Playing With Fire, chapter 9

Jessica arrived at school the following Friday wearing her cheerleading uniform. The football team was playing rival Dallas Heights High that evening, and the whole school was getting ready for the action. Although she'd missed practice for the past three weeks, Jessica was as up for the game as the rest of the squad and couldn't wait for the morning's special assembly to rally team spirit. There'd been some talk of kicking her off the squad for missing so many practices, but Jessica put her old charm to work and wheedled herself back into everybody's good graces. With the entire school planning to attend the home game, this was one event she didn't want to miss.

She ran through the packed hallway to the locker area to find Bruce, who'd been unable to take her to school that morning because his Porsche was in the shop for repairs. Finding him rummaging through his open locker, she put her hands over his eyes and whispered, "Guess who?"

"I'd know those beautiful hands anywhere. Must be my pretty little princess."

"I should have known I couldn't fool you," Jessica said, giggling.

Bruce turned around, ready to give her a goodmorning hug. But he stopped when he saw what she was wearing.

Jessica grew puzzled at the change in his expression. "What's the matter, honey?" she asked.

Bruce's scowl grew deeper. "What's the idea of that outfit?"

"You haven't gone blind all of a sudden, have you?" she teased. "It's my cheerleading outfit. I just had it cleaned. Doesn't it look nice? I wanted to look my best for the assembly and tonight's game." As soon as the words were out, Jessica realized she'd said something wrong. "What's the matter, Bruce? Haven't you ever seen a cheerleader before?"

"Who said you're going to the football game?"

Jessica looked at him disbelievingly. "It's the biggest game of the year. Of course I'm going."

"How come you didn't mention this to me?"

Jessica couldn't understand why Bruce was getting angry with her. "I-I didn't think it was necessary, honey. I mean, you know I'm on the squad, so I just assumed you knew I'd be there."

"Never assume anything with me, babe." Bruce's tone was harsh, unsympathetic. "I thought the two of us would take a drive down to the beach tonight."

"But what about the game?"

"Football bores me. And if you know what's right for us, you'll find a way to miss this game." He put his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Tell me, baby, who'd you rather be with? Me, or a bunch of chicks with fat thighs in short skirts?"

Jessica hated the hard look she saw in Bruce's eyes. Hesitating a moment, she ran her fingers nervously through her hair. "Well, if you put it that way..."

Jessica went to the assembly but asked to be excused from English class that morning because of a splitting headache. At lunchtime she passed Lila Fowler in the hall and complained of stomach cramps. By last period she was crying uncontrollably to Cara Walker. She was feeling so awful, she said, she just didn't see how she was going to be able to make it to the game. By seven o'clock, however, she'd made a miraculous recovery. She was dressed and ready to go when Bruce picked her up for the beach.

A few days later Cara barged into the newspaper office. Ignoring the meeting in progress between Elizabeth and Mr. Collins, the faculty adviser for the paper, she walked right up between the two. "Your sister is mad," she announced.

Elizabeth looked helplessly at the faculty adviser, who nodded as he rose and left the two girls alone. Elizabeth offered Cara a seat, which she declined. "Who's she mad at?" Elizabeth asked.

"Not mad-angry-mad in the head. Do you know what she just told me? She's quitting the cheer-leading squad!"

Elizabeth was truly startled by the news. "She didn't say anything about it to me. Did she tell you why?"

"She says she's tired of it." Cara shrugged. "Maybe she is. She sure has missed a lot of practices lately. But if you ask me, I think Bruce made her quit."

"Or she quit to stay on his good side," Elizabeth thought aloud. "He broke a date with her this week, and I thought she'd go out of her mind."

"Oh, Liz, what are we going to do about her? We've got to get her away from that boy."

"You're not still interested in him, are you?"

Cara rolled her eyes. "Liz, I've been down that road. Once is enough. I like my independence too much."

"So he tried to control you just like he's doing with Jessica?"

"From what I can see, yes. I hardly ever spend time with her these days, though. That girl hasn't been herself since he came on the scene. She's surrendered to him body and soul. And for what? I've heard Bruce hardly spends a dime on her and never takes her anywhere except to the beach."

"That's not true!" Elizabeth emphatically denied the accusation, although she had no way of disproving it. "Jessica wouldn't waste five minutes with someone who didn't want to show her a good time."

Cara arched an eyebrow. "I didn't say anything about not having a good time. All I'm saying is, that girl is headed for trouble!"

"It was so nice of you to invite me over tonight, Jessica," Robin gushed. The two girls were in Jessica's room the following night, sitting at her vanity, an array of blushes, lipsticks, and eye-shadows lined up in front of them.

"When you reminded me of the makeup lesson I promised you, I couldn't say no," Jessica told her, failing to add that Bruce had broken their date that night because of family obligations.

Jessica pulled Robin's hair back from her face. Despite herself she admired the girl's clear complexion and fine bone structure. If Robin lost some weight, she might not be bad-looking, Jessica realized. For a moment she groped for a tactful way of expressing her observation to Robin, then decided to let it pass.

"I was surprised you still wanted to do it," Robin was saying. "I mean, with all the time you've been spending with Bruce lately."

"We can't be together all the time. I told Bruce I simply couldn't abandon my friends. Besides, I owe this to you for helping me with my history."

"Oh, that was no problem, and if you need more help with anything, just let me know."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jessica said. She finished dabbing Autumn Smoke eye shadow on Robin's lids. "What do you think?"

"Nice," Robin murmured. Her eyes, however, were locked on the tiny teddy bear with the Pi Beta Alpha T-shirt sitting on the edge of the vanity. Impulsively she picked it up. "He's cute. Does he have a name?"

"Bartholomew."

Robin sighed. "I wish I had one."

Jessica shrugged. "It's just a teddy."

"No, it's a PBA teddy. I'd love to be in the sorority. What do you have to do to join?"

Jessica stared hard at Robin's reflection in the mirror. The girl can't seriously believe anyone would want a butterball like her as a sorority sister, Jessica thought. "Sorry, Robin, membership's closed for the year," she told her.

"Really? That's not what Lila Fowler said. I overheard her at lunch the other day rating potential pledges."

Jessica was ready to stuff her cotton balls into Lila's mouth. "Oh, that's right," she quickly corrected herself. "I've been so caught up in other things I forgot all about the next rush." She carelessly tossed aside the cotton she'd used to wipe the powder off Robin's nose. "It's not so important to me anymore."

"How can you say that? PBA is the most important club around school. I'd do anything to get in."

"Anything, Robin?" A thought flashed through Jessica's mind. Robin's overwhelming desire to get into PBA might be used to her own advantage. Remembering her several household chores, Jessica smiled serenely at Robin. "By the way, how's your cooking?"

"Not bad. I'm pretty good with casseroles and stews."

"Great. See, I want to surprise Bruce with a home-cooked meal sometime, but I'm a terrible cook. Maybe you can come over tomorrow night and show me how to prepare something? Of course, you can stay and eat with us, too."

"I'd love to help," Robin said eagerly.

Jessica smacked her forehead. "Oh, I just remembered. Bruce wants me to go over to his place for a little while after school. But I shouldn't be there too long. Liz will be here, though, and she'll let you in if I'm not back yet." Jessica smiled to herself, admiring her own cleverness. She had no intention of returning home until right before dinnertime. It would be just perfect to find a hot meal waiting on the table when she arrived.

"That's OK. What will you and Bruce be doing?"

Jessica looked into the mirror and smiled. "That's our secret," she said. "Something special that no one but the two of us can share."

As the weeks went by, Bruce began to come up with more and more reasons why he couldn't see Jessica. His nights were increasingly taken up with important dinners with his father or with school projects that simply had to get done if he had any hope of graduating.

Or so he told Jessica.

Jessica began to realize he was slipping away, so she did all she could to make herself available for him whenever he wanted. At home she sat and waited for the occasional call saying that he was free and ready to share a few hours with her. Most of the time the calls never came, but when they did, Jessica dropped whatever she was doing to be with Bruce.

Their dates almost always consisted of drives to the beach. Jessica loved those times alone with him, but she also longed to do things with the rest of her friends. She hardly ever socialized with them anymore. But whenever she mentioned this to Bruce, he'd scoff at her. "What do you need other people for?" he'd always tell her. "You've got me."

It was Jessica's desire to get more involved with the school scene that caused her first actual fight with Bruce. She was all prepared to go to a sorority dance when Bruce offhandedly informed her that he planned to spend the evening working on his car with a few of his university buddies.

"But you can't do that!" Jessica cried.

"You telling me how to run my life, babe?" he growled at her.

Jessica quickly retreated. "Oh, no, Bruce. I mean, I didn't know you'd made other plans. I just assumed we were going."

"I told you before-never assume anything with me."

"But you knew I wanted to go, Bruce."

"I told you I've got other plans."

"Can't you break them?" she pleaded.

"Nobody tells me what to do, Jessica," he said angrily. "And I don't feel like going to a stupid dance."

"So I'll go without you," she said, the old Jessica surfacing for a fleeting instant.

His eyes bored into her. "You do that, baby, and you just see whose arms you won't be in next Saturday night."

Jessica didn't say another word. The meaning of his threat was clear. Unwilling to risk losing him, she obediently stayed home.

Jessica had grown accustomed to rearranging her life to suit Bruce, but as the days passed she decided to do something to fill those idle hours without him. The following Saturday, when Bruce told her he had to pick up his grandmother from the airport and spend the day with her, she decided to accept a baby-sitting job for Mr. Collins's son, Teddy. Mr. Collins, who was divorced, was so delighted to have his son's favorite baby-sitter back that he didn't mind her special request to have Teddy stay at her house while he ran his errands. Jessica invited Robin to join her. There was always the possibility that Bruce might call, and even Jessica was responsible enough not to leave a six-year-old alone in a strange house. Robin would be her backup in case she had to go.

Jessica found the afternoon insufferable. Teddy was cranky-he had a cold-and was constantly demanding that she entertain him. And Robin was starting to get demanding herself, continually throwing not-so-subtle hints about wanting to join the sorority. Jessica was grateful when Bruce called at three-thirty. He wanted to see her in fifteen minutes.

"I've got an emergency, Robin," she said, white-faced, after she hung up. "It's Bruce. His grandmother arrived, but she suddenly got sick, and he's a wreck about it. He'd really like me to be with him. Do you mind staying here with Teddy until Mr. Collins gets back?"

Robin minded, but she was afraid to lose what she considered to be Jessica's friendship. "Sure, I'll stay," she said good-naturedly.

Bruce drove Jessica to the Dairi Burger. "A little food always helps when you have some bad news," he said, ordering a cheeseburger and fries for her.

"What is it?" Jessica asked, alarmed. It must be about his grandmother, she thought. But Bruce never mentioned his grandmother. Instead, he looked at her sheepishly. "It's about tomorrow. I'm going to have to cancel our date. I'm afraid Dad made plans without telling me. He's throwing a cocktail party for some of his major clients, and he's ordered me to be there and play the obedient son." Bruce made it sound like a fate worse than death. He kissed her forehead lightly. "I'd rather spend the day with you, but when Dad calls, there's no denying him."

Having looked forward to the picnic she'd planned, Jessica was disappointed. She sincerely felt the day alone with him, up in the secluded forestland, was just what was needed to give their relationship new life. But she also saw a way to salvage the day for the two of them. "Tomorrow doesn't have to be a drag for you," she hinted.

"What do you mean?"

"You wouldn't be bored if I was there with you," Jessica said, slipping her arms around his waist.

Bruce pushed her aside. "No, baby," he hedged uncomfortably. "You wouldn't enjoy it."

"Why not?" she asked. The more she thought about the idea, the more she liked it. "I'd love to go to one of your father's parties."

"Tomorrow's not the right time," Bruce said, turning away.

"Why not? Your dad said I was always welcome at your house." Jessica could hear herself pleading, and she hated herself for it. But she was desperate to be with him.

"I said no, Jessica," Bruce insisted angrily. "Forget it."

"Please don't be mad at me, Bruce," Jessica begged in a soft little-girl voice. "I just want to be with you. Don't you understand that?" Tears were brimming just behind her eyelids.

"Sure, baby, sure," he said. "I want to be with you, too." Slowly he lowered his lips until they rested firmly on hers. "Tomorrow may be out, but in the meantime," he breathed, stroking her hair, "there's still the rest of today..."