-I wrote the following novel nearly two decades ago. In the years between then and now I've honed my craft, and my perception of this world; my thoughts and ideas; have changed dramatically. However, I still enjoy the premise and have decided to do an overhaul of revisions and rewrites, though likely not until sometime next year. (Though I'm sure I'll do a little as I post chapters)
For now I hope you will enjoy a glimpse into my book writing beginnings...
They are the closest of friends though they have never met in waking life.
Prologue-PT1 Prologue-PT2 Chapter 1
Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10
Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13
Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18 Chapter 19
Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22
Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Six
The younger of the two extended his hand “Mike Burkeson, you must be Aliyah.”
“Yeah, we’ve heard a lot about you over the years,” Matt piped in.
“Likewise,” Aliyah stated.
Amy went downstairs to the living room to let her mom know they were leaving and they headed out.
“So who is going to be there?”
“You remember Laura and Rick? And then there’s a few people you haven’t met, but you’ll like them all.”
“How is Laura doing?”
“Great, in fact Matt is dating her,” he pointed at his brother who elbowed him.”
“Oh really? And what about you, any girlfriends?”
Mike looked at her, and Aliyah could see right away that he wanted to emphasize the point when he said “No, no one in particular.”
They reached the pier and introductions were made when Aliyah decided she had to go use the bathroom. They headed off the dock and over to the restroom.
“So you really think that he looked at me “invitingly” when he said that?”
“That’s what I said isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but I’m so excited! What if you’re wrong?”
“Amy, I’m not. Remember when you saw Dave looking at me a certain way? Well, believe me when I tell you he is into you!”
Amy grinned and headed into the stall. They finished and walked back to the pier, trying to decide how best Amy could hint around without actually coming out and saying anything.
Mike saw them coming and moved over to give them room to sit. Aliyah hesitated a moment and looked back over her shoulder at the empty playground.
“Amy? I’m going to go for a quick walk, I’ll be back in a bit, all right?”
“Oh. I don’t know, maybe I should go with you so you’re not alone.”
“No, no, I’m not going far, I just want to take in the scenery a little, it’s all new to me.”
“Okay, if you think you’ll be all right.”
Aliyah walked back down the pier and decided to walk along the edge of the harbor wall before heading to the playground. She looked up, and felt a little disappointed that the stars weren’t brighter, but figured that it was likely never as clear as where she lived.
The water was as black as the sky and lapped gently against the side of the wooden wall. Boats of all shapes and sizes were docked here, sailboats, motorboats, cabin cruisers. She walked up on another smaller pier to check them out. She fell instantly in love with a houseboat, or a yacht would be a better word, on the end. It was enormous, and she wondered if people might be staying in it even now. There was no light or sound coming from it, so she assumed it was vacated. She looked over at the pier where all the kids were crabbing, it was lit up like Christmas, but this one had only a few lights and none directly above the boat. She considered how much trouble she would get in for climbing onto the deck. It was so cool looking, like a smaller version of a cruise ship. She was fairly certain the doors would be locked, but maybe there would be just enough light to peer inside…
Why not, she thought, if I get caught I’ll just look really sweet and innocent and tell them I was curious because I had never seen a yacht up close.
There was no ladder, presumably the owners removed it so that people like her wouldn’t do what she was considering. She walked to the other side and saw that she could reach the bottom rail of the deck. She grabbed on and climbed up the side. She swung her legs up and over and dropped down on the deck. She looked around, impressed. Wow, now this was a toy worth having. There were deck chairs and tables, and a small bar. The door to get in was to the right of the bar so she walked over to it and peered in. This would be an ideal time for the surprised owner to pop out and scare her half to death. She held her breath for a moment thinking she heard something, then let it out slowly. She tried to look inside, but to no avail.
She started to walk away, then thought, who knows? She tried the door and it opened! Uh oh. This could mean one of two things-the first being someone forgot to lock it. Or there was someone aboard, maybe below deck somewhere. She realized if the lower deck did not have any windows she wouldn’t be able to see the lights indicating it was occupied. She was considering whether or not she should let curiosity get the better of her when she heard something behind her. She swung around just as someone grabbed her arm.
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