The rains were lightening for a moment, which was good. Alexa typically tried to avoid getting too wet, if she could help it. This was the third store she'd tried, and yet, she couldn't seem to find anything. She resisted the urge to curse around so many people, huddled under their umbrellas. Kat had better have been staying out of the rain, she thought.

She wasn't sure when the date was exactly, but she was pretty sure that it was nowhere near today. So, she figured they may as well celebrate as if it was. And this led her to being here, in the wind and the rain, to personally select a gift for Kat, who, if she wasn't appreciative, was going to get her ass kicked because goddamn was the rain cold.

The next place on her list was at the mall before her. She hurried up, gripping her umbrella tightly, and speed-walked to the entrance. The mall was large, with a vaulted glass ceiling, and was surprisingly crowded for it being such a rainy day. She pushed through some people with an 'excuse me', and slipped into the doors.

A variety of stores spread out before her. Chocolatiers, jewelry vendors, clothing stores, department stores, all of it could be found at the downtown mall. Searching around for the store, she stepped off to the left.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Kat seemed to be opening up, just a little bit. Which was good. It was about time. Though, to be fair, it'd taken Sarah longer. Still, Alexa found herself more and more attached to the girl every day. Just seeing her made Alexa smile, and when Kat smiled, it was beautiful. Just as Alexa had hoped it would be.

That night in the kitchen had been perfect, she thought. Now it was time to see if she could pull off another one like it. She slipped into a Macy's and began to peruse through the different aisles of clothing. A part of her wanted to go back to Io's Jewelry, but she wanted to wait until the actual date for that.

So, she browsed for a while, waiting for something to catch her eye. She wanted something nice, elegant. Price didn't really matter; she had plenty of money. In fact, her auction houses had been doing particularly well, and she found herself with a sudden influx of cash that she hadn't had before. Even her watchdog group had found a way to minimize spending, so it was eating her funds a little less. Smiling, she continued to look, satisfied.

And that's when she found it.