SVH06-Dangerous Love (2 page)

"No, it wouldn't," Liz agreed.

"So just tell him the truth," Jessica suggested. "And if he's a jerk about it, then dump him and find yourself a

guy who's not a motorcycle maniac. There are plenty of guys at this school who drive perfectly hot cars with four wheels and airbags and everything."

Elizabeth laughed as she turned into a spot and cut the engine. "Like Danny and his Charger?" she asked with a small smile.

Jessica grinned in return. She had just started dating Danny Stauffer, a senior with a brand-new black Dodge Charger. He was cute but kind of scrawny. Luckily, the car made up for that.

"Exactly," Jessica replied. "Maybe this is just the excuse you need to start checking out your options." She twisted the rearview mirror toward herself again and checked her hair one last time. "Good luck with Todd, but I'll start compiling a short list of worthy boyfriend candidates just in case."

Her sister rolled her eyes as Jessica hopped out of the car and strolled off toward school, wondering what Elizabeth would ever do without her.

Elizabeth smiled ruefully as her sister walked across the Sweet Valley High parking lot, waving to friends and flirting with guys along the way. She knew that Jessica

had a hard time understanding exactly how much she loved Todd. Her sister had yet to experience such a deep relationship with any of her many boyfriends. But in her own way, Jessica had made Liz see how important it was to tell Todd the truth. Not because there were always guys waiting in the wings if he didn't understand, but because he loved her. If he loved her as much as she thought he did, he would understand.

Slamming the car door behind her, Elizabeth scanned the parking lot for Todd but didn't see him anywhere. She did, however, spot her best friend, Enid Rollins, as Enid got out of the Toyota Prius she'd just received for her sixteenth birthday. Her friend started up the path toward the school, her nose buried in a book as she walked. Her brown hair fell forward to hide her face as dozens of careless kids jostled around her as if she weren't even there.

Why didn't anyone other than Elizabeth seem to notice how cool and smart and funny Enid was? Liz knew that her friend could be shy, but once given a chance, she was so much fun to be around. Elizabeth had gotten to know Enid only the year before, but she knew that Enid had skipped a grade in elementary school and, as a result, had been subjected to a lot of teasing by her older classmates. Maybe that was what made her so introverted. But

one of these days, the girl was going to come out of her shell and Elizabeth couldn't wait to see it happen.

"Enid! Wait up!" she called out, jogging to catch up with her friend.

"Hey, Liz!" Enid said, her face brightening. "Omigod, I'm so glad you're here. I have to talk to you."

"What's up?" Elizabeth asked, hoping that Enid wasn't about to bring up Todd and the motorcycle. The two of them had already gone over the topic a million times, and after that ride in with Jessica, Elizabeth was more than ready to move on to something else.

"It's my mom. She has totally lost it with this birthday party thing," Enid confided, lowering her voice. "I was on my way out the door this morning when she told me I have to come straight home after school so that we can interview calligraphers. Calligraphers! What's to interview? I mean, check out their handwriting, and if it's good, they're hired."

"Calligraphers? Like for invitations?" Elizabeth asked. "But you already invited half the school with that Evite."

Even though Enid's birthday had been the past weekend, her sweet sixteen party wasn't scheduled until the end of the next week--the only day her mother could reserve the largest ballroom at the country club.

"I know! But now my mom's decided that my sweet

sixteen is too special an occasion for just an e-mail invite," Enid said, rolling her eyes. "So she bought these insanely ornate engraved invitations and now we're having them addressed by professionals. It's so embarrassing."

"I don't know, Enid," Elizabeth said as they slowly crossed the lawn. "I think it's nice that your mom's putting so much effort into this party. I mean, she's doing it for you."

"I know, but a big party's not my thing. I had fun just hanging out with you, George, and Todd at Casa," Enid grumbled. George Warren was Enid's boyfriend, who was currently spending his senior year away at boarding school. He had come home the weekend before specifically to see Enid on her actual birthday, and the four of them had gone on a double date to Casa del Sol.

"Well, I think the party will be fun," Elizabeth said with a smile. "All you have to do is let your mom--"

Elizabeth's words were drowned out by the roar of a motorcycle engine. Her heart hit her throat and she stopped abruptly as Todd sped into the SVH parking lot. Suddenly, she couldn't breathe for all the insane emotions churning inside her. She was relieved to see that he'd gotten to school in one piece, but his arrival also meant the moment of truth. She had to tell him she could never ride with him.

Todd pulled the bike to a stop right in front of Elizabeth and Enid. Several people paused to stare and check out the bike. As Todd lifted his helmet off and ran his fingers through his chestnut brown hair, Elizabeth's heart panged. Somehow he looked even more gorgeous than usual in his soft leather jacket, all self-confident astride his bike. And she wasn't the only one who noticed. A group of sophomore girls across the way were openly checking him out.

"What do you think?" Todd asked Liz with a heart-stopping grin. "How cool is this thing?"

"Todd, it's ..." Elizabeth struggled for a word. Any word. But all she could see was Rex's parents at his funeral.

Then Enid nudged her, pointing out the way Jessica's friend Cara Walker was staring at Todd as if she'd never seen him before--and as if she thought he was beyond hot.

"I love it," Elizabeth heard herself say, stepping possessively toward him. Then she instantly wanted to smack herself. Nice to dig a deeper hole there, Liz, she thought.

Someone whistled and Elizabeth was relieved to see Guy Chesney and Max Dellon, two members of SVH's favorite band, Valley of Death, strolling over.

"Man, sweet ride," Max said, running his fingers over the handlebars.

"Bet we never see you without this puppy again," Guy added.

"Unless there's a torrential downpour, this is my ride," Todd replied happily.

Elizabeth's heart twisted into an impossibly tight knot.

"Has he taken you for a ride yet, Liz?" Max asked.

Elizabeth attempted to smile, but she couldn't. She had just noticed something attached to the side of the bike. A pink helmet. Her helmet, she assumed, another wave of dread washing over her. Todd had bought her a helmet. This was going to be even harder than she'd thought.

"Speaking of," Todd said, looking at her with his warm brown eyes. "Want to go for a quick ride before the bell rings? We'll just go around the block. Your cold can handle that, right?"

Elizabeth took an instinctive step backward and almost flattened Enid's foot. "I... I can't right now," she said apologetically. She checked her watch without remotely registering the time. "I promised Mr. Collins I'd meet him before first period and go over some stuff for The Oracle. Sorry. Maybe later."

She gave her bemused boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek and jogged off toward school, feeling like a complete idiot and just hoping he wouldn't decide to take any of the many other girls gathered around him for a ride instead.

CHAPTER 2

Elizabeth was the first person out of her math class when the bell rang. She had to find Todd and explain why she had bailed on him before homeroom. She had to tell him before all this waiting drove her crazy. All morning she had barely been able to concentrate in her classes, and she knew that every time she had seen him in the halls, she had acted cagey, wanting to get away from him as quickly as possible. Jessica was right. Before long he was going to figure out that something was wrong. This secret could end up being fatal to their relationship. Fatal. The very word made Elizabeth cringe. Ever

since Rex's death, the words "fatal" and "motorcycle" had been synonymous in her mind. Rationally, she knew that this was silly; she saw people safely riding motorcycles around Sweet Valley every day. Yet she couldn't squelch that emotional reaction. She felt as if anyone who got on a motorcycle was flirting with death.

Okay, stop it, Elizabeth thought as she rushed down the hall toward the cafeteria. You have to stop thinking that way. For Todd's sake. And for your own.

Elizabeth didn't see Todd at their usual table, and when she checked the food line, he was nowhere to be found. A group of his buddies from the basketball team were messing around with a ball on the outside patio, but he wasn't there, either. Then she noticed that a few of his friends were, as always, hovering around the cheerleaders' table, so Elizabeth reluctantly approached.

"Hey, guys," she said, greeting the group that was made up entirely of Jessica's friends. "Have you seen--"

"Liz, have you heard anything about auditions for the fall play?" Lila Fowler interrupted, flicking her light brown hair over her shoulder. "There's zero info on the Web site about it."

"Oh, I heard it was going to be closer to Thanksgiving this year, so that's probably why," Elizabeth said quickly. Normally, she might have called out Jessica's

best friend for being rude enough to interrupt her, but she had other things on her mind. "You guys haven't seen Todd around, have you?"

The jocks at the table all shrugged.

"Have you tried the lost and found?" Lila joked.

In her state of nervous despair, Liz wanted to pick up Lila's tiny bucket of coleslaw and dump it on her head.

"Lila," Cara Walker said in an admonishing tone. "Is something wrong, Liz?"

Elizabeth immediately attempted a smile. Cara was always trying to sniff out gossip, and the last thing she needed was everyone in school talking about her and Todd.

"No. Everything's fine. I just have to tell him something," Elizabeth said lightly. "But if you guys haven't seen him-"

"Hey, Liz," Ken Matthews said as he approached with a heaping tray of food. Almost every girl in the room watched the tall, blond quarterback as he strolled by, but he seemed oblivious to the attention. "If you're looking for Wilkins, he's out in the parking lot playing with his new toy."

"Thanks, Ken," Elizabeth said, her heart fluttering with nerves. "I should have thought of that."

She turned on her heel and made a beeline for the

parking lot, ignoring her growling stomach. Anything she ate at the moment wouldn't agree with her anyway. She had to get this over with first. When she found Todd, he was crouched next to his bike, wiping off the rims with a white cloth.

"Hey, Liz," he said, smiling up at her. "I can't believe how much dirt I picked up on the ride to school. I'm going to have to spend all my free time keeping this baby clean." He wiped his hands off and stood up to give Elizabeth a hug. "So, how's my motorcycle mama?" he asked teasingly.

Why did he have to be so excited about the whole thing? It just made what she had to do that much harder. Elizabeth pulled away and looked him in the eye. She had to do this quick. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.

"I'm sorry about running off on you this morning. I--"

"It's all good," he said with a shrug. "I know how much The Oracle means to you."

"Thanks," Elizabeth said. "But I-"

"I'm just sorry I didn't get a chance to give you this," Todd interrupted. He unlatched the pink helmet from the bike and tossed it up once before holding it out to her. "I know it's a little bubblegum for you, but it's kind of cool, right? The guy at the shop told me it was one of their biggest sellers, so I guess it's kind of in."

Elizabeth stared at the helmet, her throat going dry.

"Here. Try it on," Todd said. He held out the helmet, and the longer she stood there without making a move, the more his brows knit.

"I... can't," Elizabeth said finally.

"Oh, don't worry. I didn't mean we should go for a ride now. I know you have a cold and we still have to get lunch and everything. I just wanted to see how it looks," he said with a smile.

"No, it's not that," Elizabeth said. She looked up at him, feeling anguished, wishing he could just read her mind so she wouldn't have to say it. He looked so excited it nearly killed her that she was going to have to let him down.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of messing up your hair. Is Jessica starting to rub off on you?" he joked. "Come on, just--" Todd paused when he saw the tears welling up in Elizabeth's eyes. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't have a cold," Elizabeth admitted. "I made that up."

Todd's arms dropped to his sides. "What? Why?"

"I don't know. It was stupid. It was just easier to tell you that than to tell you that I can't..." Elizabeth took a deep breath and held the tears back. "I can't go

anywhere with you on this thing," she said, gesturing at the bike. "And not just today. I mean ever."

Todd was so shocked he almost dropped her helmet on the asphalt. "You can't? Why not?"

Elizabeth took another deep breath. The hard part-the terrible surprise--was over. Now she just had to tell him the awful truth.

"A few years ago my cousin Rex died in a motorcycle accident," she said grimly.

"What?" Todd breathed, his eyes wide.

"It was pretty much the worst time of my life," Elizabeth continued. "Since it happened my parents have forbidden all of us to ever ride on a motorcycle."

"Oh my God." Todd sat back on the seat of his bike. "Liz, I'm so sorry."

"It's ... I mean, it's not okay; it's just..." She shook her head, at a loss. "I don't know."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Todd asked. "You've known I was saving up for this for months."

"I was afraid of how you'd react," Elizabeth admitted.

"How I'd react?" Todd asked, nonplussed. He stood up again and reattached the helmet to the bike. "Like, what? You thought I'd choose the bike over you or something? Like I'd break up with you because you didn't like my motorcycle?"