Chapter Text
Dean loved his job (well, second job) but today seemed to never end. He had taught all afternoon, first a course for beginners in Zumba, then a course for the elderly, and lastly a course for contemporary dance. That course had been so successful that Benny had been forced to add more sessions in order to satisfy all those enrolled.
Dean loved his job, really, but it was time to go home, put the last portion of mac and cheese in the microwave, and collapse on the couch, in front of the television (there were reruns of his favorite season of Doctor Sexy, MD, he couldn't miss them).
He closed the red cabinet door and looked around to see if he had forgotten anything. The locker room was almost empty, only an abandoned towel on the wooden bench between the lockers. He put the bag over his shoulder waving with a nod to Mick, who had just come out of the showers, and Dean walked towards the exit.
He approached the reception, where Charlie was giving the final directions to some new customers, who seemed very excited to be there. For now. It was seven in the evening, there were still many customers in the gym and Lisa's yoga class was about to begin, which was always very crowded.
Dean leaned on the glossy black shelf, just a little on the sidelines, giving Charlie time to finish her job. "Another fun-filled evening," he commented, glancing at her as soon as she was alone.
"I don't know what to tell you." Charlie sighed, sinking backwards onto the desk seat. "Everyone loves me and can't do shit without me."
Dean smiled and barely shrugged.
"I get them."
"Of course you do, my young Padawan" she teased him. "You'd be lost without me."
Dean let out a low chuckle and looked at his friend. He would have really been lost without her, but he wasn't going to say that out loud. There was something, though, Dean was afraid to tell her, and it was a black spot on their friendship, but he wasn't ready to find out how open-minded Charlie was.
"Benny told me to give you this," Charlie said, handing him a piece of paper. Before Dean could read it, he heard Benny's familiar Cajun drawl from behind him.
“Man, I was sure you were going to ruin my evening” Dean sighed, pretending to be annoyed and turning to his boss. Benny was still dressed in their work outfit, black pants and green t-shirt, and looked incredibly tired.
“I'll remember that the next time you ask me for a day out," Benny said.
“Uh, you wound me…” Dean replied with a hand on his heart pretending to be stabbed.
Benny smiled and shook his head, patient as ever. “Brother, I need your help, actually…”
“Shoot, what do you need?” Dean asked immediately, serious again.
“Balthazar called...he had to go back to England, his mother broke a leg and he has to help her, so he can’t finish supervising his candidate for the regional competition.”
Dean nodded automatically, but then he remembered who Balthazar’s latest protégés were, and his heart skipped a beat.
“And…?” he asked, feigning indifference. He couldn’t let Benny notice his sudden panic. This was his place of work, he couldn’t risk it. Maybe Benny wouldn't have had any problem with it, but Dean couldn't be sure...
"He asked me if I could help him. I owe him, Dean. After the loan he gave us...the dance school wouldn't have been approved in this gym if it weren't for him. But the course for the children's home I organized starts in the next few days...I can't miss it."
“So you're asking me...what? Finish training someone for a competition I wouldn't be able to compete in?”
“You know I don't like it when you belittle yourself. Just because you started studying dance later than others doesn't mean you're not good,” Benny admonished, his gaze suddenly hard. “And you don't have tot finish training him, no. Just observe him and give him feedback. Brother, that would really mean a lot to me.”
Dean took a deep breath as he plastered a smile on his face. Behind him, he knew Charlie wasn't missing a word, even though she was busy doing her job.
“Staying in the boss's good graces is important!” he joked to lighten the moment. “Okay, if it's just going to be nitpicking someone, I can do that. It shouldn't be too much of a challenge. Balthazar's a great teacher, right?”
“He sure is. But Bal says this one is a perfectionist. Apparently he's convinced himself he's having trouble with Latin American dances. You'll have to check whether that's true or not.”
Dean nodded, his mind fixed on that "perfectionist"...Balthazar ran the dance academy where both Benny and Dean had trained, but it was rare these days for him to directly instruct a student, and Dean could only remember one in particular who fit the description...
"He'll be here tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. and will be here for at least five days. From there we'll see if we need to go on."
"Even on the weekend? C'mon man, this is the last Saturday Sammy is here! I won't see him again until Thanksgiving!" Sammy had come back to Sioux Falls for an old friend's wedding and would stay a few more days before leaving for California. There was no chance in hell Dean wouldn't spend as much time as possible with his brother before he left.
"You can organize it however you want, as long as he can get in at least 15 hours of practice in the next three weeks."
"Now we're talking. You didn't tell me..." Dean hesitated for a moment, his heart in his throat. "Who's the lucky one?"
"Castiel. I think you already met at the festival this summer."
Dean nodded, and a moment later Benny patted him on the shoulder.
"Thanks, brother. I own you one."
Benny nodded and headed toward the locker room, while Dean thanked God he hadn't strayed too far from the front desk. He leaned back against the counter and tried not to panic.
"Are you okay, Dean?"
Charlie's voice jolted him back into reality, making him jump like a spring.
"Hell, Charlie, warn a guy!"
She raised an eyebrow and stared at him intently, and Dean knew he had to come up with a very believable excuse for his behavior or quickly get out of there. On the shelf behind Charlie's desk, among the folders with the forms and documents required for the front desk, she had slipped a small rainbow flag and now it was like it was mocking him.
Charlie was the only one Dean could talk to, because everyone else he'd talked to (strangers on the internet, thankfully far away and behind a screen) had been a huge disappointment.
But Dean...just couldn't take it. What if Charlie didn't understand? What if she was like the others? He didn't want to lose her friendship, for any reason. So he had to lie and get out of there quickly.
"Sorry, Red. I was just lost in thought. Between work at the garage and here at the gym, I don't have much free time, and this new thing isn't helping. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow," he said, giving her a quick smile and walking briskly toward the exit.
Everything was fine; there was absolutely no reason for Dean to be so worried. Benny had asked him a rather simple favor, and Dean could handle it. All he had to do was stay focused and think about dancing. Nothing else. Especially not about two blue eyes that had haunted him all summer and that even now, months later, occasionally haunted him even in his dreams, making him wake up with his boxers tight and his heart pounding.
Crap. He was so screwed...