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

wonder everyone liked going here.
    “You made it!” Nicole screamed as she ran up to me, emerging from a group I didn’t recognize. She clapped her hands before reaching in to give me a hug.
    Barry must have told her we were coming because she hadn’t discussed it with me since Monday. I glimpsed at Barry and he looked away, running his free hand through his hair.
    “I don’t think I could’ve missed it even if I wanted to,” I said, returning Nicole’s one–armed hug.
    “Well, follow me.” Nicole looped her arm through mine. “We have a table in the back. I’ve got to warn you though, there’s a mean game of pool being played.” Her eyebrow arched as she directed the last remark toward Barry.
    The corners of his mouth grew into a smirk, making me question the hidden joke. Did he harbor wicked billiard skills that I was unaware of?
    Nicole whisked me forward, forcing Barry to let go of my hand. My legs stumbled as I glanced back at him. With a half–grin, he mouthed something about drinks and pizza. Lip–reading wasn’t a talent I possessed, so I wasn’t quite sure what he said, but I still nodded. I turned and let Nicole pull me along, trying not to trip over my feet.
    “Nicole, slow down.” I stumbled and attempted to straighten myself.
    She just laughed and tightened her death grip, dragging me behind her. Nicole led me into a back room and I halted, gaping at the space. The room was enormous. Where did the extra square footage come from? I quickly scanned the room and calculated at least six regulation sized pool tables and two air hockey tables. There’s enough space that they’re not even crowded.
    Nicole released my arm and leaned into me. “Pretty impressive, huh?”
    “Yeah,” I said, too stunned to utter a more intelligent response.
    She took off toward the benches lining the interior walls with me on her tail. The whole gang was here. I looked toward the right, noticing about five dartboards hanging along the back of the room. A large, dark backboard hung behind each one against the brick to catch any stray darts.
    “Heather!” Caleb, Barry’s best friend, hollered above the blaring music. The rest of the guys from his group‌—‌Stan, Mike, and Phil‌—‌shifted to allow room. “Good to see you finally came out to play.” He teased.
    “She probably hasn’t been around because she’'s avoiding you,” Stan said, punching Caleb’s arm as he took a huge bite of nachos.
    “Hey, she knows I love her,” Caleb said, smiling with cheese in his teeth.
    With a roll of her eyes, Nicole said, “Sexy.”
    “You know it.” He shifted to plant a kiss on Nicole’s cheek.
    I laughed when Nicole’s face scrunched up and she shrieked, “Ewww!” Trying to wipe away the remnants of cheese, she slapped Caleb’s back. The playful banter between them settled my uneasiness about coming here. Perhaps tonight wouldn’t be so bad.
    My stomach grumbled, but went unnoticed. Now that my nerves had settled, I was hungry. I strained to see if Barry was coming. Hurry up with that pizza . I peeked a few minutes later, wanting to clap when he emerged from the corner carrying the tray stacked with pizza and drinks. Maybe I should have helped him.
    “I thought there was a hot game of pool going on?” Barry asked.
    After placing the pan in the center, everyone dove in and grabbed a slice of pizza. I smiled at him as he slid beside me. With a grin, he placed one arm over my shoulders, and snatched a slice with his other hand. Yeah, tonight won’t be so bad.
    “Don’t remind me.” Stan groaned.
    “He’s just sore because he sunk the eight ball and now he’s known as the ‘Big Loser,’ ” Phil snickered, over emphasizing loser.
    “We get done, re–match. Then I’ll show you who the loser is,” Stan countered.
    They kept up their ribbing as we devoured the pizza. True to their word, the re–match game began after the last slice disappeared.
    The rest of the evening was a mixture of