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FIREFLY EXPOSED

“We only need twelve.”

I paced to the end of the living room and turned around. The troops had arrived, and after a brief argument about the required snacks, I blurted out the idea. Sexy men of Firefly bearing it all for a calendar.

Amanda raised her hand. Since I saw her last, she had changed the streak of color in her hair. The electric blue on her head matched the shoelaces of her boots.

“Amanda?”

“Point of information.” The formality made everybody grin. “Where do we find twelve men willing to dangle their bits for the camera?”

“Twelve?” I asked. “We only need eight.”

This time, Chris raised his hand. “Not to be argumentative, but a calendar has…”

I turned from Chris, locking eyes with Jason, then Simon.

They sat on Mimi’s couch, Simon’s arm wrapped around Jason’s shoulders.

The two big guys took up more than half, and Amanda was sitting cross-legged next to them.

My grin widened as I turned to Bobby in his signature overalls and red flannel.

When I finished staring at Chris, his hand slowly lowered with a soft “Oh.”

“Surprise. I need you all to get naked for money.”

Simon shrugged his shoulders. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Amanda got up off the couch, standing next to me as she surveyed the room. “So we’re going with a chonky ‘real’ men of Firefly look.”

“Your air quotes are offensive,” Bobby said.

“We’ll never be able to find eight men,” Amanda said.

I honestly thought she’d be the biggest supporter of this idea.

She’d get to boss around a bunch of naked, burly bears.

Then it’d be up to her to pimp the calendar online.

The outlandishness of Firefly producing a risqué calendar to save a library is what small towns did.

“Seven men, though…”

I raised my eyebrow when I realized she had turned her gaze toward me. As the guy with the creative vision, I was supposed to be behind the camera. It never dawned on me I’d be the man stripping. If the others were willing, then I couldn’t argue.

“Fine. But I call February.”

“I’m going to need to buy a new tool belt, aren’t I?”

I pointed at Bobby. “That’s the spirit.” Only in Firefly could a conversation about stripping feel like a PTA meeting.

“I’m not sure my agent will?—”

Bobby put a hand over Chris’s mouth. “What my lovely boyfriend is saying, he’d be more than happy to whip it out for the town.” Bobby gave Chris a peck on the cheek. “And they thought your strip tease was the end of your public nudity.”

Amanda crossed her arms as she began pacing. “Seven people. I think we can make this work.” Amanda had joined the bandwagon. “Bobby, can you help with backdrops? Chris and Simon can be in charge of props. You can ask for donations from the shops around the green.”

Jason raised his hand.

“You’re going to be in charge of blackmailing. You’ve got all the dirt. Find us seven ‘real’ men.”

“Air quotes,” Bobby said with a frown.

“And me?” As Amanda took over the project, I feared what she’d do.

“Snacks.”

“Snacks?” I asked.

“Have you met a man who doesn’t want snacks after he whips it out?” She had a point. “Sexy snacks.”

Sexy snacks? I worried that handing over the reins to Amanda had been a bad idea. Though… now that I was thinking about it, I usually wanted food after sexy times. Dammit, I hated when she had a point.

“I think we can pull this off,” Amanda said. “I’m so glad I came up with the idea.”

Yup, it had officially gotten away from me.

There was no point in trying to wrestle back control.

I knew exactly what would happen the moment I sent out the S.O.S.

If she wanted to wrangle a bunch of men letting it all hang out, who was I to object?

If it helped save Firefly’s library, I’d gladly strip.

It’s not like I’d have to look them in the face for very long.

My package and I would be nothing more than a memory by the end of the summer.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“It’s probably another pie.” I shot Simon a dirty look, glancing between him and the pie tin on the coffee table. “’Cause I need more pie?”

“This one—” He poked Jason in the chest. “—he said I had to.”

“Jonnie?”

That voice. My muscles tensed.

I spun about to see Evie standing in the archway holding a bag of groceries with a duffle bag hanging off her shoulder.

She had mentioned coming, but I assumed she’d find an excuse.

I expected to get a text saying this wasn’t a good time and then complain about her job.

I had the urge to rush over and wrap my arms around her, but I held still.

We were a long way from tearful embraces.

“That’s our cue to head out.” Amanda grabbed Jason by the hand, pulling him off the couch. “Penis Patrol… Cock Corps. We’ll workshop it. Come on, we have work to do.”

Everybody got up, moving out of the living room and onto the porch. Amanda gave me a quick thumbs-up before pointing at Evie. She made an hourglass gesture with her hands before darting out of the house. With everybody gone, Evie and I gave each other awkward glances.

“I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

The grandfather clock chimed eight, making us both jump.

Her eyes darted about, taking in our grandmother’s living room.

The last time we saw each other was at Mimi’s funeral, and before that, I couldn’t remember.

Despite growing up with her, as adults I could almost see the brick wall keeping us apart.

“Nothing has changed,” she said.

She meant the house, but it could have also applied to our relationship. Tossing her duffle bag on the armchair, she set the groceries on the coffee table before walking over to the bookcase on the far side of the room. She raised her eyebrows at me before pulling an old book off the top shelf.

“Mimi had secrets,” she said with a grin.

Opening the cover, she pulled out a metal flask.

She replaced the book and took a seat on the couch.

“I found it my freshman year. I thought she might have a drinking habit. When I asked her about it, she said everybody needed a secret book with a flask.” Evie unscrewed the top, smelling its contents before taking a drink.

“She said it as if it were common knowledge.”

“Does it say where it was made?” After learning about her travels, I wanted to test a theory.

Evie looked at the bottom. “Dublin Whiskey Company?”

“Yup. Our grandmother flew to Dublin to get herself a flask.”

She shook her head. “No. Mimi? The most exciting thing in her life was Bingo night at the Legion.”

Evie threw back another swig. Kicking off her shoes, she hugged her knees against her chest. For a moment, it felt as if two strangers had been forced into the same room. Neither wanted to be there, but they couldn’t escape. Then I noticed her feet.

“Are those knitted socks?”

She glanced down. “Yeah? I knitted them.”

I froze before the laughter erupted from my belly. Of all the habits we could have taken away from our grandmother, she chose knitted socks. She held a foot in the air, wiggling her toes.

“They’re comfy!”

“Please don’t tell me?—”

“Yes!” she yelled. “I make mittens, too!”

I wiped the tears from my eyes. Mimi would be happy to know we carried on her legacy… or at least Evie did. I knew what I wanted to take from my grandmother, but going on adventures across the globe wasn’t as easy as she made it seem.

“I’m glad you’re here.” The olive branch had been extended.

“Was that Amanda?” I nodded. “I haven’t seen her since high school. And Jason?”

“Yup. And his boyfriend, Simon. Bobby, you know. The other guy is Chris, the actor from?—”

“Centurions?” Her eyes went wide. “To be fair, I always thought you’d wind up with Jason.” She had a sweet spot for the geeky bear. “So consider me surprised when the woman at the grocery store told me about a librarian.”

My face went slack. “Bonnie,” I cursed.

“Funny story…” I plopped down in the armchair, getting comfortable. “About that librarian… something happened our last summer with Mimi…”