Page 34 of The Mistletoe Trap
“Idid,” Mrs. Trombone said, and Julie swore red rolled over her irises. “You should’ve been on time if you wanted to be choosy.”
Before they ended up having to dodge fiery darts, Julie clamped on to Gavin’s wrist and tugged him toward the restrooms in the far corner. “I can’t believe our parents didn’t remember we have history with that woman.” She nudged his arm with her elbow. “Get it. History—because that’s what she taught.”
Gavin shook his head but couldn’t stifle his snort. “I think we’re gonna flunk out, same way I almost did last time I was around that woman.”
Julie clucked her tongue. “All we have to do is survive the next few hours. Seriously, how bad can it be?”
…
In life, there are certain questions that should never be asked.How bad can it bewas one of them.
It was one thing to have to dress up in an elf costume. It was another thing to look like he was auditioning for Christmas with the Chippendales.
After expelling a long breath, Gavin opened the door to the men’s bathroom and stepped out into the gym. He didn’t see Julie anywhere. He should’ve asked if she were going to meet him outside of the bathroom or back by the booth.
A quick glance at his watch showed he was one minute past the amount of time Mrs. Trombone had given them. Answer enough, he supposed. No matter how complicated Julie’s outfit was, she would’ve slipped into it in enough time. Once a teacher’s pet, always a teacher’s pet.
Damn, had the gym gotten bigger since he’d been in it last? Funny how packing it with line after line of booths made it seem larger instead of smaller. Since there was nothing else to be done, Gavin ducked his head and rushed toward the booth with the toys.
A smile spread across his face as he caught sight of Julie. Like him, she’d been given an elf costume, and like his, it was on the snug side.
The difference was that she somehow pulled it off, managing to look adorable and sexy at the same time. The green top hugged her curves and flared out to the puffiest red and green skirt he’d ever seen. If she didn’t have tights on, every time she bent over, there’d be a whole lot of skin on display.
Problem was, the red and green striped tights—as fucking ridiculous as they were—also showed off the shape of her legs. Thoughts of stripping them off flashed through his head, a dirty Christmas reel that would definitely land him on Santa’s naughty list.
Although he’d like to point out—at least in his head—that he’d been right about the whole elf siren metaphor the other night. And yet here he was, ready to perk up his ears and listen to her song anyway.
The bell on the tip of her mini pointed hat jingled as she turned, as did the pointy shoes on her feet, complete with—you guessed it—more tiny gold bells. Her gaze landed on him, and then a laugh burst out of her, confirming he looked as absurd as he felt.
“Sorry,” she said, and then she giggled again. Her attempt to cover it resulted in a snort, and Gavin wished the gym floor would open up and swallow him whole. Julie rounded the table and patted his chest. “If you think about it, you have no one to blame but yourself. These huge muscles you were bragging about last night simply can’t be contained by an ordinary elf costume.”
“Oh, so a life-sized elf on the shelf costume is ordinary, is it?”
She snickered and then worked to stifle her laughter again. “To be fair, that little stuffed dude is creepy AF, and you’re…” A smile curved her mouth, and she sunk her teeth into her plump, redder than usual lower lip. “Closer to a holiday strip-o-gram.”
“Perfect. Just fu”—at Julie’s wide eyes and the tip of her head indicating the kids currently lining up a few yards away, he quickly revised to—“freaking perfect.”
“Come on. I’ll go over Mrs. Trombone’s instructions with you.” Once they were behind the table, Julie gave him the rundown about the kids exchanging one of the tickets at the door for any toy of their choice. An entire bin of footballs sat in front of a backdrop for pictures, for any of the boys and girls who wanted a football and/or a photo, which meant there was no way his teammates weren’t going to unearth and torment him with them.
It’s for the kids.To keep from feeling too sorry for himself, he focused on that fact. They had several toy options, and Julie yanked down the signs that readGirlsandBoysover the two other bins.
“That’s total BS. No matter boy or girl, or however they identify, they can pick whatever toy they want.”
“I agree.”
“Here, here.” Julie lifted an imaginary glass, and when he didn’t reciprocate, she glared until he lifted his nonexistent drink as well.
Julie’s gaze dipped to the striped tights he’d crammed his legs into.
“At first I thought the pants were just missing, and then I realized these snug tights are the so-called pants,” he said.
“Like your spandex football pants are any different. Need some shoulder pads and a jockstrap to feel better? Get a bit of padding down there?”
He turned the glare she’d given him a moment ago right back on her.
“Think of it this way.” Julie tugged on the bottom of the ridiculous green shirt. “This is at least long enough to cover your butt, while usually when you bend down prior to the hike on the football field, your booty is on display for all to see.”
“Oh yeah.” He flicked the jingle bell on her hat. “So much better.”
