Chapter 8
Campbell
One of my favorite things about living up here, at least temporarily, was taking Snowdrop for her morning walks and heading up to the bakery.
Living alone in the middle of nowhere meant that if I was going to have baked goods, I needed to make them.
And not only was I a mediocre baker, but once I baked something, that was what I ate all week. No variety whatsoever.
But here, with a bakery within walking distance, I could have a cupcake one day, a cookie the next, a brownie after that, and on and on.
The possibilities were endless, especially when it came to the cookies.
This place knew how to do a cookie. There were varieties I’d never even heard of, and I’d yet to find one I didn’t love.
Today, when I was waiting in line at the bakery for a slice of their triple-layer confetti cake, there were a lot more people than normal ahead of me. I didn’t mind. I wasn’t in a rush.
Nick had left me a pretty cushy job, which was really no job at all, not until it came time for delivering. And when that time came, well, it was going to be a major job. I was confident enough that I could handle it. But as we got closer and closer, that confidence waned slightly.
At first, I thought more people had woken up craving sweets or maybe they had a special cookie of the day that was well-loved or something like that.
But I soon realized that the cause of the slowdown was a Christmas movie they had all seen the night before.
It was directed by an elf in the human world, an elf incognito, obviously, and it sounded like Christmas threw up all over the television screen.
It was romance and sticky sweetness. Romance that went on and on and on about the date the two went on. And then something surprising happened… I started wanting to go on one of those too. Not just a random date with a random person—no. I saw it clear as day. I wanted to go out with Willy.
Sure, we worked together, but this wasn’t my real job. There was no true power dynamic that could make it ewww. And really, we were adults, so that shouldn’t matter anyway.
We hadn’t exactly gotten off on the right foot as far as a possible romance went. The first time I met him, I was playing with dildos in his boss’s office. Then he caught me breaking into the factory, where I chatted him up about cum-flavored lube, and ending with a blow job.
No, romance hadn’t been part of any of that.
If I was going to do this, I had to play my cards right.
The odds were too great that he was going to hear my invitation and think I was being overly flirtatious again…
or teasing, a reputation I had built around myself in the short time I’d been here.
Past Campbell had really messed up my chances of dating the sexy elf.
I needed to be clever about this. So when I ran into him at the factory, I decided to play it off like we had a meeting. I didn’t out-and-out lie, but I’d hardly been clear. And because it was in front of others, I hoped he’d simply agree. And he had.
That was how I found myself on my way to pick him up in a rented sleigh, with Snowdrop sitting beside me, the fear that I’d messed things up beyond repair starting to seep in. I had a whole itinerary planned. The only question was whether he would accept me when I showed up or not.
“Now be good, Snowdrop. We want to have a good time with elf Willy.”
I had the sleigh stop in front of Willy’s building and got out with Snowdrop in tow.
A quick Google search had told me that sleigh rides were peak romance.
Snowdrop didn’t pay me any mind, instead looking up at the doorknob, waiting for it to turn.
When Willie opened the door, he was casually dressed, his hair still slightly damp.
He didn’t look like he was going to work, and I took that as a plus.
“I hope you haven’t eaten yet.”
“I thought we were having a meeting.” Willy was always keeping me on my toes. These were definitely not work clothes, but also, meetings weren’t factory work, so maybe I’d misread the room… again. “Come in.”
At least it wasn’t a full-on rejection.
He stepped out of my way and squatted down to get some Snowdrop kisses. Who would have thought I’d be jealous of a dog?
“I couldn’t just ask you out with Chester there, being all… Chester?” The more I got to know Chester, the less I liked him. I couldn’t quite place what it was, but something felt off about him.
“So this is a date?” he clarified.
“I hope so.”
He stared at me, and I braced myself for rejection. Please don’t let him be rejecting me.
“Fine. I’ll go, but just so you know… I’m not one of those people who thinks dates are dinner out so that we can have an excuse to fuck.”
That was oddly specific. Had others treated him that way?
“Message received.”
He visibly relaxed. Yeah, I was missing some context there, and the longer I lingered on that thought, the worse my imagination got.
“Why don’t you dry your hair, and then we can leave. Don’t need you catching a cold.”
“Yes, Daddy,” he said as he walked into his bathroom.
First sir, now Daddy. He needed to cut it out, because I couldn’t handle these nicknames.
He came out a few minutes later, coat, mittens, hat, and scarf on. He was ready.
“Let’s go.”
“Do you mind if Snowdrop comes along for at least the first part?” If he wanted a dog-free night, I’d bring them home.
“No, Snowdrop’s fabulous. I’d love them to come.”
When I first found my furry companion, I’d hoped I was wrong about them being abandoned.
That the silly pup had just gotten away from somebody and I’d be able to reunite them quickly.
But so far, no one has recognized my sweetie at all, and I’d tried all the avenues I could think of.
Now my hope was that no one claimed them so they could be my partner in crime from here on out.
Willie and I took the long way via the sleigh ride. It was fun, but cold. I was happy when we reached our destination.
We walked hand in hand toward a Christmas-ornament festival.
From the sound of things, this place was always having a festival, and today’s was all about the tree ornament.
There were trees from around the world, all decorated with the kinds of ornaments people there might have.
There were also make-and-take stations and places where you could buy from other elves, as well as craftsmen selling their own ornaments, and of course, food.
“This is really neat. I had to work last year during the festival,” he said.
He slowly circled a tree that was covered with all natural ornaments, from berries to nuts to apples. “I love the simplicity of this one, it somehow makes it… I don’t know… more meaningful.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way. You’re right.” I placed my hand on his lower back.
I wanted to soak all of this date in. I’d never seen a display like this before. It was spectacular.
When we reached the end of the first row, there were some food truck, cocoa, cookies, and tacos of all things.
“Want something to eat?” I offered. I’d take him to a restaurant or cook for him if he preferred, but there was something magical about festival food, especially at the North Pole.
“I wouldn’t turn down a cookie and cocoa. If I weren’t wearing mittens, those tacos really smell good, but I think I’ll pass on those for now.”
It was all I could do not to offer to feed him the tacos so he could leave his mittens on. I was lucky enough that he hadn’t freaked out over the way I invited him to come out with me. Being pushy, no matter the intent, wasn’t going to work.
The hot chocolate was made with real chocolate shavings, and they toasted the marshmallows right in the cup.
It was the best cocoa I’d ever had, which was saying a lot, since I’d gone to every single place that had cocoa in the North Pole village.
I didn’t get here often, but when I did, I made the most of it, and the cocoa was a must-have.
We sat down in front of a fire pit, eating our cookies and chatting about the different ornaments we’d seen. Snowdrop curled up at my feet and started to go to sleep.
“Somebody’s tired.” Wille eyed Snowdrop, a sweet smile on his face.
“It’s not me,” I said, leaning into his side, “but yeah, someone is.”
“Should we take her back to your place and let her get cozy and warm?”
“Is that all you want to do there?”
“I guess we’ll see.”
That was good enough for me.