“Well,” Mabel said, pushing me toward Laurel. “Go find a solution.”
“But—”
“Me and my entourage will hold down the fort.” She leaned toward Gladys. “Good help is so hard to find.” When Gladys giggled, I knew today would be a series of over-the-top disasters with more than enough laughter.
“Hella.” I took Laurel by the hand. “Lead the way!”
“That’s Hella Good Time to you, good sir.”
Laurel snickered. “Today is going down in the history books.”
As we walked away, I heard Mabel asking Harvey if he could get her a cocktail. It was Shelia who pulled a bottle of wine out of her purse, which surprised me. Oh yes, today would go down in the history books, alright. The most fabulous carnival Firefly had ever seen.
“Mimi would be proud of you,” Laurel said. She linkedarms with me while we followed Hella past the vendors on the green. When we spotted a group of queens helping Marigold and Peter set up their tent, they all stopped long enough to wave. “She’d have loved every moment of this.”
First, I needed to deal with this “emergency,” and then I could find Tyler. Everything was falling into place.
MAKE ME WET
Jason: Best carnival ever.
Amanda: Face painting? I just got a full glow-up!
Jason: I’ve never been patted on the butt this much.
Amanda: Do we need to have a talk with Simon?
Jason: Tyler is at the dunk tank.
Amanda: In boxer briefs!
Jason: Should have been white briefs.
Amanda: Somebody’s a thirsty ho!
“With arms like that, he doesn’t stand a chance.” Sue Flay squeezed my bicep. “Oh baby, if your dance card has availability, sign me up.”
It was midday before I could tear myself away from committee duties. The texts had been fast and furious all day. I had yet to hear a complaint. The entire town clapped when the marching band performed, and thequeens started a flash mob. Firefly Valley would never be the same after today. The Glitterati Guild would forever be welcome with open arms.
“Still dry!” Tyler cheered, snapping me back to reality. He sat on a plank suspended above a giant vat of water. I wanted to watch the shock on his face as he plummeted into the water. “It’s so warm out. I wish somebody could help me cool off.” I wanted to text Jason and agree with him. Tyler, in black boxer briefs, bearing chest hair for all to see, was sexy, but white would have been better when I nailed the bullseye and soaked him.
“Ticket, please,” Sue snatched the yellow stub from my hand. “Will three balls be enough to sink our handsome librarian?”
“You’re going down, Mr. Bailey,” I said.
“Oh.” Sue stepped back from the white tape on the pavement. “He’s a feisty one!” She flipped her purple hair over her shoulder while she grabbed the balls off the table. Unlike the other queens, she had dressed up in a baseball uniform… mostly. The exposed midriff wasn’t standard issue, but it showed off her abs.
“Are you sure you can do it?” Tyler chided. “Maybe you should step up to the kid’s line?” I wanted to shoot him a dirty look, but he was right.
I took a step forward to the next white line on the pavement. “Thanks for the invite.”
His eyes widened. “Sue, don’t let him do that. He’s cheating!”
Sue shrugged. “Girl. You should choose your wordsmore carefully.” She handed me the first of three softballs. The moment my fingers wrapped around it, I prepared for mocking. Sports had never been my thing. I remained the only student asked to warm the bench during intramural dodgeball.
“Not so brave now, are we?” Tyler laughed. Holding his thumb to his nose, he stuck out his tongue, waggling his fingers. “You know you want to see all of this dripping wet.”
The sudden tent in my pants agreed. “Just remember, it’s for charity!”
