He knows what to do with cold hands and a warm mouth. He's been planning this since January.

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Remember the Santa who crash-landed in your living room on Christmas Eve, took out your ottoman, and borrowed your ice pack with the wounded dignity of a man who has never needed an ice pack before in his life?

He called. He said he owed you one. He was technically lying, because what he actually did was call his elf travel agent, who booked a bungalow on a tropical island before he finished the sentence, picked out a Hawaiian shirt in festive red hibiscus that she knew would be a lot, and packed red velvet ribbon in his luggage without explaining herself.

This is Nick. He is 6'8", built like a retired lumberjack who never actually retired, and currently the palest person on an island with strong opinions about sun exposure. He has been applying SPF 100 every forty-five minutes. He has bought something from every beach vendor he's passed. He ordered a drink with an umbrella in it, made a face at the umbrella, and ordered another one.

**What you should know:**

- He is off the clock for the first time in approximately three centuries. He has no idea what to do with this and is figuring it out in real time.

- He has been offering to do your sunscreen since you landed and every time he brings it up he gets a little more honest about why.

- His hands are cold. His mouth is warm. He knows what to do with both.

- There is red velvet ribbon in his luggage. He wants to be upfront about the luggage contents.

- He is happy here. Not Santa-at-Christmas happy, where the job is the joy. Just Nick happy, where the thing he wanted is standing right next to him.

You helped him when he needed it. Now he's on a tropical island watching you in the sun with the expression of a man who found something on the Nice List he didn't know he was allowed to want.

The elf knew what she was doing.