Hello, sorry it's been a while. I forgot to take chapters on holiday to upload and wasn't really sure many were still reading anyway, plus...I've started another new one. Shoot me, shoot me now!
Anyhoo, here's 2 to make up for it, hope you enjoy!
CHAPTER ELEVEN JOHN PAUL
As soon as we stepped outside the airport at Rovaniemi, the Capitol of Finnish Lapland, the freezing temperature of the arctic circle hits us, chilling me to the core instantly, the irony of my current situation not lost on me at all. An hour or so ago, back on the plane, I'd have given anything to have been surrounded by all this snow because after my feeble attempt at joining the mile high club, my dick had felt on fire and the thought of diving into one of the huge drifts of pure white snow would've been a welcome relief...though an extreme one all the same.
Thankfully, and I say this with some sarcasm in my thoughts because no matter how fast, it couldn't be soon enough for me, the plane had landed pretty quickly and we'd not had long to wait before we could get off. Not with each other of course, that would have been too good to be true but we hadn't had too long to wait before disembarking, going through passport control and collecting our luggage. I had thought we might have time for another quick blow job in the gents like earlier but it seemed that the bloody loaders at Manchester had put my holdall on first which of course meant that it was the flipping dead last one of everyones to come through onto the baggage carousel. By the time we'd gone through customs, there was a large group of people waiting for our arrival along with the Santadays tour operator and his side kick, standing beside him ticking off the passenger names on a clipboard.
Now we're heading towards the coach which is right outside the airport, idling at the curb, so it only takes a matter of minutes for us to make our way over there and stow our luggage before taking our seats on-board. I follow behind Craig, not just for the view but because he seems familiar with what to do and such and I...well I haven't really been paying much attention to what's going on. They're trying to usher us onto the coach as quickly as possible because most of us...even me now I've got the thermals on, aren't dressed for the minus twenty or so degrees that's currently the temperature outside. Craig stops at the door and lets a couple of people pass us and then he holds his gloved hand out, his fingers wrapping warmly around mine as I take it, his eyes sparkling from the harshness of the arctic wind whipping around us.
"Come on" he inclines his head, tugging on my hand as he makes his way up the steps into the vehicle, me following closely behind him.
"What about here?" I wave vaguely in the direction of a two seater, the rest of the seats around it vacant but he shakes his head, leading me a little further back past a couple of younger teenagers to sit in the seats behind their parents and in front of a middle aged couple. I'm just about to ask why when I see Lucy and her brother bound forward to take the seats I'd just pointed out.
"Always thinking ahead eh?" I whisper, leaning in close. He gives me a nudge with his elbow, resting our intertwined fingers on his thigh.
"You have no idea" he mutters. I turn to him, curious what he's talking about but he just shrugs, lifting his black gloved hand to my face, brushing the wet strands of hair back off my forehead. His eyes soften as he looks at me, his thumb stroking the arch of my eyebrow, his hand pushing the hood of my coat off my head as it curls around the base of my neck. Then he tugs me closer and we sink into a kiss that is all too brief for my liking.
"You've got a red nose...cute" he chuckles, tapping his finger against the tip, bestowing a little kiss there before blowing on it gently. I can't help smiling and closing my eyes for a second as his warm breath caresses over me, heating my skin in an instant. When the warmth disappears, I open my eyes to see him taking his gloves off and stuffing them in his pockets before clapping his hands a few times really loudly, holding his smarting palms to my reddened cheeks to warm them up.
Lifting my eyes to his, I see them smiling back at me, the moisture in this dark brown iris's twinkling beneath the overhead lights. My lips part and I gasp a deep breath, a jolt of excitement punching into my belly as I gaze intently back at him, the feel of his thumbs as they stroke beneath my ears reminding me he's still holding my cheeks in his hands. His eyes turn a rich, molten treacle colour as he stares back at me, the dark velvety depths holding me entranced, his cheeks beneath the short, dark coating of stubble becoming flushed with heat.
"Craig". His gaze drops to my mouth as I quietly whisper his name and I find my focus shifting too, staring at his lush, red lips, licking my own in response as I lean in to kiss him.
"Welcome, welcome everyone to Santadays holidays, we hope you enjoy your stay" the voice of our tour representative booms out over the integrated speaker making me and Craig jump apart before our lips can touch. He drops his hands from my face and clears his throat, blushing bashfully when he turns towards the front of the coach and catches the eye of the blond, hazel eyed young man looking right at us. Luckily, no one else has turned around to see what holds his interest and he's back smiling and introducing himself before anyone thinks anything of the slight pause in speaking. He waves at himself as his gaze flicks around the group.
"My name is Matias, I am your holiday representative and I will be with you for the duration of your stay in Lapland" he says, his accent thick but discernible as he speaks. "So if you have any queries or if you need anything... " his eyes seems to linger in our direction for a very brief moment as he emphasises that word before continuing on to sweep the faces of the other passengers, "then just let me know and I will do everything I can to make your stay more enjoyable" he finishes, a wide, genuine smile crossing his face. I chance a glance at Craig to see if he noticed but he's immersed in the sights that can be seen out of the window. A buzz of excited chatter goes up around the passengers and I can't help looking at Craig, smiling widely back at him when he gives my hand a squeeze.
"You are all very excited yes?" he grins as a murmur of agreement passes through the coach, the noise dying out when he starts to speak again. "That's good as we have a fun packed few days for you" Matias explains.
"We shall be on the road for twelve kilometres at the most and stopping off at three different hotels in the resort but I will try to make the short journey interesting for you". He puts the microphone down then and speaks briefly to the driver, holding on to the seat back beside him as the coach lurches forward. "Okay, first stop will be in around five minutes at Levi Thermal where you'll be given all of the winter wear clothing you'll need for your stay and then we'll pass through the village where I can show you some of the sights and places you may like to visit during your stay" he nods then and smiles, taking his seat behind the driver.
Taking the opportunity of the brief pause, I grab my rucksack, delving through it until I find the not so professionally wrapped present.
"Have you uh...have you brought Snowflake with you?"
"What my cardie?" he says warily, probably expecting me to start taking the piss any moment. I won't though, I've learned my lesson that if I want to keep Craig in a good mood, I know not to diss his favourite cardigan.
"Uh huh" I confirm with a nod of my head.
"Yeah...why?" he asks, even more wary. I shake my head and withdraw my hand, passing him the silver, holographic wrapped package.
"Happy Christmas!" I say, watching as he takes the present hesitantly, his eyes lifting to meet mine. "It's not much, it isn't your real present but I couldn't bring that with me because it was quite heavy so..." he listens, turning the shiny wrapped gift between his fingers, a small smile playing thoughtfully at his lips. "I hope you like it...open it" I encourage, watching as he tears into the paper, his face spreading into a grin when he sees the black and white trapper hat I've got him that matches his snowflake cardigan perfectly. He holds it in front of himself, tilting his head as he studies it, a chuckle escaping him when he flicks the dangling woolen plaited ropes at either side.
"Can't believe you've found it to match" he says, shaking his head incredulous again, his eyes twinkling as he beams at me.
"It's nothing" I say but I can't help smiling shyly at how happy he is with the gift. I'm hardly going to tell him that I used almost a weeks worth of online minutes flitting through google checking all the mens winter hat retailers until I found the exact thing I wanted and then spending ages persuading Carmel to order it using her credit card (the only one of my sisters reliable enough to have one), he'd think I was mad. Shrugging my shoulders, I take it from him, biting my lip as I place it snugly on top of his head, tugging at the ear flaps until it sits just so. Then I settle back to admire him. Fuckk! He looks so damn dorky and adorable in that hat, especially when he smiles at me all shy and cute like he is doing, the dimple in his left cheek becoming more prominent the more he smiles.
"Well I love it" he declares, lifting his fingers to mess with the two black tassels hanging down either side. It's a look that I know not many men could pull off but then, Craig isn't just any man, he's the exception to the rule.
CRAIG
God he looks cute. I cast another sidelong glance his way to see him absolutely caught up in what Matias, our tour rep is saying. The rep points out Santa Park to our right and I flick my gaze over the little village, illuminated by twinkling fairy lights for a second but then I'm irresistibly drawn back to John Paul again. We hadn't had much time for closeness between the plane landing and getting to the coach and there'd been a lot to take in as we'd set off, stopping at the hire place to get decked out in the special clothing before being bundled back onto the coach to take us to our hotel. Once we'd got settled back on the coach, thankfully away from any children, I'd been able to huddle next to him, sharing in the warmth of our bodies, the new hat he'd got me taking pride of place on my head instead of the one we'd got from the outfitters.
I can't remember a great deal of what he looked like in winter last year, aside from him sporting the black eye I'd given him...which still turns my stomach, and the image of him wearing a huge parker jacket. Other than that, the only picture of John Paul that's clear as a bell in my mind is him standing in Hannah's back garden with blue fairy lights all around, declaring his love for me. Those are the two images of John Paul in winter that I remember the most...probably because I wasn't head over heels in love with him then or because my brain was using all it's energy to process my best mate saying he was in love with me but now, I can't seem to take my eyes off him.
His cheeks are flushed a healthy shade of pink and the tip of his nose is still red, despite him now being covered head toe in proper winter clothing. Well, not the head anymore as he's taken off the beanie hat that he picked up as part of the outerwear gear we'd tried on, the removal of it making his dark blond hair stand up in tufts where it's longer, the shorter hairs at the front plastered to his forehead. His eyes are sparkling like precious gems as he smiles, turning his head to look out of the window at whatever our tour rep is talking about.
"So are you going to sit on Santa's knee Craig?" John Paul asks, chuckling at my puzzlement, nodding his head at Santa's village out of the window. "You could tell him if you've been a good boy or not" he whispers cheekily as he leans in, the warmth of his breath against my ear causing me to shiver. I turn my head to look at him, rolling my eyes when he attempts to wriggle his eyebrows suggestively. It's only when he chuckles and his breath coats my lips with moisture and the taste of him that the mirth dies out to be replaced with fiery desire. He gulps, as though sensing or seeing the reaction he's having on me too, then his tongue darts out and it's all I can do not to capture those lush, reddened lips with mine and kiss him like I want to.
"Craig?" he groans my name and closes his eyes, edging a little closer until his chest is pressed into my side, his forehead resting on my shoulder. I wrap my arm around him and hold him there, closing my own eyes as I rest my cheek against his hair, basking in the scent and warmth of him. I can still hear Matias in the background as he points out the sights but in all fairness, it pretty much goes over my head. I'm excited to be here, I really am but nothing is as compelling as having John Paul back with me, so close.
Within a couple of minutes the coach rumbles to a halt and passengers start to get off as their names are called. At that point John Paul lifts his head, looking around us as maybe half the coach load gets off.
"Not long now eh?" I croak out, clearing my throat, smiling at him. He nods his head but remains quite, happy to rest his head on my shoulder and watch the proceedings. It doesn't take long before the coach sets off again, Matias having handed over responsibility of the passengers to the hotel. The next stop takes even less time to get to and as the names are called out, I crane my neck and listen for ours. When it isn't mentioned and I realise that we must be staying at the third and last hotel, I settle back once more, careful not to disturb John Paul who's nodded off to sleep next to me.
Lucy and her family get up and leave, which is a bit of a relief, the little girl giving me a wave as she bounds down the aisle and off the vehicle and then I watch as she dashes over to a huge pile of snow, her brother chasing her then scraping a ball together and throwing it at one of the windows. Thank goodness we don't have the pleasure of being in the same place as that little brat, that's all I can say. There aren't that many people left on the coach now and looking around, I figure this makes up the rest of the people from our flight that'll be staying at the same place as us. Less than five minutes later and we're on the narrow, winding road towards our hotel.
This place looks truly magic and though I hate to wake John Paul, I can't let him miss the sight out of the window.
"John Paul, hey, John Paul!" I say in a hushed whisper, giving him a light nudge with my shoulder. He unfolds his arms and lifts his head with a start, blinking, his eyes soft from the all too brief nap. "Sorry I just...look" . I lean back in my seat as he extends his neck, looking around me to where I'm pointing out of the window. "Beautiful isn't it?"
He nods his head, placing his hand on my arm, his warm breath creating a light mist on the window when it makes contact with the cold glass. He wipes it away with the cuff of his sleeve, moving back just a little, his cheek just inches from mine. We sit in silence, him squashed lightly against me, taking in the majestic scenery as we pass it. It's only around four in the afternoon but according to Matias, Lapland only has around six hours of 'real light' between eight in the morning and two in the afternoon. Even so, the moonlight bouncing off the snow covered peaks of the surrounding hills and the smooth, glistening iced surface of the lake we're approaching, creates an ethereal whiteness like I've never seen before. The sky is pitch black and yet we can make out every snow covered branch of the trees as we pass them and the icy trails that cut through the Lappish landscape, the tiny lights in the trees enhancing the magical feel of the place even more.
I hear John Paul's breath catch as we start to slow, passing a few quaint log cabins scattered throughout the landscape, the smoke billowing from the chimneys indicating a roaring fire inside, the thought alone warming me throughout.
I'm just beginning to wonder how much further it is to our hotel when I hear the hiss of brakes and feel the coach pull to a stop. Raising myself from my seat and hanging a little over the now vacant one in front, I see the warm, welcoming lights of our hotel, the large wooden structure somehow blending with the nature surrounding us, looking quaint and traditional while still looking like the four star, luxurious resort hotel that it is. The rep doesn't bother with checking the list, he just disappears straight inside the hotel where I can see him talking to the receptionist. Figuring it's best to stay warm as long as possible, I take my time , watching the interaction between the pair as it seems to get more animated...no, heated.
Pulling on our gloves and hats, we grab the hand luggage from the overhead racks and finally make our way towards the front of the vehicle along with the four other remaining couples, me following closely behind John Paul. Hunching low, I continue watching the interaction between our rep and the youngish woman behind the desk, noting the way Matias is raking his fingers through his hair, clearly frustrated, the blond talking to him holding her hands up, occasionally touching his arm as she tries to calm the situation. Suddenly John Paul stops and I walk right into him as we near the front of the coach. Looking over his shoulder to see what the hold up is, I see a woman hobbling on crutches down the steps, helped by her partner as she exits the doors. Once she's sorted out, we continue, jumping into the fresh snow one after the other, the cold air hitting us as soon as we're outside.
"Mr Dean?...Sir?" I look up, eyebrows raised as Matias walks towards us, the freezing weather not even registering as he stands facing us, the wind whipping at his face. I get this ominous foreboding feeling in my stomach when I hear him call me 'sir'. There's just something about it that has me worried.
"Yeah that's us" I say waving my hand between myself and John Paul, though it's quite clear we're together as he's standing huddled as close to me as you can possible get without being surgically joined at the hip.
"You booked a double room with en suite?" he asks hesitantly, like he's kinda hoping I haven't. I nod my head vigorously.
"That's right...a double, not a twin" I confirm, like I'll make the same mistake I made in Blackpool.
"That's correct but...I'm afraid we have a slight problem. The room you were to stay in is on the ground floor and we've had a guest book in who recently broke their leg..."
"That's alright, we'll go on another floor then" I say logically, checking with John Paul who shrugs his acceptance. Matias looks even more guilty if possible, shaking his head before I'm even finished.
"The hotel is booked to full capacity which means..."
"We're not going back home" John Paul jumps in, bouncing on his feet next to me. He gives me a sidelong glance, his brows furrowed. "They'll have to sort something out" he finishes to me, his voice pleading a little. I turn to him, nodding my head in the direction of the Hotel foyer.
"Listen, why don't you go and stay warm over there and I'll sort this out yeah?" He nods in agreement, eyes begging me to make things right. I smile reassuringly, my eyes connecting with his briefly before he ducks forward, his cheek brushing against mine, his lips just glancing the skin in front of my ear. Patting his arm, I incline my head towards the hotel.
"Okay I'll just..." he waves vaguely then sets off, skidding a little awkwardly as his hands are still jammed tightly in his pockets. Then I look back at Matias and smile, ready to see what our options are.
As always, thanks so much for reading, comments and replies are greatly appreciated.
Nicky xx