Page 32 of Not Another Christmas Movie

“Who me?” Annie said, batting her eyelashes up at Chris. “Oh my, is that a candy cane in your pocket?” Annie asked him, curious if he would pick up the sexual innuendo she was laying on as thickly as possible.

“It is!” Chris beamed, handing her a wrapped candy cane. “Would you like it?”

“Would I like to have a lick of your candy cane …?” Annie asked, taking a finger to tap her lip like she was deep in thought, again overdoing it to the point of absurdity. Chris looked confused.

“I’m not sure, would you?” Chris asked. “Oh, you silly goose, you have a basket of your own!” Chris said, gesturing to the basket of candy canes.

“Yes, but I think I would much prefer to have your candy cane inside my basket,” Annie told him, slowly emphasizing each word.

“Okay!” Chris said obliviously as he gently tossed the candy cane into her basket. Annie sighed, unsure which tactic to try next.

Nick had now been placed in the center of the rink, and Bailey was skating around his chair as a line of children formed outside the enclosure. A speaker in the corner of the rink turned on, playing a wordless, familiar-sounding holiday song Annie couldn’t place. She guessed it was another one of those off-brand, made-up songs made-for-TV movies used so they didn’t have to get the rights to the actual popular stuff. Annie and Chris made their way to the entrance of the rink, escorting kids to Nick, Annie’s mind in desperate need of redirection. She could not think about how she had almost mauled Nick in the ice rink’s shed. She needed to charm Chris.

Thankfully, the time passed in an easy haze of slow skating, candy cane sharing, and general holiday merriment. When the last child, a patient Holly, had whispered her Christmas list into Nick’s ear, Chris took his daughter’s hand to enjoy the free skate portion of the event and opened the gate for the town’s skating community to join them. Annie set off over to Nick, where Bailey was fawning over him and fixing his beard.

“Sister Elf!” Noelle bellowed from the entrance, beckoning Bailey over with broad arm motions.

“Is she okay?” Annie asked.

“I’ll check!” Bailey chirped. “Be back soon, Santa!” And with that, Bailey completed one of her signature twirls and sped off to Noelle. Annie turned to look at Noelle, who gestured at her to help Nick up and do a few laps around. It was an impressive amount of information she was able to convey with only her eyes and some rather theatrical movements.

“How you doin’, Santa baby? Did you have a nice time away from the North Pole?” Annie asked sweetly.

“I did. The kids all asked for, like, the cutest stuff, like snow on Christmas morning or for their families to all be together.”

“What did Holly ask for?” Annie asked.

“A new mother and a new wife for her dad,” Nick said with a grimace.

“No!” Annie gasped. “We have to get out of here so that none of that can be real and Holly can return to the made-for-TV bubble of oblivion,” Annie said, shaking her head. “Alright, then, can I give you a hand, old man?”

“Sure,” Nick said, standing and holding on to Annie. “Let’s give these costumes a few more moments, shall we?” He offered an arm to Annie so she could link hers through it, and once joined, they skated in sync. They slowly passed a few townspeople until Annie spotted the gentleman she had seen earlier at the inn. The one who was apparently on security detail. Annie squinted at his frame, again finding something familiar in his stance she couldn’t quite put her finger on. He kept his dark glasses on, so it was hard to discern specific details of his face, but even at their distance, Annie still questioned if he was wearing an ill-fitting bald cap.

“Hey, there’s that security guy from the inn. Does he look familiar to you?” Annie asked, trying to get a better look. She wasn’t looking where she was skating and ended up colliding with Chris. Annie dropped Nick’s arm as her hands went up protectively, running into Chris’s broad chest and causing her right skate to catch. Before she could fall, though, Chris had caught her in midair.

“Funny meeting you here,” Chris said suavely.

“Chris!” Annie said, trying to right herself. “I’m sorry! Thank you for saving me … again,” Annie breathed out, flushed from the close call.

“Are you okay?” Chris asked, revealing a small dimple on his cheek that Annie had never noticed before. “Do you need to sit down?”

“I can take you, Annie, if you need,” Nick said with a look of concern.

“No, no, I’m fine,” Annie said.

“Then could I interest you in a skate around the rink together?” Chris asked shyly, and Annie nodded, giving Nick a victorious smile, her sights set on winning that iced coffee. Nick gave her a hesitant thumbs-up before jumping back into his Santa character, skating away with a series of loud “ho ho hos.”

Annie allowed herself to be pulled in close, taking in the scent of pine wafting from Chris, even in his elf costume. Their linked arms didn’t charge her with lust, but it was indeed comforting. A pleasant place to catch her breath. She tried not to question why she had wanted to kiss Nick earlier when the whole point of her being here was to kiss Chris. Wasn’t he the rightful answer to this movie puzzle?

“Have I mentioned that you make a lovely Mrs. Claus?” Chris asked Annie.

“You did, but happy to hear it again,” Annie smiled at him. “Who knew you’d make such a cute elf?”

“Well, I have been playing the part for years,” Chris said proudly.

“Of course,” Annie conceded.

“I know your fashion job in the big city is so important, but I sure am glad the snowstorm gave us a chance to enjoy some small-town holiday fun. You know, before you have to head back to the big city for your fashion job,” Chris said.