"Naked. You have to be naked according to the superstition," Taylor said, yanking off her footwear, the cold stones hard against her feet.
"As soon as the church bell strikes midnight, we're going to dance around the statue for one minute. Then I'm putting my clothes on and walking home," Meghan said, shivering in the buff. "You girls are going to be the death of me yet. If I come down sick--"
"We'll have a hot looking guy deliver you a box of Kleenex and chicken soup."
Kelsey started laughing. "Look, girls, I got a boob job while I was in college. Aren't they nice?"
She held up her tits for all to see and Meghan turned away groaning. "What am I doing?"
"I'm not looking at your breasts," Taylor said, giggling as she removed her bra. Maybe this wasn't one of her smarter ideas. The cold had her own poor nipples shriveled to the size of a raisin.
"Hurry, midnight is almost here," Meghan said, her words slurred from the alcohol. "Let's do this and put our clothes back on before we catch pneumonia."
"We better get some action from this," Kelsey replied, jumping up and down on the sidewalk, nude.
"And not legal action," Taylor said with a giggle.
After she finished undressing, she folded her jeans and sweater neatly and placed them on a bench. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's do this."
Passing the bottle of wine one more time, laughing and chuckling and hoping the alcohol would give them some much needed warmth, Taylor tried not to look down.
"We're being so naughty," Meghan said, giggling drunkenly. "Never again."
"Oh, come on, next week we're taking you skinny dipping at the lake," Kelsey said.
"Not during the winter, we're not," Taylor replied.
The church bells started to chime. With a scream, they laughed and began to run and dance, giggling hysterically as the three of them ran around the God of love.
"Oh, Cupid statue find us our true love," they chanted as they danced nude around the fountain in the town square, laughing at the absurdness of what they were doing.
"Nuts," Meghan said. "All this is going to do is give us frostbite on our girly bits.”
Taylor thought she might be right, but what a way to go. It felt freeing and exhilarating and she couldn't think of a single crazy thing that could pique this outing.
Headlights turned onto the street and they glanced at each other, their eyes wide. Shrieking, their hands trying to cover their female parts, they ran but their clothes were too far away.
"Oh no," Meghan said.
Red beacons flashed on top of the car. A shiver of fear raced down Taylor's spine setting panic into motion.
"Run, girls," Taylor yelled. "Run, it's the sheriff. Everyone split up, he can't arrest us all."
Kelsey and Meghan ran in different directions, running down the intersecting streets, leaving their clothes and purses behind.
Taylor wasn't departing without her boots. The footwear had set her back almost a month's pay and she couldn't leave them on a park bench. Grabbing her stuff, she tried to pick up her friends’ as well, but her arms were full.
Lights shined on her.
"Halt," a man's voice instructed. "Drop everything."
Oh great, she was the one who would be going to jail for dancing in her birthday suit in the public square.
* * *
During football season, Sheriff Ryan Jones caught one or two young teenage girls either about to dance or dancing naked around the Cupid statue. He kept encouraging the council to remove the statue, but tonight, three grown women with well developed female bodies were doing the Cupid Stupid move. Long legs, perfect round asses, and breasts that were mouthwatering tempting.
Sworn to protect and serve, he pushed the images from his brain and told his cock to go back to sleep. False emergency.
Valentine's Day, he'd meant to be here earlier before the bells dinged midnight, but the Raffsberger's cat created a disturbance in the alley that sent him on a feline pursuit. That pussy caused him more trouble than even the town drunk, Simon Connally. At least he could lock up Simon, but the feline stared at him with those laughing green eyes. Once again, the sheriff was on a cat chase.
Missing midnight, he'd arrived just in time to find three nude women dancing and chanting around the God of Love. And one of them was none other than Taylor Braxton. A girl from high school who if he hadn't been dating her best friend, he would have chased. But that was years ago.
"Don't move," he yelled, jumping out of his car and walking toward her. He didn't pull out his gun, because frankly, he didn't think she qualified as a dangerous criminal.
"Hi, Sheriff," she said, chattering and shivering in the cold, her arms crossed over her breasts, a palm covering her womanly bits. "How are you tonight?"
"I'm warmer than you," he replied, unable to stop his eyes from taking advantage of her nakedness. "Aren't you a little old for this?"
Jumping up and down, her arms wrapped across her breasts as she tried to get warm, he admired her curves. Since he'd been her best-friend's boyfriend right up until graduation, he never had a chance to pursue Taylor before leaving for the military. And it was just as well given how Kelsey let everyone know her feelings about him when they broke up.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Taylor said, her teeth clicking as she shivered.
"Oh, you're desperate to find love?" Maybe it was his lucky night after all.
"No, but my friends think they're sitting on the shelf. I don't need a man."
Oh crap, he didn't like the sound of this conversation, and during his time in the Marines, those words were repeated to him more times than he cared to admit.
He laughed. "One of those."
"What do you mean one of those?" she asked, her voice rising. "Don't you think you could let me put my clothes on?"
He ignored her statement. One of the consequences of her Cupid Stupid dance was what he called his law enforcement embarrassment. Sometimes in order to keep people from doing a silly thing more than once, you let them experience the effects of their actions. "A woman who is anti-men."
She shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe I have reason to be.”
Walking behind her, he took out his cuffs. "Place your hands behind your back."
"Oh, come on, Ryan, you know I'm not dangerous."
Sure, he knew she wasn't threatening, but she needed to be taught a scary lesson.
"You're breaking the law," he said, leaning in close. A whiff of her breath let him know she'd consumed alcohol. "I'd say you're intoxicated and naked and both of those are against the law."
"We had a little too much fun."
"Come on, uncross your arms and put them behind your back," he said, feeling like he was being mean, but making an example of her so her girlfriends wouldn't be tempted to try again.
Moving her arms to the back, he almost regretted her compliance. She had a nice set of breasts that made his job even more difficult.
"Your girlfriends ran off and left you to face the consequences of your actions," he responded, slipping the cuffs around her wrists.
"Look, we were celebrating my ex getting married on Valentine's Day. We drank too much wine and decided we never did this in high school. We'd do it now."
A twinge of sympathy gripped his stomach. Okay, perhaps she had a reason to be drinking.
"I ruined the party," he said, glancing around the park, knowing they were long gone or just waiting for the opportunity to claim their clothes. "Where did your friends take off to? They're also under arrest."
"Oh no," Taylor said. "I'm not talking. I'm not giving up any information on them."
Strolling to the bench, he observed all the clothing. "They left their purses and clothes behind."
She cursed. Opening the first handbag, he pulled out the driver’s license. "Meghan Scott. Isn't she the new school librarian? The school board will be displeased to hear she's got a warrant out."
He remembered the cute little auburn spitfire from school. She'd seemed so sw
eet and innocent and seeing her naked butt running down the street was quite pleasant.
"Please, Ryan, she didn't want to do this and I convinced her. She'll be fired."
"I can tell you who the third person is without even opening her purse. Kelsey Lawrence."
Taking the heap of clothing to his car, he grabbed a blanket from the backseat and carried it back to her. He didn't want to take her to jail. The paperwork, the embarrassment for her, the scarring of her permanent record. It was what he called the Stupid Cupid prank. Over the last two years, he'd seen it dozens of times.
Wrapping the woolen cloth around her, she lifted her chin defiantly and met his gaze. "You're really going to take me to jail?"
Not responding, he led her to his car and eased her into the back, like a common thief. She sighed, the sound dejected.
"I never thought I would have to call someone to bail me out."
"No, you never thought you would get caught dancing naked in the middle of town," he said, shutting the back door of his patrol car.
Crawling into the driver’s seat he looked in the rearview mirror. "Where do you live?"
She frowned. "Nine twenty-six Hideaway Court. Why?"
He started the car and drove, letting her think he was taking her in. "Do you think your girlfriends are close by?"
"Don't have a clue. But you have their clothes. So I'm sure they're out of sight somewhere."
Chuckling, he drove to her townhouse only a couple blocks from downtown. "What did you do with your car?"
"I walked to the club. Due to the nature of our celebration, I thought it would be best to walk in case I had too much to drink. I didn't want to get a DUI or hurt someone."
Pulling in front of her house, she was quiet as he parked. Silence filled the automobile, even his radio had stopped crackling. Why did he feel like the boy in the diaper delivered him some good fortune? How did he go about asking a naked woman in the back seat of his patrol car for a date without looking like a real perv? He didn't.
"Every year, I arrest or take home kids who have decided to test the Cupid Stupid superstition. Seldom do I detain grownups, but if I do, I take them to the pokey where they belong. You're receiving a break for several reasons. One, you didn't drink and drive, and two, you said your ex was married today. For those two reasons, I'm giving you a pass. If I ever catch you near that damn sculpture, nude again, you will be charged and incarcerated."
Over the last year, he'd taken ten naked dumb kids home to their parents and only arrested one adult. And the reason the man had woken up incarcerated was because he'd been inebriated and waving his dick around peeing on the figure. City workers had to scrub the statue and drain the fountain while Ryan tried to convince the city council to knock down the God of Love.
"Thank you," she said, relief evident in her voice. "Are you going to press charges against my friends?"
"No, but you give them my warning. Any of you girls ever do this stunt again, I'll be waiting."
Usually his threat was enough to make people regret their decision.
"I'll remove the handcuffs and help you carry their stuff inside." He crawled out of the car.
Going to the back, he opened the door. "Lean forward."
As he unlocked the cuffs, his eyes feasted on her lovely rounded derrière.
"You know, I've never been cuffed before, and I must say they're very uncomfortable."
"They're supposed to be," he said and released her.
Pulling her arms in front of her she rubbed her wrists, keeping the blanket firmly tucked around her. Reaching for her hand, he helped her from the car. She stood and they were face to face, staring at each other, and he had the craziest urge to kiss her. Her lips were so ripe and full that he wanted to pluck them with his own. That craving would have to wait for another night.
"Thanks again, Ryan. I know what we did was crazy, but we didn't plan on getting caught."
"Nobody ever does. They think they're going to get away with the silly antic."
She stepped out of the way and he reached in and pulled out the stack of jeans, boots, and purses. "I'll drive around and see if I can find Meghan and Kelsey."
"They won't come out for you."
"It was nice of you to take the fall for them," he said, thinking not many women would do that for their friends.
"I persuaded them we should do this. I'm the one at fault."
"Yet, you don't want to marry?" he asked, shaking his head. "Seems kind of crazy."
"We did it for fun. Meghan wants to get married, but I barely escaped the noose once. I'm not looking for another chance," she said.
All he could think was, too bad. He'd been drawn to her in high school and now a mature woman, she was even better.
Hurrying to her door, she dug in her handbag for her key, the blanket sliding down, exposing her shoulder. Once the portal opened, a red dachshund greeted them, barking and yelping his happiness at her being home, the dog’s nails sticking in the blanket and edging it down.
"Zeus, down," she commanded.
Ryan followed behind her, carrying in the stack of clothes and boots. Boxes sat on the floor. The townhome had a homey atmosphere, but clearly she'd just moved back into town.
Turning to face him with the cloth tucked carefully around her hiding all her girly parts, she gazed at him. "Why don't you come by the restaurant one day and I'll fix something special for you. Not one of the regular items, but a specialty I'm working on not on the menu yet."
Now was not the time to ask her out; he knew dinner would be the perfect moment to ask.
"I'll come by tomorrow," he said.
"I'll have chicken picante waiting for you."
"Looking forward to it."
"Goodnight, Officer Ryan," she said and walked him to the door, shutting it behind him.
Stepping out onto the porch, he glanced up at the stars shining brightly. In Afghanistan, the nighttime stars had been brilliant, almost like he could reach out and touch them. A trickle of unease scurried down his spine and he pushed the memories away.
Maybe coming back to Cupid had been a good idea after all. Taylor Braxton had become a hot looking woman. All he had to do was convince her to go out with him. And he would, tomorrow.
Chapter 2
The next morning at her family restaurant, the girls sat at a table, holding their heads in their hands. The morning crowd had slowed and Taylor sat with them nursing her own pounding head. "What were we thinking? By the way, I have your clothes and purses.”
“Thank God,” Kelsey said.
“I thought I would spend today on the phone cancelling credit cards. What a relief.” Meghan glanced up, her blue eyes flashing with irritation. “We’re lucky. Last night could have ended so badly. I could have lost my job. And now I'm beholding to the one jerk I never wanted to see again."
Grinning, Kelsey bent over and whispered, "Max really picked you up?"
"He saved my naked ass," she said, her voice a growl. "At first, I refused to climb into his car, but oh no, he insisted. Reminded me, if anyone else found me, I could kiss my career goodbye. What about you? Did you walk naked back to your place?"
Shaking her head, Kelsey glanced at her friends. "My brother’s best friend Cody happened to be driving down the road. When his headlights flashed on me, I hid behind a skinny tree that didn't hide much."
"Oh dear. If your family finds out, your brothers will lock you up," Taylor responded.
"Cody promised me this would remain our secret, but I don't trust him. Men can't keep secrets," she said. "At any time, my phone will ring and my oldest brother will remind me of my obligations as a member of the Lawrence family."
Laughing, Meghan leaned back in the chair. "I can hear your brother reprimanding you so clearly. Does he always keep his nose in the stratosphere? He's a bigger snob than any woman."
"It's that whole family obligation. Keeping the name clear of any kind of scandal or disgrace. The very reason I stayed away from Cupid. The firs
t time I act a little naughty, I get caught."
"Well, at least you made it home safely," Taylor said. She'd worried all night about her friends. "I was afraid to go searching for you and I couldn't call you as I had your cell phones."
"Yes, no thanks to you." Tossing her auburn hair over her shoulder, Meghan glared at Taylor.
"I'm sorry, Meghan. Until the sheriff arrived, we were having a good time."
"Yes, we were," Meghan said. "I just didn't expect it to end with us streaking down the street. I saw you in the back of his car going down the street. What happened?”
Taylor squirmed in her chair. "He gave me a break. Your clothes, your purses, everything is in my car. I never want to ride handcuffed in a police car again."
"Oh no. He cuffed you?” Meghan shook her head. "You had it worse than we did."
"I've never been more frightened in my life. Sitting in the back of a patrol car, naked, handcuffed."
Meghan shuddered. "That would be bad."
"Instead of taking me to jail, he took me home. Since I wasn't driving, he let me go. If I'd been behind the wheel of a car, he would have arrested me."
Last night after he left, she'd thanked her lucky stars. If not for the sheriff's leniency, it could have ended so much worse.
“Who is the sheriff?" Meghan asked. She turned to Kelsey. “You said before but I forgot.”
”My old boyfriend, Ryan Jones,” Kelsey said with a laugh.
“And now he's seen me naked,” Taylor said shaking her pounding head, remembering the embarrassment of being nude.
Kelsey sighed. ”In high school, I went with him for six months. After we got into a public argument in the front yard, my family refused to let me date him. Of course, it was quite a street fight with my brothers right in the middle of it. When the sheriff arrived, my dad convinced him not to arrest anyone. But he told Ryan not to come around anymore. We were done.”
"Was that what got you a summer in Europe?" Meghan asked.
Kelsey laughed. "Yes. Later, I heard he went into the military. Never saw him again." Shaking her head, she glanced at Taylor. "How's the big jerk doing?"
Cupid Stupid: Return to Cupid, Texas Page 2