Temptation Read Online Free PDF

picnics and all kinds of sporting events. That night the field was brightly lit with several spotlights, and the dark outlines of several trucks and vans could be seen on the grass.
    Hurrying across the parking lot, April and her companions saw what was going on. A carnival was being set up. As they approached, they could hear the shouts of the workers, the whine of saws, and the steady thud of hammers.
    It didn’t seem real. The spotlights, aimed at the sky, created more shadow than light. Workers busily moved in and out of the shadows. Like a dark, silent giant, a Ferris wheel loomed over the field. Colored lights were being strung from poles. Food and game booths were being hammered into place. Men struggled to bolt a small roller-coaster track together.
    April, Matt, and Todd huddled together at the edge of the field, watching the dreamlike spectacle. “Wonder if they’ll have a Gravitron,” Todd said quietly, breaking their silence.
    â€œWhat’s that?” April asked.
    â€œYou know. It’s the thing that spins around and then the floor drops out and leaves you pressed against the wall.”
    â€œSounds great,” April said sarcastically.
    Matt stared at Todd in surprise. “You like that ride?”
    â€œNo way,” Todd said quickly. “I wouldn’t go on it. I just wondered if they have it.”
    â€œI love Ferris wheels,” April said, turning her eyes to the dark structure that towered over the field.
    â€œThey’re for wimps,” Matt said scornfully. “I mean, what’s scary about a Ferris wheel?”
    â€œWhy does everything have to be scary?” April demanded.
    He took her hand. “Come on. Let’s check out the beach. This is boring.”
    The night sky was clear, bright, and cloudless, and the sandy beach shimmered like a broad, silver ribbon under the light of a full moon.
    Couples walked barefoot along the shore, gentle waves lappingover their ankles. Groups of kids, blankets spread over the powdery sand, sat and talked and laughed. Music boomed from portable radios and tape players, a jangle of sound, rising and falling over the rush of water as it lapped at the shore.
    At the base of a low dune, some kids had built a small bonfire. Making their way toward it, their bare feet moving silently over the soft sand, April and Matt recognized some of the kids, townies they had met the summer before.
    â€œHey—Ben!” Matt called out to a boy with shadows playing over his face from the fire as it darted and flickered.
    â€œWhoa!” Ben Ashen, tall and gangly with short, spiked black hair, wheeled around at the sound of his name and peered at Matt. “Hey—the Mattster! How you doin’? You still so ugly?”
    â€œYou still so stupid?” Matt gave Ben a hard slap on the back.
    Ben groaned. “Do that again and I’ll hurl on you.”
    â€œWhat a class guy!” Matt exclaimed, and raised his hand to give Ben another hard backslap, but Ben edged away.
    Several other kids greeted April and Matt. They lowered themselves onto a communal blanket, feeling the warmth of the crackling fire. Huddled in the red glow, everyone began talking at once.
    â€œHey, Todd, there’s room for you,” Matt called, suddenly remembering his friend. Todd, who had been left standing awkwardly in the shadows, hands in his pockets, hesitantly lowered himself to the blanket on the other side of April. “Hey, everyone, this is Todd,” Matt announced.
    â€œYou see the new arcade?” Ben asked Matt. “It’s excellent.”
    â€œI saw it, but I didn’t bring any money,” Matt said.
    â€œI’ve got some,” Ben told him, rising to his knees. “Come on. Let’s go.”
    Matt started to get up, then remembered April. “Uh, not tonight, man.” He put an arm possessively around April’s shoulders and turned to smile at her. Her emerald eyes glowed, reflecting the