Read After Ariel: It started as a game for Free Online Page B

were arranged correctly, he put his comb at right angles to the group.
    The only people visible were two men entering the front door of the pub, absorbed in their conversation. Dingo grasped the branch and swung himself up. The view from his perch encompassed the direction of Ariel’s house. All the better to see you coming, gorgeous!  He locked his knees around the branch and dropped his torso down to watch for her, upside down, then swung backward and forward a few times before cocking his head to look at his watch. Seven o’clock. Where was she? He looked back at the street, but there was no sign of her. Disappointment flooded through him, but as he prepared to pull himself upright, a movement caught his eye.
      Ariel!  She was smiling as she trotted toward the pub, taking little skips as though she could hardly wait to get to him. Excited, he swung his body again. Just as she reached the entrance, Dingo stuck his fingers in his mouth and emitted an ear-splitting whistle, causing her to jump and swing around.
    ‘Hey, Ariel! Over here in the park!’ She peered around and then spotted him. Laughing, she shook her head, checked for traffic, ran across the street to the tree and gazed up at him. He breathed in her perfume and reached out a playful hand to grab hers. She dodged his grasp and danced around, pretending to box with him, laughing.
    ‘Hey, your face’s all red! All the blood’s running to your head, you idiot!’
    ‘No, it’s not, I’m invincible!’ he shouted, dragging himself upright to sit on the branch. ‘Are you hungry?’ Suddenly he felt free, able to do anything – fly if he wanted.
    ‘Oh course I am,’ she chided, swinging a small black dillybag over her shoulder. The diamantes on the clasp twinkled in the last rays of sunshine. He jumped to the ground, straightened his shirt and gathered his things into the backpack. Ariel watched his methodical movements. ‘Do you always carry a notebook?’
    ‘Yeah, never know when I might want to write things down, like your phone number!’ He grinned, as he swung the pack over his shoulders. ‘Want to eat in the pub or do you know somewhere better?’
    Ariel’s gaze lingered on his handsome face, wandered down his broad shoulders, strong arms and huge hands, imagining them touching her. She shivered. This bloke was all hers. ‘What say we get fish and chips and go back to my house? I forgot Mum and Dad are ringing tonight and I’m supposed to be at home. My brother’s motorbike broke down in Mackay and they’ve gone to pick him up.’ She wrapped her small hands around his arm and gazed up at him.
    ‘Can’t they ring you on your mobile?’ How old is this girl? He wondered whether he was about to pluck a baby out of her virgin cradle. Perhaps he should slow this down, but a glance at Ariel’s gleaming pink mouth and knowing eyes reassured him.
    ‘They ring me at home on the old phone to make sure I’m all right.’ Ariel pouted, annoyed by the parental restrictions. She knew she looked at least twenty and besides, she would be eighteen in a week’s time.
    He shrugged, not caring where they went as long as he could be alone with her and the parent’s home was as good a place as any. ‘Where’s the shop then?’
    ‘Just there by the corner.’ She pointed to a building down the street, where light spilled through an open doorway. A chill wind swirled along the street, sending autumn leaves rustling along the pavement. He reached back and flipped the hood of his jacket over his head. Ariel stared. ‘Are you cold?’
    ‘Nah. Come on, I’m famished.’ He took her small hand in his and they started down the deserted street, peering into the shop windows as they passed. When they almost reached the shop, he stopped. ‘Get a load of that, will you?’
    ‘What?’ Ariel peered into the window. ‘It’s just music stuff! What’s it to you?’
    ‘It’s my job – my career. I can play anything – piano, trumpet, clarinet...’ He