Noelle hadn't made out with anyone in a hot tub for years. It was one of those things that sounded great in theory or looked hot as hell in a rom-com, but when you got down to reality, there was usually too much water dripping everywhere—into your eyes, nostrils, or mouth—to qualify as sexy. Nevertheless, getting breathless with Nick Klaas in a private geothermal cave was definitely the exception.
Even as a perfect gentleman—or maybe in spite of it, since he hadn't even tried to get to second base—Nick was driving Noelle mad with desire. Every part of her body that his lips touched tingled as if hit by fresh snowflakes, but she didn't feel cold. She probably had raccoon eyes from smeared mascara and her hair most likely looked like a bird's nest, but she didn't care. At this moment, Nick acted as if nothing else in the world mattered, but her. And Noelle really needed to feel that.
She hadn't told anyone, but she'd been having a harder time than usual lately. It wasn't because of work. She'd recently been bumped up to lead violinist, which meant more money and gave her the opportunity to be in Lapland. It also wasn't because of her social life. She wasn't interested in a long-term relationship, and casual dating had actually been fun. Friends were friends and family was family. Nothing to complain about there. And yet . . ..
She couldn't explain it. It had come suddenly and without warning. The lack of energy and motivation hit her hard. She got all kinds of advice: exercise more, eat better, meditate. She tried as much as she could (the spoons ran out really fast these days), but nothing seemed to work. And the deeper she got, the harder it seemed to climb out of the self-imposed isolation she soon found herself in.
She agreed to plans with friends, only to cancel at the last minute. She had lofty ambitions for making the most out of her weekends—rearrange her closet, do her taxes, or even go to a film festival she got free tickets for—and then she ended up in her pajamas for two days tooling around the Internet from her living room.
The arrival of the "holiday season" that lately began even before Halloween ended only made things worse. People were expected to be happier this time of year, but all Noelle felt was dread. Dread at the excessive crowds running from store to store to buy that perfect present. Dread at the twinkling lights on trees, houses, and even sweaters. Dread at all the noise from the ten Christmas songs on endless repeat for three months.
But Keskitalvi was different. This town was more embedded in the midwinter holiday than any other place she knew—Nick's dad practically thought himself to be Santa—yet it was all so innocent and charming. There was no rush, there was no pressure, and most of all, there was no expectation. Well, other than the concert she'd play tomorrow. But that was literally another day, and right now, all Noelle cared about was how good kissing Nick was making her feel.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered while barely lifting his lips above hers.
Noelle opened her eyes, wanting to see more of his handsome face, too. But as she looked up, movement behind him caught her attention.
It wasn't simply a trick of the light or a play of shadows. Coming through the opening from the antechamber was a floating coat with three pointy hats above and three pairs of tiny feet below.
"Aaaaaaaaaah," Noelle screamed, making Nick jump back.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked before following her line of sight. Visibly relaxing, he laughed, which made Noelle stop screaming.
"You . . . you see that, right?" she asked, not quite believing it was real. The coat had stopped moving, but the caps and feet were still very much there. Judging by the distance between them, their owners weren't much more than two feet tall.
Nick touched her face, making Noelle look at him. "There's no need to worry. Those are my friends. They're the tonttu I told you about. If you'd like, I can introduce you," he said gently, as if speaking with a child.
"Okay?" Noelle agreed tentatively before realizing she was practically naked, sitting in just her underwear. Luckily she had some of her nicer, black lace bra and panties on, but it was way less than what she would have preferred when coming face-to-face with a gnome. "They didn't happen to also bring a towel, did they?" she added while draping an arm across herself and halfway hiding behind Nick.
A deep voice from underneath the coat gave what sounded like a command—again in a foreign language that could have easily come out of the mouth of a Viking—before the shuffling of feet echoed through the chamber. Another tonttu quickly appeared, carrying a stack of folded towels. Only a striped, knit hat, two large feet, and the tip of a long, brown beard were visible as he scurried along the wall and jumped between rocks to hand off the delivery.
"Thökk," Nick said with a nod before taking the towels and handing one to Noelle.
She gasped as the entirety of the little man was revealed and quickly covered herself. She'd seen his image before, if not in a perfect likeness, but pretty darn close. She hadn't realized how accurate her tease about the garden statues earlier had been, but the plush doll Avery had bought yesterday was even more on-point.
Focusing on the bulbous nose poking out from among the bushy facial hair, Noelle wondered how he could see anything at all since his eyes were practically covered by the hat. Dressed remarkably well for someone who lived in the forest, he wore a knit sweater and leather leggings with fur-trimmed boots covering his feet.
"Noelle Nixon, this is my old friend Miska," Nick said, making the promised introductions.
"Hello," she said holding out her hand and forcing a smile, unsure of both proper etiquette and what even was supposed to happen. Instead of shaking her hand, however, the little man grumbled something, gave a deep curtsey, and ran off. Before Noelle could react, another gnome had taken his place.
"This is Noaa," Nick continued, unfazed by the unusual greeting.
The similarly dressed and bearded tonttu—save for a different color scheme and knitted patterns—gave her a high-five before also scurrying away. "Oh, thank you," Noelle said in surprise.
"And this is Ollie."
He flashed peace signs.
"That's Reko."
He blew her a kiss.
"He's Roope."
He stuck his tongue out.
"This is Ahti."
He bent down in a deep bow.
"This guy is called Elias."
He took her hand and kissed it.
"His name is Hannu."
He jumped up and down three times.
"This is Joel."
He hugged her.
"That jokester is Vili."
He did the chicken dance.
"He's Kai."
He gave her air kisses.
"That's our Samu."
He put his hand on his heart and nodded.
"And last, but certainly not least, this is Tor."
The final tonttu held out his gloved hand. Noelle thought he might be the first one to shake hers, but he removed the glove and gently slapped her with it on both cheeks.
She burst out laughing. "Did he just challenge me to a duel?" she asked as tears streamed down her face with the release of the pent-up tension she'd been holding in.
Nick did his best to appear stern, but he was also obviously holding back a smile. "I've told him so many times that's not a proper way to greet a person. I'm sorry about that. He means no harm. They're just a bit awkward with newcomers."
Noelle wiped her cheek, watching as the last gnome disappeared back out the way they came. "It's quite all right," she said, turning back to Nick. "I guess everything you've told me is true, then?"
He nodded and kissed her again. "It sure is."
After they've dried off and gotten dressed, Nick drove the snowmobile back to the Aurora Inn. Noelle was reluctant to leave him—she had so many unanswered questions—but he promised they could pick up the next day exactly where they'd left off. Unlocking the door as quietly as she could, she tiptoed past Avery's bed, nearly falling into a Christmas tree that hadn't been there earlier. The discovery may have angered her before, but it immediately brought back memories of all the new things she'd seen and experienced even just over the last day, and now it made her smile.
"No, no, please no," Avery mumbled , tossing and turning under the covers.
Noelle leaned over and gently touched her shoulder. "Ssh. It's okay. Sounds like you're having a nightmare," she whispered.
Avery opened her eyes. "What?" she asked hoarsely with that 'I have no idea where I am' look.
"You were talking in your sleep. Bad dreams?" Noelle asked.
Avery pushed herself up and nodded. "Uhm, yeah. It was all black outside and there was this large goat, but it was on fire and Piet was there—" she said, getting increasingly agitated by the recollection.
Noelle cut her off with a hug. "It's okay. It was just a dream. Everything's fine. Go back to sleep because tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and I have a feeling it'll be the best one you've ever had."
This is my #NaNoWriMo2019 project and while I absolutely love all of my silent readers, I would LOVE to get your encouragement while writing this story. So please, please, please add it to your libraries, vote on the chapters (updates daily!) and leave me comments. <3
I actually wasn't sure if Nick should introduce the tonttu to Noelle. Remember that this is just a first draft, so was this a good call or not? I guess I'll have to see where the story goes now!