Deception Read Online Free Page A

“I already regret living with a boy.”
    “Oh?”
    “Yeah, he’s kind of gross. When he farts in bed he traps me under the covers and calls it a Dutch oven.”
    “Eww.”
    “And it turns out that toilet seat thing is a real struggle.”
    Maura laughed, “but at least you’ve found your soul mate.”
    “That’s true. What about you? Is Julian still being a dick?”
    “I don’t know.” Maura groaned. Wouldn’t she have been upset if the situation had been reversed? Yes, she definitely would have. “A couple of days before the Alan fiasco I brought scratch-made banana pudding to him at the seafood plant and we shared a really intimate lunch. He’d kissed me.” Their relationship had progressed slowly and she’d enjoyed the pace and the opportunity to peel away who he was layer by layer. Finding out new facts about him was like getting a little present and she’d hoped to be in a position one day to learn much more.
    “How was the kiss?”
    “It was wonderful. I was so into him and I thought he’d been attracted to me, but then the events of that disastrous night occurred, and now I think he loathes me.”
    “Did you talk to him?”
    “I’ve tried, multiple times, but the stubborn man won’t even listen to what I have to say.”
    “Well screw him. You can do better. You need someone who’ll trust you.”
    Maura nodded.
    “Bails? You ready?” Parker’s voice filtered through the air. He walked into the room and put his arm around Bailey. “Hey Maura, we’re going to ride our bikes down to get frozen yogurt if you want to come.”
    “Thank you, but I think I’m going to take a nap.”
    “We just did that,” Parker smiled, and then kissed Bailey’s forehead.
    “Bye, Maura.” Bailey waved.
    Maybe Bailey had the right idea with her screw him quip. Maura knew Julian was intense, but his behavior toward her lately had just been mean and rude. She didn’t deserve to be treated poorly and dismissed like used Kleenex. She’d been there, done that , as Bailey would say. Maura sighed, laying her head on the plush down. It felt so good she thought she’d close her eyes, but after forty-five minutes of trying to empty her mind of all thoughts Julian she gave up.
    She thought a bubble bath was in order so she padded into the en suite bathroom and filled the tub. The scent of gardenia wafted into the air from the oil she’d dripped into the running water.
    With the exotic smells of the oil and the sounds of U2’s Bono crooning in her ear, she relaxed and let the negative emotion exude from her pores. As she deposited the small MP3 player into her shirt pocket, she swayed to the music. She unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down with her underwear, stepping out of them when they reached her ankles. Slowly she unbuttoned her shirt, one button after the other. Closing her eyes she imagined what it would be like if Julian’s hands were opening her shirt. Her hands spread across her stomach and traveled up from there.
    As Bono sang about not being able to live With or Without You , Maura thought how wonderful her life would be if Julian would erase Alan’s touch from her skin and her memory.
    ***
    Julian’s feet connected with the moist earth that skirted David land. The rubber projections on the soles of his running shoes slung tacky globs of mud on the backs of his calves. Julian ran faster, attempting to outrun his troubles. At the bend in the road he pushed himself over the incline and used the inertia to sprint over the next hill. In his haste, Julian lost his footing and tumbled to the bottom-most point of the hill and into the thick swamp-like brush.
    “Shit, that fucking hurts!”
    He sat and pulled his left arm and shoulder from the thick sludge. Using a twig he scraped as much mud from his arm as possible, slinging it haphazardly into the existing murk and onto a log. It was then that Julian realized what had seemed to be a decaying log was actually the head of an alligator.
    Protruding eyes