Page 8
Jude
You Can Leave Your Hat On
With it being a little past ten, the neighborhood was quiet. There were no dog walkers on the street and all of the kids were safely in bed. At least Jude hoped to hell they were.
In another stroke of incredible luck, there was an open parking space in front of Ten and Ronan’s house. Fitzgibbon parked the SUV. “Are you guys sure about this plan?”
Ronan snorted. “Yup!”
Jude nodded in agreement. There was no doubt it was going to work. What was in doubt was their ability to pull it off. “It has to be all for one and one for all, got it? Ronan?”
“I’m in!” Ronan snickered.
“Fitz?”
“I’m in too. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. You know, lose an eye or something.” Fitz snorted, laughing at his own joke.
“Calm down, there Fitzy. We’ve had enough accidents for one day.” Jude reached into the backseat of the SUV and grabbed the rain ponchos Ten and Jace had bought them for the trip. He handed them out to the guys. After a bit of wrangling, everyone had them on. Grabbing the bag from the campground’s general store, Jude took out the three cowboy hats he’d bought. Jude’s was black, Ronan’s white, and Fitz’s was dark brown. Each hat had an elastic chin strap, so they wouldn’t blow off in the wind.
Jude had grabbed the hats as a joke to bring back to their husbands, but now they were an integral part of the plan. Taking one last look down the street to make sure the coast was clear, Jude motioned the guys out of the SUV.
Moving as quickly as they could, they climbed the steps, stopping in front of the front door. “Ronan, you unlock the door. I’ll start the music.”
“Got it.” Ronan moved to the front of the group and stuck his key in the front door.
“I still think this is crazy,” Fitz muttered.
Ronan unlocked the door and pulled out the key, setting it inside the mailbox so his hands were free. “Okay, Jude, now!”
Jude tapped his phone to pull up the song he was looking for. “Blast off!” Jude hit the button and Joe Cocker’s “You Can Leave Your Hat On” started to play.
Ronan burst through the door, followed by Jude and Fitzgibbon. The living room was empty. “Honey, we’re home!”
“What the hell is that music?” Ten asked walking into the living room. Jace and Cope were right behind him.
“Sweet baby cheeses!” Cope gasped when he got a look at the husbands, who stood in a row wearing only dark green rain slickers and their shoes.
With a rip, the men tore the ponchos off. They were totally naked beneath, but for the cowboy hats covering their junk. Each hat read: Let’s Get Naked!
Ronan, Jude, and Fitz swung their asses to the beat of the music, while their husbands squealed and applauded. They were so loud that Jude was afraid they’d wake the kids. The last thing he needed was a bunch of little eyes watching their revenge play out
When the song ended, Jude and the others bowed. “Well, what do you think?”
“I’m speechless.” Cope snorted. “We thought for sure you all would have been on your way back home the second you found out the campground was a nudist colony.”
“Why? We all love being butt-ass naked. You’ll never guess what we did?” Ronan asked, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Ultimate Frisbee?” Ten asked on a giggle.
“No, we each got memberships!” Ronan enthused.
“We’re going back next weekend. All of our new friends can’t wait to meet you. Kaye agreed to watch the kids.” Fitzgibbon snorted.
“Just be forewarned that some of the guys walking around letting it all hang out aren’t necessarily the kind of guys you want to see naked, but it’s all in good fun, right, Cope?” Jude grinned at his gobsmacked husband.
“Uh…” Cope’s mouth hung open. For once, Jude’s husband was speechless.
Tiny giggles from the stairs caught Jude’s attention.
“What’s going on?” Wolf asked in a loud whisper.
“Naked booty shaking.” Everly gagged. Wolf and Aurora joined in.
“I’ll never shake my naked booty,” Aurora said, sounding as appalled as a six year old was capable of.
“Me either!” Everly agreed.
“I will!” Wolf crowed. “In fact, I’ll do it right now!”
“NO!” Jude shouted, before he burst out laughing.
Ten swept past the nearly naked detectives and hurried the kids back up the stairs. “Show’s over. Everyone back to bed.”
Jace motioned Fitz and Ronan into the kitchen. When they were gone, Cope sauntered over to Jude. “Hey, cowboy.” He pressed a kiss to Jude’s lips. “Can I interest you in a ride?”
Jude’s heart pounded in his chest. It had been a long time since Cope had looked at him like he was on the menu. “You bet your sweet ass!”
“Bye, Ten, gotta see a man about a horse!” With a giggle, Cope grabbed Jude’s hand and practically pulled him out the front door.
Jude let his husband drag him down the stairs and across the street. Based on the look in Cope’s eyes, they weren’t gonna get much further than the sofa, which didn’t bother Jude in the slightest.
Neither he nor Cope had talked to each other about their sex drought as the days stretched into weeks. Now wasn’t the time to get into the reasons, but first thing in the morning, Jude would get to the bottom of things.
No, make that after breakfast, or possibly after lunch…
THE END