I am Dennis Driver!’ the man said with a flourish. Charlie clapped and reached out to shake Dennis’s hand. Mattie stared. Dennis Driver? Was she supposed to know who he was?

‘
Former British Ballroom Champion!’ Dennis announced, staring at Mattie through piggy eyes. She stared back and shrugged, not about to applaud some fat old has-been.

‘
You both look way too tense. You must be relaxed to dance!’ Dennis started to shake his legs and arms and Mattie tried not to watch as his belly and other appendages began quivering under the shiny material. ‘Please, turn to face each other and hold hands.’

‘
Oh for God’s sake,’ Mattie muttered. She smiled right into the camera Ram had set up on one side and grabbed Charlie’s hands.

‘
Very nice,’ Dennis said, still jiggling disconcertingly. She noticed a corner of Charlie’s mouth lifting and she caught herself almost grinning too. ‘Now, look each other in the eye and breathe deeply three times. In . . .’ – Mattie watched Dennis’s belly shrink – ‘Out . . .’ – and expand. Gross.

‘
Okay,
dolls!’ Dennis clapped his hands. ‘Let’s get dancing!’

The gym
nasium lights went off, plunging them into darkness. Mattie’s hands reflexively tightened around Charlie’s before she realised what she was doing and pulled out of his grip.

‘
Aw, shit,’ Ram’s voice came through the dark. ‘Nate, give me a second here.’ They could hear him fumbling with something and then four massive spotlights shone down from some rigging above. Mattie shielded her eyes and looked up. Jesus, it was like being on
So You Think You Can Dance
. Except she was pretty certain she couldn’t.

She sighed as she remembered her father
putting on Frank Sinatra and trying to waltz her around the room. Mattie had almost tripped him several times, but he’d just scooped her up and spun them through the kitchen and down the hall. Even her mother had laughed and over the giggling protests he’d pulled her mum into his arms and they’d kissed passionately. Sandwiched between her parents, Mattie had felt so safe, so protected. And then the next year her father was gone.

‘
Today we will start with
a simple waltz.’ Dennis was already moving back and forth as if he had a partner in his arms. Where had Nate and Spaz dug him out from, Mattie wondered?

‘
Right, now, Mattie and Charlie,
you face each other again. Mattie, put your left hand on Charlie’s shoulder.’ Mattie did, trying not to look at Charlie. ‘Now Charlie, put your right hand on Mattie’s waist.’ Mattie struggled not to grimace as he put his hand on her waist so reluctantly it was as if she was contagious.

A hideous half
hour of torture followed. Dennis would shout right – she’d go left. Charlie would step forward the same time she did, his size tens stomping all over her patent stilettos. Even when Dennis finally gave up and just blared the music in hopes of improving their moves, it was obvious they were a disastrous combination.

‘
I thought gay men were supposed to be good dancers,’ Mattie whispered into Charlie’s ear.

‘
I am,’ Charlie said through gritted teeth. ‘But you must be genetically programmed to turn any occasion to shit.’ Through the swells of the Viennese waltz she could barely believe he had the guts to say it but the look on his face showed he definitely meant it. She stamped on his foot and he yelped.

‘
Mattie, why don’t you take a break,’ Dennis said. ‘I’m going to show Charlie the next set of moves. You can practise the ones you’ve learned over there.’ He pointed off set.

‘
With pleasure,’ Mattie said as she slunk away from the spotlights and into the back of the dark gym. The two of them deserved each other and anyway, she was starving. If memory served correctly, there used to be a vending machine in the corridor right outside the gym door. She pushed out into the hallway, blinking in the light. There it was – and it even had prawn cocktail crisps! Bonus! She opened the bag and crunched her way through a few, leaning against the wall.

God, it was weird being back here.
Secondary school seemed so long ago – it had been ten years – and she was a different person now. Sure, she was still bombing through boyfriends. That hadn’t changed. But back then, she had still had
some
hope not all men were like her father. That her mother could be wrong – some men wouldn’t let you down. Well, after Kyle, she knew differently.

T
hank God for Jess, who had always stuck by her, ever since they first met in Miss Larsen’s tutor group right around the corner from here. A finger of guilt prodded her crisp-filled gut. She hadn’t been that nice to Jess lately, sort of snappish and impatient. When this whole thing was finished and she had the prize money, Mattie was going to take Jess on a road trip back to the Scottish Highlands. Jess loved walking the hills and although nature made Mattie
queasy, it would be worth the effort to show Jess how much she valued their friendship.

The music inside the gym shifted abruptly from waltz to tango. Dennis and Charlie dancing the tango? Now this was something she had to
see! She gobbled the remaining crisps and was about to go back inside the gym when a movement down the corridor caught her eye. Under the screeching strains of the music, she could hear the low murmur of male voices. Who was down there?

She
edged her way down the corridor towards the reception where she could see Nate’s back crouched over a monitor and headphones clamped on his ears. Baz was beside him, and the two of them were staring at the small monitor perched on a table.

‘
See? I told you!
Look at that!’ Baz was crowing.

Nate shrugged and mumbled something Mattie could
n’t hear.

Mattie inched closer. Wha
t were they looking at? She peered at the monitor and her face twisted in disgust. There, under the lights, Dennis was clutching Charlie close, running his meaty hands up and down Charlie’s body in time to the swelling strings. Dennis’s face was positively orgasmic and although Charlie looked like he was struggling against the older man’s clench, his skinny frame was no match for Dennis.

J
eez, the man was stronger than he looked, Mattie thought as she watched Dennis fling Charlie outwards then draw him in close again, nuzzling his neck. The music finally stopped and Dennis spun away, leaving Charlie panting in the middle of the makeshift studio. Baz high-fived Nate and the two of them took off their headphones. Mattie scuttled away down the corridor.

What the hell was that all about?
Had
Nate and Baz known what had happened with Charlie way back in secondary school? Had they invited him on the show just to humiliate her all over again by recreating the scenario? Would they really go that far for a little bit of drama?

Mattie marched into the gym and over to Charlie who was wiping his drippi
ng face. ‘You two make a lovely couple,’ she said.

‘
He just grabbed me and started dragging me around! Old queens are the worst.’ Charlie glared at Dennis who was serenely pirouetting and smiling at his reflection in the mirror.

Mattie shrugged. ‘They got the whole thing on camera
, you know.’

Charlie’s face went pale. ‘Alistair will kill me if he sees me dancing with another man!
‘ Charlie streaked over to Ram. ‘Can I see? What exactly did you film?’

Ram shrugged and heaved the camera to his shoulder again. ‘I just do what they tell me. They wanted me to get some good close-ups. So I did.’

‘
Oh my God.
’ Charlie sagged to the floor. ‘Turn it off, turn it off!’ he shrieked as Ram trained his camera on Charlie again.

Nate and Baz burst through the gym doors
. ‘Is something wrong?’ Nate asked. Mattie motioned towards Charlie on the floor.

Charlie jerked to his feet and ran over to Nate. ‘Please don’t show that film. Please! My family don’t know I’m gay. I don’t know what you’re going to show, but . . .’ He paused. ‘I beg you. Please.’

Silence fell
and Nate slowly shook his head and took a step back from Charlie. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said in a low voice.

Charlie
started shaking. ‘You know what? I’m done. I’m done with this show!’ He ripped the mic from his chest and turned towards Mattie. ‘I never should have come back here, even for the money.’

Money?
Of course, they must get an appearance fee, she thought. Charlie probably wouldn’t get his if he bowed out now.

T
ears dripping down his cheeks, Charlie threw his mic on the floor then ran through the gym doors.

Mattie watched him go
. Imagine, coming back to the scene of your first public outing and being groped by a man twice your age – then outed again on national telly. Whatever Charlie had expected to get out of the show, she could bet he hadn’t counted on this. Mattie almost felt a little bit sorry for him.

‘
Did you get all that?’ Baz was saying to Ram.

Ram nodded. ‘Oh yeah. Lighting might be a bit wonky but you should be able to fix it.’

‘
Ace,’ Baz said. ‘And Nate, the press release is all set? Our official statement is ready?’

Mattie’s mouth dropped open. ‘Wait. You
wanted
him to leave?’

‘
Well, yeah, we were hoping,’ Nate said. ‘I mean, he is gay and everything, so–‘

‘
I don’t think it’s appropriate to discuss this with a contestant,’ Baz interrupted, smiling
ingenuously at Mattie. ‘Mattie, why don’t you wait in the car? We’ll take you back to the studio so you can choose your next date. Fun, right?’

Mattie grimaced. ‘Yeah, fun. What are you going to do to the next guy, maim him?’
After what had happened today, she wouldn’t be surprised.

A small pang of sympathy shot through her as she recalled
Charlie’s devastation. ‘You aren’t really going to show all that groping on TV, are you?’ she asked. ‘I mean, now that Charlie’s left, there’s no reason.’ Not to mention it was a real turn-off – watching prima donnas get busy couldn’t do much to increase ratings, surely.

Baz snorted. ‘No reason? That’s prime footage, right there.’ His mouth snapped closed as if he realised he’d said too much. ‘Anyway, wh
at do you care? It’s one less man for you to worry about.’

Mattie didn’t bother answering as she climbed in the car then leaned her head back against the leather seat, gazing out the window away from the school.

One ex down, three to go.

*

Nate
heaved a sigh as he packed away the monitors at the school. The plan had worked – even better than they’d hoped. They’d banked on Charlie dropping out after the programme aired that evening. Charlie leaving now was a bonus; they could try to get an exclusive interview with Charlie’s partner and feed the story to the tabloids to boost ratings.

Baz had already rung
Silver to tell her the good news. Judging by the smug expression on his face, he was now the golden boy. Again. Next time there was a chance to stir up some conflict, Nate would go for it for all he was worth, show Silver and Baz how it’s done!

At least he’d stayed strong when Charlie had begged him
not to show the video. That had been terrible – the look of desperation in those eyes was awful, as if that tape would destroy his life. Which, Nate guessed, it might.

‘
Want to go for a drink?
’ Nate asked Baz as they put away the last of the equipment. ‘We’ve got some time between now and the studio segment.’ He could really use a beer. Plus it was a chance to learn just what Baz had in mind for the next guy.

Baz stared. ‘Are you joking? We’ve got to track down a cameraman and journo in Ibiza to secure that exclusive with Charlie’s partner. Not to mention getting the PR department onto a press release.’

‘
Oh yeah. Of course.’
Idiot,
Nate silently berated himself. He really needed to pull himself together, get with the game.

Or executive producer or not, he wouldn’t be in it much longer.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Two in
three men say they are intimidated by strong women.

The same number fantasise about sleeping wi
th strong women.