Chloe walked into the Porter Ranch Promenade with her bestie, Mallory Newman. The soon-to-be high school seniors sashayed into the elegant mall with an air of belonging.
“Act like we’re looking for merch. Look carefully at the prices. Remember, we have to stay under nine hundred and fifty bucks. We’ll take pics of the good stuff.”
“I’m nervous,” her friend said.
Chloe felt the same way, but knew if she showed any fear, Mal would back out. “Relax. We always shop here. It’s like any other day, except we’re not shopping. We’re just checking out prices. We’ll take pics of the more expensive stuff—posing with it pretending we’re gonna put it on LIV,” referring to the popular Lifestyle in Video social media app.
Even though Mallory was scared, her friend followed her inside the Flair department store.
Chloe, you are going to check out the merch, tell Eloy where the good stuff is located, and then you’ll ghost him. You wanted a boyfriend, not a criminal record.
But what if he sends those nude pictures he took of you to Mom and Dad? I know! Tell them they were altered. Someone put your head on a naked girl. Good. They’d believe that…besides, Eloy doesn’t even know where you live.
The burst of cool air felt good upon their deeply tanned limbs exposed in their denim cut-off shorts which barely covered their butt cheeks. Toned arms swung from knit tops that revealed their midriffs, but also drew gazes to their notable chests.
Both girls pushed their expensive sunglasses to the top of their head to function as an informal headband.
“Let’s check out shoes and handbags, then we’ll move to jeans and leggings,” Chloe murmured.
The pair smiled at the old lady behind the cash register as they walked between the wide tables, which held dozens of designer stilettos, sneakers, and flats.
They moved to a display of strappy high heels as well as pumps.
“Oh, look at these,” Mallory squealed. She lifted a fuchsia Jimmy Choo ankle-strap peep-toe sandal and held it in the air for her friend to see.
Chloe went over and looked at the price tag. “Really cute, but out of our budget,” she responded.
With a wistful glance, Mal replaced the shoe. “I can’t believe a few bucks over nine hundred and fifty will make a difference,” she said in a hushed tone.
Chloe frowned and whispered back. “Those few dollars are the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony. A misdemeanor means you don’t have to worry about going to jail. At the worst, you get a fine and probation. A felony means you might wind up in jail—although you likely wouldn’t be there long.” She shrugged. “But why risk it?”
A day ago, Chloe didn’t understand the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony, but before she’d left his house, Eloy had sat her in a chair and educated her. She resented that she was no longer innocent in the ways of the law…and had given up her virginity to someone like Eloy.
A thirty-something male clerk approached, his gaze focused on her boobs. “Would you like to try those Jimmy Choo’s on? They’d be sexy on you.”
His tone made Chloe’s skin crawl, and she wanted to put the perv in his place. Instead, she smiled, “No thanks. We’re just looking.”
“If you change your mind, my name is Phil.”
“Thank you.” She looked at Mal. “Come on Ashley, let’s go check out the purses.”
“Huh?”
Chloe grabbed her friend’s arm and tugged her past the shoes on display tables. “Purses. Remember? We wanted to check out purses.”
Understanding filled Mal’s face. “Oh, yeah. I wanted a small white bag to take on vacation,” she said, smiling at the shoe guy.
“I’m here until six if you ladies need anything. Anything at all.”