Page 9 of Santa Crush
Sarah opened her eyes with a sigh.She didn't have to turn over to know the bed beside her would be empty.
Again.
It was the third morning she'd woken alone.
Oh, she knew Asha slept beside her at some point each night—not that they'd gone to bed at the same time—and except for the first night he hadn't disturbed her at whatever hour he returned to their room.
He was avoiding her.She knew it.He probably knew she knew it too.And she was okay with that, because they'd spent all day yesterday together from eight until six dressed in their costumes honoring their commitment of being Santa and elf for the children aboard this Christmas cruise.
She grinned.
She never expected to have fun doing the whole elf thing but the kids—hell, even the adults—who'd stopped by to take their picture with Santa and tell him their Christmas wishes had been a hoot.
The group of friends on board for one of the couples wedding—at sea of all places—had spent a good hour making both her and Santa laugh with their outrageous pose requests and silly wishes.
Today would be more about the kids on board as the cruise director had organized a decoration making session with a few of the crew dressed as elves to turn their corner of the ship into Santa's workshop.From what Sarah understood, she and Asha would be wandering around and helping out before going back to taking pictures.
It sounded fun and she was looking forward to it.She planned to make her own decoration to take home for her tree.Now she wished the tree she normally put up at home wasn't still in its storage box along with the decorations she'd collected over the years.
There hadn't seemed to be a point in putting it up when she wasn't going to be home Christmas Day.
Although she had decorated the shit out of her little house on the outside.She'd even set the outside lights up with a timer so they would still light up her end of the street while she was away.
Tossing back the covers, she threw her legs off the side of the bed and stood.The stretch of her back when she raised her arms above her head felt good, smooth, nothing like the jerky movements of the first morning.
Her back had been a stiff and sore but to counter the effects of sleeping in a different bed that was much harder than her own, she'd upped her daily yoga session from one to two.
So far, the extra hour had helped more than physically.She'd be lying if she said sharing a room with Asha hadn't affected her emotionally.Taking the time to center herself with extra yoga meditation had cleared her mind enough for her to make it through these first few days.
But after today the wall she erected to keep thoughts of Asha and herself as a couple away would come down.
She'd give him tonight, after that she was pushing.If nothing else, the last few days had given her clarity about her own feelings toward her boss.
She wasn't one to put herself out there often, but she knew if she didn't push him—push them—they'd live in the frustrating attraction limbo they were in for another few years, if not forever.She was done with the unresolved tension.
It was time to stop dancing around their chemistry and either do something about it or walk away.
Sarah had a feeling walking away wasn't an option for her unless she left Winter Lake.And she wasn't ready to do that.Not before making her feelings known to Asha.
But that was for later, right now she needed to get into her costume and make her way to grab breakfast before heading to ChillZone which held the ship's ice rink and the small corner the cruise liner had dressed up to look like a miniature Santa's village.The center of which held Santa's chair along with a big red sack someone filled with prettily wrapped gifts to hand out to each child.
She laughed thinking about the groom-to-be who had insisted on also being given a gift from Santa.They'd been the final group to seek them out yesterday and she'd only looked at their pictures through the small screen on the back of the camera but even at that size Sarah knew the groups pictures were good.
The bride had asked her if she would photograph their wedding on December thirty-first.Apparently, the ceremony would take place at sunset up on the Sun Deck.Sarah had to explain she wasn't a real photographer and while she'd be happy to take pictures the cruise's professional photographer was probably a better choice to capture their special moment.
Her denial had been taken well, in fact it had gotten her an invite to the wedding, and Sarah wasn't one to pass up the opportunity to see something she would more than likely never get the chance to see again so she'd accepted.
A wink for the bride and a nod of her head toward Santa with the words you can bring a date had made her laugh.Telling the woman she'd be there, date or not, she'd made a note in her phone to pick up a gift for the bride and groom in one of the ports between now and New Year's Eve.
Glancing at the time she made a squeak and dove for the bathroom.
She was going to be late or worse, have to skip breakfast, if she didn't get moving.Luckily, she'd showered before bed last night, so she only had to slip her elf suit on and throw a t-shirt and sweatpants over the top of it to be ready.
Ten minutes late Sarah stood in front of the buffet, empty plate in hand, trying to decide what to eat.You could never go wrong with bacon and the omelet she'd had the first morning had been delicious.Maybe she should get both.
Or baconinher omelet with a few slices on the side.
If she couldn't indulge on holiday, when could she?
