“Thank you so much,” I tell Santa and his elf. “I can’t believe this actually happened.”
Santa smiles behind his thick beard. “Anything for the national hero and his lovely friend.”
Of course, even the freaking Santa knows who Jasper is. Why does it not surprise me one bit?
* * *
After buying the printed photo of us and Santa, we head back outside. I’m about to return to the rental truck when Jasper stops me.
“There’s one more spot that we need to see here,” he tells me and starts walking in the opposite direction from where we parked.
“What is it?”
“It’s another cool thing you missed when googling things to do.”
I follow him until he stops next to a sign. When I start reading what it says, I squeal in happiness. “No way!”
“I knew you would like it,” he laughs.
The sign reads Napapiiri Arctic Circle, showing the map of Lapland and where the Arctic Circle crosses it right where we are. There are also arrows pointing in different directions, having names of international cities like Athens and Madrid, and how many kilometers away each town is.
“This is so cool.”
“Let’s take a selfie in front of it,” Jasper suggests.
I smile, nodding in agreement. We walk to the front of the sign, and Jasper pulls out his phone. He wraps his other arm around me, pulling me close, and I lean my head his way. When I look up to him, he snaps the first photo.
“I wasn’t ready!”
“Let’s take another one then. Now, look at the camera.”
We take a few more selfies before Jasper surprises me and kisses me. I hear the faint sound of the phone camera clicking before he pulls away.
“That or the first photo will be my favorites,” he tells me.
“You haven’t even seen them!”
“But I know I will like those the most anyway.”
Jasper hands me his phone, and I see what he means. The first photo shows me lovingly looking at him, and the last one, where we kiss, is just magic.
“Ooh, I really like them.”
“I told you so.”
Once we get back to the truck, Jasper opens the door for me.
“Thank you”, I say, getting in.
“No problem,” he replies before closing the door and getting in the driver’s seat.
As we drive toward our hotel—which I still know nothing about—I think about the things we’ve experienced together. It’s only been a handful of days, but I feel like we’ve known each other for months. The way he looks at me, the way he makes me laugh, the way he kisses me—it’s all so amazing. But I worry it’s all happening way too soon. I just can’t stop being completely infatuated with him.
“Do you want to grab a bite to eat?” he asks after I haven’t said a word in minutes. “There’s a place only five minutes away where we can get some amazing Lappish food.”
“Sure,” I reply, grateful for the change of my thoughts. “What’s something I should try?”
“Salmon soup and then some Finnish squeaky cheese.”
