SVH07-Dear Sister (12 page)

"It isn't up to me who she goes out with," he murmured.

"I know, but I don't want you mad at me."

Todd looked down at his shoes. "Don't worry about it, Bill. I won't mind if you ask her out. I haven't got the right. I'll see you later."

Bill hadn't needed any more urging. He had been half in love with Elizabeth from a distance for ages.

"I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go

to the beach club dance with me Saturday night," he asked Elizabeth hesitantly.

"Beach club? Hmmmm ..."

"If you've got other plans, it's OK. I didn't really expect you to be free."

"Why not? Sure, I'll go--on one condition," she said, surprising him. "I'll go if you'll take me surfing the next day."

"I've never seen you do much surfing," he said, confused. Afraid that she might change her mind about Saturday night, he quickly added, "Sure, I'll take you surfing."

"Can I go way out, Bill, where you go?" Elizabeth's smile was almost hypnotizing him.

Bill blinked in surprise. "That's kind of dangerous for an inexperienced surfer," he warned.

"But I wouldn't be in any danger with you along to protect me, would I, Bill?"

Bill Chase suddenly knew what it meant to be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

"I'd always take care of you, Liz."

"See you Saturday night, then."

Bill stared after her in amazement as she walked sexily down the hall.

He would also have been amazed to hear her on the phone with Bruce Patman later that day.

"Hi, baby, how are you?" Bruce asked.

"I'm just terrific, Bruce. How's your glass jaw?" She laughed.

"You little wildcat. You like the idea of two guys fighting over you, don't you?" he accused.

"Well, Bruce, it was kind of fun, but I wish you'd been the winner."

"Yeah? Well, how about proving it Saturday night? My folks are away for the weekend, and we could go to the beach house. We'd have it all to ourselves, just you and me together, the whole night through. What do you say, sweet Liz?" Bruce kept his voice low and sexy.

Elizabeth didn't even hesitate before saying, "You've got a date, Bruce. But don't pick me up here. My folks are a little square when it comes to certain things. I'll meet you around the corner from my house."

A nervous Bill Chase rang the Wakefields' bell that Saturday night. He was still surprised that Elizabeth had agreed to go out with him.

"Bill Chase, what are you doing here?" Jessica asked as she opened the door.

"Hello, Jess. I'm here to pick up Liz. Is she ready?"

"Liz? Uh--come in."

She led Bill into the living room and told him to wait, trying frantically to think of a way of covering for her absent sister.

"I'll be right back," she said, dashing up the stairs.

"Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy!" she muttered as she dialed Enid Rollins's number. Elizabeth had said she was spending the night there, obviously

forgetting she had a date. When did those two become friends again? Jessica wondered.

"Enid, it's Jess, let me speak to Liz," she snapped, in no mood to be polite. She listened for a moment, then banged down the phone.

"Great! She's not there," Jessica muttered to herself. "That could only mean she's out with someone else--someone she shouldn't be with. Talk about fast lanes! I'd better give Bill the bad news." She started out of her room, then stopped when an idea hit her.

Why should Liz have all the fun?
she asked herself.

Five minutes later she surveyed the transformation. She was wearing Elizabeth's flowered peasant skirt and ruffled blouse. She strolled down the stairs and into the living room.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Bill."

He smiled. "You're worth waiting for, Liz."

At the same time that Bill was driving off with the Wakefield twin he thought was Elizabeth, Bruce and the real Elizabeth arrived at the Patmans' luxurious beach house. Bruce led her from the car around to the pool in the back of the house.

"Nice, Bruce,
very
nice." Elizabeth looked around at the beautifully landscaped deck area, the lounge chairs arranged near the pool, the

glass-topped table, the subdued lighting. It was a California dream house.

"How about a swim?" Bruce suggested.

"I didn't bring my suit," she replied.

"Who needs a suit?" Bruce grinned suggestively.

"First things first, Bruce," she said. "Show me around this gorgeous place."

"You're right. We'll cool off later. Much later." He pulled her down onto a lounge chair and into his arms for a long, probing kiss.

"This is the pool deck," he whispered between kisses.

Fourteen

"Bruce!" Elizabeth protested laughingly, breaking free of him.

"Hey, what's the matter? I thought you liked me. You certainly liked me the other night." Bruce's handsome face was flushed with anger. Girls did not usually play hard to get with him.

"Bruce, you're even better looking when you're mad," Elizabeth teased. "You know I wouldn't be here tonight if I didn't like you--and your kisses, too." She put a hand on his arm and smiled up at him. "I just don't like to be rushed, OK?"

Bruce shrugged and stood up. "All right, Liz. I won't rush you, but don't keep me waiting too long," he warned.

"I won't, Bruce," she promised.

Tugging on her hand, he whispered, "Let's go inside."

They walked across the deck, through sliding glass doors, and into the living room, lit only by one dim lamp.

"Oh, this is the most beautiful room I've--" Elizabeth began.

"You're beautiful, too, Liz," Bruce interrupted as he pulled her onto a large white couch and began kissing her again.

"Ummmm, Bruce," she murmured.

"You like this, don't you, Liz?" He let one hand slide lightly onto her breast, waiting to see if she would protest.

"That feels so good, Bruce." Elizabeth sighed and ran her fingers through his dark hair, then pulled him closer.

Elizabeth couldn't see his triumphant smile and didn't know he planned to gloat about his victory over the girl who had always snubbed him.

As he kissed her neck and held her close, Bruce urged, "Let's go upstairs. I'll show you what love is all about. Just the two of us, sweet Liz."

"No, Bruce. I can't--I shouldn't," she protested.

"Yes, Liz, yes," Bruce said. He caressed her shoulders, then lightly ran one hand down her thigh. "You want to say yes, I know you do."

Bruce got to his feet, took Elizabeth's hand

gently, and led her to the stairway. He was half afraid she would change her mind on the way to the second floor. Never had a conquest seemed so important to him.

"You're wonderful, Liz. Wonderful and sexy and beautiful," he said again and again between kisses as he guided her up the curved staircase.

Elizabeth kissed him back passionately.

Bruce reached the master bedroom, walked across the room, and placed Elizabeth gently on the king-size bed. She locked her arms around his neck, a dreamy smile on her lovely face. He pulled her hands away and kissed her hard on the lips, almost too hard, before he straightened.

"Don't go away. I just have to get the wine from downstairs, and I'll be right back." Then he was gone.

While Elizabeth was lying on the bed in the beach house, her mirror image, Jessica, was following the old bit of advice that says, "Don't get mad, get even."

Jessica had been interested in Bill Chase at one time. Something about his looks and style of living had intrigued her, but he had never paid any attention to her. One time she'd even gone so far as to ask him to a Sadie Hawkins Day party. He'd said very casually, "Sorry, can't make it." When it came to memory, an elephant's

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was fleeting compared to Jessica's--especially if it involved a guy who had once snubbed her.

Bill caught the girl he thought was Elizabeth in his arms at the end of the beach club dance and smiled down at her. He had never expected an evening like this. "Elizabeth" was acting as if she cared about him in the same way he cared about her. When he suggested going out on the beach for a walk, she could hardly get out of the room with him fast enough.

As Bill and Jessica strolled out of the beach club, Todd was standing outside on the long redwood deck on the ocean side. He hadn't gone to the dance but had walked down to the club just to watch the waves breaking against the shore. He needed to be alone. He-could see only the couple's backs, but Todd knew Elizabeth well enough to recognize her satiny blond hair anywhere.

Bill had certainly wasted no time getting together with Elizabeth, he thought unhappily. He watched as they strolled down the beach out of sight.

"Bill," Jessica said softly, tilting her head back, "I'm so glad you asked me out tonight."

"Really, Liz?" He knew he had never been happier in his life.

"Really, Bill. I've always thought you were a wonderful guy."
And you never
appreciated it, Jessica told him silently.

Stopping on the moonlit beach, they looked

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deep into one another's eyes. Bill put gentle hands on Jessica's shoulders, drawing her close enough for a kiss. She moved even closer, putting her arms around him and kissing him back.

"Oh, Liz, I can't keep it in any longer. I love you. I think I've always loved you!" Bill declared.

Jessica pulled back a little and smiled a secret, knowing smile. "No, Bill, you love my sister. I'm certain you do."

"No, Liz, no," he said, hugging her. "Jessica may be your sister, but I don't even like her."

"I think you do," Jessica insisted.

"It would be impossible," Bill said. "Let's not argue about something so crazy." He tucked her arm under his and walked on. "There's a spot down here where the moonlight looks like pure magic on the waves."

Jessica just smiled and let herself be led along.

Elizabeth lay on the large bed, overwhelmed with an unfamiliar sensation. Suddenly she was frightened. But she shouldn't be. This was what she wanted to do, wasn't it? Bruce, she thought, that was it. She knew she needed Bruce to make her feel good again, but he was gone.

"Bruce," she called. "Bruce!" He'd said something about going downstairs. Maybe she should do something about her hair and makeup before he got back, she thought.

She got up from the bed and was groping

through the darkness of the room for the door when she bumped against a chair. Desperately she tried to keep from falling, but her foot was tangled in a throw rug. She fell to the floor, slamming her head against a heavy wooden table.

Elizabeth lay on the floor stunned, strange lights and noises whirling through her head. She was in a dark room somewhere.

What is this place?
she wondered.
How did I get here?

She sat up, managed to get to her feet, and realized she was in her bedroom. She sat on the bed, shaking her head to clear it.

"Did I buy a bigger bed?" she mumbled.

She glanced around, trying to recognize the contours and shapes and shadows, and then she realized she was not on her own bed or in her own bedroom.

She was still in the hospital, she decided. But that wasn't right either.

Finally Elizabeth stood shakily and took tentative steps toward a dark square that must be the door. Beside it, her fingers touched something. A light switch. She pushed it up, and light flooded the room.

"Oh," she gasped, looking around. She'd never been in this room before and had no idea how she'd gotten there.

Then there came another sound. Footsteps. Somebody was coming up the stairs. The sound got louder. Someone was coming toward the

room. Elizabeth shrank back, terrified of learning who it could be.

Suddenly, in the doorway stood a person she had never expected to see. "Bruce!" she gasped.

Bruce lounged arrogantly in the doorway, a bottle of wine in one hand, two glasses in the other.

"Miss me, baby?"

"What are you doing here?" she asked faintly. "What?"

"Where am I? How did I get here?"

Bruce smiled. "Playing games, huh? Here. Have a slug of this and you'll be fine."

Bruce held out the bottle and glasses. He poured wine into them as Elizabeth watched in astonishment. Had she come here with Bruce Patman?

"How did I get here?"

Bruce leered at her. "You got lucky, Liz."

"I don't know what happened, but I want to go home," she said.

"Home? After you got me out here and teased me? Hey, Liz, come on."

"Why are you talking like that?" Elizabeth asked, feeling panic inside.

"I'm not in the mood for questions, Liz," he said, putting the wineglasses on a table and walking closer to her.

Elizabeth backed away, looking at him with a combination of revulsion and terror.

"You've been coming on to me all week. Don't deny it!" Bruce sneered.

"I haven't! I
couldn't.
And you haven't answered my questions. Where are we? Did you bring me here?"

"I didn't
bring
you here. You came willingly. And you know it's my folks' beach house."

Elizabeth looked around, cocking her ear for any other sound.

"Where are the other kids? Who else is here?"

"Listen, you little tease, get off it! You wanted to be alone. Don't give me this Little Miss Innocent routine."

Elizabeth sank down on the bed in despair and confusion. Tears sprang to her eyes. How could she have let such a thing happen? She looked at Bruce.

"You brought me here against my will somehow," she accused. "You know I don't like you."

Bruce's heart sank at the words and at the look he saw in Elizabeth's eyes. There was that old, steady contempt he used to see every time he looked at Elizabeth Wakefield.

"Not interested in fun and games anymore, huh? Or was that all an act? It's not very nice to set a guy up, Liz," he said menacingly.

Elizabeth knew she had to get out of there. She lurched toward the door, trying to get past him, but he blocked her way.

"Where are you going?" he asked angrily.