Part One: The New Girl and the Bad Boy

Chapter Three: So There's This Hot New Blonde

"So Chucky," says Skinner. "when's the last time you got laid?"
"Last night, when I fucked your mom."
The entire poker table erupts with laughter at Skinner's expense.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Skinner says loudly. He should've seen that one coming; Chucky was the king of ad libs, jokes and sarcasm.
"Just kiddin' Skinner, just kiddin'," Chucky says once the laughter finally dies down. "I've seen your mom. I wouldn't fuck her if she was the last woman on Earth."
The table roars again. Eddie holds out his hand, and Chucky slaps it.
"Yeah yeah yeah, okay, real funny. So I guess I won't tell ya about the hot new blonde workin' at the Sears in the Oxmoor Mall."
"What hot blonde?!" Chucky demands, and it's all seriousness now.
"Well I don't know her name, but word on the street is she's new in town. Just got here a couple days ago."
"Shelly works at that Sears," Eddie realizes. "She might know somethin' about that."
All the guys look at Chucky.
"Well?" asks Flynn. "You gonna go down to the Mall and charm her?"

"What the fuck are we, in high school?"
Quinton scoffs. "If you don't go for it, I will."
"Quinton, you're married," says Pete.
"And?"
"Go for it Chucky," says Eddie. "We gotta go out anyway to see how much we can get for that pocket watch we found."
"Oh yeah," Chucky says. The one we got off that guy I killed a couple weeks ago. God, what a great kill. Blood and everything.
Chucky nods and puts down some cards. Then he pulls a cigar out of his blazer pocket.
"Whoa, Chucky!" Flynn exclaims, speaking for every other guy in the room. "Where'd you get a Cuban?"
"A broad gave 'em to me. Don't worry about it."
"A broad?"
"Oh yeah, Tiffany," says Eddie. "Shelly's friend that just moved to town."
"Oooh," Quinton says. "Wait, just moved to town- is she the new Mall girl?"
"Naw," Chucky says. "This girl's as dull as a goddamn brick."
"Ahh c'mon Chucky," Eddie replies. "Ease up, huh? She wasn't that bad."
"So why don't you date her then?"
"Ha ha ha. You know I want Michelle."
"Alright then. Shut the hell up."
"You know we're gonna want details, Chucky," says Skinner.
"Detail this," Chucky says, laying down all his cards. "Straight flush."

The Next Day

"So what's the plan, Chucky?" Eddie asks as they drive off, headed to the Oxmoor. "How you gonna approach the blonde?"
"Well, first I'm gonna go up to her and act like I need some help finding a department or something. Lead her into some casual conversation. Then, when she's comfortable, I'll make my move."
"Yeah...but what if she's already seein' somebody? Like one of those long distance relationship deals?"
"Damn it Eddie, whaddya trying to do, jinx me? Besides, those things never work out. No man in his right mind would ever agree to that bullshit, I know I wouldn't. A man needs to keep an eye on his woman, know where she is, what she's doin', and who she's doin' it with at all times."
"What if she don't agree with that?"
Chucky shrugs. "She won't be the first."

Oxmoor Mall was the biggest mall in Hackensack, with almost every store a person could need or want. It was in the "nice" part of town, about a hour long drive from Chucky and Eddie's neighborhood. Surprisingly (and luckily for Chucky's temper), it wasn't too hard to find a parking spot. The pawn shop is the very first business to the right as soon as they walk in.
"Alright, you go see what you can get for the watch," Chucky says. "I'm gonna go work my magic."
"Aww man," Eddie says.
"What?"
"I wanted to watch."
Chucky points to the pawn shop.
"Alright, alright," Eddies says. He walks away as Chucky goes up to the visitor's map. Sears is all the way on the other side of the Mall.

The second he steps in, he's bombarded with the scent of perfume and clothes and electronics. Ads for summer clothing hang from the ceiling, with pictures of men, women and children smiling down at him.
Ugh. I hate department stores...
"Hello sir!" a short, plump woman greets happily. Chucky jumps a little; she came out of nowhere.
"Is there anything in particular you need help with today?"
"Uh-no," Chucky replies. "But you might help yourself to a treadmill and some leafy green vegetables."
He hears the woman gasp as he struts away, laughing.

Alright, hot blonde, hot blonde...blondie, where are you...
 He walks around, navigating departments. Several women catch glimpses of him and whisper as he walks past. He goes by the perfume, the jewelry, the makeup. Then he glances over at Women's Apparel- and freezes.

There is a blonde folding shirts for a display. She is in a form fitting, dark blue crushed velvet dress with matching pumps. Chucky studies her for a moment, judging.
Looks good from here.
Chucky turns around and looks in one of the mirrors on top of the make up counter behind him. He'd made sure to wear one of his best outfits: a maroon blazer over a dark brown button up, with maroon slacks and brown dress shoes. It'd been a while since the last time he approached a woman. Dating hadn't really been on his list of priorities in the last several months, which was funny because women would go up to him at parties or bars all the time. But they just never really captured his interest; and even when he did get in a relationship, it never lasted long. His last one only lasted four months.

He walks over to her, prepared to carry out his plan. She turns her head and sees him coming, and does a double take.
"Chucky?!"
Her voice is very familiar.
How does she know my name? My nickname, only my friends get to call me that- He notices her nametag.
"Tiffany?!"
"Yeah," she chuckles. The look on Chucky's face right now is priceless.
"In the flesh."
This was the girl everybody's been talking about? Chucky looks at her from head to toe, from her newly blonde hair to her 5 inch heels. His eyes trace every single curve of her body inside that dress. He never even considered that under that grey shirt and those blue jeans from the other day, she was hiding all this. For the first time in a very long time, if ever, Chucky is speechless.
"Man Tiffany," Chucky says. "I mean, I gotta tell ya... you look incredible."
"Oh, I was always incredible, stud. You just caught me on a weird day."

Chucky's eyes settle on her chest. Tiffany looks down at it too, then smiles to herself as she keeps folding shirts.
"They are pretty perky, huh?"
Goddamn. Chucky fights the urge to reach out and grab them.
Tiffany giggles. She turns for a moment, and Chucky helps himself to a look at her backside.
Damn, that ass...
"So Chucky-"
"Hmm?"
"What brings you here?"
"Oh-um, Eddie needed to go to the pawn shop. I'm just passing through, waitin' for him."
"Ahh."
Awkward silence.
"So...how ya been?"
Tiffany shrugs. "Okay. I can't complain. Hackensack seems nice so far."
"Ya know... you should really let me take you out sometime. Show ya around town."
Tiffany freezes, and her heart begins to race. Oh my god, did he just ask me out?! Okay, play it cool Tiffany. Don't look desperate.

"You know, you're the fourth guy to ask me out since I've been here," she answers matter-of-factly, folding more shirts. "And you seem awfully interested now for someone who said I wasn't cute a few days ago. Why should I pick you?"
Chucky inches closer.
"'Cuz I know you want me Tiffany," he says. His voice is low, seductive. He towers over her and she can feel his body heat, the warm, intoxicating scent of cologne and cigarette smoke radiating off his chest.
"I could tell by the way you were lookin' at me the other day."
"Oh, really?"
She turns to him.
Their faces are literally inches apart.
Tiffany looks up into Chucky's eyes. They are on the fast track to becoming her most favorite thing about him. There are so blue it's almost unreal. And Chucky looks down into hers, large and brown and warm. It feels like nothing and no one else in the world exists but them, right here in this moment. There is definitely something in the air between them, something magnetic, a hot red-blooded attraction...
"Guess you can read me like a book then," Tiffany breathes. "So, tell me..."
Her gaze falls from his eyes to his lips.
"What am I thinking right now?"
Both of them lean in-

"It was him!" a woman suddenly cries. A hand grasps Chucky's shoulder; he shrugs it off really hard and jerks around, that killer look in his eyes again. It was some guy-his nametag says Store Manager, Michael Bowman- and that plump woman from the store entrance, whose eyes and face were all red like she'd been crying.
"Sir," Bowman says. "Margaret here says that you made a rude comment to her about her weight. Now we don't tolerate any kind of harassment here whatsoever."
Chucky bends down and squints at Margaret's nametag.
"Margaret, huh?"
He claps a hand over his heart.
"Well, Margaret. I am so, so sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I truly am. Gosh, I don't know what's wrong with me sometimes-what I said to you back there was deplorable, a very poor error in judgement on my part. I'm sorry."
It looks like she accepts his apology. Chucky even smiles, and takes his hand from his heart to her shoulder.
"I meant to say two treadmills."

The woman gasps and starts sobbing as Chucky throws his head back and cackles hysterically. Tiffany lets out a cackle of her own, but bites her lip as her boss grabs Chucky's arm.
"Alright buddy, let's go."
"Get your hands off me!" Chucky demands, snatching himself away. "I can escort myself outta this shitty ass establishment."
"Don't show your face in here again!"
Chucky shows Bowman both middle fingers, laughing as he backs away.
Oh yeah!
"Ay Tiffany! What time do you get off?!"
She stands on her tiptoes and holds up eight fingers.
Eight o'clock. Got it.
Chucky makes a kissy face at her, then struts off with his head held high.
Ha ha. I still got it.

As he makes his way back through the mall, Eddie spots him.
"Ay, Chucky!"
He jogs over from the pretzel stand with a piping hot salted pretzel and large Coke.
"How'd it go?"
"I just got banned from Sears," Chucky laughs.
"Aww shit, man, what'd you do?"
"Some fat bitch got insulted because I told her she needed some exercise. Shit was hilarious."
"So what about the blonde?"
"Oh yeah-Eddie-it's Tiffany!"

Eddie's eyes grow.
"Are you serious?"
"Dyed her hair, had make up, heels, the whole thing."
"Damn."
"I'm pickin' her up when she gets off tonight."
"But I thought you just said you got banned?"
"Banned schmanned. Gimme that." Chucky takes Eddie's pretzel and helps himself to a huge bite.
"What'd you get for the watch?"
"$800. Guy said I coulda got more if there hadn't been scratches on it."
Chucky scoffs. "Not my fault the bastard we got it off of struggled."

They make their way back to the Dodge. As they drive off, Chucky checks the time on his car radio.
5:47.
"Damn man," Eddie says, pulling a slim yellow envelope from his pocket. He takes out 4 100's and gives them to Chucky, his share for the watch.
"I still can't believe Tiffany's the blonde. Wait 'til the guys hear about this."

They get back to their apartment by 6:35. Chucky goes to his room adds the $400 to his safety deposit box, then gets the same amount back out in 5's, 10's, 20's and 50's. He had no idea where he was taking Tiffany tonight, but he knew it would be a good idea to have a good chunk of cash on him.

Later

Chucky pulls into the same parking spot at the mall as he'd gotten earlier. It was 7:45, and Tiffany was due to get off in the next thirty minutes.
I'll just take a smoke break.
 There is a no smoking sign near the front, and two security guards. He didn't feel like stirring up trouble tonight- what kind of good time could he show Tiffany from a jail cell?
So he goes around near the back, where there's an actually pretty sketchy looking alley way.
Chucky leans up against the building. Just as he's lighting a cigarette-
"Hey you!"
Chucky turns around. It's Tiffany's boss, coming towards him.
"I thought I told you not to show your face around here again!"
Chucky hadn't even realized he was near the back entrance of the Sears. But he simply inhales his cigarette, and waits for the guy to get close enough. Then he blows the smoke in his face.
"What are you gonna do about it?"
"Get off the premises, now. Or I'll call the police."
"Go ahead and call 'em," Chucky scoffs. "It'll take 'em 15 minutes to get here, I'll be done with my cigarette in 3 and outta here in 5. I've been in and outta Bergen County Jail since I was 16 years old, you really think I give a rat fuck about gettin' arrested?"
The guy just looks at Chucky. It's obvious he's intimidated, but he's trying not to look it.
"Sir, just leave. Now."
"No. You leave."

Chucky pulls a knife and thrusts it into Bowman's abdomen. He doubles over and groans in pain as Chucky extracts the knife and pushes him to ground. Chucky holds the blade up to the sky, just to see that warm crimson fluid gleam in the moonlight as it glides down the stainless steel.
There is no stopping him now.
Bowman, gasping for air, tries to get to his feet. Chucky kicks him in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him. Then he flips him over and starts grappling him. He punches the guy mercilessly, blood getting all over his hands. Each and every slap of his fists hitting flesh makes him deadlier and deadlier. He is so immersed in this kill, he almost doesn't hear the footsteps.
He recognizes the sound of high heels on concrete, and the moonlight becomes partially blocked.
He looks up.
It's Tiffany.