‘Too many people,’ said Vicky.
Blythe peered inside to see a number of men in various states of undress and some worried-looking caterers putting things in the oven. ‘Let’s get the men out of there. They can finish getting dressed in the office, then we need to brief them. How many of them know the routine?’
‘Just two but they can learn it before people arrive.’
‘Problem?’ asked Sam behind her.
She spun around and came very close to his chest. He had a lemony, just-showered smell to him and she had to drag her eyes up to his face. ‘There was meant to be a sort of dance routine in between courses, nothing fancy. Just a bit of fun but only two people know it.’
‘Oh, come on. I’ve dressed up. You didn’t say anything about prancing about.’
She feared he was going to bolt. ‘It’s fine. You don’t have to dance. But let me show you the two dances on TikTok and then if you want to sit out you can.’
‘Sit out? Like a maiden aunt?’
‘Your words not mine,’ she said, getting out her phone.
‘Send me the links,’ he said, opening the TikTok app on his phone.
‘You’re on TikTok?’ Blythe was surprised and it probably showed on her face.
‘I am. I don’t post much. Film clips showing sets we’ve been involved with mainly. People love that sort of thing.’
The kitchen door opened and five topless men paraded out, followed by Vicky who had a bigger grin than the Grinch.
‘We’ve not got enough Santas to have one per table,’ said Blythe, grabbing Vicky by the arm and stopping her following the men into the office.
‘Can’t they double up?’
‘With eight per table? It’d mean people waiting for their food.’ Blythe closed her eyes so she could think.
‘If you and I waited a table each and roped in two more people that would work. Although I’d definitely rather have one of them serving my meal than you. No offence,’ said Vicky.
‘But we could switch tables so each table has at least one course served by a Santa.’
‘There you go,’ said Vicky. ‘We just need two more servers.’
With twenty minutes to go, Blythe managed to persuade Greg and Arthur to make up the numbers.
She popped her head around the office door to see ten Santas of varying degrees of sexiness gyrating to ‘Here Comes Santa Claus’. Sam glared at her but Owen beamed in her direction. ‘I think we’ve nailed it,’ he said, wiggling his pelvis. She nodded her agreement and exited swiftly.
As ladies started to arrive, Christmas Carol took their coats and they were directed to the seating plan by Vicky. A particularly rowdy bunch came through the doors and in the middle of the excitable women were Phyllis and Arthur, who was sporting a wide grin and an apron emblazoned with a naked man apart from a strategically placed Santa hat.
‘I know I’m not what they ordered but I thought this was fun,’ he said.
‘It’s perfect, Arthur.’ And Blythe ushered him through to the office. ‘Thanks for coming. It’s all hands on deck,’ said Blythe.
‘Ooh, which one’s Dec?’ asked Phyllis, eyeing the Santas and rubbing her hands together with glee.
32
11thDecember
Vicky had been looking forward to a fun evening of being waited on by sexy Santas but found she actually quite enjoyed the slightly manic dashing about as the catering staff directed them all out with the starters and instructions for who had special dietary requirements. She couldn’t get over Owen. It had been a long time since she’d seen so much of him but the sight of him topless had brought all sorts of memories rushing back – most of them X-rated. He looked gorgeous in that innocent cheeky way he had. Every time she looked over at him he was watching her and he beamed that smile of his that made her insides melt. On one occasion she’d almost tipped a plate into someone’s lap because she was watching Owen rather than what she was doing. With the starters delivered she’d only been a couple of minutes late sitting down to her meal, and the chatter on her table was hilarious.
A lot of the ladies hadn’t experienced anything like it and some clearly hadn’t been out for quite some time. The wine was flowing and the food was so delicious Vicky felt a little sad as she ate her last mouthful. From the back of the hall the music started, a whoop went up from the tables and people hurriedly finished their starters. The Santas, led by Seb and Fraser, strutted down either side of the hall to ‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland’ and the women began to clap. When it got to ‘Here Comes Santa Claus’ the crowd went wild. Arthur followed the others down and gave the crowd a flash of what was underneath his apron – which was his cardigan and brown corduroy trousers – but it still elicited a scream from the hyper audience.
The Santas lined up with Seb and Fraser at the front and they ran through the TikTok routine but there was only one person Vicky was watching – Owen. He was loving every minute of it and it reminded her of how much fun they used to have. She wondered when that had changed.
