Santa Loves Curvy Girls

10. Nick

10

NICK

T he next time I saw Belle, I had a proposal for her.

It was for a good cause, but also, I’d get to spend more time with her.

If she was agreeable.

“You know Santa’s Elves off of Elm?” I asked.

We’d completed another Saturday of photos and listening to lots and lots of Christmas wishes. Which meant I was all geared up in my suit. These days, it felt like I spent a lot of time in this suit.

Belle nodded. She was still in her elf suit. “Yeah. My mom is good friends with Ms. Merriweather.”

“Well,” I began. I almost let it slip that I volunteered there a lot. “What do you think about baking some cookies for the families in need this year?”

Her eyes lit up. “I could put your gift to good use!”

I smiled. Also a big pro, aside from hanging out with her again. “Exactly.”

“Aw,” she said. “What a sweet idea. It would make me really happy knowing that my cookies might bring some smiles to kids who had a tough year.”

I wished I could’ve told her about how I volunteered there every week, invited her to come along even.

Maybe someday.

Today, I’d settle for a couple of hours with her.

We met at Santa’s Elves the next day. We were both off work, but since I couldn’t let her see who I really was, I was stuck in my suit again.

Santa’s Elves was officially closed, but I knew where Ms. Merriweather hid the spare key to the back door.

I dug it out from under an inconspicuous rock near the dumpster.

Belle didn’t look so sure. She was holding on to a large wagon full of baking supplies and the machine I’d gifted her. “Are you sure this is okay?”

I opened the door and held it open. “I’m sure.”

Between my belly and her wagon, it turned into a bit of an ordeal to get us and the wagon through the doorway. I shifted, trying to make room, but ended up chest to chest with her.

My breathing sped as I realized just how close we were, catching the scent of her perfume and seeing her cheeks flush as she looked up at me. I swallowed hard and moved to the side, getting through the door so she could follow.

The door finally closed behind us. It was nice and toasty inside, but nothing compared to the heat spreading in my chest.

Belle laughed breathily. “Are you sure you don’t want to change out of that costume into something more suitable for cooking?”

I shook my head. “Wish I could, but no. You know how sacred this job is.”

“I do,” she replied.

We made our way to the kitchen. Luckily, this place had one and I wouldn’t need to show up at Belle’s house like this. Talk about an awkward conversation with her parents.

It also had a storeroom with all kinds of stuff, donations mostly. We passed it on the way to the kitchen.

“Right in here,” I said, leading the way.

Belle got to work, preheating the giant oven and setting out all her ingredients.

“You really make these from scratch?” I asked.

She almost looked offended. “Would there be any other way?”

I rubbed my hands together. “Will you show me your secret recipe?”

She grinned. “Maybe. If I can trust you with it, that is.”

I feigned an offended gasp. “If you can trust me? I’m Santa Claus. If you can’t trust me, who can you trust?”

She laughed and kept measuring flour.

Whenever she asked me to hand her stuff, I obliged. This was clearly her zone of genius, and it only made me like her even more.

When she was busy sifting flour and pouring chocolate chips, I couldn’t help but notice how soft her hair looked and think about bringing my lips to hers.

Not that that would even be possible with this giant beard I was wearing.

Next thing I knew, there was flour on my face. “Hey!” I cried out.

Belle was laughing. “Earth to Santa, Earth to Santa.”

Oh man, had she caught me daydreaming?

I grabbed some flour and threw it at her.

She screamed, trying to dodge it, but it covered her hair.

“Hey, now you look like Mrs. Claus,” I joked.

“You’re the worst!” she said, but she was smiling as she tossed some back at me.

Pretty soon, we were both covered.

I looked down at my suit. “I doubt I can just throw this thing in the wash when I get home.”

She patted my shoulder hard, trying to brush the flour away. “Dry clean only, I bet.”

My hand came up and touched her hair.

I think we both realized at the same time just how close we were.

Her eyes locked on mine.

I knew what I wanted to do next.

I wondered if she wanted the same thing.

I glanced down at her lips, rosy and full as ever.

Then the oven timer went off, and we both jumped. A second later, we were laughing. She hung onto my arm for a moment before going over to the oven.

It wasn’t long before we had a huge batch of cookies cooling on the counters.

Belle sat on one of the stools, and I sat on another one a couple feet away. “This was a lot of fun.”

I gave her a small smile from behind my beard. “I had a blast.”

We both glanced around. “It’s gonna suck to clean all of this up, though,” I added.

There was flour everywhere.

“I’ll wipe everything down if you take mopping duty,” she said.

“Deal,” I replied.

Neither of us got up.

She looked as worn out as me.

“In two more minutes,” I said.

Our reward for the hour it took to get the kitchen back to spic and span was getting to sample the cooled treats. We had a mix of perfectly shaped sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies on the cooling rack.

Belle took a bite of her cookie. I noticed she could hardly stop admiring all of them. “I think these are the best cookies I’ve ever made. They look perfect.”

They sure did.

I finished my sugar cookie. “You really do make the best cookies. You’ve got real talent, Belle.”

She blushed a little but didn’t look away. “Thank you.”

The way she said it made me think that no one ever told her that. Well, I’d never let her forget it.