“Will you call Abigail Winters at the North Georgia Orphanage and see if she can email you the list of stuff that the kids want?” He walked towards the door.
“That’s all? Just a
phone call?” I tilted my head suspiciously.
“No, you also have to meet me after work and help shop for the gifts.” He grinned and left the kitchen without giving me a chance to respond.
“Orphanage? Gifts? What was he talking about?” Holly raised her eyebrows inquisitively.
I told Holly about the orphans and how much of an impact they had on my brother. It looked like her heart melted on the spot. As strange as it was, the thought of going to the orphanage on Christmas morning and handing out gifts actually warmed my heart as well. I had never been very charitable—maybe the suit was wearing off on me too. It led me to Holly and she was certainly better than any gift I could have ever imagined. I wasn’t ready to fully believe in Christmas miracles quite yet, but I felt an attraction to Holly that went further than what we shared the night before. I had never felt that kind of connection with anyone before. Something inside me was changing, and I wasn’t just thinking about the next girl I could get into my bed. I was trying to figure out how to keep Holly there—but that was crazy. Even if we stayed through Christmas, we still had to go back to school.
“Wow, you guys take this whole Santa thing to another level.” Holly looked down at the kitchen counter after filling her second cup of coffee.
“What do you mean?” I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
“You even have your mail addressed to Mr. Christmas?” She chuckled and picked up one of the catalogs that had been casually discarded there.
“Oh.” I pursed my lip and grimaced. “No, that’s not part of the act.”
“Wait—your last name is Christmas?” She sat down and I saw a shocked expression spread across her face. “Oh my god, I lost my virginity to two guys and I didn’t even know their last name!”
“We make a point of not telling anyone what our last name is.” I shook my head and sighed.
“That’s funny.” She started to laugh. “Like, is that a family name or was it changed at some point because your grandfather was playing Santa Claus?”
“No, that’s always been our name—as far as I know. I’ve never done the genealogy myself, but my Dad told us that at some point in our family tree, someone was born on Christmas day and that’s how they got the name.” I shrugged and sighed. “It’s haunted us ever since.”
“I don’t know. It’s kind of cute.” Holly grinned and chuckled under her breath.
Holly made a few jokes about my last name and I suffered through them. I had heard it all before. It wasn’t as comical as she made it sound, but I wasn’t going to deprive her of a few laughs at my expense. Zach finished getting ready and couldn’t resist her lips one last time before leaving to play Santa Claus for the day. I was glad that he was going to handle the suit, but I felt a little guilty about it. It wasn’t what we originally agreed on, even if he did seem to be more excited about the role than when we started. After he left, Holly and I talked for a little while longer before I made the call to the orphanage. Ms. Winters was overjoyed to hear our proposal and promised to send the list over in a couple of hours. They had a few sponsors that were going to make sure the kids had something to open, but most of them weren’t going to get what they wanted. We were definitely going to give them a Christmas they never forgot.
“Would you mind if I went with you today when you do the shopping for the orphans?” Holly tilted her head to the side. “I don’t really have anyone to shop for. It might be fun.”
“You spend a lot of time in the mall for someone who doesn’t have anyone to shop for.” I chuckled under my breath.
“Well, you saw what I picked up the day we met.” Her face twisted into a slight grimace. “I wasn’t shopping for other people every time I went.”
“I thought you said that was a gift for your Dirty Santa party.” I chuckled again. “Did you lie to Santa Claus?”
“I guess you can add another check next to my name on the naughty list.” She giggled and bit down on her bottom lip.
“That’s why you blew me off the other night? You went home and used a vibrator when you could have had the real thing?” I leaned back and grinned.
“Another check…” She shrugged.
“I see.” I unfolded my arms and nodded. “You’re definitely getting a stocking filled with switches this year.”
“Are you going to deliver them personally?” She tilted her head to the side.
“You’re damn right.” I chuckled and started to stand. “But you’re not going to have to wait until Christmas morning to find out what happens to naughty girls.”
“What are you going to do to me?” She lifted her head as I walked around the table.
“Good girls get to sit on Santa’s knee. Naughty girls go across it with their panties around their ankles.” I reached out and grabbed her wrist.
“Well, that might be a problem.” She giggled and stood up from her chair. “I couldn’t find my panties this morning.”
“Even better.” I grinned and pulled her towards the bedroom.