Excerpts for Skipping Stones 9/10-10/1

Excerpt 1

There’s one last stone in our pile. I glance down at it. “You want it?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No.”

I glance into his brown eyes. “You want me to do this one?”

“Yup.”

“What if I mess this one up?” I reach down and pick it up. “Like the whole bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, full count, two outs...”

He smiles. “I guess we’re about to find out how you do under pressure.”

I don’t care about the stone. I don’t care if I can skip it, or not. I just want to kiss him again. “You made the game up...”

“I did,” he quips proudly.

“Then you can change the rules.”

“I’m listening.”

“No matter what, I get another kiss. Either way it’s a prize.” I shrug.

“Ha. A prize either way. What’s your reasoning?” He chuckles.

“Either the prize for winning...skipping a stone, or a consolation prize for choking.”

“Deal.” He moves back and plops into the overgrown weeds. I’d call it grass, but I’m not sure I see any blades of grass. It’s mainly clover, wild onions, and dandelions. “How about if I give you a bigger kiss if you do it? That way you still have some incentive to do your best.”

I glance back over my shoulder. “Deal.”

I replay the instructions he gave me earlier. I turn so that my side is facing the water. I put the stone just right in my fingers. I look back to him, holding my hand out. “Like this?”

As my head turns, I freeze because it’s not Drew sitting in the field. It’s my father. As if freezing and not moving will make this real. It has to be a figment of my imagination. Our eyes are locked and he smiles as he gives me a thumbs up.

I feel a tear trickle down my face. I’m paralyzed, unable to move.

Excerpt 2

He pulls my arm back like a slingshot and as we’re gaining momentum to release the stone, I hear, “Alex!” being proclaimed through the entire neighborhood. It causes my already racing heart to speed out of control. I lose complete concentration, virtually spinning myself around as the stone is released, plummeting me into his arms, our lips just mere millimeters away from each other.

We stare into each other’s eyes. Speechless seems to be my middle name for one reason or another today. I blink. “I...”

“You can’t skip a stone to save your life, can you?” He smirks.

I breathe for what seems like the first time in five minutes and start to laugh. “No. No, I can’t.”

He brushes a piece of hair out of my eye. “You will. I’ll teach you.”

“I am not sure I’m teachable. Been trying for years with Papa.”

“Come back to me. I’ll teach you. If it’s the last thing I do...” His entire face lights up. “I’ll teach you everything I know.”

I feel him, every inch of him. I know there’s more to that statement. I must admit that I’m curious. “Everything you know, huh?”

“Everything.” He caresses my cheek, just below my eyes. “Come back to me. I’ll teach you how to deal with those beautiful tears of yours. I’ll teach you how to breathe again. I’ll teach you everything.” He looks down to his pile of rocks. “I’ll share those with you. And I’ll teach you how to skip stones. It’s a promise, and I don’t break promises.”