Part 2

The anvil hit the four men sitting in the living room almost simultaneously a few moments after Sarah Jo had done her Lady Godiva act in front of them while they were all engrossed in the football game. They exchanged glances, not sure of what they had seen. Dani was sitting open mouthed, his beer stopped half way up. Kolya looked just as shocked.

Duncan looked at his younger counterpart and asked, "Was it my imagination, or did Sarah Jo just walk by in the buff?"

A wicked grin crossed Duende’s face. "I do believe so! It would be just like her to pull a joke like that. Hmmm. Maybe we should go upstairs and check this out," he said with a wink as he started to rise from his chair.

The others started to get up too, but Duende looked at Kolya and suggested he stay and let them know how the game turned out. Kolya just growled " Huy v zhopu!", a rather rude Russian version of "No way, Jose!" and made a bee line for the door. The next thing they knew, all four were running up the stairs.

There was a traffic jam at her bedroom door as all four tried to squeeze in at the same time, the problem aggravated by the fact the half-grown Irish Setter pup was forcing his way through as well. But when they all got in they were greeted by the sight of Sarah Jo laying face down on her bed reading a book. She was wearing the same cotton frock she had wore during their dinner. Huckleberry Finn was perched in the middle of her back, kneading it gently with his paws. She glanced up at them, a totally innocent expression on her freckled face, "Is there a problem, guys?" she asked as they stood breathing hard in front of her. Paddy jumped up on the bed with her and gave her a happy lick on her face. When Finn hissed at him, he looked disappointed and slunk down off the bed. No question there who was the boss.

The four men exchanged glances, wondering if they were the victims of some strange mass hallucination. Duende looked back at Sarah Jo and asked, "Were you just downstairs?"

"I was earlier," she said honestly. "But I didn’t have any interest in that silly football game so I came up here to read a book. "Why do you ask?"

"Never mind," Duende said with a sigh as they all turned to leave. They were all at the head of the stairs when Kolya stopped so abruptly that the others ran into him.

"Wait! Was not her beautiful hair done up in those braids that looked like a crown on her head? And it is now loose, nyet?" Kolya said.

Dani grinned. "That stinker! You’re right, Kolya. It was hanging down just like it was when she waltzed by right in front of us wearing nothing but a smile," he said, shaking his head in amusement. "Hey, I’m willing to bet she isn’t wearing those nice green lace undies that she was earlier. I imagine she just barely had enough time to slip her dress back on before we got up there."

"And how would you know just what underwear she was wearing?" Duende asked, although he was quite sure he knew the answer already.

"I know because I was doing my best to get into those pants while she was cooking dinner," Dani admitted with a lop sided grin. "But she chased me out of the kitchen!"

"You’re on then, kid! I’ll buy you a drink if she isn’t wearing any," Duncan said with a chuckle. "Let’s go back and check."

Grinning broadly, the four of them returned to the bedroom. Sarah Jo was still reading her book as they all sat down on the bed around her. "Back again so soon?" she asked, still looking completely innocent as she played her little joke to the fullest.

Duende reached over and took Finn off her back and put the cat on his lap where he immediately curled up for a nap. "Oh, we just wanted to check something out, sweetheart." While her attention was on him, Dani flipped up her dress and exposed her rear end for all of them to see.

"Gotcha, Sarah Jo! Duncan, you owe me a beer!" Dani said with glee as he swatted her firm, round and very bare bottom hard enough to leave a red hand print, causing her to squeal indignantly. All five of them then dissolved into helpless laughter, all thoughts of the football game now completely forgotten.