Double Love, chapter 6

“You're late," Rick said, gunning the engine impatiently as Jessica climbed in beside him. His dark eyes flickered over her. "But I can see it was worth the wait."

Jessica was glad she'd taken the trouble to curl her hair and put on her sexiest red blouse. She had even borrowed her sister's brand-new black sandal heels to go with her black silk-jersey skirt. She felt very grown-up, wedged beside Rick, with his arm clamped about her shoulders.

"Sorry, Rick," she breathed. "I had trouble getting away."

"Forget it. The night is young, and we've just begun, Heaven."

He pressed her even closer, turning his face briefly to nuzzle her hair. She caught the faint smell of cigarettes and liquor on his breath.

"Where are we going?" Jessica asked as Rick's Camaro shot over the winding valley road leading to the coast highway. Before he could say anything, she answered her own question: "I know-that's for you to know and me to find out, right?"

"Right. Hey, you're a fast learner. I can't wait to see what else you're good at."

Jessica shivered a little at his compliment. He talked the way he drove-fast and dangerously. For an instant she wondered if she would be able to keep him at bay, but she quickly dismissed the worry. She had yet to come up against a situation she couldn't handle.

Even so, nothing could squelch the nervous fluttering in her stomach as Rick's car spun to a stop in a shower of gravel in front of a seedy-looking beachfront roadhouse. A red, blinking neon sign advertised that it was Kelly's. Loud music spilled from the open doorway, punctuated by harsh bursts of laughter.

None of Jessica's friends had ever been inside Kelly's. It had the most notorious reputation of any bar in the whole valley. A mixture of alarm and excitement raced through Jessica's body. Boy, would she have something to talk about tomorrow!

Rick must have noticed how nervous she looked, for he squeezed her shoulders in rough reassurance. "Take it easy, Heaven. You've just graduated into the real world. Think you can handle it?"

"Are you kidding?" she tossed back. "I can handle anything."

Once inside, she wasn't so sure. Kelly's was definitely out of her league. So was Rick Andover, she was beginning to think.

"That's my girl," he murmured against her ear, sliding his arm about her waist in a proprietary way as they passed through the bar area, heading for one of the dimly lit booths in back.

Jessica had never been so acutely aware of both her age and her appearance before. Several of the men stared at her, and one let forth a low wolf whistle. Her face was burning from anger and embarrassment, and her eyes watered from the cigarette smoke that wreathed the cramped room. As they slid into the cracked vinyl booth, she leaned over to tell Rick how uncomfortable she felt, but her words were drowned in a sudden burst of twangy country-western music from the jukebox.

Rick ordered a couple of boilermakers, something Jessica had never heard of before. She was relieved to see that it was only beer, until the waitress placed two shot glasses of whiskey beside their foaming mugs. She didn't even look at Jessica, much less ask for her I.D., despite the sign hanging over the bar: MINORS WILL NOT BE SERVED UNDER PENALTY OF LAW. With a growing sense of unease, Jessica sipped her beer while Rick tipped back his glass of whiskey as though it were water.

He laughed huskily. "Not exactly prom time, huh?" His hand found her knee under the table and gave it a squeeze.

Jessica winced but forced a smile anyway. "It's ... it's fun," she agreed, lying through her gritted teeth.

"So are you." Rick's hand moved up an inch or two on her leg. "I knew the minute I laid eyes on you that you wouldn't let me down, little Jessica."

Jessica shifted her position, trying to maneuver herself out of his reach, but Rick only squeezed tighter. She giggled nervously in an attempt to cover up her unease.

"And I should have known you were the kind of guy who couldn't keep his hands to himself," she scolded lightly.

Rick's eyes narrowed. "All tease and no tickle, huh? Didn't your mommy tell you not to put anything in the window that you don't sell in the store?" His fingers groped higher, and she noticed he was beginning to slur his words. "Well, I've seen the merchandise, baby, and I'm sold."

This time there was no pretense in the way Jessica pulled away from Rick. Suddenly he didn't seem so fascinating anymore. Just dangerous. His eyes looked flat and black, like a snake's. His breath, as he leaned over to kiss her, reeked of alcohol.

"Rick, don't-" Jessica turned her head so that his lips found only her cheek, leaving a wet imprint, like the rings of moisture left on the table by their glasses.

"Whatsa matter?" he drawled. "You wanna go somewhere quieter? Listen, I know a place down the-"

"No!" Jessica cried in true alarm. "Rick, take me home. I-I told my parents I'd be back in an hour. I really can't stay."

He shrugged. "So call and tell 'em you'll be late. 'Less you're afraid of turning into a pumpkin." Rick laughed loudly at his own joke.

“Rick, please." She wasn't in the habit of begging, but she was getting desperate. A few more drinks and Rick would be in no condition to drive her home. Then she'd really be stuck.

"Forget it, baby." He gulped the last of his beer and finished off her untouched shot of whiskey. "I came here for a good time, and I'm not leaving."

"What about me?" she wailed, suddenly close to tears. "What am I supposed to do?"

Rick hooked a tattooed arm around her neck, dragging her into another one of his moist kisses.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? Relax, baby. You might even have a good time yourself."

Jessica slithered adroitly from his drunken clinch and stood up. "Sorry, Rick," she said, in command of herself once again, "but I'd have a better time with an octopus. Thanks for nothing. I think I'll just call a cab."

"Wait a minute," Rick hissed, grabbing her hand and jerking her back into the booth. "You're not going anywhere!"

Jessica let out a yelp as blunt fingers encircled her wrist. She struggled to free herself. A man sitting at a bar stool nearby swiveled around to see what was going on.

"He giving you trouble, miss?" the man asked.

"Yes," Jessica announced in a loud voice. "I have to go home, and he won't let me go!"

The man grinned. He was probably about her father's age, only rougher looking-in a funny kind of nice way. Like a cross between a teddy bear and Jaws.

"I'd be glad to give you a lift home if your boyfriend won't," he said.

"Thanks," Jessica said, "but he's not my boyfriend."

She had succeeded in wrenching away and was halfway to the door when Rick lunged after her, his black eyes spitting fire.

"Out of the way, lard bucket!" he growled at the man, who had stepped in front of him.

At that moment Jessica felt as if all the air in that smoky room had been sucked out. She could hardly breathe. As she watched in horror, Rick hunched forward, swinging his fist in a wide, drunken arc. The man easily blocked the punch. His own ham-sized fist exploded against Rick's jaw with an audible crack. Rick reeled backward, crashing into a table and knocking over several chairs. A trickle of blood oozed from one corner of his mouth.

Jessica stood frozen, unaware that any time had passed, until the howl of a siren brought her back to her senses with a sickening snap. The next thing she knew, there were two policemen barreling into the bar. One of them headed straight for Rick, who lay sprawled on the floor amid the cigarette butts, mumbling curses at everyone in sight.

"This time I'm pressing charges," the bartender was yelling. "His name's Andover, and this isn't the first time he's tried to bust up my place!"

The other policeman took Jessica aside. "Do your parents know you're here, young lady?" he demanded sternly.

"Oh, no, please, please don't tell them," she begged, tears pouring down her cheeks. She didn't have to turn on the waterworks-this time they were for real. "They would just kill me if they found out!"

"I doubt that," he answered, but his tone softened slightly. "Maybe it's best for your parents to find out. They might stop you from doing something even worse the next time. Now, why don't you give me your name?"

Panic swept through Jessica. Arrested! Taken home by the police from Kelly's! She'd be absolutely ruined-besides being grounded for five hundred years!

"Uh ... Wakefield..." she managed to choke.

"Wakefield, huh?" The cop peered closely at her. "Sure, I know you. You're a friend of my niece, Emily Mayer. I've heard her mention Elizabeth Wakefield."

"Emily? Oh, sure!" Jessica ignored his mistake. "Emily's a terrific drummer, and the Droids are the hottest band in Sweet Valley," she babbled in relief.

The cop jotted something down in his notebook "OK, young lady," he said. "Let's get you home where you belong."

In the squad car Jessica began sobbing again with renewed desperation. She pulled out all the stops-every plea she could think of, from the trauma of being scarred for life to the fact that her father was a lawyer, and his reputation could be ruined. The cop said nothing until he'd pulled to a stop in front of her house.

Then he turned to her. "Listen," he said, giving her a long, hard look. "I'm going to let you off this time. No thanks to Niagara Falls, either. I just happen to believe in second chances."

"Oh, thank you, Officer!" Jessica leaped from the car like someone who had just been reprieved from death row. "I swear it'll never happen again!"

"It'd better not," he called after her as she bounded up the driveway. "Stay away from Rick Andover. I don't want to see you in the middle of any more brawls at Kelly's. And keep in mind, Elizabeth, I don't believe in third chances."

"Wait, I'm not-" She started to tell him she wasn't Elizabeth. Now that she was out of danger, she was suddenly stricken by a guilty conscience for letting him think she was her twin. But the squad car had already disappeared into the night.

Blinded by her overwhelming relief, Jessica hadn't seen the girl who walked past with a little black poodle on a leash. She probably wouldn't have noticed it was Caroline Pearce, her sorority sister and three-doors-down neighbor, even if she'd bumped into her. Jessica was so happy to have been let off the hook, she practically flew up the front steps to her house.

Caroline was heading home, too, straight for the white Princess phone in her bedroom, which served as the central switchboard for Sweet Valley High gossip....