“Tyler?”
Amanda gave me a slight kick with her boot. “Surprise.”
He worked his way through the crowd. There were plenty of sexy men ready to disrobe, but none held a candle to him. The smile. The beard. The slight swagger to his walk. Every time I looked at him, I felt seventeen again. All insecurities were drowned out by the fireworks, not from an end-of-summer celebration but from the cute boy and his awkward smile. I hadn’t been able to say thank you, not in a way that captured how much it had meant.Saving the library,hislibrary, had been the first step in repaying him.
“I heard there was going to be a strip tease?”
If I wasn’t nervous enough stripping in front of enthusiastic grannies, now I had this beautiful bear watching. “You’re supposed to be at?—”
“Amanda invited me.”
“Let’s get this sausage party started. Strip!” She threw her arms up as if she were starting a drag race. If there was a crown for Firefly’s queen of chaos, Amanda would wear it—and be sure it sparkled.
The locals tried to be subtle about holding their cell phones out. There was no way this wouldn’t be on the internet in a matter of minutes. I jumped as the crowd cheered. To my right, Bobby, with a single swipe of a clasp, stood naked, his overalls gathered around his legs.
Yes. I stole a peek.
It was one thing to get naked in front of strangers. Heck, even Jason and Amanda had seen me naked at the quarry a thousand times. I turned to give Tyler a sheepish smile to see him unbuttoning his shirt.
“What? You didn’t think I’d let you save the library without me?”
Amanda dropped low on the hay bale. “I found our last model. You’re welcome.” With a pat on the shoulder, she hopped off. Of course, she had her cell phone out, recording the stripping of Firefly’s finest men.
“So, now you’re shy?” he asked.
Our story might have started with an electrified kissborn out of need, but it was only the prologue. I said I wanted more adventure in my life, something to get me out of my mundane rut. Who knew it’d be public nudity? There was no going back now.
I pulled my shirt over my head and flexed.
“Rawr,” he said.
We raced to the buttons on our jeans. I watched as he flashed his briefs, bright red with a black waistband. Dammit, I should have dressed for the occasion. My black boxer briefs weren’t as loud. If I stared too long, the audience would get more of a show than they bargained for.
I checked down the line of men to see everybody hovered in their underwear, nervous to take the plunge. All except Bobby, Firefly’s golden boy, had already kicked off his overalls and was proudly standing for all to see.
“Adventure,” I mumbled to myself. If Mimi were watching, I bet she’d be shaking her head… and smiling.
Fingers hooked in my waistband, I shoved them down. Jeans around my ankles, more than a few cameras flashed. The crowd continued cheering, only growing louder, as one by one, the men dropped their last line of defense. It ranged from Jason’s bashful to Logan Junior and Senior posing like they were at the end of a runway.
I was about to tell Tyler it was his turn when he shoved his underwear down. Resting his fists on his hips, he shuffled about in a circle, giving the crowd a three-sixty view. With his ass exposed, I couldn’t resist giving it a slap.
“Harder,” yelled somebody from the crowd.
Whoa. Firefly had some feisty ladies. If Mimi were in thecrowd, she’d be half-hiding me from her view while she stole glances at the other men. A week ago, I couldn’t imagine her partaking in this outlandish scheme, but now… I bet she’d be leading the charge with Amanda.
“Enough showing off,” Amanda shouted. “We have a library to save.”
I admired Tyler’s smile and the burning red cheeks, partially hidden by his beard. He caught me staring and reached out, holding my hand.
“Thank you,” he mouthed. It served as one-part gratitude for the events unfolding now and one-part things yet to come.
It was the least I could do for the boy who changed my world.
“Jon? Jon Olsen?”
I almost had my underwear on, but I still had Cupid’s wings strapped to my back. I’m pretty sure I’d find red glitter in every nook and cranny for weeks to come. Getting dressed, I hoped to watch the rest of the photoshoot. Apparently, it took a small army to keep Gloria away from Chris as he showed off his patriotism covered in red, white, and blue paint.
“Can I talk to you?”
