7. Sparkle

SEVEN

SPARKLE

I awoke with a start and wondered where I was.

Images from the previous day flitted in front of me like a movie trailer; Christmas Village, snow, porcelain, stillness, dog, shifter, mate! Dan!

Not knowing what time it was, I leaped out of bed and pulled on my hat before stumbling out of the bedroom. But the PJs Dan had lent me were too long, and I tripped and almost fell flat on my face, except a hand whipped out and steadied me.

That scent swarmed over me, seeping into my pores, sending goosebumps sprawling over my skin and blood pumping into my cock.

Dan and I were face to face, and I turned my head because… morning breath. Mine, not his. He must have brushed his teeth.

"Morning." His mouth turned up in a smile as I hitched the pajama pants up. Not only were they too long, but I worried they'd slide off my hips and puddle at my feet. And I had nothing underneath.

"Those pajamas look better on you than on me." Dan grabbed the end of one sleeve and rolled it up to my elbow before doing the same with the second one. "Now you can eat."

While I was hungry, my mind went to eating something other than food; dick for starters, and Dan's in particular.

"Coffee?"

"Please."

Sushi sidled up to me, and I leaned down and patted her. She raced into the living room and stood in front of the fireplace and barked.

Dan placed a mug of steaming coffee on the kitchen island and wandered into the living area. "What is it?"

Sushi looked up and barked again.

"Oh, you're looking at your Christmas stocking? It's beautiful, isn't it."

Dan paused and studied the stockings dangling over the mantlepiece. "One for Dan, one for Sushi, one for my wolf, and… awww, one for Sparkle."

He glanced over his shoulder, and I sipped my coffee to prevent having to say anything. "When did you do this?"

I shrugged. "I'm a night owl." Even with the traumatic events of the day before, I hadn't been able to sleep until after midnight.

"I have a confession." He folded and unfolded a napkin. "When we met yesterday, I thought Sparkle was… a stage name." He clarified, "A name just for work."

"Nope. I'm a proud Sparkle." I lifted my wrist and the light caught my sparkly bracelet.

"It suits you."

Dan pushed a pile of pancakes toward me, and I took one, drenching it in syrup and adding sliced banana. We talked about going shopping for clothes after breakfast.

"I can't promise anything regarding a job in our factory, but Lou, the operations manager, is my friend and a nice guy. You're so talented, I'm hopeful he'll offer you work." As accommodation was provided, that would solve some of my immediate problems.

There was still the matter of the missing months, and me never being able to return to my home, and the biggie, that I might be a figurine forever if I didn't mate.

The future was bleak. Dan was my mate, but I wasn't his. Maybe he could keep me on a shelf so I'd still be part of his life.

That would be the best option for an elf who was an inanimate object, until… until Dan met his one true love. It would be agony having to observe them in love, but if I couldn't make him happy, wouldn't I want him to find his one and only?

A little voice inside me said to tell Dan. Perhaps we could pretend-mate and that would nullify the jinx, curse, or legend. But curses had a way of sniffing out fibs. And I refused to have Dan feel sorry for me and do something he would regret. My life was fucked; I didn't want his to be as well.

How odd that my personality was bound up with pranks, jokes, and laughter but I couldn't dupe him, not the man I loved. We'd met less than a day ago and he already had my heart in his hands… or maybe his pocket. That'd be safer, and I could go with him wherever he went.

"A penny for your thoughts."

"You want me to pay you and tell you what I'm thinking?" I thought humans were a strange bunch, but shifters obviously had their quirks too.

"It's a saying. You were lost in thought and I was wondering if you wanted to share."

I sighed ‘cause I would but I couldn't. "Just thinking about my new clothes." My bell jingled as I jumped off the stool. "Can Sushi come with us?"

"No, but if my neighbors are at home, she can go over there."

Dan sent a text and his phone lit up with a response. Minutes later the doorbell rang, and Sushi raced to the door and barked.

"That's her Riley bark."

The boy who'd tossed baseballs at my head charged in and picked up Sushi. He eyeballed me. "That was a neat trick yesterday."

Tricks were my speciality, and while Riley's family weren't human but shifters—I scented them yesterday—I couldn't give him any details about where I'd come from.

Maybe it was best to tell him the truth, a partial truth, and leave it at that.

"I don't know, sorry. It just happened."

"Oh." Riley's shoulders slumped. I guessed he was imagining pranking his friends.

"But I can show you a few tricks sometime." It wouldn't be magic, and I'd have to consider if it would upset anyone, something I'd never given much thought to in the past.

His eyes lit up. "Gee, thanks."

Dan interrupted us. "We have to go."

Riley sprinted outside with Sushi, bringing in more cold air and a few snowflakes.

Wearing a pair of Dan's jeans that had shrunk in the wash plus a sweater and coat two sizes too big for me, I raced out to the car. As Dan drove down the narrow road that sloped down the hill, I took in the lake in the middle of the town and the snow-clad hills surrounding it, peppered with fir trees.

"This is a beautiful place."

"I think so."

The town wasn't big enough for a mall, not that I liked malls, though I'd only ever been to one when I was a kid. Dan parked on a narrow street, outside Classic Cuts, a clothing store.

Dan introduced me to the store owner, an older man, Arnold, who greeted us when we walked in. He eyed me curiously, looking me up and down. I wasn't wearing my hat, though I kinda felt naked without it, but I didn't want to stand out in a town populated by a mix of humans and shifters, so I'd left it at home.

Home? No, no, I couldn't refer to Dan's place as home. That would make it harder to tear myself away. On December 24, my plan was to disappear so Dan would think I'd returned to wherever I came from. I could leave a note saying… saying what? I'd have to figure that out.

"My friend needs a suit for tomorrow."

A suit? I'd never owned a suit before. Did they come in my size?

Arnold got out his tape measure, though after looking me up and down, he pulled out a jacket followed by a matching pair of trousers and held them against me. "Try this. We might have to take up the pants."

"I can do that," I said without thinking.

"Oh, you're a tailor?"

"Sort of, yes."

Dan was inspecting ties and didn't appear to notice our interaction. Arnold showed me the changing room, and I put on the shirt, jacket, and pants. Apart from the pants, everything fit perfectly. Arnold had a good eye.

I admired myself in the mirror, turning one way and the other. Wow, I wished I could wear a jaunty hat to match, but humans weren't much for hats, only ones that protected them from the sun.

"Are you ready?" That was Dan.

I emerged, wishing I had proper shoes, instead of my pointed elf ones.

"Wow, you look amazing." Dan put three ties against my chest, and he leaned over my shoulder as we studied my image in the floor-length mirror.

Arnold, who was standing at my side, grinned. "You're such a lovely couple. You make my old heart happy."

I caught Dan's gaze in the mirror, and while it was only a couple of seconds, there were mixed emotions in his eyes. Confusion definitely. Anxiety perhaps. I convinced myself there was excitement, but that was what I wanted to see.

He pulled away and said the pink tie was the most suitable.

"Let me guess." Arnold put both hands over his chest. "I've been doing this job for decades and I can always tell. This is for your wedding, isn't it?" He lowered his voice. "Or your mating ceremony? Are you eloping?"

"No!" we said in unison.

Poor Arnold's face fell, and I felt so bad, wanting to yell, "It's Dan, not me. He's the love of my life."

There were no prices on the clothes, and I worried Dan would be paying too much for something I'd wear once.

"Can you hem the pants by tonight?" Dan asked.

"I believe the gentleman said he'd do the alternations himself."

Dan paid with his phone, and once again, I promised him I'd pay him back, having no idea when I'd wear the suit a second time.

"I'm looking to hire an assistant tailor, so if you ever need a job…"

I assured Arnold I would consider it but was pinning my hopes on the factory position, never having made suits previously.

Dan hurried me to the shoe store. One pair of black shoes later and we were back in the car.

"Thank you. I hope I won't disappoint you tomorrow." If I didn't get the job, would Dan think I wasn't good enough?

"You could never disappoint me, Sparkle."

I blinked away tears and stared out the window as we made our way up the hill to Dan's home. I went into the house while Dan collected Sushi and pulled out the pants I had to alter.

I brushed a hand over the fabric, but there was something in the jacket pocket which hadn't been there when I tried it on earlier. I pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, similar to the one from yesterday.

The clock is ticking. Mate by Christmas. Or else.

I folded it and stuffed it with the other one under my pillow. Was I going to get a note every day reminding me of my fate?