Too Quiet

by Valentine

Disclaimer: Nothing herein belongs to me. This story is meant only as entertainment and is not intended to infringe upon the rights held be MGM, Mirisch, CBS, TNN etc.

Category: Fluff


"We could play strip poker," Buck suggested.

Around the table his six friends fell silent. Chris put his whisky glass down and gave Buck a glare, Vin quirked an eyebrow, Ezra stopped shuffling his deck of cards, Josiah put his gun, which he'd been cleaning, aside, Nathan looked up from the medical text he'd been reading and JD dropped his dime store novel to the floor and gaped at Buck.

The Seven were sitting at their usual table in the saloon. It had been a quiet week, they were bored and now Buck had said the first thing that had popped into his head.

Ezra was the first of them to recover. "I assume you're not serious, Mr. Wilmington."

"Why shouldn't I be serious?" Buck was offended by the gambler's lofty disdain of his suggestion.

"Do you think these gentlemen here and I would care to see you in that ridiculous underwear of yours?"

"I resent that! Anyway, I'm bored. And I could beat ya!" Buck shot back.

The other five men were by now closely watching the argument between the gambler and the gunslinger.

"Beat me? Beat Ezra Standish at strip poker? You're harbouring delusions of grandeur, Mr. Wilmington. I could win every article of clothing off your body," Ezra declared.

"Ya're good, Ez, but ya're not goin' to win today. Anyone else up to playin'?"

Chris shot his oldest friend a look. Normally, he wouldn't sanction such behavior, but he was bored, too, and, oh well, it was only a game. "I'm in," he said.

"Wouldn't miss this for anythin'," Vin said.

"You guys are completely crazy. You can do this on your own, I get to see enough naked bodies every day," Nathan said.

"I'm terrible at poker," JD stammered, blushing. "Do I have to play?"

"I don't force people to play with me, Mr. Dunne. You can keep an eye on Mr. Wilmington's dusty apparel." Ezra smiled at the young sheriff who smiled back relieved.

Now all eyes rested on Josiah. What did the preacher have to say to their "sinfull" suggestion? "We're all naked in the eyes of God, brothers. And this is better than playing for money. Count me in."

+ + + + + + +

An hour later, Ezra had lost his hat, his jacket and his tie. Buck was down to his hat and his longjohns, but refused to accept defeat.

The others had given up playing and were watching the poker duell between their two friends who suddenly seemed to take the game very seriously.

"Why don't we make this a wee bit more interestin'? Let's say this is our last hand. If I loose, well, I loose. And if ya loose, I wanna see ya naked, Ezra," Buck suggested.

The gambler looked down at his cards, then up at Buck again and flashed him a confident smile. "Agreed."

Buck threw his hat on the table. "I wanna see."

"As is your right, Mr. Wilmington."

Ezra laid his cards down, one by one.

"Ace of spades. Ace of clubs. Ace of diamonds. Ace of hearts."

Buck's face fell. He threw his own cards down. "I'll be da...How did ya...?"

"As I said, you can't beat me."

"Okay, ya've won, I've lost."

Buck stood up and started to unbutton his longjohns.

"Buck, sit down again," Chris stopped his friend. "Ezra, you've beaten him, I acknowledge that. But he can't strip completely. We're in a public place."

"I'm afraid I must insist, Mr. Larabee, that you allow Mr. Wilmington to strip off his longjohns. But for decency's sake, I will permit him to do so in private in my room."

Chris looked at the gambler. Ezra wore his usual look of affronted innocence, but there was a devilish glint in his eyes.

Ezra did not take his eyes off Buck.

"And we could raise the stakes," he offered, green cat's eyes flashing a challenge at the ladies' man.

Buck guffawed. "Ya must be mighty bored, Ezra!"

"I don't believe I'm that bored, Mr. Wilmington. But perhaps I'm not immune to your notorious charms?"

"Carefull, ya're treadin' on my turf now."

"I could beat you."

"Wanna bet?"

Buck stood up, giving the gambler a challenging smile of his own. He took up his hat, but left the rest of his clothes and made his way up the stairs.

"Ya comin'?" he called.

"Gentlemen, if you'll excuse us?" Ezra said and swiftly followed the gunslinger up the stairs.

The others stared after them.

"Buck just lost the game, he lost his underwear, he's got nothing left to wager. So what do they mean they're raising the stakes?" JD asked, confused.

"Surely you must have some ideas what people do when they're naked, son," Josiah said.

"But Buck and Ezra?!"

Chris felt aroused by the mere thought of Ezra and Buck "raising the stakes". He looked at Vin, Vin looked back at him. Then, by an unspoken agreement, both men stood up and left the saloon.

Nathan stood up, too. "I need to make a trip to the Seminole village and see Rain urgently."

"And where are they going in such a hurry?" JD cried.

Josiah groaned. "Why me, Lord?"

The End

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