“Oh. Something came up, and we had to cancel.” I hadn’t told my roomie about my change in plans. She wasn’t around anyway, so it’s not like it mattered. Plus, I was too embarrassed to fill her in on my mom’s recent issues.
“Well, damn. I’ve been looking forward to those bourbon balls you made last year.” Fitzy lifted her glass. “Nothing like mixing one of my favorite spirits with one of my favorite things.”
Booze and balls. That was Fitzy. No matter what kind of mood I arrived in, I always left feeling better when we hung out together. “Maybe I’ll stay home and bake by myself instead of going to the party.”
Fitzy shook a long, slender finger at me. “That’s what he expects you to do. Be brave. Shake it up. Show up in a sexy elf costume with a hot Santa on your arm.”
“I think that’s your style, not mine. Now, are we going to order Thai and play canasta, or should I go home and reorganize my sock drawer?”
“Someone’s in a hurry to get her ass kicked.” Fitzy got up to head back inside. “I already ordered the food. It should be here in ten. As for canasta, you shuffle while I mix us another drink. I picked up some wild-caught tuna for Mr. Mittens, too.”
I might not have a man I loved or a job I liked, but at least I had Fitzy. Though I wished things could be different, that had to be enough for now.
2
KELLAN
“Merry Christmas.” I nodded to a couple leaving the condo complex and stuck out my foot to stop the gate before it closed. This place was a lot nicer than I expected based on the pictures my brother’s new girlfriend showed me on her phone. I had the keycard she’d given me in one of my pockets, but I didn’t want to take the time to find it. Not when I couldn’t wait to strip off the Santa suit I’d been wearing for the past several hours.
It was nice of her to let me crash at her place while I was in town this weekend. I would have been fine in a hotel, but she said it was silly for me to pay for a room when her condo would be sitting there empty. Anything that would save me a couple hundred bucks was fine with me. I’d been laid off right before Thanksgiving and had been trying to find a new job. The holidays were a horrible time to job search, so I’d taken a part-time gig as a rent-a-Santa.
I followed the directions she’d given me around the covered pool to the other side of the courtyard. When I got to unit A6, I patted down the front pockets of the Santa suit to locate the card. The door opened, and I hauled my duffel inside.
All I wanted was a shower and a bed, preferably in that order. It had been a long day. First the drive on my motorcycle from Broken Bend to Bourbon, then I’d had to play Santa for a bunch of seniors at a local assisted living center. Sounded like an easy gig when I’d booked it, but I had no idea some of those women could get so handsy. Their offers to unwrap my package and fondle Santa’s sack still rang in my ears.
I wouldn’t have to worry about that kind of response when I showed up at the kids’ holiday party tomorrow. My brother and I had been taking turns volunteering as Santa at their annual event for the past eight years. Both of us looked forward to it all year long. This would be the first time I had to show up solo though, since he had to stay in Broken Bend for some big meeting.
His girlfriend said her room was the first doorway on the left, so I kicked off my black motorcycle boots and headed toward the hall. The room had a King-sized bed, and though I wasn’t thrilled with the monochromatic pink color scheme, it would work for a few nights. I dug through my bag to pull out a pair of clean boxers and ducked into the bathroom.
Half my apartment could have fit in the huge space. An enormous walk-in shower took up the entire back wall, and multiple shower heads stuck out at various angles. So this was how the other half lived.
I found an oversized fluffy towel in the linen closet and turned on the water. While I waited for it to heat up, I tugged off my itchy white beard. Steam filled the bathroom, and I leaned toward the mirror to wipe it away with the sleeve of my fuzzy red jacket.
As the mirror cleared, a reflection caught my attention. A woman wearing a red and white nightgown lifted something over her head. I turned. My cock took notice of the way the nighty clung to her curves, while my brain tried to figure out who she was and what the hell she was doing. I was about to ask her when something cracked over the back of my head.
Then everything went black.
3
BLAKELY
Idialed my bestie’s cell with shaky hands. It was the middle of the night, but I didn’t know what else to do. Gloria would come up with a plan. The phone rang so long I was sure it would go to voicemail, but then she picked up.
“Blakely, it’s two in the morning.” Gloria groaned, her voice groggy.
“I think I just killed Santa Claus.” My heart pounded faster and harder than the little drummer boy on speed while I waited for her to say something.
“What?”
“I was going to call the cops, but I don’t want to get arrested for murder. Is it murder if you kill someone who broke into your house?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Somebody broke in. I woke up and heard something coming from your bathroom.”
“Oh, shit. Does he have dark hair and a beard?” Gloria asked. The fact that she didn’t sound freaked out made me freak out even more.
“I wasn’t exactly checking him out.”