Page 23 of Santa Loves Curvy Girls

He glanced around. “Is that why we’re so busy?”

I looked at the long line. “Probably.” Then I turned my gaze on him again. “You’ve got the best job too, sitting down all day. You know how many four-year-olds I’ve chased down today? I mean, what are their parents giving them before coming here? A whole gallon of hot chocolate?”

Santa laughed. “Actually, you’re probably not far off.”

There were holiday treats galore at the mall this time of year.

“You know,” Santa went on, “you’re welcome to sit on my lap if you want.” His blue eyes sparkled mischievously as he patted his thigh.

I immediately felt my face turn hot, and I nudged him playfully. “I don’t think Mrs. Claus would appreciate that,” I joked. “It would really get the rumors going at the North Pole, and we can’t have that.”

“Well, you know where to find me should you change your mind,” he teased.

We got going again, and I went back to corralling crazy kids.

As I did, I couldn’t help but think about what would happen once the Christmas season was over. Just a couple more days, and then I’d be out of this elf costume for good and so would Santa.

What would happen then? Would we be over too?

13

NICK

Iwas just crazy about Belle. I couldn’t get enough time with her.

So, after our shift, as we cleaned up for the day, I asked her out again.

I was counting down the days until I could get out of this Santa suit. I didn’t know exactly what would happen with us, but I knew I wanted her to see and be with the real me.

Even if I was nervous about her finding out who I really was. Could that be a dealbreaker for her? We’d never run in the same circles before at school. And for some reason, it was always a big deal if jocks didn’t go out with cheerleaders, like it was this unwritten rule that we were only supposed to date within our own circle.

I had no idea who had made up that rule, but I didn’t want to follow it.

I pushed that out of my mind. For now, I just wanted to focus on Belle.

“So, what do you say?” I asked her. The mall was almost empty. “Come to the movies with me?”

She angled her head a bit as she swept around my chair. “Are you sure?”

I didn’t miss a beat, helping move things out of the way. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

She stopped and took in my suit. “Well, you have to stay in your suit, right?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “Is that okay?” I wondered if it bothered her. It would definitely put us in the spotlight if we didn’t find a way around it.

“It doesn’t bother me,” she said, going back to sweeping. “I was just wondering if it bothered you, having to be in it all the time.”

I shrugged. “It’s part of the job. No one can know who I am.”

I held the dustpan for her as she finished up.

She gave me a small smile. “Okay,” she said finally. “I’ll go to the movies with you.” She turned to leave, but then spun around to face me again. “It has to be a Christmas movie, though.”

I grinned. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Instead of going through the main part of town, we took the long way so we could avoid most of the foot traffic.

We also walked quickly because it was colder than ever. And windy. My hat almost blew off, but I grabbed it in time.

---