Page 1 of Nerdy or Nice
Chapter 1
Gwen
The customer looked seriously disgruntled – and maybe a little drunk. His ruddy face scrunched in confusion as he said, "You're the wrong kind of elf."
So I'd heard. Repeatedly.Still, I plastered on my sunniest smile. "Yeah, well, we can'tallbe Christmas elves."
God, what a nightmare.For the holidays, I'd taken a part-time job wrapping gifts at the area's largest department store. Only minutes before my shift, I'd discovered that tonight was dress-up night.
Not in dresses.
But in Christmas gear.
By text, I'd received an official list of appropriate costumes. And right there in the third slot down had been the word,"Elf."
So here I was.Being short of costumes, time, and money, I'd worked with what I had – a shimmering blue cloak and fake pointy ears. Therefore, I looked ready to defend Helm's Deep – except with no bow.
Or sword.
Mostly, I just had my dignity.
In front of me, the customer slurred, "Your costume blows."
Alright, scratch the dignity.
The time was just past eleven – not a.m., but p.m. – and I still had an hour to go. Normally, the store closed at nine, but with Christmas exactly a week away, we were staying open extra late for the store's Magical Midnight Marathon.
It didn't feel so magical tome.But of course, this had nothing to do with my job and everything to do with the romantic roller-coaster I'd been riding for the past month.
On the upside, a broken heart was just the thing to distract me from my aching feet. By now, I'd been standing for nearly nine hours, and my arches were paying the price.
Already, I'd wrapped at least a hundred gifts, maybe more. But sometime within the last hour or so, the crowds had finally cleared, leaving me at the wrapping station alone untilthisguy had shown up.
His hands were empty, and he pushed no cart. Still, I felt compelled to ask, "So…do you have something you need wrapped?"
His shoulders slumped. "No."
So why are you here?
But I didn't say it, because my tuition wasn't going to pay itself. Instead, I plastered on another smile. "Well, then you'd better get shopping, huh?"
"I guess," the guy grumbled. "Got any ideas?"
"For who?" And then, at his cloudy expression, I felt the need to clarify. "I mean, who are you shopping for?"
"The wife, that's who." He gave a dramatic groan. "God, I hate shopping."
I had to give the guy at leastsomecredit. Lots of guys waited 'til Christmas Eve.But not this guy.Grumpy or not, he was trying, right? "Hey, look on the bright side," I said. "You've still got a week to go."
"So?"
"So I'm just saying, it's not an emergencyyet."
"The hell it isn't," he grumbled. "Last year, I put it off so long, all the good stuff was gone." He gave a drunken snort. "Got my wife a coffee maker. You can guess howthatwent over."
"Oh come on," I said with a reassuring smile. "That's not so bad. Everyone likes coffee, right?"
"Not the wife," he scoffed. "She doesn't even drink the stuff."
