NO SECRETS NO LIES (SIN CITY HEAT SERIES Book 3) by K. S. Page A

quickly.
     “Where’s Mr. Soul going with Destiny,” Michael asked
looking after them.
     “He’s taking her to a different booth. We’ll catch up
with them later.”
     Michael looked up at Amir, then shyly ducked his head
and kicked at the dirt with the toe of his shoe. Amir leaned down and braced
his hands on his knees, putting him eye level to his son. “So you like to play
football, huh?”
     Michael raised his head with an air of excitement
sparkling in his eyes at the mention of his favorite sport. “Yeah! I love
football. I’m the best on my team.”
         Amir laughed. He knew Michael wasn't
being boastful just stating a fact. “What position to you play?”
     “Wide receiver.  I lead the league in scoring.”
     Amir nodded, not in the least bit surprised. Of course
he did. “I used to play football. Maybe one day we can throw the ball around. I
can give you some pointers.”
     “Okay.” Michael stared at Amir with a slight frown.
         Amir smiled, recognizing the expression
on his son’s face as one of his own. “What’s wrong?”
     Michael hunched his shoulders and didn’t say anything
for a moment, but continued to study Amir closely. “You look kinda familiar.”
     Amir squatted down. “Well. You probably know me from
football. I used to play years ago, or maybe you’ve seen me on a TV commercial
or hosting a sports show."
     “You…you sorta look like me.”
     Amir’s breath caught in his chest. He cocked his head
to the side, the same time his son did. Here was that moment he thought would
come later on tonight. Apparently fate had a different timeline.
     “Are you my father?” Michael asked with the innocent
forthrightness only a child possesses.
     Caught off guard, Amir looked down and cleared his
throat before meeting his son's inquisitive eyes. “Yes.” The word came out
gruff and shaky. Clearing his throat again, he repeated the answer strong and
clear. “Yes. I’m your father, Michael.”
     Michael's eyes slid away from Amir's as he stared down
at the ground. He seemed deep in thought as if he was processing what Amir just
confirmed. Then he looked up smiled.
     Amir returned the smile. He pulled Michael to him,
squeezing him tight. His eyes closed when Michael’s arms hugged him back. They
stayed that way for a while until Michael pulled away.
     “Do you live in Atlanta? I mean…you’re not…gonna leave
or anything, are you?”
     Amir shook his head. “No. I’m not leaving. I’m not
going anywhere.”
     Michael apparently heard something in Amir's voice
that put him at ease. He grinned and took Amir’s hand. “Cool. Come on, Dad.
Let’s go to the dunking booth.”
     Amir froze and stared at his son. He stood up,
blinking rapidly and cleared his throat again. “After you.”
       Amir and his son went from one booth to
the other. Every other word out of Michael’s mouth was ‘Dad this’ or ‘Dad
that’.
     “Dad, let’s try the baseball throw…”
     “Dad, I won, did you see me…”   
          Amir couldn’t keep the smile off of
his face. After about an hour, Soul and Destiny joined them at the tattoo
booth. “Here you are. Sharon and Alexis sent me to find you two. Alexis was
ready to come and get you thirty minutes ago, but I told her I’d just seen you
guys and you looked like you were having a blast. Now she’s gettin’ antsy,
because li'l man here hasn’t eaten since breakfast.”
     “Aww, man. I’m not hungry. We were going to climb the
wall next.” Michael pointed to the rock climbing wall set up on the other side
of the grounds.
     “We’ll come back after you eat. If we don’t go now,
your mother is going to skin us alive,” Amir smiled down at his son.
     “Alright. Mom is such a girl, Dad,” he said in a voice
he was sure only another male would