Deceptions (The Mystical Encounter Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

pick me up. Why was I thinking of my dad?
    Dad always told me he loved me. I was only six when he left, but there were certain things I could still remember. His eyes‌—‌the same ones that reflected back at me when I peered into a mirror‌—‌and how he used to tuck me in at night. After snugging me in tightly, he always bent over and said, “I love you.” Then he tickled me, causing me to laugh and mess up my covers.
    That happened every night. But the last time he tucked me in and said he loved me, I waited for the tickle bug, but he just sat on the edge of my bed, staring at me. His features hardened and he looked conflicted and concerned. He seemed lost and almost regretful. Too young to understand at the time, I knew something wasn’t right. After a few minutes, he kissed my forehead, saying, “Please remember how much I love you.”
    “Of course, Daddy,” I replied. After waking the next morning and being told he was gone, I realized those were the last words I would hear my father speak...
    The soft rapping at the door pulled me back to the present. Barry’s here. Distracted by memories of my dad, I had failed to hear him drive up. I exhaled before standing. The last thing I needed plaguing my thoughts was a man who’d been dead to me for the last eleven years.
    My pace slowed as I walked to the door. I was stalling. My hands shook and I had to remind myself to relax and breathe. I didn’t want to be confined in a small crowded area and be forced to socialize, but I could do this for Barry. I could make it through the night.
    As I placed one foot in front of the other, I uttered the words, “Just breathe.” No matter how I felt, I was going to The Gamer.
    “Hey, you ready?” Barry greeted me with that half–grin I adored.
    “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied. Breathe…‌breathe .
    He pulled me into his arms, planting his lips directly on mine. My mouth responded to the softness, opening while he ran his tongue inside. Heat flared within me, erasing all my wariness about going. He crossed the threshold and backed me up against the wall, sliding his hands down my sides. When they landed above my jeans, he wrapped them along the underside of my shirt. My heart raced as the warmth radiated from each finger, tracing against my bare skin.
    All too soon, he pulled away. With a smirk, he gripped my hand, pulling me outside. He said, “There, that should help take away your worries.”
    Did I mention he didn’t play fair?
    I tried to collect my senses while I sat in his car, dazed for the entire drive to The Gamer. It was a short fifteen–minute trip, and I was still hung–over from his kiss when we arrived. He came around the car to open my door and grabbed a hold of my hand as I got out.
    With a quick peck, much tamer than earlier, he leaned over to my ear and whispered, “You’ll be fine.”
    Goosebumps prickled my skin. I nodded with a tight smile as he squeezed my hand encouragingly. We headed toward the one place I never thought I’d enter…‌The Gamer.

~4~
    The Gamer
    My eyes widened as we strolled through the single glass door. Impressive. Barry had told me they renovated the place, but…‌Wow! I didn’t know what to expect, but this certainly wasn’t it. I’d imagined some run–down dump, slapped together half–heartedly for kids to hang out. Not this. The walls were reddish brick with overhanging mortar. The effect worked well, giving it a rustic appeal. Knotty pine covered the high ceiling, with the exposed beams painted black. What awesome results.
    Barry handed over the 5 dollar cover charge, and I continued to gawk, the hip–hop bass from the overhead speakers thumping in my chest. The tables adorning the left wall were packed, along with the bar on our right. Advertisements for different brands of soda flashed in bright neon colors above us, while the beer–like towers at the bar offered a variety of fountain sodas and nonalcoholic beverages. This place rocked. No