(Hi everyone! I have wanted to submit a story for years, but have never completed one that I was happy with. So, I decided to just to go for it by submitting this. I really want you to have an enjoyable time with it and feel free to give a first timer some critiques. So, I will stop my ramblings and let you get on with reading!)
Megan leaned on the glass top of the counter as the clerk stared at her with a smile that attempted to be complimentary, but instead was the pinnacle of creepy. She pretended to cough as she investigated the soft gold chain that currently resided within her hand. The man just continued to gaze upon her, doing his best to be helpful, but just failing miserably. "Well, this does seem lighter than the last one," she critiqued, "but perhaps too fragile. I'd hate to be a bother, but do you mind showing me a heavier one?"
The man nodded over zealously. "Certainly ma'am."
He took the chain away and Megan sighed with a relief. Finally, he turned his back without locking the front case. It took four trips, but as always, persistence was the key. With crafty fingers, Megan reached quickly into the slightly ajar case and grabbed the piece she truly wanted, which was a very adorable diamond necklace. As the clerk unlocked the other case, she managed to worm the pendant under her sleeve and rearrange some of the other necklaces to make it look like nothing was missing. As the man returned with the thicker chain, Megan was back in her casual lean on the counter. "I hope this one is better," said the old clerk.
Megan didn't want the man to grow suspicious, so she made sure to spend as much time with this one as the others. After a seemingly acceptable minute, she grimaced and formed an expression of absolute repentance. "I feel terrible, but I may have wasted your time. None of these are particularly exciting me. I'm so sorry," Megan groveled.
The man's eternal grin did not fade, but rather, seemed to completely understand. "That's the nature of shopping, ma'am. There is no reason to feel bad. If you change your mind though, just stop on by."
"I will do," Megan responded graciously. "Have a nice day." As she walked away, she slyly shook the pendant from her sleeve and into her purse. The whole experience sent a thrilling rush through her nerves. She succeeded without need for flirting, cleavage, or hell, anything remotely sexual.
The store bustled with customers, Thanksgiving on the horizon. Megan looked forward to this holiday traffic since people were often too absorbed by their shopping activities to notice her mischievous ones. Still, the pendant indeed was quite the high ticket item, so despite her desire to visit the makeup department for more... discounts, it was best for her to be on her way.
The exit was in her sight when Megan noticed something else out of the corner of her eye. A man about fifty feet in front of her leaned over a rack of shirts. The interesting part happened to be the wallet protruding so alluringly from his back pocket. Pick pocketing was well out of her normal pervue since she enjoyed stealing more due to the challenge and skill rather than being like a street urchin from some stuffy novel. Still, she had taken a few such items on occasion, and this man reeked of obliviousness.
Megan flipped her long chocolate brown hair back, a habit that helped her mentally prepare for a daring escapade. She walked carefully to make sure that the clicks of her heels were not too noticeable. For thirty seconds, her hands sorted through a table of garish polo shorts, before finally, she swooped in. Casually, Megan grasped at the thick wallet and pulled it out like the sword from the stone. With a tight posture, she hurried to a display of artificial Christmas trees and hid there.
A giggle escaped Megan's lips; the rush she received even greater than that of the pendant heist. Anxiously, she decided to investigate her spoils, opening the leather clasp on the wallet. Her eyebrows rose as she became perplexed by what she found. The wallet was completely empty. No money. No credit cards. Not even a driver's license. Suddenly, she felt a tight grip on her arm as some removed her from the hiding spot.
Indeed, the hand belonged to the same person who owned the wallet. He was a tall man with jet black here and stern blue eyes, framed by a casual stubble. His muscles were hidden under a white collared shirt, his pants gripping his lower body tightly. Megan's expression exuded utter panic as the man took his wallet back. "Now, now," he chuckled, "it's not nice to take things that belong to others."
Megan pouted her lips as she narrowed her amber eyes at the man. "And it's not nice to grab people, might I add."
The man drug Megan through the crowd, everyone around ignorantly unaware of her plight. Her heels drugs and clicked as she was thrown into a secluded area behind the book department. The man laughed gruffly again, sliding the purse off of Megan's arm, despite her protests. "Now, don't be so rude. You got to see what was in my wallet, so I get to see what is in yours!"
Megan's skin grew pale as he shuffled through her bag, knowing exactly what he will find. First, he opened her wallet, taking stock of the lack of cash and looking at her driver's license. "Megan Ellison. Huh, yeah, you do look like a Megan," he laughed throwing the wallet back into the bag. His eyes then lit up as he looked down. "Now, what is this?" Megan gulped as he pulled the pendant from the purse, dangling it in front of her face. "Well, this looks awfully expensive. I wonder where the receipt is..."
Megan clenched her fists together as she leaned in. "What the hell? Who are you? Let... let go of my stuff..."
He let out his smug laugh yet again. "We both know this doesn't belong to you, Meg, so, I suggest you don't go about making a scene."
Megan bit her lip. She hated being called Meg. "Well, you don't seem upstanding yourself," she protested. "I mean, what was up with that wallet?"
"Yeah, that is weird, isn't it? It's almost like it was a trap," the man replied with a wicked grin. "I work for security and there has been a string of pick pocketing here. I was trying to lure out the culprit."
Megan's flesh lost any sense of color. She managed to mutter, "fuck."
The man leaned in. "Don't worry, Meg. I know you aren't the master thief I was looking for. I mean, you tried to rob from me in those heels! Like, how dumb are you?"
Megan was too busy being shell-shocked to become angry at that comment. "Unless, you weren't trying to steal from me at all, but rather, just wanted into my pockets," the man sneered. He grabbed Megan's wrist yet again, her eyes bulging as he roughly shoved her hand into his front pocket. "Let's see if you find anything of interest in there, Meg."
