"Calendar guys?" Reece said, looking slightly baffled. "You want to do a calendar with a bunch of guys?"
"Yes!" Jenna hopped off her stool and started pacing, turning the idea over in her mind, searching for flaws--which she didn't find.
"Beefcake shots?" Amanda asked. "Like on romance novel covers?"
"You'd buy one, right?" Jenna asked, as Reece gaped at the two of them. "I mean look at him." She pointed to Reece. "Or Brent. Either one of them would look totally hot on a calendar."
She allowed herself only one moment to indulge in her memory of a shirtless Reece. All the times they'd gone to the pool or the beach. Lazy summer days where she'd read in the hammock at his dad's house while he and Brent did yard work. And of course, that drunken night in the shower eight months ago. The night she wasn't supposed to remember, but couldn't ever forget.
She bit back an indulgent sigh as Amanda squealed. "Are you kidding? I'd buy a dozen."
"See?" Jenna shot a smug look Reece's direction. "I've already earned my keep."
He, however, looked a little shell-shocked. "You want me to be on a calendar?"
"Well, you and Brent and ten others." She glanced around the bar. Surely ten of the guys would look equally hot shirtless? She met Amanda's eyes, and saw that her friend was thinking the exact same thing.
"I saw Tyree shirtless once," Amanda said. "I came to meet Brent here, and they were doing some work in the attic space. Ty came down to say hi. Poor guy was all hot and sweaty." She paused and sighed, probably reliving the moment. Then her mouth curved into a decadent smile. "Yeah," she said. "He'll do."
"Well, that's three," Jenna said. "Who else?" She turned to Reece. "I haven't been around for eight months. Who else is on payroll now who'd look hot on a calendar?"
"You're insane. I'm not stripping down for a calendar."
"I thought the whole idea was to help Tyree," she said, as he crossed his muscled arms over his chest. She scowled anew. "See, that pose would totally work."
"How is a picture of me and Brent and whoever else you drag kicking and screaming into this going to save the bar? We'd sell, what? A couple dozen? And all to the girlfriends of the guys who work here."
"Oh, you'd sell more than that," Amanda assured him. "Leave a stack by the door, or put a flyer in with the bill. People would buy."
"You mean women would buy."
"Well, duh." She took a sip of her Cosmo. Amanda had no qualms about drinking at lunch.
"The women would be coming in with men who'll buy them drink after drink in the hopes of taking his date home and getting laid." Jenna grinned. "Come on, Reece. Even if you didn't work in a bar, you'd know the score."
He rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the assessment. I wasn't criticizing your marketing scheme, just pointing out the fact that ultimately the sale of calendars isn't going to get us where we need to be. Even with all those men buying drinks for their dates."
Jenna nodded. "You're right."
"Of course," Reece said, taking a bow as Amanda laughed.
Jenna ignored them both. She was too eager to make her point. "It needs to be bigger. We need to draw in people from the outside now, not wait until we have a calendar to sell. And who needs a calendar in April, anyway?"
Amanda and Reece exchanged looks, both clearly confused. "So you're not doing the calendar after all?" Amanda asked.
"Oh, we're doing it," Jenna assured them. "But it's not about the guys in the bar--"
"Thank goodness," Reece muttered.
"--it's a contest," Jenna concluded, shooting him a sideways look. "Contestants pulled from the outside and from the bar. You," she added with an innocent smile, "can be in the running for January."
"Now, wait a minute--"
He didn't get to finish the thought because Amanda's squeal was too
loud. "I love that! You can do a contest every few weeks, promote the shit out of it, and that'll take you to--" She started to count on her fingers.
"October," Jenna said. "Just in time to get it printed for next year. It's brilliant, right? I mean, I'm not crazy?"