Page 37 of Single Girl Rules: HoHoHo

Ash came sprinting in a second later and totally wiped out onthe wet footprints I’d left. But it didn’t phase her. She just popped right up.

“You heard him? You heard Santa?!”

“No.”

“Oh.” Her face fell. “Then why’d you…”

“I didn’t hear him. But I saw him.” My heart was racing sofast. I turned my phone so she could see the evidence.

Her jaw dropped. She was frozen for a good ten seconds.

I poked her arm to see if she was still alive.

She blinked and came back to life. “Where do you think he wasgoing? Do you think he was leaving? Or on his way here? Wait! The cookie plate!”

We both turned and I shined my phone light on the cookie plate.Theemptycookie plate. All that was left were a few crumbs on the plateand some milk residue in the glass.

“We missed him,” said Ash. She sounded completely devastated.

“But did we? I mean…this feels like proof that he exists.”

“Of coursehe exists. But I wanted to see him up closeand personal.”

“Ooooh. I get it. You wanna fuck Santa.”

“No!” she said way too defensively. Her face turned as red asthe stripes on my bikini. “I just wanna see him. And maybe say hi.”

“Mhm. Suuuuure.”

“I do!” She shoved my arm. “Damn it.” Now she looked angry thatwe’d missed him. “I knew we should have left more cookies. If we’d given him tendozen he’d probably still be here eating them.”

“I’m sorry, Ash,” I said. “I really thought a baker’s dozenwas the right amount.” I pulled her into a hug.

“Why is your boob vibrating?” she asked.

“That must be Slavanka.” I pulled my phone out of my bikinitop and looked down at the text.

Slavanka: Code9 again! Santa on ski lift.

Ash ran to the window and threw open the curtains.

“There!” she said, pointing at the ski lift halfway up themountain. There was indeed a man on it dressed head to toe in red and white. Hehad one arm over what looked like a big bag of presents.

We took one look at each other, and that was all that wasnecessary to communicate the plan: Get to the ski lift immediately!

We sprinted out of the suite and to the elevators, not evenbothering to put on any boots.

“Come on,” said Ash as she jammed the down button. “Come on! We’regonna miss him!”

“I think we better take the stairs.”

Ash nodded and we both made a run for it. If there was a speedrecord for going down stairs, I feel like we may have broken it. Because we gotto the ski lift in less than a minute. We piled onto a lift and Slavanka jumpedon too just as it was leaving the building.

Automatic glass doors slid open as the ski lift took us outinto the blizzard. The thought that we might actually catch Santa had so muchadrenaline pumping through my body that I barely felt the chill of the windwhipping against my wet, dangling feet.

Ash craned her neck and looked up the mountain ahead of us. Ihad to grab her arm to make sure she didn’t fall off.

“I don’t see him,” she said. “Wait! No! There he is.”

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