Page 69 of King of Pain

Chance grins, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re just jealous I hit that high note better than you.”

Jen gasps, clutching her chest theatrically. “I amnotjealous. I’m in awe, there’s a difference.”

I shake my head, a smile reaching my eyes as I watch them bicker.

Frank and Kathy come up from the back, their faces lit with smiles. “Glad to see the holiday spirit is alive and well in here,” Frank says, warmly. Kathy steps forward and motions for all of us to gather.

“We just wanted to take a moment,” Kathy begins, her voice thick with emotion. “To thank you all for being such a fantastic team. You make this place more than a record store—you make it a family. And Chance,” she turns to him, “you’ve fit in like you’ve been here forever. We’re so happy to have you.”

Jen crosses her arms, her mouth twitching. “He’s alright. I guess we’ll keep him.”

Frank laughs as Kathy hands out envelopes. “It’s not a lot,” she says, “but we wanted to say thank you for everything you do. You trulyarefamily to us.”

I open mine to find a bonus, and it’s all I can do not to get choked up. I peek over at Chance, who’s smiling softly, and Jen, who’s already cracking jokes about spending it all on sex toys. The moment is perfect, really.

Just then, a group of guys I recognize from the baseball team come into the store. One of them—Bryson—has a thing for Jen. He comes in occasionally and throws the cheesiest lines at her. He also insists on calling her Jenny, which she hates. He’s got a reputation with the girls on campus as a bad lay, and Butters told me he’s hung like a light switch. How he knows that… I don’t want to know.

“Hey gorgeous,” Bryson says as his crew walks past the front entrance. He stops and leans against the check-out counter. “Are you Christmas morning? Because I’ve been waiting all year for you.”

Jen smirks. “Is that right?”

“It is indeed,” Bryson quips back. “In fact, I’m on Santa’s nice list, and I told him the only thing I want this year is Jenny’s number.”

Jen giggles and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

This should be good.

She moves closer to the counter, runs her finger over the edge, and says, “Take out your phone. Your Christmas wish is about to come true.”

Bryson pulls his phone out of his back pocket with lightning speed, unlocks it, and looks at her with puppy dog eyes. I almost feel bad for him.

“You ready?” Jen says sweetly.

He nods aggressively. “Yep.”

“Okay,” Jen says as she rests her elbows on the counter and looks at his screen. “My number is 867-5309.”

Bryson looks up.

For a second, I think he caught it—

“Is it the local area code?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake, he doesn’t know.

“Sure is,” Jen says with a wink.

Bryson beams. “Okay, great. What’s your last name? I’ll add it to the contact.”

Jen hums. “Mm no last names yet, Romeo. Just put Jenny as my last name too.”

Bryson looks up, puzzled. “So, Jenny Jenny?”

Jen nods

Jesus Christ

“Great. I’ll text you later,” Bryson says and struts over to his friends like he just hit a grand slam.