Blitz Page 2

  “We can’t possibly drive to Florida and back, with any stops for fun, before Sunday night.”

  “No, but we can fly.”

  “Fly?”

  “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of flying.”

  “No, I just…You own a plane?”

  “Not yet,” Blitzen winked. “But eventually, maybe. No, I…I thought maybe we could fly this way. Stand back a bit and don’t faint on me. Keep an open mind.”

  Sarah stepped back a bit and waited. She felt the first crackle in the air like a shiver along her skin. Then she was staring at a beautiful, if enormous, reindeer. A tall, massively antlered, grunting reindeer. “Good God,” Sarah whispered. She looked around frantically, noting that Blitzen was nowhere to be seen. Where had he gone? Sighing, Sarah turned and started to walk home. A few steps in and she noticed that the reindeer followed her. When it continued to do so, she huffed out a breath of frustration. Turning on her heel she eyed the hairy beast. “Shoo,” she said, waving her hands in front of her. “Go away.”

  After another moment, she gritted her teeth. “Keep an open mind indeed. I’m going to give that Blitzen a piece of my mind when I see him again.”

  She turned back toward her house and stalked off. She stormed the rest of the way to her home, ignoring the animal who seemed hell bent on following her. When she reached her porch, she turned around. “You listen,” she ground out between her teeth. “You can’t simply follow me inside. You’re an animal. Go on now.” She turned around and unlocked her house. When she turned back, Blitzen was standing in the exact spot the reindeer had been. And he was very, very naked.

  “Jesus!” Sarah said, dropping her keys. “Where’d you…how’d you- “

  “My alter ego,” Blitzen grinned. “I’m sorry to have startled you. I just…I’ve never told anyone about my ability before, at least not someone outside my family and close circle of friends.”

  “You mean you…you’re a reindeer?”

  “In part,” Blitzen said, his hands still trying to hide the obvious fact that he was naked. “Only for my job, though. Sort of. It’s a little complicated and best told in a place where me being naked isn’t against the law.”

  “Oh,” Sarah blushed. “I…come in. I’ll find you something to put on.”

  ***

  Blitzen felt much more himself after Sarah found a baggy set of sweats for him to put on. Although on him it looked more like a set of warm-ups. “Want a drink?”

  “Sure. You got any beer?”

  “Bud Light.”

  “That works,” Blitzen said. He followed Sarah to the kitchen, taking note of the tidy way she kept her small home. “Do you own or rent?”

  “I own,” Sarah smiled. “This was my great-grandparents home. It passed down to me when my grandmother passed away. My parents didn’t want to taxes or the burden, so it became mine.”

  “Lots of sentiment here.”

  “There is,” she agreed with a smile. “I assume there must be some sentiment about your…ability.”

  “Some,” he chuckled. “But not in the same way. As far as I know I’m the only one in my family to have this sort of gift, we’ll call it. My mother tolerates it in stride and my father ignores it. My siblings, I have two brothers and two sisters, all older, seem to think that it was my way of showing off.”

  “A reindeer, seriously?” Sarah grinned.

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  “Well, they’ve never thought I was particularly bright and each of them is successful in their own right, so…maybe it was my way of saying Here I am, see what I can do?”

  “I’m the oldest in my family so I can’t judge you fairly. I think all people born first, last or middle understand each other in a way their siblings won’t.”

  “I can absolutely agree with you on that,” Blitzen grinned. “So, wanna take a ride?”

  “Not it if means you’ll be standing naked on my porch again.”

  “I can grab some clothes, for you to hold onto, from my place first.”

  “Am I going to stink when we’re done?”

  “Not that I know of,” Blitzen said. “But you can always toss a blanket across my back for an extra barrier, if you want.”

  “Fine,” Sarah mumbled. “But don’t expect me to like it.”

  “Okay,” Blitzen shrugged.

  Chapter Three: Risky Rides

  Half an hour later, Sarah found herself tossing an old blanket over the back of the reindeer who’d followed her home. How odd was it that she had a sort of makeshift pet in the man she was hanging out with? Neither of them had broached the subject of how often they were actually seeing each other, nor were they admitting to having a deeper attraction than simple friendship.

  “Alright cowboy,” Sarah said. She used a stool to manage climbing onto Blitzen’s back and then she straightened herself out. When his big, furry head turned to check if she was set, Sarah made herself touch his muzzle, amazed at how soft it was.

  He took her slowly down the steps of her home and into the street. Then he gave three large leaps before he was in the air, his body working to get a little higher with each pull of his legs. As for Sarah, she managed to grip his antlers like a lifeline before she fell off. Her legs clamped around his middle, making him grunt and cough, if reindeer could even do that. In a matter of minutes Sarah estimated that they were at least a thousand feet off the ground. “God, I thought you were kidding.”

  An hour later they touched down outside the last exit they’d see before crossing into the Arctic. Sarah slid off Blitzen’s back and with her list in hand, headed for the gas station. “I’m crazy,” she whispered to herself. “I’ve gone completely insane. I’m buying food and drink for a reindeer who can be a man at the drop of a hat.”

  Several deep breaths later, Sarah returned to the thicket where Blitzen had lain down. “Here,” she said, opening a bag of lettuce. “It was all they had.”

  Blitzen ate the small meal and nudged Sarah with his nose when she sat, staring at him. “I can change, if you need me to,” he said when he quickly became a man. “But there’s no way I can get where we need to go if you can’t do this.”

  “I just…” Sarah sighed and stuffed a potato chip in her mouth. “I feel like I’m dreaming and frankly the dream is a little lacking.”

  “Lacking?”

  “I just…usually I am a connoisseur of romance. Usually by now there’s been some sort of obvious interest.”

  “Oh,” Blitzen grinned, squatting down close to her. “So, you’re thinking that if this is a dream, I should be fawning all over you?”

  “No, I- “

  Sarah hadn’t really given thought to where she was going with this relationship, such as it was. But she’d imagined kissing Blitzen a time or two and nothing she’d dreamt up could hold a candle to the man who was slowly devouring her. His mouth was soft and warm and oh so damn kissable! She remembered that at least, the fact that this man had the most kissable mouth she’d ever seen. An ache she’d had for too long began to pulse inside her, spreading warmth and need, until she was almost throbbing with yearning. “Is that something like what you had in mind?”

  “Uh-huh,” Sarah said, her eyes still blurry when she finally opened them.

  “Good,” Blitzen smiled. “Then hop on babe, because we’ve got some traveling to do if we’re going to make your dream come true.”

  A minute later, Sarah was hopping back on Blitzen’s back, her body newly aware of the almost electric charge that was now as evident as breathing.

  ***

  Blitzen was berating himself nearly the rest of the way to the North Pole. He’d wanted a friend, hadn’t he? Even knowing of his attraction, he’d been easygoing and kind, considerate of the fact that neither of them were wanting something serious. They’d made that plain, hadn’t they? Then she’d gone and said something about dreams and romance and he hadn’t stopped himself from kissing her. Naturally he could shake that off. What he couldn’t shake off was the
way she’d responded, the way she’d all but given herself to him.

  Now, normally that sort of woman was less than attractive, as she was needy to say the least. Sarah wasn’t though. She was grounded, smart, sexy as hell and so much fun. Did she even know that? Had anyone bothered to show her just what she had to offer? Determined to be the one to show Sarah just how wonderful she was, Blitzen touched down just as the sun came around the top of the Arctic Circle.

  “Give me time to get some stuff together and then we’ll be headed for Florida!” Blitzen shouted against the bitter wind as he pushed the button for the elevator that’d take him home.

  “So, this is where you live?”

  “Most of the year,” Blitzen said, not refusing when Sarah put the blanket around him. “I live and work here, which makes it nice, because I don’t often have to pay for things like rent or a mortgage on a house I’m never going to be at. I have colleagues who also live and work here, but I’m finding, recently, that some of my closest friends are starting to think of life outside our jobs and living locations. My best friend, Donner, is building a home in Canada so that his wife can run a flower shop and rent out the apartment on top.”

  “So, what is it you do?”

  “I’m a reindeer,” Blitzen said, unsuccessfully evading her question.

  “I noticed,” Sarah smiled. “How do you make money?”

  “I work as a reindeer most of the time. Of course, Christmas is my busiest time as I help Kris Kringle and his wife, Amelia. But I also moonlight as a living prop for mall Santa’s around the world.”

  “Kris Kringle, huh? As I recall from my childhood, Santa’s name or one of them, was Kris Kringle…”

  “You’d be right,” Blitzen said with a wink. “He’s also called Old Saint Nick, The Jolly Old Fat Man, the fat guy in the red suit, and my personal favorite; Santa. With the latest health fads, we skip any name with “fat” in them now, but most of the time, when I’m talking to him, I just call him Kris.”

  “You’re saying you work for Santa?”

  “That I do,” Blitzen said. “I’m harnessed right behind Rudolph and right next to Donner. We were the lead reindeer, once upon a time. But ever since Rudolph’s damn nose began to glow he’s been the lead. It’s like sitting behind a damn red light for twenty-four hours.”

  Sarah hadn’t heard much after Blitzen had said he worked for Santa. The whole thought was so preposterous. Of course, being a woman who loved good fiction, she was certainly willing to indulge the fantastical story, but the fact that Blitzen had actually brought her to the Arctic Circle was a little unnerving. “Come on,” he said, grabbing her hand. “Or else I’m going to freeze a very important part of my anatomy off.”

  Sarah couldn’t move, literally. She was almost frozen in place at the scene before her. Aside from the fact that all the little cottages, and the massive factory seemed to sparkle, the mere fact that they were there and that people were milling about in the street, floored her. How could this be?

  “Where are we?”

  “The North Pole, Santa’s playground, sort of.”

  “This is pretty elaborate,” Sarah said. “Who did all of this?”

  “Kris and Amelia, as far as I know. I’m pretty sure he’s immortal, or at the very least, he lives exceptionally longer than the average human. Given that Amelia is his wife, I would assume she also lives longer than your average human, although I’ve never asked them.”

  “Can I meet them?” Sarah asked, hoping Blitzen wouldn’t see just how ridiculous she thought this whole ruse was. Still, it was the furthest any man had gone to impress her, so she supposed she had to give him points for the effort. Otherwise she’d just be creeped out by it.

  “Sure,” Blitzen said. Then he turned those pretty brown eyes on her, his brow scowling in concentration. “You don’t believe me.”

  “What?” Sarah said innocently.

  “You think all of this is some sort of crazy attempt to get in your pants.”

  “Well you have to admit that it’s a little elaborate, to say the least.”

  “A little… “Blitzen growled. “You honestly think, after all you’ve seen me do, that I’d make up some fake Santa’s village or some shit, just to sleep with you? Hate to break it to you, babe, but you’re not that important.”

  ***

  Now it was Sarah’s turn to be offended and she dug deep to find it. Turning on her heel, she promptly sat down in the snow. “I’ll be waiting right here when you’re ready to take me home.”

  “Fine by me,” Blitzen said, before Sarah watched him walk off to his cabin.

  After a few minutes, just about the time Sarah’s bottom started to feel the wet cold of melting snow under her, she heard the distinct sound of sleigh bells. “I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been sitting here for a spell. Would you care for some hot cocoa?”

  Sarah looked up into the kindest face she’d ever seen and found herself smiling. “That sounds great,” she replied. “I’m Sarah Stevens.”

  “Amelia Kringle,” the older woman said, handing her a warm chocolate chip cookie when she sat down on the sleigh.

  “Seriously?” Sarah scoffed. “So, Blitzen went all out, huh?”

  “Blitzen?” Amelia said.

  “You’re going to act as if you don’t know him?”

  “Oh, no,” Amelia replied. “I know him well, have for more than a decade now. I just don’t understand your meaning.”

  “Blitzen told me, when we came here, that this was Santa’s playground. Except everyone with half a brain knows that Santa isn’t real.”

  “Of course, he isn’t,” Amelia smiled. “And my husband doesn’t prefer the moniker to tell you the truth.”

  “But- “

  “But sometimes,” Amelia smiled patiently, “You learn in life that things you think aren’t true, really are. You also learn that truths you would once swear by aren’t anything but very pretty and awfully convincing lies. Though that’s a tale for another time.”

  “So, you’re Amelia Kringle, wife to Kris Kringle, aka, Santa Claus?”

  “Actually, yes. I can also go by Mrs. Claus, Mrs. K. and Mrs. St. Nick legally, all around the world.”

  ***

  Sarah laughed out loud. She couldn’t fathom a more odd and ridiculous conversation and yet, somewhere inside her was a little girl jumping up and down that Santa was real and the North Pole was the most enchanting place she’d ever been. “Have you ever thought of opening a hotel up here?”

  “No,” Amelia laughed. “Only a privileged few get to know that this place even exists. We aren’t into advertising this place to the world you know. Kris would never be able to get presents around the world on Christmas Eve if that were the case. Not to mention people would always be looking for some sort of gift.

  “No, the magic of Christmas is something that should be savored and shared just a little bit every day, until that wonderful time of year that it comes around again. It’s always been my favorite time of year, even before I met Kris. And being on the other side, I can tell you that it still is. Now, however, instead of getting presents, I get to give them and that is such a tremendous blessing. I love nothing more than watching children and adults frolic in the joys of the holiday season and this year is all the more special because you’ve joined our family.”

  “What?”

  “Well aren’t you and Blitzen, together?”

  “Not that way,” Sarah blushed. “And that’s not really what I’m looking for. I…We’re just friends.”

  “Oh,” Amelia said with a smile. “Well everyone needs friends and Blitz is one of the best you could have in my personal opinion. Regardless of what you find for yourself here, or out there…Remember to treasure the gifts. I find it makes dealing with all the negative in the world so much easier if you do.”

  “I will,” Sarah promised.

  “Now, let’s go make amends and get some more hot cocoa and cookies.”

  “I’m going to be a
whale if I keep that up.”

  “Non-sense,” Amelia laughed.

  “Oh,” Sarah squealed. “I forgot to ask, are these reindeer like Blitzen?”

  “They are,” the woman smiled. “They’re Comet and Cupid. Both of whom found love in a most unique and magical way-when they weren’t expecting it.”

  ***

  Sarah wasn’t sure if Amelia’s last speech was for her, but either way she needed to find a way home. Sighing, she headed for the cottage she’d seen Blitzen go into. Taking a deep breath for courage, she raised her hand and knocked.

  “Come in!” she heard Blitzen call. She turned the handle and was almost immediately assaulted by warmth, but not just in temperature. She felt a welcome presence that she’d never experienced, even in her own parent’s house.

  She found Blitzen in the kitchen, mixing a dollop of whiskey into his coffee. When he turned, she saw a man in a low-cut pair of jeans, shirtless and straight from the cover of Men’s Health. “I…I thought you might know a way for me to get home.”

  “If that’s what you want, I just need time to finish this and get dressed.”

  Sarah shook her head, even as she berated herself inside. “You can sit down and have some coffee if you want, before we head out. I’ll try to have you back home by nightfall.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  Blitzen nodded and putting his cup in the sink, headed upstairs. Sarah heard the shower turn on, before she grabbed a cup from the cupboard and made herself a cup of coffee. She sat back down, sipping possibly the best coffee she’d ever tasted. Blitzen must go all out for this stuff, Sarah thought, just as a knock came to the door.

  “Hello,” Sarah said, when Mrs. K. stood at the door.

  “I know you’re going to be leaving us soon, but I thought maybe you’d like to have a tour of the village, before you leave?”

  “Sure,” Sarah said. “Just let me leave a note for Blitzen.”

  “No need,” she smiled patiently. “He’ll know and wait.”

  “Okay,” Sarah said. She stepped out into pristine beauty, unlike she’d ever seen. Each tiny cottage glistened, clean and crisp. She sighed as a puff of breath billowed out from between her lips.