BILLIE
Two yearslater
My sexy elfcostume is way too tight.
I’m of the opinion that the words ‘sexy’ and ‘elf’ shouldn’t ever be put together, but it was either that or ‘sexy reindeer.’ Which, for some reason that I can’t put my finger on, would be even worse.
I tug at the ribbons on the bodice of the green velvet dress I’m wearing, trying to disguise the ridiculous amount of cleavage. It’s cut with a short, flared skirt and paired with striped green and white stockings, black high-heeled shoes with silver buckles and a completely ridiculous pointed hat.
I’ve taken on some temporary Christmas work to try to supplement my meager income as a photographer. I worked at the counter at Hewitt’s Department Store last year, but this gig was better paid. So I’ve been an assistant at the FaLaLa event space for nearly the whole of December. As Christmas madness strikes, there’s a different party here every night.
Dressing up as an elf feels like the final straw. I wish I was in front of the television, downing some spiked eggnog and watchingScrooged. I’m feeling very Scrooge right now. I just need the ghosts of Christmas to show up and give me a hard time to make my humiliation complete. Mom, Dad and my brothers went to visit relatives in northern Canada and they’ve had to cancel their flights back because of bad weather. They don’t know if they’ll make it back before Christmas Day, so I’m facing the prospect of a very lonely holiday.
As I come out of the back room, trying to slink along the wall until I can lurk behind the bar, a ringing voice shatters my thoughts.
“Billie! Your costume is…tight.” Darius is standing in front of me with a smile on his face.
“No shit, Sherlock.” I walk behind the bar, tugging the hat down over my hair.
“Well, mine is too loose.” He tugs at the belly of his Santa outfit. He’s right. Darius weighs maybe a hundred-fifty pounds soaking wet and his costume is an XXXL.
“I hate these costumes, Dare. What kind of sadist would make us wear them?” I pour myself a lemonade.
“Either one of the clients or it’s the new management. Some relative of the boss is filling in, now Wyatt’s on vacation.” Darius is already tapping away on his iPad. He’s a technical genius and a sweet guy, but not entirely of this earth. Wyatt jokes that Darius could make it to Mars faster than Elon Musk, given a quarter of Elon’s budget.
I like Wyatt. He’s a family man who’s lived here in Snowflake Falls all his life, bringing new business into the area with this space. It’s created a bunch of jobs and he keeps coming up with new plans for expanding it all the time. His latest idea is an escape room, which is right up Darius’ street. It’s Christmas-themed and the highlight of almost all the company parties we have booked in until the New Year.
Three more days to Christmas.
I can’t wait until I have some time off. I want to drown my sorrows with some eggnog and wallow for too long in a hot bath. I’m also itching to take some photos around town. Snowflake is beautiful right now, with fresh falls of snow nearly every day. I snapped the twinkle light reflecting off the windows of the Candy Cabin last night, but I want to get some daytime shots in too. My Instagram account is looking sadly bare for this time of year.
Darius herds the company party guests into the bar area. They descend on the bar and I have to concentrate to get everyone’s order’s in. An older guy makes a fuss because we don’t have a special brand of tonic water, but I manage to placate him.
“Good work!” A deep voice says.
I look up and my elf hat falls off my head. A tall, extremely gorgeous man is standing there smiling at me. He reaches down and retrieves the hat from the bar.
“Are you here for some niche tonic water, too?” I wink at him.
What am I doing? I’ve completely sworn off men and already I’m flirting with some handsome stranger. He’s like a cliché, almost. Dark hair, twinkly eyes, a cute sideways grin, coupled with understated but well-cut clothes. I don’t know if elves have fairy godmothers, but if we do, mine has magicked up a mighty fine specimen who ticks all my boxes.
He shakes his head. “I’ll have a club soda, if you don’t mind.”
I get his drink, trying not to burst out of the bodice while I reach up for the soda. His eyes are a light hazel color, hard to look away from. Broad shoulders, strong thighs. My mouth starts watering. He’s just my type.
“I’ll give you a tip for the escape room.” I lean over.
He smiles at me and his eyes crinkle at the corners. It’s devastatingly sexy. “What’s that? I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”
“It’s Billie. And my tip is, don’t be upset if you can’t get out of there. Darius, our tech guy, keeps making them too hard. If you have an IQ of 300, then you should be fine. Otherwise…”
His grin gets wider. “I’ll bear that in mind. What’s it like working here?”
“Good. Today sucks, because I’m dressed like this. But usually it’s more low-key. I’m not the biggest fan of Christmas, contrary to appearances. What about you?”
“Love Christmas. The cheesier the better. Lights, food, Santa…bring it on! Snowflake Falls does it right as far as I’m concerned.”
I wipe the counter in slow strokes, trying to look down at what I’m doing rather than gawking at him. “Yep. Everyone here goes totally nuts when December starts. Well, it’s open season the day after Thanksgiving, really.”
