SVH11-Too Good To Be True (7 page)

Jessica's cheeks were flaming as she ducked into the bathroom. She was so embarrassed she wanted to die. Instead, what she did was simply pass out. One minute she was holding on

to the sink while the floor rocked wildly beneath her. The next thing she knew, she was lying sprawled in the backseat of a cab speeding back toward the Devlins' apartment.

Nine

"I can't, Todd. I just can't. A promise is a promise."

Elizabeth stacked the last of the dinner plates in the dishwasher and flicked it on. Two tickets to a Lakers game and she had to be baby-sitting! Oh, well, Todd would just have to understand. Mr. Collins was counting on her, and she couldn't just back out at the last minute when it would be hard for him to find a replacement.

"I know it's kind of late and all," Todd said. "But I just found out myself. My cousin had to cancel, and so he gave me his tickets. Are you sure you couldn't get somebody to take your place?"

Elizabeth bit her lip. "I suppose I could ask Enid.... No, wait. She's going to the movies with George.. I don't know, Todd. Practically everybody I can think of already has plans."

"I
don't."

Todd and Elizabeth turned to find Suzanne standing there. She'd come in from the laundry room and was carrying a stack of freshly folded sheets and pillowcases.

"I couldn't help overhearing," she explained. "Liz, there's absolutely no reason for you to miss that game. I'd be happy to take over your baby-sitting job."

"But--" Liz started to protest.

"But nothing. What are friends for? Besides, I'd enjoy it. I think Teddy's adorable."

Elizabeth stared at her in disbelief. "Suzy, I can't let you. It's -- it's too much! You're always doing things for us. I'm starting to feel positively guilty."

"Don't," Suzanne said. "I know this sounds hopelessly corny, but it just so happens I
like
doing things for other people. It makes me happy."

"Suzy, you're incredible! It doesn't seem possible that anyone could be so nice."

"You've just been living with Jessica too long," Todd muttered under his breath.

Elizabeth ignored his comment. She was too

happy about going to the game to let anything bother her.

"I'm sure it's OK, but let me call Mr. Collins first and let him know," she said.

A tiny frown creased Suzanne's forehead. Then she smiled. "Listen, why don't you let me do the phoning? You're going to be late if you don't start getting ready."

Elizabeth hesitated. "I don't know. I really should talk to him myself."

"Suzanne is right," Todd broke in with a glance at his watch. "We'd better hurry if we want to get there in time. Besides, I'm sure Mr. Collins won't mind. He's pretty easygoing."

"OK, I give up." Elizabeth threw her arms around Suzanne in a quick, fierce hug. "Thanks, Suzy. You're fantastic. I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you."

Suzanne laughed. "For one thing, you can stop thanking me. Just go and have a good time."
You can bet I'm going to do the same,
she thought.

Half an hour later, Todd and Elizabeth were dropping Suzanne off in front of Mr. Collins's house.

"Give Teddy a kiss for me," Elizabeth called as Suzanne was climbing out of the car.

Teddy isn't the one I plan on kissing,
Suzanne thought, laughing to herself. She waved a cheerful

goodbye as she bounded up the front steps. While waiting for her knock to be answered, she deftly opened the top button of her short-sleeved blouse.

It was all Suzanne could do to keep from laughing aloud at Mr. Collins's astonished look when he opened the door to find her standing there.

"Liz couldn't make it," she explained, sailing inside. "I hope you don't mind, but she asked me to take her place."

He frowned. "She should have called to let me know."

"Oh, well ... she said she was going to, but I guess she forgot. She was in kind of a hurry."

"That doesn't sound like Liz. She's usually so responsible."

Suzanne smiled. "I guess no one's perfect." She leaned close to Mr. Collins, accidentally on purpose brushing up against him. She enjoyed watching him redden. "Anyway, you don't have to worry about a thing. I love little kids. Teddy and I will get along just fine."

Roger Collins's frown deepened as he glanced at his watch. "I don't like last-minute rearrangements, but I suppose it'll have to do. I'm having dinner with some friends; so it's too late to back out. Anyway, I should be home around twelve-thirty."

At that moment Teddy came bounding into the living room. When he caught sight of Suzanne, his face lit up at the unexpected surprise.

"Are you gonna baby-sit?" he asked. "Where's Liz?"

Suzanne flopped down on the couch. "Whoa! One question at a time. But first I have a question for you: Would you
like
me to baby-sit?"

"Yeah! That'd be neat!"

"OK, then let's seal it with a handshake." Solemnly she shook his chubby hand. "Later on, if you want to, I'll show you how to make a cat's cradle."

"Neato!"

Suzanne cast a demure look up at Mr. Collins. "See what I mean? Teddy and I will get along fine. We're friends."

Mr. Collins knelt to give Teddy a goodbye kiss. "OK, Bear, you know the rules. Bed by eight-thirty. And don't forget to brush your teeth."

He gave Suzanne the phone number where he could be reached. "Call me if you have any trouble--any trouble at all." Obviously he had trouble on the brain where Suzanne was concerned.

"Don't worry about a thing," she purred. "Everything will be just perfect."

After Mr. Collins had left, Teddy clambered up to sit beside Suzanne. "Do you know the story about Theodore the Turtle?" he asked.

"I don't know any stories," she replied in a bored voice.

She picked up a magazine and began flipping through it. Mr. Collins had a lot of magazines. Books, too. They were scattered all over the place. Didn't he have any hobbies besides reading? Well, she would soon find out.

"Liz knows a lot of stories," Teddy persisted.

"Well, I'm not Liz," she said flatly.

Teddy looked crestfallen. "Aren't you going to show me how to do the cat's cradle?"

"Later," she snapped. "I'm busy right now."

Teddy's big blue eyes shimmered with tears. "How come you're mad at me, Suzy? You said we were friends."

"Look, can't you watch TV or something? I
told
you, I'm busy."

Annoyed at his persistence, she jumped up and disappeared into the bedroom. Now that there was no one around to impress, she didn't have to waste time being nice to some stupid little kid. She'd only taken this job in the first place to get close to Mr. Collins. Let Teddy take care of himself. Hadn't
she
taken care of
her
self during all these years of being shipped off to boarding schools? Oh, they pretended it was

for her own good, but she'd known they were only trying to get rid of her. She'd never told anyone how much she hated it--and them. Someday she would show them, though. Someday all the creeps who smiled and pretended to be her friends would find out how she really felt about them.

Meanwhile, here she was alone in Mr. Collins's bedroom. Her skin prickled at the deliciousness of it; her stomach felt floaty with excitement. She spent the next hour or so going through his closet and drawers. She wasn't looking for anything in particular--she just liked going through other people's private things; she could find out a lot about them that way. Some of the time it was even useful. Like that time she found that plastic bag of pot in her cousin Ruthie's jewelry box. Ruthie had cried and begged her not to tell--and Suzanne had kept her promise not to. Why should she? As long as she kept Ruthie's secret, she had the perfect slave. Poor scared Ruthie would do anything to keep her parents from finding out.

The contents of Mr. Collins's bedroom, however, proved mostly disappointing. She'd been unable to unearth even a
Playboy
magazine. The only things she'd learned were that he liked to dress casually, favoring cords and lightweight sport jackets rather than conservative suits, and

that he was extremely fond of his son, judging from the number of photographs of Teddy she saw lying around. How boring. Well, maybe he wasn't so boring under the surface. She intended to find out.

She could hear the TV going in the other room. Good. The little brat had found something to do besides bug her. She decided to take a bath. Maybe Mr. Collins would come home early and find her in the tub, just like in the movies. Boy, would he be embarrassed. She giggled at the thought. Arranging her hair on top of her head, she examined herself in the mirror as if posing for a bath oil commercial. Yes. Definitely sexy.

By the time she'd finished taking a leisurely bath and had gotten dressed, it was past eleven. She found Teddy asleep in front of the TV. His face looked red and blotchy as if he'd been crying. Never mind. She'd tell Mr. Collins that Teddy had fallen asleep before she could put him to bed and that she hadn't had the heart to wake him up. He'd never know the difference.

Suzanne prowled around the house, switching off all the lights except for one low table lamp in the living room. She found a station on the radio that played soft, romantic music. For good measure she undid another button on her blouse and curled up on the couch to wait.

Mr. Collins arrived home shortly before twelve-thirty. Suzanne closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. She could hear the leathery squeak of his shoes as he approached.

"Suzanne. Wake up," his voice urged.

She continued to play dead.

He bent closer. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her cheek. This time he shook her gently by the shoulder.

Suzanne let her eyelids flutter open in frightened surprise. She sat up with a gasp. "Oh, Mr. Collins, it's you! I didn't hear you come in. I must have fallen asleep. You nearly scared me to death. Just feel how my heart is beating!"

She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her chest. Mr. Collins flushed as he pulled away.

" It's late," he said. "I'd better take you home now. I don't want the Wakefields to worry."

"They won't be worried. They know where I am." She stretched sleepily, arching her back so that her chest strained against the few closed buttons of her blouse. "Aren't you at least going to offer me something to drink? I wouldn't mind a glass of wine."

"You're too young to drink," Mr. Collins stated flatly.

She laughed. "Oh, don't be so old-fashioned. My parents let me drink all the time. I'm not

going to turn into an alcoholic or anything if that's what you're worried about."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

"Then what are you worried about?" she said silkily. With lazy, catlike grace, Suzanne rose from the couch and wound her arms about his neck. She could feel his muscles tensing as she pressed up against him. She knew the effect she was having on him, and it gave her a heady rush of power.

"Suzanne, stop it." Mr. Collins's voice was low with warning.

"I know what's bothering you," she murmured. "Why don't you relax. I'm a big girl. And I'm not the type to kiss and tell."

She parted her lips and tilted her head back, willing him to embrace her. He was so close, she could tell. His heart was beating too quickly, much too quickly....

"Oh, Roger ..."

Trembling with the effort, Mr. Collins pulled free from her. "Get your things," he said coldly. "I'll wait for you in the car."

She stared at him for a long, incredulous moment. She couldn't believe it. He was turning her down! She felt like screaming. How
dare
he reject her?

Her eyes narrowed to razor-thin slits. "You wanted to kiss me. I know you did."

Mr. Collins shook his head. His eyes looked almost black in the shadowy light. "You're playing a very foolish game, Suzanne. Believe me, I'm doing you a favor. Otherwise, you'd be very sorry later on."

But Suzanne scarcely heard what he was saying. Rage was boiling inside her, bubbling to the surface. He had some nerve to treat her this way! She felt like hitting him, scratching his eyes out. Oh, he'd pay for this. She'd make him pay.

Grabbing her purse, she pushed her way past him out the door. She'd be damned if she'd let him drive her home now! Suzanne was halfway down the front path when she whirled to face him one last time.

"You're
the one who's going to be sorry, Roger Collins!" she hissed.

Suzanne calmed down as she walked back to the Wakefields'. The thought of getting her revenge on Mr. Collins was making her feel better, more in control. Already a plan was taking shape in her mind. She dried her tears. It might even be fun.

Smiling a little, she pulled at her blouse until it ripped. Let everyone think Mr. Collins had attacked her. It would be priceless, absolutely

priceless. He'd probably even be kicked out of school.

As she neared the house, Suzanne let her smile drop. It took her a minute to muster up the tears again, but she managed. After all, she was an expert at it, wasn't she? Letting herself in the front door, she crept slowly up the darkened stairs toward Elizabeth's room.

Ten

"It's so romantic." Jessica sighed, sinking deep into the leather seat of the horse-drawn carriage as the twilit green of Central Park skimmed, past. "I wish I had a picture of us. No one at my school is going to believe this."

"It's a bit touristy for my taste," Pete commented.

His arm was draped over the back of the seat. The tweedy fabric of his sleeve grazed Jessica's bare shoulder, sending ripples of icy gooseflesh down her back.

Jessica laughed. "Well, I am a tourist after all, so I guess that qualifies me. And you're my tour guide." She shot him a coy, sidelong glance.

"Pete, it's been such a wonderful day! How can I ever thank you?"

"Don't thank me, thank the Devlins. It was their idea."

"They asked you to call me?"

"They thought you might enjoy spending time with someone closer to your own age." He shrugged. "I happened to be free; so it really wasn't any trouble."