Second Rate Chances

by S. C. Stephens

  Makayla ignored the wind whipping her warm honey locks around her face and scoured the parking lot for any sign of him. He had to still be here. He hadn’t been too far in front of them.

  “Oh…that sucks, Mack.”

  Makayla glanced up at Neil’s frowning face, then spotted movement over his shoulder. A burst of adrenaline shot through her when she saw the thief-next-door man. He was heading to a car at the edge of the lot. Apparently when you’re late for a movie, you don’t get the close stalls. Maybe next time the creep should arrive on time to his heist. No wonder his date ditched him…if he even had a date to begin with.

  “There he is…come on.” Makayla grabbed Neil’s hand again and drug him to her car. Luckily, she had found a really good spot up close.

  The wind whipping his clothes around his body, Neil resisted her pull. “Wait, what are we gonna do? Shouldn’t we be calling the cops right about now?”

  Sighing, Makayla manhandled her friend to the car. This was where his slight frame and her few extra pounds came in handy. “By the time the cops got here, he’d be long gone. And trust me, they’re not going to invest a lot of time in finding a pickpocket.”

  Quickly unlocking her car, Makayla ducked into the driver’s side and started it up. Neil was slower as he sat beside her. Seeing the man just now reaching his vehicle, Makayla smiled. This was going to be easy.

  Neil bit his lip as he buckled his belt. “Well, couldn’t we just let it go this one time? It’s not like you had a wad of cash in there. Why are we risking our lives for twenty bucks?”

  Backing out of the stall, Makayla frowned at her friend. “No, we can’t just let it go. It’s the principle of the thing, Neil. We can’t let criminals think that they can get away with crap like this. Those who allow injustice to be done are just as guilty as the ones who commit it.”

  Exhaling in a rush, Neil dropped his head to the back of the seat. “Great, thanks…Socrates.”

  Neil looked around as they exited the lot. Makayla kept her eyes fixated on the thief’s dark blue compact. Making sure she kept enough distance between her and the car, she followed it onto the main road. Neil fidgeted in his seat. “So what’s the plan anyway? We follow him back to his…lair…where he pulls a gun and kills us both?”

  Makayla flicked a glance at him. “No. You were right, I didn’t have much cash. To make the theft worth it, he’ll try and use one of my credit cards before I have a chance to cancel it.”

  Neil smirked. “Because simply canceling the card is what a sane woman would do…which is why you’re not doing it.” He looked at the brake lights of the thief’s car in front of them and shook his head. “We’re so going to die…”

  Grinning as the rush of the chase filled her, Makayla rolled her eyes. “We’re not going to die. We’re going to catch him in the act so we can throw the full force of the law at him.”

  Neil shook his head ruefully. “I know you’re all gung-ho about becoming a cop, but I still think we should let the people who passed the test handle this.”

  Makayla shot him a look. “Sit-ups, Neil.” She shook her head. “I’ll pass next time…besides, I’m better at this than half the guys on patrol.”

  Neil sighed. “Yes…but they have the weapons, Mack.”

  Keeping one eye on the man she was tailing, Makayla grinned. “Come on, Neil. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

  “I don’t have one,” he deadpanned.

  Looking over at him, Makayla cocked an eyebrow. “You dated Derrick Kelly for six months…you so have one.”

  Neil grinned, his dimples showing. “Aah, Derrick…bastard.”

  They were silent as they followed the man, waiting for him to make a move with his loot. Just as Makayla started to worry that maybe he was going to take his chance on the credit cards in the morning, the car pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store. Makayla grinned. Neil sighed.

  Watching the handsome thief jauntily walk through the front doors, Makayla popped her door open. Neil shook his head as he got out. “What’s he doing here? Shouldn’t he be at Best Buy or something, loading up on Plasmas?”

  Shaking her head, a long, golden strand blowing across her face, Makayla said, “No, it’s smart. He can use the automatic check-out. No one will even look at the card.” Giving Neil a dour face, she added, “Besides, maybe what the perp really needs right now is groceries. Times are tough…even for criminals.”

  “Right…”

  The pair walked through the automatic doors and Makayla looked around. The store was brightly lit, with advertisements everywhere proclaiming deals of the century. Makayla made a mental note that Häagen Dazs was half price—she had a feeling she’d need some after this. Even though it was getting late, the twenty-four hour store was bristling with people. She wasn’t sure which way a burglar would go. Maybe the brazen boy needed to stock up on deodorant?

  Seeing that Neil looked just as lost over where to go next, Makayla grabbed his elbow and pulled him towards the produce section. All they could really do was start at the perimeter of the store and look down every aisle, hoping they caught a peek of him. And if that failed, they could find a place to unobtrusively watch the checkout lines.

  Keeping an eye out for the seemingly gentile southern man that had stolen from her, Makayla drug Neil around the bins of apples and oranges. Tucked into a dark corner of the produce section was the florist counter. Makayla wasn’t sure why grocery stores sold flowers and balloons, probably so that procrastinating husbands could pick up an easy, get-out-of-jail-free card while they were out grabbing a gallon of milk…or a six pack of beer. For whatever reason stores thought to stock the section, they only had a person manning the counter during daylight hours.

  Makayla glanced at the dark counter, already thinking of disregarding the area in her search for the man with the amazing grin. So seeing him sitting on the counter, idly twisting a rose between his fingers, was enough to make Makayla stumble.

  The man had the audacity to give her that charming grin as she nearly fell flat on her face. Luckily Neil jerked back on her arm, keeping her upright. A righteous fire swirled in her belly as she stormed over to the man. He kept up his charming grin, swinging his legs over the edge of the counter like a five-year-old. Makayla wanted to make a big scene—publicly declare that she was putting him under citizen’s arrest, maybe even wrestle him to the ground and hogtie him until the police came—but Neil subtly slowed her down, reminding her that they didn’t know anything about this man, and while he looked unassuming, he could also be armed. She didn’t want Neil’s prediction that they were going to die tonight to come true. Neil would never forgive her.

  Reminding herself to be as cautious as a real policewoman would be, she stopped several feet from the suspect. “I believe you have something that doesn’t belong to you,” she said, her tone remarkably even.

  The man from the movie theater’s grin widened as he set down the rose in his hands and hopped off the counter. Makayla straightened her back, but held her ground. Neil took an involuntary step away, but instantly came back to Makayla’s side. He may not want to be here, but he’d never leave her alone in a situation like this.

  “I can’t believe you followed me.” His grin not leaving him, the thief shook his head. “I’ve never been tailed by a girl before.” He raised an eyebrow as he closed the distance between them. “You did pretty well, but I saw you early on. The key to it is following without mimicking. I could help you with that, if you like?”

  Makayla blinked and shook her head. Did the person who stole from her really just offer to help her with espionage? Wanting to say yes to his help, since it might come in handy if she ever did pass the police exam, Makayla shook her head and extended her hand. “I just want my stuff back.” She sighed that she wouldn’t be able to catch him in the act after all. She’d really wanted to nail him with something big, not petty theft.

  Noticing her sigh, the thief brightened. Looking between Neil and Makayla, he merrily ex
claimed. “Oh, do you mean the wallet that you dropped at the movies?”

  He reached inside his jacket pocket and Neil jerked Makayla back a step. Ice flooded Makayla’s veins as she registered the movement—the thief was reaching for a weapon. He was going to shoot them right next to the “Get Well Soon” balloons…how ironic.

  The man paused in what he was doing. An amused expression crossed his features as he pulled his fingers back out of his pocket. Makayla’s wallet was tucked inside them, not a weapon. Feeling more than a little dumb, Makayla reached out to snatch it back from him. He nimbly pulled it away at the last second and she grabbed air instead.

  Twisting his lips, he drawled, “Aren’t you going to thank me for finding it?”

  Narrowing her eyes, Makayla spat out, “You found it in my purse! You don’t get kudos for that…you get arrested.”

  Still amused, the man crossed his arms over his chest. Makayla’s wallet now rested near the man’s heart…if he had one. “No, I found it on the floor.” He tilted his head and a look of concern washed over his face. He looked innocent enough to fool even the most cynical jury member. “I looked everywhere for you, in the hopes of returning it.” He shrugged. “You vanished on me though, so I had no choice but to hold onto it. I was going to turn it into the police station tomorrow morning…” He grinned devilishly, all trace of innocence gone. “Just like all good, law-abiding citizens should.”

  Irritated by how attractive that mischievous grin was, Makayla reached out and smacked his shoulder. “You left before us, jackass! We had to rush to follow you before the vapor trail vanished.” Neil gasped at her hitting a potentially dangerous man. The thief however, smiled, amused again.

  Extending his hand with her wallet, he shook his head. “Truth is in what you can prove, not what really happened. You need absolute certainty to plead your case. I only need a seed of doubt to refute it…remember that.”

  Giving him an icy glare, Makayla did make a note of that.

  Once the wallet was back in her possession, Makayla opened it. Everything was still in it, even her meager amount of cash. Neil started pulling her away once it seemed that everything had been resolved, but the thief extended his hand again. Nothing was in it this time. “My name is Chance.”

  Makayla eyed the hand distastefully, like if she accepted it, he’d pick her wallet again. He chuckled at her reluctance and waggled his hand in front of her. Sighing, she let the edge of her fingers brush his hand—his was warm. “Chance? That’s not a name…it’s a card in Monopoly.”

  Chance laughed while Neil fidgeted. He obviously wanted to leave now, but Makayla couldn’t yet. She was annoyed by this thief, yes, but…she was a little intrigued, too. “It’s more of a nickname, I guess.”

  Makayla lifted an eyebrow. “What’s your real name?”

  Chance shook his head, his easy grin as casual as his light accent. “I’m not telling you that yet.” He gave her an adorable, affronted expression. “We just met.”

  Makayla couldn’t stop herself from grinning. Once the smile was on her face though, she instantly removed it. She shouldn’t find a criminal amusing and charming. She should find him detestable. But he wasn’t entirely unappealing….that worried Makayla some.

  Seeing her smile, Chance added, “I’ll tell you if you go out to dinner with me?”

  Neil immediately interjected, stepping between Chance and Makayla. “She doesn’t date felons.”

  Not looking too intimidated by Neil, maybe since he had height and weight on the slim man, and also, quite possibly a gun tucked on him somewhere, Chance shook his head. “Well, that’s good news, because I’m not a felon.” He looked back at Makayla. “No convictions.”

  Smirking, she shook her head. “Sorry, he’s right, I don’t date criminals.”

  Chance shook his head again. “I’m not a criminal.”

  “You stole my—”

  “I found a wallet and tried to return it…not criminal.”

  Chance grinned at his logic and Makayla frowned. She knew that that wasn’t what had happened…she just didn’t have a way to prove it. But either way, she wasn’t about to date this man…cute or not. Tilting his head, he gave her an expression that again made him seem completely incapable of doing anything illegal. By his face, you wouldn’t even believe that he jaywalked. “I’m innocent.”

  Makayla scoffed and Chance smirked, his expression changing again. “Okay, maybe I just wanted your attention.”

  Makayla raised her eyebrow that he was sort of admitting he’d taken it. “Really?”

  He shrugged. “Hard to say.” Leaning into her, he added, “Aren’t you curious to find out what makes a guy like me tick? Don’t you want to…get inside my head? Think of how fascinating a date with me could be?”

  Neil, still standing between them, pushed Chance’s shoulder back. Chance straightened, giving him a blank look before returning his attention to Makayla. With an eyebrow raised, he waited for her answer. Makayla bit her lip. She knew it was an absolutely horrible idea—she could not seriously date a criminal—but his point did intrigue her. Maybe one or two dates, just for some insight into a deviant mind, would be beneficial to her long term goals. How better to catch the bad guys than to know how they think? What could one or two dates hurt? It wasn’t as if she’d ever get serious with this guy.

  Nodding, she spat out her cell phone number. “All right, one date…but that’s it.”

  Chance nodded and tapped his head, like he’d filed her number away, never to forget it. Makayla wasn’t sure if she’d just made a huge tactical error or not. Neil seemed to think so. He twisted to face her. “You can’t seriously be—”

  Chance cut them off as he started backing away from the argument that was starting. “Well, then, I’ll call you later.”

  Watching him start to disappear, Makayla wondered if he really would call, if she’d ever see the thief again. A large part of her was okay if that happened, if he just vanished. A small part of her was curious about the man that laid behind those warm, brown eyes. “Do you even want to know my name…before you call?”

  Grinning as he walked backwards, Chance shook his head. “Makayla Lewis. 899 Terrace Ln. Brown hair. Blue eyes. Five foot six. One hundred and—”

  Makayla held up her hand and sputtered, “Okay, I got it.” She looked around after hearing all of the personal information from her driver’s license being relayed to the world. No one was paying attention, though. Makayla wasn’t entirely thrilled that a person with the propensity for stealing knew where she lived…or how much she weighed.

  Her date hadn’t even started yet and Makayla already had a bad feeling about it.

  Neil sat beside Makayla in the car, silent. Well, silent except for the loud inhaling and exhaling as he struggled to get a hold of whatever hissy fit was threatening to take him over. Makayla bit her lip, wanting to tell him to be quiet. She could hear his question ringing in the air between them loud and clear—What the hell are you doing?

  Makayla was wondering the same thing herself as she pulled away from that fateful grocery store. She’d certainly never expected things to go down that way. She’d gone into that situation thinking she’d help put a menace to society behind bars. She thought she’d come out of the incident looking like a vigilante hero. She’d definitely never expected to come out…with a date.

  And the most troubling part was that she wasn’t entirely sure why she’d said yes. He was attractive, sure, but Makayla wasn’t the type to date the bad guy just because he had an alluring smile. She knew that sometimes you had to turn the other cheek when it came to dating. A tatted biker might be fine when you’re trying to shock your parents as a teen, but Makayla wasn’t about to let such a nefarious presence into her life as an adult. That was just…stupid.

  And yet, she had.

  Pure curiosity had driven her to say yes to his outlandish offer. And now he had her number to go along with the address he’d swiped from her license. If he turned out to be a re
ally bad person, she’d have to move. Makayla hoped that scenario wasn’t in her future.

  Makayla sighed, breaking the silence in the car. “Go ahead and say it.”

  Neil instantly twisted to face her. “What the hell are you thinking? Have you gone completely mental? You cannot date this guy, Makayla!”

  He exhaled in a rush, the relief of getting that off his chest evident in his features. Makayla cringed. “I know…”

  Neil relaxed back into his seat. “Good…so you’ll call the cops on this asshole…ignore him if he calls you?”

  Makayla worried her lip, not sure if she’d do either of those things. Interesting. She’d been all for it on her way to the grocery store, but now that she was leaving the store, her attitude had changed dramatically. She’d just never expected a meeting like that. And the opportunity to delve into a mind like his… She had so many questions. Was he abused as a child and this was how he coped? Or had he gotten in with the wrong crowd when he was older? Had he really taken her wallet just to get her to notice him? But if that were the case, why had he been surprised that she’d followed him? Did he really get stood up at the movies? Did he have a girlfriend…?