So her dream had been . . . Real?

She swiped at her eyes, rubbing them briefly before double-taking. It was definitely Noel. The man she had created out of snow, who had somehow came to life, and then ravished her twice in bed last night. He was still wearing the clothes she'd given him, although he'd somehow acquired a pair of boots and a coat since she'd last saw him. And he was just as handsome as she remembered.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, curiosity consuming her.

"I tried to visit Santa," he replied. Holy Jingle Bells, he was loud. Holly looked around reception, cringing as she noticed several colleagues looking over. She pulled him outside, away from nosy ears.

"What are you talking about?" She demanded.

"We didn't know what my purpose was, remember? What I was here to achieve? So when I woke up this morning, something inside me told me I needed to go to Santa and find out. We have work to do, Holly. Important work!"

"And I have actual work to do," Holly retorted impatiently. "You can't just walk into my office and disrupt my life like this."

"We need to get out of here," Noel said, not paying attention to a word she said. "We've no time to lose!"

"Holly?" Ben was suddenly beside them. "What's going on?" He shoved his hands in his pockets, eyeing Noel suspiciously. "This is your brother?"

"This is . . . Noel." Holly sighed. Best not to get bogged down in too many details, especially when Ben was involved.

"Are you Holly's boss?" Noel asked Ben. Holly snorted.

"He wishes."

Noel clearly wasn't listening. "Holly has a family emergency," he announced. He obviously wasn't going to go away quietly.

Ben's brow creased. "If you need to pop away for a while, I can cover for you," he told her, much to her surprise. "There are no managers in today anyway, so no one will notice you're gone."

It was Holly's turn to be suspicious. "What's in it for you?" She asked, eyes narrowing.

"Just trying to be nice," Ben shrugged. "Maybe you can do the same for me some time."

"Okay," Holly nodded. She really had no choice but to trust him on this. "I'll just grab my stuff," she told Noel. She realised belatedly as she threw her coat on and grabbed her bag that she'd left Noel and Ben alone together. That caused her to rush even more. God knows what Noel might say in her absence!

When she came back, though, they seemed to be talking about football. Typical.

"Let's go," she told Noel, grabbing his arm. It was very muscly, she couldn't help but notice. Even through the layers of clothing. "Thanks, Ben," she added, slightly reluctantly. She didn't especially care for the idea of owing him a favour . . . But it was the only way to get Noel away from the premises.

"Holly?" Ben called as she walked away. She turned, noticing he seemed uncomfortable. "Do you think you'll still be coming to the party?"

"She will," Noel assured him. "I'll make sure of it."

Ben nodded. He appeared . . . Relieved? That was weird. "Cool. I'll see you later then." And he walked back inside.

"He seems like a good guy," Noel commented. Holly laughed scornfully.

"Appearances can be deceiving. Now, tell me what is so urgent. You said you went to see Santa?"

"No, I said I tried to see Santa," he corrected her. "Unfortunately, a grown man standing in a line at a Santa's grotto without any kids isn't exactly well received. And . . . the shopping centre security guard may have already been a little mad at me."

"And why would that be?" Holly prompted him, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, I didn't realise I needed to pay for my coat and shoes when I took them out of Marks & Spencers," he confessed. "So they were already after me at that point."

Oh great . . . So Mr Frosty was now a shoplifter too!

"How on earth are we going to get to Santa then?" Holly sighed. "It'll look weird if I go and stand in the queue too, you know! And it's not like I can just go and borrow my nephew again."

"Let's just get to the shopping centre, and then we can hopefully think of a plan," Noel said optimistically. 

They were still clueless about what to do next when they reached their destination, but thankfully, fate was on their side that day. Because Santa had just left the building.

"He must be on his lunch break!" Noel exclaimed. "Let's get him." They rushed across the snowy car park to find Santa unlocking a . . . Vauxhall Astra? Well, that was disappointing. Where was the sleigh? Where were the reindeer?

"Oh, Holly!" Santa's face lit up in recognition. He didn't seem in the least bit surprised to see her. He squinted in Noel's direction. "And is that you, Noel? How are you both?"

"Santa, cut the crap." Holly had no time for pleasantries. "We know you've carried out some sort of voodoo or magic or . . . whatever. And we need to know why."

Santa grinned. "I was hoping you'd come back to see me." He popped open the boot of the car and rummaged around in it. "I have another little gift for you. Here you go!" And he passed her what appeared to be a small remote control.

"What is this?" She stared down at the object in her hand, confused. "Is this an Amazon Firestick? I already have one of those."

"Think of it as more of a Holly Sprigg-stick. You never know. You just might find something useful on it." He started to get into his car. "Now I need to be off - they're doing cheese melt dippers at McDonalds, and they're a festive limited edition. I need to get to the drive-thru and back before the end of my break." And he pulled away in a hurry before they could ask any more questions.

"Fuck." Holly muttered. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Use the remote thing, I guess?" Noel shrugged.

"How is it even going to work?" Holly looked at the object again. "A normal firestick comes with a little box you plug into your TV. What use is just a remote?"

"I guess we'll just have to go back to your house and find out." Noel tugged at her free hand. "Uh-oh - there's the security guard that chased me earlier. Run!"

And, with the shouts of the guard echoing behind them, they tore off down the street, trying desperately not to slide in the snow.

I really am just making this up as I go along and I'm worried that shows . . . The things we do for Christmas! 🤣 

Anyway, I hope you're still enjoying the story. Read, share, comment . . . And be merry!