Nick
I look down at the red suit lined with white fur in disgust. I can't believe I'm wearing this shit, but a job is a job, and they're scarce enough to come by for felons like me. I'm lucky as hell I was even hired to do this considering my felony status and how I'll be in close contact with kids.
Not that I was locked up for anything so heinous as harming children. My blood boils at just the thought of the type of scum that would do something like that.
No, I did time for protecting my dumb ass idiot of a brother. Him and all his hare-brained ideas of get-rich-quick-schemes. The ungrateful little brat hasn't even had the decency to show his face to me since I got locked up—much less since I've gotten out, and for good reason.
He knows I owe him an ass beating for the past two years I spent in prison for a crime he committed—not me. I swooped in to save the day and talk some sense into his fool head and got caught in the crossfire—as in I'm the one who took the fall for everything when the cops showed up and the shit hit the fan.
Sure, I could have saved my ass and ratted my brother out, but if there's one thing I learned from growing up in the Bronx, it's that you don't rat on anyone, especially family. Even if you got pegged for some shit you were innocent of, you kept your goddamned mouth shut.
It was a code I’ve been proud to live by all my life, and I still don't regret not breaking it. I might have lost two years of my life, but I still have my honor.
That doesn't mean I'm not holding one hell of a grudge, though.
And I suspect my little bro knows that if his continual absence and the fact that I haven't been able to locate him are any indication.
He's been living his life free and clear knowing damn well I've been sitting a jail cell that had his name on it.
Now, I'm the one branded a felon, scraping by to make ends meet, ostracized from society.
It probably doesn't help that I'm a big motherfucker. I was big before I went into the pen, towering over most other men at six-foot-five, but now I'm bulky and rippling with muscles too. There really isn't shit else to do in the pen other than exercise, and I had to do something to keep myself from going crazy.
I put the itchy ass white, curly beard on and slap the damn Santa cap on my head, but that's as far as I'm going. I'm not stuffing this suit with stuffing to try to make myself look like some overweight, jolly fucker who eats too many cookies.
The man who hired me looks like he's about to protest when I fling the stuffing to the side, but one look at my glare and he wisely decides to keep his mouth shut.
"Your assistant should be here any minute," he says as he glances down at his watch with a frown.
I just nod, completely disinterested. I'd known there was going to have to be someone to play Santa's helper. I just wish she would show up so we can get this show on the road and I can get this day over with and cash my paycheck before I move on to the next gig.
I don't know why, but in my mind, I assumed it would be some middle-aged woman dressed up as an elf for this effort, some kindly woman who loved children and maybe was down on her luck and scraping by to make ends meet herself.
That's why when this bubbly, young bombshell comes rushing into the mall and over to where Dave, the hiring manager, and I are standing, I'm frozen still with shock.
Tall for a girl, her golden skin almost seems to glow with purity under the natural sunlight that's flooding in through the domed skylight of the mall. Her platinum blonde hair is long and stick straight, coming down to rest right down below her slender waist.
I swallow as my eyes sweep hungrily over the rest of her. She's wearing little red tights that leave nothing to the imagination and a short green elvish dress that shows off her subtle curves. A little elf hat is cocked prettily on the top of her head.
But what has my heart suddenly hammering too loudly in my head are the big green eyes that she turns up to me as she rushes over. They're green as emeralds and just as sparkling. She beams up at me, a full, perfect, white smile. "Hey, Santa! Sorry to keep you waiting. Ugh, I got stuck in traffic," she's a flurry of activity, talking animatedly while she gestures with her hands and smiles enthusiastically at Dave.
I feel a rush of completely insane jealousy rise up within me when she turns those eyes and that smile onto the other man. I only want her looking at me that way. A growl bubbles up in my throat. I'm confused and irritated by my reaction to this girl who doesn't look a day over eighteen. Fuck, she looks like she should be in line to sit on my knee and tell me what she wants for Christmas. You can bet your ass I'd do anything within my power to give it to her too. She might be dressed up like an elf, but she looks more like an angel sent down from heaven.
I feel my cock stiffen within my pants at that thought and take a deep breath to try to calm myself. For fuck's sake.
My eyes zone in on her ruby red lips that are glistening with gloss. They remind me of ripe cherries, and I just know if I tasted them, that's exactly what the fuck she would taste like.
"How old are you?" I bark at her, my voice coming out much more roughly than I intend it to.
Her eyes flick back up to me as a little furrow forms in her brow. "Um, twenty-one, but why does that matter to you, Santa?" she answers me sassily with a little toss of her head before she counters back at me. "How old are you?"
I'm only twenty-eight, but I don't tell her that. I can't believe I'm only seven years older than her. I swear to God, the girl doesn't even look legal, but for some reason, I'm immensely relieved that she is.
"My name's Nick," I tell her. "Not fucking Santa." I can't stop the scowl that takes over my face. I meet the most beautiful creature I've ever laid eyes on and here I am wearing this ridiculous fucking Santa costume. I'm fuming with frustration and feel like an idiot.
A wide grin breaks over her face. "Really? Your name is really Nick, and you're playing Santa? Oh, this is priceless. Let me guess. Nick is short for Nicholas?"
I scowl at her. I realize she's making fun of me, but I'm so enamored by her smile, I don't even really give a shit. I'll let her laugh at me all day if it means I get to see that beautiful smile and that twinkle in her eyes.