Starry Night

***

Nicole leaned her head against her hand smiled as she and Ginger got into a rhythm with the paperwork, well Ginger did, Nicole sat there occasionally signing a form, whilst Ginger did most of the work. Nicole actually focused on keeping her cigarettes alight, chain-lighting one after another, pausing to squiggle her name in the right box when Ginger handed her the red, green, or silver paper.

***

Jessica paused and put her hands on her knees and took a deep long breath through her nose, she sighed and then straightened up, tugging her Christmas pudding print leggings up her hips again as then wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead after carrying the umpteenth large heavy wooden train or tractor back into the factory. "I'm not fit enough or built for this!" she grumbled and glanced up and the large red painted No Smoking sign above her head that Alabaster Snowball had recently installed and grizzled loudly again, before making her way back down the line, bending her knees and picking up the next box, squishing it against her soft body and then shuffling forwards.

The months of October to January are the busiest times at the North Pole, it was all hands to the pump.

Nicole had not quite sold it as such to Jessica, sitting at the bar in the glorious hot sunshine, over far too many cocktails, the first time they met was meant to have been a two-week holiday of a lifetime, exploring the wild natural area, the deserted beaches, chasing the migrating crabs across the road, but ultimately to enjoy the peace and quiet. She had saved for years to do it, her family thought she was mad to go out alone, panicking about safety, without a man or friends with her.

That first week of her holiday she had got out, skinny dipped in plunge pools, hiked trails and explored the unspoilt island. That all changed on the Saturday where she went for drink at the hotel bar next to her cheap one, she was staying in.

She got talking to a tall, slightly bubbly but definitely chubby blonde girl who was having difficulty balancing on the bar stool in her size too small red bikini. Her large muffin top was over hanging the loosely tied together red bikini bottoms like a spare tire hanging off her whole body and her small red glittery triangle bra top was struggling to contain her jiggling double D cup breasts. Whilst she was busy flirting with the female bar maid. The large girl was talking loudly due to the numerus drinks she had already it wasn't difficult from the end of the bar to listen to her talk with her most confusing accent in the world, it was a myriad of locations.

Eventually Jess, sitting quietly on the sophisticated metal and leather stool at the other end of the pool bar in her long Christmas tree patterned sarong and matching bikini top, nursing her expensive drink, wishing she had gone to her cheaper bar, plucked up courage to butt into the conversation. She was fascinated by them both, especially the girl at the other end of the bar, yes she had a string of boyfriends as a teenager at school, but when at university, and there was no need to conform to anyone, especially her parents, her and a female housemate had got it together big style, at first she told everyone who asked she was bi, but soon fell deeply in love with Trisha, it was gut wrenching at the end of the third year, when they got jobs at the other end of the country. There hadn't been anyone since, well except to drunkenly, but passionately, snog her best female friend from school in the nightclub when back home, but that was explained away the following day as purely platonic, rather than because she was actually horny.

At some point Jess plucked up the courage and migrated down the bar, shuffling the stool closer as she then got talking and created one of those headfuck moments. It was mightily difficult trying to get your head around that as Nicole pointed as she very loudly and boastfully at the top of her voice as only the extremely tipsily can do. She explained that the large grey bearded man with grey hirsute beer belly, that was apparently continually asleep. Who was wearing extremely small red speedos on the sun lounger next to the pool was the actual real life retired Santa Claus. Not one of those that you see in the mall on the run up to Christmas. Jess discovered that the blonde girl beside her, necking shots at the bar like there was no tomorrow, was his rather gorgeous and equally curvaceous daughter. This was only confirmed to her as the sun started to set what looked like midgets, who were again loudly explained as real life elves appeared from nowhere, picked up the sun lounger and then with great ease carried the sleeping Santa away up the ramp towards to the hotel whilst still on the lounger.

Jess had been very good in the previous couple of years to quit her university developed smoking habit. Jess had liked a cigarette or three during the day. However, as she had to try and pay for the holiday of a lifetime, but she did end up spending the money she would have spent on ciggies on a gym membership. It was amazing place with a large swimming pool as well as the gym equipment. She had all the intention in the world to aim to be fit enough for the hikes around the island. She was grateful that with the determination she lost a load lot of weight. She was more like her pre university 17-year-old self than the post university sedate sitting at desk at work 26 year old one.

All the good intentions of being healthy crumbled as Nicole ever so sweetly smiled as she offered her the green pack of Menthol cigarettes. She had kindly smoked the first one, and then had suggested that she was more of a Marlboro Lights smoker in preference, but Nicole had stopped listening within the first few syllables and got from the bar maid a pack of Marlboro Reds and during the next few hours it was a very quick, slip and slide back into her deeply hidden nicotine addiction.

As she was invited to sit, which as the evening progressed was more alike an alcohol fuelled fall on to the sofa by the pool. They moved from the high bar stools to the low to the ground leather sofa, as it was less distance to fall any further. The bar maid brought over some fried chicken and chips with a healthy side of onion rings, fluttering her eye lids as she did. For Jess it was rude not to join Nicole, as she was willing to pay for the food, drinks and cigarettes all night long. Jess simply attempted to stay with her, the best she could. It soon dawned on Jess that Nicole could out smoke and drink anyone!

As such Jess never did get to meet the migrating crabs during her second week of her trip.

Nicole had continued to explain and with great drunken bravado sold her life to anyone that would listen that her job meant it meant eleven months of sitting down doing very little. It consisted of sitting down smoking, eating, and drinking Bailey's infused hot chocolates. Followed for tea with Irish coffees. All in the comfort of a 24-hour fire warmed office. This was while the very important elves got on with the all the hard work action. It did all culminated when then she had 24-48 hours of hard graft once a year. Now that her dad had retired, and they both had one month away from the snow where she sat, eat, drank, and smoked in the sun before heading back to work and the freezing cold icebox, was precisely how she had explained it before getting up and staggering to the toilet.

Jess then focused as she lit another Marlboro and as she exhaled, she chuckled as through her smoke she watched as Nicole stumbled sideways before changing tack as she reached the wrong sofa. Shaking her head as she made her way back from yet another toilet visit. For Jess it was hilarious watching Nicole desperately trying to avoid falling in the pool as she meandered the other way as she swayed. She grinned as she got closer, looked at Jess and as she was focusing on Jess's brown eyes, she 'accidently' tripped up over her flipflops and had then fallen onto Jess lap and after shrieking and giggling together. They had then hugged and passionately kissed for the first time. It was not long until Nicole's stretched bikini bottom strings had undone. For Jess it was as if she had been hit by lightning with the energy flowing between them. It took a few minutes, and lots of giggling and kissing before the strings had been attempted to be tied back up.

***

The following morning Jess had woken up with a coughing fit whilst flat out on her back, naked, alone on top of her own hotel bed, with a screaming headache, a churning stomach and her lungs seriously complaining from all the cigarettes she had smoked. She had no memory of how she got back, other than she had clearly ridden the cocktail scooter. With her head throbbing, and stomach doing an impression of a washing machine on spin mode, she had run headfirst to the bathroom to empty her churned stomach. She then found her bottle of water, guzzled that down trying to get her throat back to normality. She finally opened her eyes properly and then screamed in shock at one of the little people with pointed ears who was who was calmly smoking a cigarette between her short fingers sitting on the chair in the corner of her room in a sparkling green bikini and short matching green skirt.

After several deep breaths to calm down and a brief introduction whilst hurriedly gathering of her summer dress and getting it over her head, tugging it down her body for decency whilst facing the wall. With the panic over and the conversation starting to flow. she soon learnt "it" was in fact Butterscotch. Telling her that Nicole wanted her to join her for lunch, now.

There was a theme, Nicole never directly asked for anything, someone else always did it for her. The following day the same happened, but on the second morning, she woke up on the other side of the hotel bed of equally hungover Miss Claus. What an amazing hangover, but what an experience to claim.

For the next week Nicole asked a lot of her, but mainly to hang out with her as they sat by the pool, eating an endless supply of fried chicken, burgers, or sausages or on the Wednesday they moved and sat by the beach. Nicole was desperate to eat anything but a roast dinner, it was their chill out weeks, and that as a "family" is exactly what they did.

Nicole was happy that she had found a sole mate on Christmas Island, someone that was more Christmas orientated than her. They chuckled at the red and green cigarette packs side by side wherever they went.

Meanwhile, in the coldest place on earth, but with what felt like the Orinoco rivers worth of sweat gliding down between her breasts and spreading out like the Nile delta across the top of her now fat stomach. The uncomfortable feeling of it then slipping down the front before pooling in her now cavernous belly button. Her lungs heaving for oxygen, she was panting like a steam train struggling up an incline with not enough pressure. She could feel her top sticking like superglue to her spare tire of belly that was wobbling with every laboured step she took. If she been wearing a bra or even another layer, she would have taken her top off to cool down by now, yes in the ice box, it was hot.

It was very clear to Jess at this moment in time, that it was true, Nicole got to sit down to eat, drink and smoke, whilst everyone else in the building got on with all the hard work, even human Jess couldn't escape the work, as she breathed in air to get oxygen to fight the lactic acid in her legs and straightened up, and took another laboured deep breath, coughed, and then with that she determined she needed another cigarette and very soon.

Moving away from her well-paid job and amazing family at a drop of a hat to a mysterious, but freezing location, with an equally mysterious and occasional frozen friend whilst being paid even more tax free, with free board and lodging to have amazing sex for days on end with the daughter of Santa Claus was something special, even if she could tell anyone, deleting her social media pages were hard. Even more depressing recently was the enjoyment between the sheets was only one way, Nicole was the one that needed to be satisfied.

The moving part was not a difficult decision to make. To Jess, Nicole Claus was the most fascinating person in the world. She was warm and bubbly when she wanted to be and when she got Alabaster to send an email ask her to move. Jess had lit a cigarette whilst trying to stay calm and not hyperventilate once it was stubbed out, she then jumped for joy.

Once she had landed back on her seat, it was a quick process to cancel her rent on her flat, ring her boss to quit and then run to the Mountain Warehouse store down the road to raid the warm weather section so she could pack for the North Pole.

She was happy that still got to see her parents once a year, in the summer on their way to Christmas Island. She was allowed to go first, by just a week, then they all then met up at Heathrow before getting on the plane south together.

Once it got to Autumn checking everything twice, and then packing, wrapping, and loading took priority and everything was geared up for one day, Christmas day.

She knew one day she would have to introduce her exciting mystical and even mythical partner to her parents, one day. She kept asking Nicole to let her go home for a long weekend, but apparent it was too difficult, she begged Nicole to come with her, even if it was for a long weekend, but no it wasn't possible. She was still not quite sure how to do it if she ever did. It was stressful just thinking about it. She lifted her roll neck jumper and wiped her forehead, smearing sweat from her face across the underside of her top, she huffed, as she tucked herself back in, shook her head before bending her knees as per the stringent Elf and Safety rules on site and picked up yet another returned box, and at her full height, loomed over the other elves as she waddled as she made her way back into the large factory carrying the largest box compared to the others.

Jess followed the conger like flow of red and green hatted elves all singing and chuntering to themselves, eventually getting the box down amongst the growing pile of others. A 12 o'clock Christmas chime of the chorus to jingle bells rang out indicating it was time for lunch. She took yet another deep breath, smiled, licked her lips exhaled at the pleasurable thought of the soon impending cigarette, followed by the hearty food of lunch. As every day was Christmas, and every lunch and tea were a gloriously cooked roast dinner. The finest meat and vegetables shipped in from which ever country the latest supplies for toy production was coming from. Finished off with either trifle or brandy-soaked Christmas pudding.

Afternoons were always harder after a Christmas lunch and the bottle of wine and a glass of port you had with it. Especially topped off with a delightful couple of warming post dinner cigarettes. All you just then wanted to go to bed for lie down. This was allowed for 10 months of the year but not now, more work was required.

Chapter 3

At two minutes to one, Nicole chuckled as she looked across the desk at Jess, and they both glanced at the clock, smiled at each other simultaneously put their filters back between their lips and took a drag on their cigarettes, and released smoke from between the lips forming a cloud between them as they stubbed out their very short butts.

"I'd better go and get ready!" she laughed as the whisps of smoke drifted out of her nose.

"Babes, please you have got to be good?" Jess stated as she picked up the last profiterole and consumed it one, licking her lips afterwards.

"I only had one glass of wine at lunch, what do you mean?"

"Nic babes, I know, but no teasing the photographer."

Nicole looks sarcastically back "I will be good; I will be all clean and sanitised!" she smiled unconvincingly. "Butters will keep an eye one me." She grinned "And I l...anyway need to be good." she smiled sweetly.

"Babes you have to remember you so many children's dreams in your hands, don't ruin it. One photo and the media will be after you, I can remember the story when your dad, you know, fell over one Christmas...we all saw it."

Nicole rolled her eyes, "I know, I know babes. It took years for him to get the vision right again, I've just got to get through the next few hours without a cigarette, and that is going to be hard enough." She grizzled and stared at the pack in front of her as if osmosis was going to help her.

"When's the photographer due in?"

"At two, he is coming by chopper, lucky bastard easier than blinking reindeer travel. Hope the elves have cleared the snow from the helipad...again, it is blowing out there."

"Oh" Jess grimaced.

"It's like, what, January and I am having to get dressed in the suit again, I blinking hate that scratching beard, I don't know how men cope. I think that's why I like girls...anyway at least this Christmas I might not need the fat pouch, Ho fucking Ho!" she shook her head and ran her hand over her smooth face.

"Yeah, I know you do babes, you could always borrow some of my fat..." she grabbed and lifted up and wobbled her overhanging stomach, before looking back up again, "or you could wheel your dad out for the afternoon, or not wear it?"

Nicole looked at Jess for a second winced and shook her head with a dismissive pained expression "Nah, you keep your own fat babes, I'm growing my own, plus the Santa magic works wonders on my figure, but babes, you know I couldn't wheel my dad out, I couldn't do that to him, it would just confuse him. He is definitely getting weaker, I just don't know if the world is ready for Miss Claus, hundreds of years of Santa Claus, can they cope with it, nah, I will keep it traditional this time around."

"Sorry babes, that's probably best," she glanced at the pack of cigarettes, and then at clock, "I better get back to those boxes, they won't move on their own!"

"You are so good Jess, all I know, is that...." She looked around with panic on her face before a guilty smile crept across her face "...I just know I now need a cigarette..." she mused and pulled one from the pack, placing the filter between her lips.

Jess's eyes widened in fear "On your head be it babes!" she grinned leaned kissed her forehead and then turned and wiggled her bottom and let her buttocks wobble and slap together in her tight pudding leggings as she left the room.

Butterscotch instantly walked in through the same door, carrying the red Santa costume, and glanced at the clock, "Two minutes Miss Claus to start and finish that cigarette. Hurry, I will take this to your room so it's ready for you!" She said with a hint of authority whilst holding the red jacket up off the floor.

"Hang on, its fine!" Nicole stated as she flicked the lighter and her white cheeks collapsed hard as pulled on the cigarette, before conducting a double pump inhale.

"Please Miss Claus, no smoking please in the suit, we can't be doing with smell or the burn holes, and the photographer is on their way!" she stated.

"Yes boss!" Nicole saluted with vast quantities of uninterested sarcasm as the grey smoke billowed out of her mouth and nose.

"It's your image we are worried about. Imagine the media hearing Santa smokes, can't have the camera man smelling a whiff of single hint of the smoke, we would be blacklisted within minutes. Parents would hate us, dreams ruined!"

Nicole rolled her eyes "I know, I know, but I do!" she muttered before bringing her filter back to her lips and taking double pump inhale of her cigarette holding the smoke for two seconds and then subsequently filling the room her exhale. "I guess Rudy is ready?" she asked as she manicured the ash from her cigarette by tapping it on her red ashtray.

"Yes, Ginger is back with him now, red shoe polish is looking good, so it shines brightly."