Thirty minutes later, a small miracle happened—the beautiful flurry of snow that had been falling gently in the dim sunset started to pour down. Grandma E had changed the muted TV station where she’d been playing reruns of The Big Bang Theory to the weather channel, grabbing her phone as soon as she saw the overnight forecast. She’d eyed me for a moment, shook her head, then sighed.
“You got one shot to make this right with my girl. Go pick her up, get her home safe and for God’s sake, tell her how you feel.” I didn’t need to be told again. I wouldn’t get one-on-one time like this with Belinda any other way. Well, unless I showed up at her apartment out of the blue. I had a feeling she wouldn’t appreciate that.
Belinda’s words shake me back to the present. “So where are you staying then? With your parents?” I can tell that she doesn’t want to ask me that, but curiosity gets the best of her. God, I love it when her stubborn streak wins out.
“I’m staying in Brendan’s guest room until I can find something of my own.”
She makes a rude sound before bursting with laughter. “You’re staying with my brother?”
“He’s not that bad.” I glance at her for reassurance but get only a bemused shrug.
“I can’t believe you’re staying with the Grinch for the holidays. Are there any Christmas decorations up?”
I have to think about that.
“No.”
“Ha!”
“It’ll be fine.”
“Sure,” she sarcastically agrees.
“Fuck.”
She laughs again at my plight.
“You can pull in here,” Belinda breaks through my thoughts, her finger pointing out an almost hidden visitor parking lot. I don’t want to let her go just yet. I took the long way to her apartment on purpose, driving as slow as I could without endangering anyone. How the hell did we get here so fast?
The few cars parked in the lot are buried in snow. It looks like no one has shoveled this lot in days, not just hours. I park in the closest space to the building’s entrance and reach across the console to stop Belinda. “Wait for me,” I tell her, hand gently clutching her thigh. Her eyes go to her lap and she swallows. When her gaze comes back to mine, I can see her pupils are dilated and there’s a longing in their depths.
Her tongue peeks out, wetting her bottom lip, and I watch with fascination. I want those plush lips on mine, I want to know her taste and discover the sounds she makes when I devour her. Just not right now. I still have to earn her trust back.
“Wait for me to come around,” I repeat. The harsh cold hits me as soon as I climb from the SUV and my dick calms down. I’ve been hard since the moment I laid eyes on her. Rushing around, I open Belinda’s door and help her down. The snow goes past her ankles and she laugh-cries when chunks of it fall into her boot.
“Ahh! Damn, I really wore the wrong boots today—” She’s up in my arms before she finishes her sentence. “What are you doing?” she gasps.
“Your boots aren’t made for actual weather. I’m making sure you don’t break your neck.” I reach in for her backpack, twisting a strap around my arm before locking the doors.
Her green eyes are big in wonder as I start walking us to the lobby entrance. She doesn’t relax in my arms, but she does lean closer, seeking my heat.
“Keys, babe,” I tell her as we get closer to the door. Reaching for the backpack, she opens a pouch on the side and takes out a small key ring. Balancing her in one arm, I use the other to take the keys from her and swipe the pass over the security scanner. The doors click open.
“We’re inside now. You can put me down.”
“I don’t really want to,” I tell her honestly. Slowly, she tilts her head toward me, taking me in with a look that I can’t read. When we get to the elevator, she slips from my arms, but stays close. Tonight isn’t about what I want. I need to show her that I’m back for her.
We ride the elevator in silence. I can see her sneaking peeks of me out of the corner of my eye. When we get to her front door, I unlock it, but don’t move to open it. Instead I turn back to her, placing the keys in her hand and stare into her large confused eyes.
I don’t know what to say to her. Telling her the truth tonight doesn’t feel right, but I can’t leave her with nothing.
“I’m sorry, Bee,” comes out before I’ve thought everything through.
Her head bobs up and she looks up at me through her lashes. Her voice is barely a whisper when she responds. “For what?”
Placing a hand under her chin, needing that small connection, I take a step forward. The nylon of our jackets rub together as our bodies meet. “For not reaching out after I left. For leaving.” My lips quirk up in a self-deprecating smirk. “For not being as brave as you. That all changes now.”
I close the remaining space, my hands framing her beautiful face. Slowly, ever so slowly, I lean down and kiss her cheek, catching the corner of her mouth too. A tiny sigh leaves her lips. Then without another word, I hold open her front door and watch her safely walk inside. Not leaving until I hear the lock click and the thump of her backpack hitting the ground.
That went a lot better than I had hoped.
Now I just had to pull a Santa—and make her believe in me.
Express Your Elf
Belinda
“Absolutely not. No way.”
“Please, Belinda. We can’t find anyone else to fill in on such short notice.”
“You realize what you’re asking, don’t you?”
My brother tries to fight his smile but fails. Oh, he knows what he’s asking of me. Or more like guilting me into. The bastard is taking advantage of my good nature and over-the-top holiday spirit.
“I know, Bee. But think of the kids. They’ll be so let down if there are no elves to help Santa.”
I scrunch up my face. I crack an egg more aggressively than planned on the edge of the electric mixer. I really don’t want to help my brother today. The idea of having to put on…oh God, I can’t even think the words, they make my skin crawl. If it was anyone else asking me for this huge favor, saying no would be so easy. With Brendan, it’s almost impossible. He’s one of the best people I know, the best brother, and it’s very rare he asks anything of me. So, it would be cruel of me to say no to a simple request. Even if it means putting on the guise of my greatest enemy: the elf.
I love Christmas more than is probably reasonable. I have more festive, ugly and light-up sweaters than all of my family and friends combined. I literally have one for every day of December. As soon as Thanksgiving is over, it’s time for tinsel town—that’s what I call my apartment this time of year.
I enjoy everything Christmas embodies…except the elves. Those sons of a fruitcake can go straight to hell. Being called a little “elf nerd” every day for four years in high school because of my small size and pronunciation of my last name—Effnert—didn’t help me develop any fondness for them. I fully recognize that my hatred of elves is stupid. A childish hatred that any normal person would have grown out of. Yet, here I am, a grown woman starting to get cold sweats just thinking about putting on pointy ears.