Club Endless Fantasy

Ian: He knows where all the naughty girls live. :)

Elly: Giving them coal makes him happy? He really is a bastard…

Ian: It was supposed to be a dirty joke…

Elly: It’s tame, but I did laugh.

Ian: Then my debt is paid.

Elly: I’m not letting you off that easy. I bet you had to come up with a lot of dirty jokes before you settled on that one.

Ian: Maybe…

Elly: So, tell me one of the ones that didn’t make the cut.

Ian: That wasn’t part of the deal.

Elly: Neither was my holiday charity, but I did it anyway…

Ian: Okay, fine. What did the gingerbread man say to the vibrator?

Elly: Hmm. I don’t know.

Ian: Why are you shaking? I’m the one that’s about to get eaten!

Elly: That’s a little better.

Elly seemed pleased with my two dirty jokes, even though I didn’t think they were very good. Thankfully, she didn’t ask for a third one because the list I came up with wasn’t going to get any better. We talked about normal stuff for a little bit—she told me about her job and a project that was stressing her out. I suggested a drink, and she admitted that she was already enjoying a glass of wine. I told her a few more corny jokes when the conversation seemed to be waning, and I realized that I was going to run out of those soon too. If I was going to try and push the conversation further than the screen that separated us, it was only a matter of time before there was no material left to keep the conversation light and jovial.

Ian: Can I ask you something?

Elly: Sure!

Ian: Will you let me be your Secret Santa this Christmas? All you have to do is click the button next to my name and hit accept.

Elly: I don’t think that’s a good idea…

Ian: Why?

Elly: This is fun. If I click that button, it becomes serious.

Ian: You don’t even have to get me a gift.

Elly: Why do you want to be my Secret Santa? You don’t even know me…

Ian: I like talking to you.

Elly: So, keep talking to me…

Ian: I’d like to see one of those beautiful smiles you say I bring to your face.

Elly: Hold on.

I stared at my screen, waiting to see if Elly was going to hit the accept button. My pulse began to race in my chest, and my heart began to beat a little harder in my chest. I couldn’t remember the last time I had that kind of reaction when waiting to find out if a woman was going to say yes. The screen lit up, and I looked down to see a picture—of Elly. She looked a few years older than she did in her profile picture, and she was even more stunning than I realized. Her misty gray eyes were extremely vibrant, and the smile on her face looked like it could light up an entire room. It looked a lot more genuine than the half-smile she had in her profile picture. Seeing it made my stomach flutter.

Elly: There. Now you have a picture. It will last a lot longer…

Ian: You’re beautiful.