Page 1 of A Candy Cane Christmas
Chapter 1
Luci
These tights were so fucking itchy.
I turned around to make sure no one was watching, but I was alone, the street completely devoid of anyone aside from a few cars driving by. Not a surprise, given it was dark, raining, and fucking cold. It was a miracle my balls were itching in the first place and hadn’t gone numb from the icy temperatures.
I quickly grabbed my crotch through the dark green tights that were a part of my elf costume, trying to adjust myself and get this fucking seam out of my ass. Seriously, I was wearing underwear, so why the hell did it still feel like someone had given me a wedgie?
Maybe the question should be: why was I doing this to myself for the sixth year in a row? It wasn’t like I desperately needed the money. I wasn’t a starving college student trying not to drown in student debt or end up homeless due to being broke anymore.
Nope, I’d left that period in my life firmly in the rearview mirror. I didn’t need to juggle almost half a dozen jobs at once any longer. So why was letting this one seasonal job go so fucking hard?
My phone started buzzing in my jacket, and I quickly accepted the call before wedging the phone between my ear and shoulder.
“Hello?” I asked, fishing for my keychain that was supposed to be somewhere in the pocket of my winter coat.
“Little bro,” Gabe cheered. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”
“I was at work,” I said, letting out a frustrated huff that turned into a white cloud the second my breath left my mouth.
“Another photo shoot?”
“Nope,” I said, popping the p.
Why were my coat pockets so damn big? And why wasn’t I able to keep them empty, or at least organized?
Paper, lighter, some kind of receipt, chewing gum, something wooden—where the fuck were my damn keys?
“Uhm… another gallery showing? You’re still doing those, right?”
“Yes, but nope.”
“Teaching art at the community center?”
My fingers slid past something cold, metal, and jagged.
Gotcha!
“That’s on Wednesdays.”
“I got nothing.” Gabe sighed. “It’s a miracle you’re able to keep a schedule. Your life is so chaotic.”
“Just the way I like it,” I said, unlocking the door to my apartment building and hurrying inside. Stale air with a hint of vanilla and pipe tobacco welcomed me home as I took off the hood of my coat and shook my head. The bells on my red and green elf hat jingled with the movement, and I couldn’t help but smile at the bright sound.
“Did I hear bells? Luci, you’re not playing Santa’s elf again, are you?” Gabe’s words were dripping with judgment.
“Ben called me last week, begging me to do it just one last year. What was I supposed to do?”
The door fell shut behind me, and I took a deep breath, bracing myself against the sermon my brother was going to unleash.
“Say, ‘Thanks for asking, but I’m unavailable.’ Or simply, ‘No, sorry.’ Or, and hear me out, ‘No.’ That’s a full sentence, you know. Luci, I know you like to keep busy, but you have so much on your plate as is.”
Letting out a sigh, I headed up the stairs. “It’s the last time.” Probably. If I figured out how to tell Ben I wouldn’t return next year, no matter how much he pleaded with me.
“You said that last year. And the year before that.”
“I know. But this time, I mean it.” Granted, I’d meant it last year, too. And the year before.
