Santa's Naughty Helpers

by Elizabeth Knox

  I stared after her, watching her run out and into a busy snow-dusted street. I really didn’t like the way she said, ‘not many spots left open’. I knew that I was going to regret this.

  Each year, Emma helped out in our local community by hosting Christmas activities. Last year she helped to run the Christmas markets, the year before she directed the children’s play in the local community hall. This year she had upgraded and was running a ‘Meet Santa’ event in the middle of town. It was also operating as a base to take in donated presents for children in local cancer hospitals. It was a lot of pressure but I knew that Emma would do a fantastic job. She never buckled under pressure.

  Turning back to finish my sandwich, I jumped in surprise when I saw that I was no longer alone. Sitting in her seat was now the barman that I had been gawking at. Jack. He was a manwhore, just like Emma said but he was always nice. He and I had gone to school together and I always classed him as a friend. Not a close friend but still, just a friend. He was a year older than me and a few inches taller. He always had a slight stubble on his cheeks and had dark brown hair—the same shade as mine—that was long on the sides. He always had it brushed back from his face and always found a way to make me blush.

  “Where did she go running off to?” He reached over and stole a fry off my plate, dipping it in some tomato sauce before popping it in his mouth.

  “Off to save the world somewhere.” We both laughed at my words, knowing I was probably right.

  Emma always had to be doing something. She worked over at the children’s hospital and I know how bad it must affect her to see all of those sick children but she never let it show. She always had a smile on her face and usually had a project she would be focusing on. She had been dating Jack’s friend, Paul, for a few months and they seemed to really click.

  I never thought that they would last; especially as they are complete opposites. He’s a science teacher and loved a good crime book and she is . . . Well, she’s Emma. She’s basically the adult version of Tinkerbell. Feisty, cheeky, and always seems high on pixie dust.

  Paul was usually a quiet person but he was an interesting guy. He loved science programs, especially documentaries about the stars and the galaxy. If we ever had a quiz, I usually made sure Paul was on my team.

  “So, are you going to be hanging out with us and Santa later?”

  I giggled, imagining him being around so many children. I think that it would be his idea of hell.

  “Yeah, right.” He reached over for another fry. “I’m not as gullible as the rest of you.”

  “What do you mean by that?” I asked.

  “Come on.” He laughed loudly. “You and Paul can never say no to that woman.”

  “True.” I smiled at him. “I had best be going.” I stood up and grabbed my handbag before dropping some cash on the table. “Keep the tip and maybe I’ll see you later.” I gave him a small wave and walked to the door, forcing myself not to look back.

  Looking back would just show how desperate I fucking was and obviously obsessed with the man.

  After walking home, I was equal parts regretting telling Emma that I would help out with her ‘Meet Santa’ event and nervous at the thought of whatever godforsaken outfit she had left for me.

  Unlocking the door, I chuckled when I saw that she had left cupcakes on the table for me. She could be a real sweetheart sometimes but I knew that they were just part of the bribery. It also told me that whatever outfit she had left for me was going to be bad.

  Dropping my bag at the table, I walked further into the apartment and headed toward my bedroom door. Flicking the light on, my eyes went straight to the bed where my outfit was lying there.

  Just fucking kill me now.

  No! Actually, kill her. She was so fucking dead when I get my hands on her.

  I grabbed my phone out of the pocket of my jeans and dialed her number. Unsurprisingly, it went straight to voicemail.

  “You are so dead!” I mock-threatened her. I turned back to the outfit, cringing at the green curved shoes with a bell on each end. “So dead. Next time warn me before you make me an elf!” I giggled before saying goodbye in our normal style. “Love you, bitch.”

  I tossed the phone on the bed, glaring at the outfit with way too many fucking bells one last time before I stripped out of my clothes and grabbed my towel. After waiting for the temperature to warm up, I climbed under the hot spray and began soaping my body up.

  I hated that my thoughts wandered to Jack. He was so out of my fucking league and it was pathetic how much of a crush I had on him. I still stupidly hoped that he’d come by and see us later, even if it would be to take the piss out of us.

  Shaking my head, I washed my hair and after rinsing the suds off my body, I climbed out of the shower. I wrapped a towel around myself and squeezed the excess water out of my hair before disappearing back to my bedroom.

  After plaiting my hair and adding a light coating of foundation, I begrudgingly changed into my elf costume and placed the hat on my head, chuckling as the bells jingled.

  I stood up to check my reflection in the full-length mirror on the back of my bedroom door, cringing at the sight that greeted me. I had on green boots that were curved upwards at the toes with a large bell on each of them that jingled with every step that I took. Red and white striped stockings covered my legs that led to a green dress that came to just above my knees. The petticoat of the dress was red and hung a couple of centimeters past the hem of the dress with a black belt fitted at the waist. The top part of the dress was fitted with three large green buttons that led to a red collar.

  I cocked my head to the side, chuckling when the bell jingled on the red and green elf’s hat that was on top of my head.

  I really hoped that Jack didn’t come by now. I was never going to live this down.

  Chapter Two

  Jack

  Sliding the key into the lock of my apartment door, I was looking forward to a night of doing absolutely fuck all. Pulling drinks all day and serving tables weren’t as glamorous as it was made out to be.

  Walking in, I frowned when I saw that Paul was still here. I had expected him to be gone already.

  “Hey, man!” I called into the apartment before taking my jacket off and tossing it on the back of the sofa. “I thought you’d be gone by now.”

  “I’m just going.” He walked into the lounge with a backpack on his shoulder. “I’m going to change there.”

  “Why?” I frowned at him before my eyes trailed to the backpack. “Is the outfit that bad?” I grinned at him, trying to imagine whatever torture she had planned for him.

  “No!” he quickly defended. “Maybe . . .” He chuckled before he grabbed his coat. “You going to be here when I finish?” He looked over at me. “Or are you out with one of your fan club?”

  I chuckled at his wording. “Nah. Quiet night tonight, man. Tell Emma I said hey.”

  “Will do, man.” He gave me a two-fingered salute before he opened the door. “Save me some take-out if you get one!” The door swung shut behind him and I knew that whatever outfit was waiting for him in that bag would be torture.

  “Poor fucker,” I muttered to myself.

  I walked to my bedroom and after quickly stripping, I climbed into the shower, groaning as the heat from the warm spray hit my body. I could feel the tension slowly begin to ease from my body and as I soaped myself up, my mind went to where it normally did whenever I took a shower.

  I closed my eyes, imagining Faith on her knees. The image of her kneeling on the floor of the shower cubicle, sucking me off as the water droplets trailed down over her naked skin was making me hard as fuck. I groaned and took my cock in my hand, squeezing hard before pumping myself. I rested my other hand on the tile, dropping my head as I continued imagining how wet her mouth would feel and how soft her hands would be as she fondled my balls.

  Before I could stop myself, I felt my balls began to tighten and seconds later, my orgasm hit me and I was squirting my
cum against the tiled wall.

  “Ah, fuck.” I dropped my head back against my shoulders, letting the water run down over my chest and wash the evidence away. I was so screwed when it came to that woman and she didn’t even have a fucking clue.

  I finished washing up and rinsed my body before climbing out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. I reached up and wiped the condensation off the mirror before grabbing my toothbrush. Looking at my reflection as I brushed my teeth, I realised that I’d need a shave soon. I usually had a scruff but it would slowly turn into a beard in a couple of weeks.

  Washing my mouth out, I popped the toothbrush back into the holder next to Paul’s and walked back to my bedroom. I grabbed my phone and took a look at my notifications, cringing when I saw that I had a couple of missed calls from some of the girls I had stored on my phone. I stared at them for a moment, thinking before my thoughts trailed back to my shower fantasy.

  Going to my contacts, I moved down to Faith’s number. I had gotten it when Paul had not so subtly slipped it on a piece of paper for me. He had been goading me since to grow a pair and ask her out. I hesitated over the button, nervous to call her but also not wanting to make the first move. Every time that I saw her, I would always attempt to ask her out but each time, my nerves won out and it never happened.

  She knew that I was a player and that I only kept girls around to be a fuck buddy but I didn’t have time for relationships. They always looked like such fucking hard work and being tied down to one woman was never something that I was really interested in.

  With Faith, though . . .

  Fuck, I would be interested in a bit of effort with Faith, though. I’d put in the fucking effort.

  She was fucking beautiful. She had long brown hair, pouty lips, pale skin and a body I just want to crush against my own whenever I saw her.

  She had no fucking clue how tightly she had me wound and it made me frustrated as fucking hell. She’d drop into the bar every day to pick up her lunch or to meet Emma for a cocktail and she’d always be wearing her sexy fucking office outfits. She had no idea how many times she had starred in my one-handed fantasies.

  I think that I had probably fantasized about her in every fucking position that I could imagine.

  Before I could decide, my phone began ringing and Sylvia’s name flashed across the screen.

  I shook my head and tossed the phone aside on to the mattress, not in the mood for any female drama tonight. I walked to the kitchen and uncapped a bottle of Budweiser, thinking about what food to order tonight. I hadn’t joined the boys in an Xbox gaming session in a while and I think tonight having the place to myself while Paul is out doing fuck knows what at Emma’s little event would be a good time to get one in.

  Taking a swig, I placed the bottle on top of my chest of drawers before my phone started ringing from where it was on the bed. Picking it up, I grinned when I saw Paul’s name displayed on the screen.

  “What’s up?” I asked. “She killed you yet?” I joked, not giving him a chance to respond.

  “Dude. Don’t even start,” he threatened. “You coming by?”

  “Why?” I asked. When the fuck did I ever go to one of these community events? I hated kids so there wasn’t much of a chance I’d go knowing full well it’d be overcrowded with kiddies and their parents.

  “Because I know you’ll not want to admit this but . . .” He paused for a moment before continuing. “Faith is here and she’s looking very . . .”

  “Why the fuck are you looking at Faith when you’re supposed to be in a relationship with Emma?” I snapped.

  He laughed at my outburst. “Don’t get defensive! Just thought you might want to come down and check her out in her very sexy stockings.”

  Before I could say anything, he put the phone down, hanging up on me.

  I stared down at the phone, not quite sure whether he was pulling my leg or whether my wet dream was actually in a pair of stockings at whatever event they were at together. I shook my head before grabbing a clean black t-shirt and jumper, slipping them over my head before I grabbed my jacket.

  The fucker knew that there was no way I’d be staying here when he dangled Faith in stockings in front of me.

  Chapter Three

  Faith

  “Is murder always a crime?” I muttered to myself as I looked at the number of children that were waiting outside to sit on Santa’s knee.

  “Not always,” Paul replied from behind me. I heard the bells on his shoes jingle before he stopped behind me. “Depends who it is, I guess.”

  I laughed at him before turning around to face him.

  “If I didn’t love her like a sister, she’d already have an ax in her back.”

  “Wow!” Emma said from the doorway. “I’m really feeling the love in this room.” She rolled her eyes at me before she walked toward us. She stopped to kiss Paul before she turned to face me. “Okay, first . . .” She placed her hands on my shoulders and turned me to face her. “You are an elf.” A cheeky grin appeared on her face. “So, let’s try and look happy.” She walked past me and tapped Paul on his ass.

  “Okay, elf, let’s go!” She grabbed her clipboard off the table and pasted a beaming smile on her face.

  We all turned to the doorway of Santa’s bunker and waited for Santa to join us. As we all waited for our jolly fat man to join us, I looked at Emma, wondering where the hell he was. I looked back to the doorway, relieved when Santa finally decided to join us.

  Moments later, he came through the door, fixing his beard into place.

  “I’m here! I’m here!” He grinned over at us. “So, these are my naughty elves!”

  “Some of the time,” Emma muttered. “Paul, Faith; this is Nick. Nick, this is Paul and Faith.”

  “Hi.” I smiled at him and reached forward to shake his hand, stepping back for Paul to do the same. “So, have you ever been a Santa before, Nick.”

  Nick. You couldn’t write this stuff. He was literally our very own St. Nick.

  “Only three years.” He rolled his eyes toward Emma. “Can’t ever escape this one.”

  “Ah, I see.” Paul grinned. “Did she get you to sign your contract in blood or ink?” He put his arm around Emma’s shoulders and pulled her into his side.

  “I am not that bad.” She mock punched him in the arm before she held the clipboard against her chest. “Is it my fault if you can’t say no to me?”

  I rolled my eyes at the lovesick pair before I clapped my hands together, eager to move this along.

  “Okay, then. Let’s get this party started. Where do you want us?”

  “Okay, so the presents are over here.” She led Paul and me across the room, pointing out the ton of chocolate Christmas themes selection boxes that were wrapped. “The red ones with the white bow are girly themed and the blue with the white bow is for the boys.” She turned to face us. “I figure you guys can alternate. One of you take the entrance and lead the little darling to Santa while the other monitors the exit and hands a present to parent and child when they leave.” She turned to face us, looking too much like a drill sergeant for my liking. “How does that sound?”

  “Exciting,” we both muttered at the same time before laughing at our timing.

  “Okay, then. I figure Faith can take the first hour on child duty and then you can both swap. Oh, I almost forgot. Whoever is on child duty needs to take a picture of the kid and Santa. How does that sound?” She walked away, going back to Santa, not bothering to wait on a response. She was most likely going to instruct him on what she wanted him to be doing. Besides sitting on his ass talking to the little angels waiting outside.

  Just fucking kill me now.

  I walked over to the entrance, taking a small peek outside. I reached behind me and smoothed my skirt down, not really wanting to flash Santa or any of the children when I bent down to greet the little ones. I looked across at Paul and chuckled when I saw he was on his phone talking to someone.

  He looked acros
s at me, catching me staring at him. He gave me a cheeky wink before I could look away and hung up the phone.

  “You might be getting a visitor later.” He grinned over at me before he nodded his head from side to side, making the bell on his hat jingle.

  I giggled at his actions before I watched Santa fix his hat in the right position.

  “Ready?” I asked, kind of cringing at the evening ahead.

  “Ready.” Santa Nick nodded his head at me, grinning as I pasted a cheery smile on my face and turned with Emma to greet the first child in the line.

  “Just try and enjoy yourself,” Emma muttered beneath her breath.

  “This is going to be hell,” I replied back.

  As we opened the door and saw just how many children and parents were waiting to meet Santa, I knew without a doubt that this was going to be the last event I would ever be helping her out on. Friend or not.

  After taking way too many photos on the camera, the end of the day had finally come where I could remove this stupid outfit when I got home. Every time I moved; it was followed by the sound of jingling bells. It was enough to make me detest the idea of Christmas and never want to see another child again.

  “I hate your girlfriend,” I muttered to Paul as we watched her wave at Santa Nick. “I mean, I love her but I hate her.”

  “Guys!” She squealed and came skipping back over to us. “That was so much fun.” She wrapped an arm around each of us and squeezed before letting go. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down.”

  We both looked down at her with a ‘are you fucking kidding me’ expression on our faces. Like we had a choice in helping.

  “Seriously, I owe you.” Some people were immune to dirty looks and Emma was obviously one of them.