All Night Long, chapter 2

“You should have seen the look on my dorm mother's face when she caught Bobby sneaking out of my room the other morning. She actually asked him what he was doing there. As if it wasn't as plain as the nose on her face!"

Sprawled on her back on the lake's sandy beach, Jessica eavesdropped on the conversation that bubbled around her as enticingly as champagne. She felt distinctly out of place, despite her efforts to appear as bored and sophisticated as the other girls. She kept her eyes shut, pretending to be asleep, until one of them poked her in the ribs and asked to borrow her suntan lotion.

In her chamois bikini and cornrowed blond hair, the girl was a dead ringer for Bo Derek. Jessica couldn't recall her name. Erica something. The beads in her braids clicked and sparkled in the sunlight as she shook her head over some new boyfriend-related disaster.

"Listen, let me tell you about the time Rod and I spent the weekend camping up in the mountains and we got lost. I'd told my mother I was spending the night with Sarah, only she called up and found out I wasn't there...."

Jessica hooked one leg over her strategically bent knee and shifted slightly to a more flattering pose, just in case Scott or one of the other boys happened to be looking. In her new red string bikini she was a match even for "Ms. 10," if she did say so herself. Noisy laughter and splashing reminded her that most of the party's male members were still in the water. Scott had wanted Jessica to go swimming with him, but she'd declined. She wasn't about to get her hair wet or spoil her makeup.

"Have you been seeing Scott for very long?"

The question had been directed at Jessica by a tall, leggy blonde named Greta. Her smallish brown eyes were heavily outlined with charcoal eye pencil, making her nose seem longer than it really was. She reminded Jessica of a guinea pig she'd once had.

"Long enough," she answered, flipping over onto one elbow. She didn't want them to know that this was their first date.

What would they think if they knew she was the tiniest bit afraid of Scott? Actually, it was a thrilling kind of fear-the way she felt about breaking the speed limit, for instance. She remembered the way Scott had rested his hand against her bare leg in between shifting gears as they were driving up to the lake. Every once in a while he had taken a swig from the beer can tucked between his knees. His hand was cold and wet when he touched her, giving her overheated skin a delightful shock. Without knowing how to explain it, she'd felt distinctly grown-up but at the same time somewhat uneasy-a feeling unfamiliar to her.

"Bo Derek" cast Jessica a sly look. "Just a word of warning where Scott's concerned. I'm not sure how much of it's actually true, but around campus he's got quite a reputation."

A reputation for what? Jessica wanted to ask, but at that moment a shadow fell over her, followed by a sprinkle of cold water.

"Did I hear my name mentioned? You ladies are going to have to stop fighting over me and accept the fact that I'm taken."

Scott sank down beside Jessica and draped a wet arm about her shoulders. "For today, anyway," he added and winked.

Jessica shivered, grateful nevertheless for having been rescued. She angled her chin downward in the sloe-eyed smile she'd been practicing in the mirror lately. Scott was cute-even if he was conceited. His eyes were the same metallic blue as the lake and had a slightly devilish glint in them. Droplets of water clung to his mustache, and his hair stood out in dark, wet ringlets. He was no more muscular than boys her own age who worked out with weights in the gym, but there was a manlike hardness to his bronzed build she found dangerous and exciting.

"Watch out, honey, you've caught yourself a live one," Greta warned and gave a tinkling laugh.

"Jessica can handle herself," said Scott. "Can't you, Jess?"

He nibbled at her earlobe. His mustache tickled the inside of her ear. He brushed his fingertips down her spine, hooking a thumb suggestively over her bikini strap. Jessica wasn't sure she liked his assured possessiveness. Except for Bruce Patman, she'd always been the one to call the shots with her boyfriends. She liked the feeling of power it gave her to lead them on, then whirl away with a careless laugh over her shoulder just when they thought they had her. She had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy with Scott. He was more mature and experienced. But that made it a challenge-and, above all else, Jessica loved a challenge.

"Sure I can handle myself," she teased, flicking one long, ruby-frosted fingernail against his cheek. "But I'd rather have you do it."

The joke had the intended effect of making her seem as sophisticated as the others. Everyone laughed except Scott, who tossed her onto her back with a savage growl, giving her a long, hard kiss. Jessica kicked one slender leg up in the air in mock protest. She felt safe enough in the presence of Scott's friends, but she sensed it wouldn't be so easy fending him off if they were alone.

The other boys were coming in from the water now. Rod Shockley grabbed a couple of beers from the Styrofoam cooler under the trees and tossed one over to Scott.

"Here, Daniels. Looks like you need cooling off." He sent Jessica a long appraising look that drew green darts from the eyes of his girlfriend.

"I was just getting warmed up," Scott grumbled.

Beer fizzed over the top of the can as he popped it open. Jessica squealed and pulled away from him as the icy foam dribbled onto her stomach. She was glad for the excuse to free herself from his disturbing embrace.

Someone had lit a joint and was passing it around. Jessica sipped at the beer Scott had given her, pretending not to notice. Though she hated to admit it, she knew she'd gotten into the fast lane this time-maybe too fast. Not that she couldn't handle it, she told herself. She could handle just about anything....

Pretending a sudden interest in the water as the joint made its way toward her, Jessica drifted down to the lake's edge.

"Just getting my feet wet," she called gaily to Scott over her shoulder. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked, so she gave her hips an added little swing for his benefit-as well as for anyone else who might be watching.

Voices carried down to the water's edge, the speakers no doubt thinking she was out of earshot.

"... Scott sure likes 'em young...."

"... gotta watch out for them when they're that age. All tease and no tickle...."

"... jailbait, if you ask me...."

Frowning, Jessica dug her toes into the wet sand. So her careful little act hadn't fooled them after all. They thought she was just a baby. Well, she'd show them! She could twist any one of those guys around her little finger if she wanted to! Scooping up a handful of mud and pebbles, she strolled nonchalantly back to her towel.

"Oh, Scott..." Smiling sweetly, she held out her fist.

He looked up at her with a heavy-lidded expression, the result of several hits of the joint. He came alive with a jerk, however, when she dribbled ice-cold mud across his chest.

Suddenly he was on his feet, chasing her down the beach. Jessica laughed breathlessly, darting out of his way with a squeal of mock alarm. She doubled back through the shallows as he neared her, splashing him as she ran.

"You little-" he growled when he finally caught up with her. Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her down the beach as she struggled and shrieked.

"Scott," she demanded, "where are you taking me? Put me down this instant! Scott!"

She shot a hopeful glance over his shoulder but saw that no one was likely to come to her rescue. Rod and "Bo" had disappeared into the trees themselves, and the others were absorbed in a new joint that was making the rounds. Not that Jessica was really worried. It was all fun and games. Wasn't it?

"Come on," Scott urged, lowering her to the ground as soon as they'd reached the wooded boundary of the beach. "Let's go for a walk. I know a great place where we can be alone. It's somebody's boathouse, but the people only come up here in the summertime, so we're safe."

Jessica didn't protest as he took her hand and led her down a path strewn with dried pine needles that crackled unpleasantly under her bare feet. She'd teased him into going this far. If she made him go back now, it would look as if his friends had been right about her all along.

"Hey-you're really something, you know that?" Scott hooked his arm about her neck, drawing her close. "I can tell you aren't anything like your sister."

"How can you say that? Liz and I are exactly alike."

"Sure, on the outside. But that's only the gift wrapping. I'm more interested in what's going on inside."

He slipped a hand down the back of her bikini bottom. Jessica slapped it away with a playful swat, more nervous than she was willing to admit, even to herself.

The sun was edging below the treetops by the time they reached the boathouse, after what had been more of a hike than a walk. To Jessica, the waterlogged shack looked dark and creepy, not in the least bit romantic. Inside, it was damp and chilly.

"I'm cold," she said. "Let's go back."

Scott wrapped his arms around her in the marshy-smelling dimness. The slapping of water against a boat hull sounded loud in the stillness.

"Don't worry," he promised huskily. "I'll warm you up."

Suddenly he was kissing her in a way that told her he meant business. Jessica backed away but only succeeded in catching her feet in a jumble of rope and tumbling backward onto a pile of burlap sacking.

"Scott, I-" She held out an arm to ward him off, but he mistook it for an invitation.

He descended upon her like an invading army, tugging insistently at her bikini straps while he devoured her neck. The muscles she'd admired on the beach felt knotted and menacing now, as she lay pinned beneath his bulk. His mouth pressed against hers, hot and openly demanding. Jessica shuddered. No-not this way, she thought. She'd always been able to control her boyfriends when she wanted to, but Scott was more of a man than a boy, she realized with rising panic. Someone who wasn't about to take no from a girl who'd led him on.

"Stop it, Scott!" Jessica hissed, pushing against the solid wall of his chest with all her strength. "I mean it. Stop it or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" Scott pulled back with an expression of disdain. "Scream? Forget it, Jessie baby, this isn't the movies. There aren't any Mounties in these woods."

He loosened the string that tied her bikini top, causing her to clutch her arms over her chest to keep the top from falling off. She decided to try another tack, one that had always worked in the past.

"Hey, come on, Scott," she wheedled, giving him the full benefit of her dimpled smile as she quickly tied the bikini strings. "You know I'm crazy about you, but we really should be getting back. It's almost dark. I've got to be getting home pretty soon."

"Home?" he laughed. "Where did you get the idea I was taking you home tonight? I thought you knew. This party is an all-nighter."

Jessica stiffened, all pretense at beguiling sweetness dropping as abruptly as a rock off a cliff. She bit her lip against the flaming tears that threatened her icy composure. Nothing was going right. Nothing was happening the way she'd planned.

This whole thing was Elizabeth's fault, she decided suddenly. If only Elizabeth had tried a little harder to talk her out of this, she was sure she wouldn't be here.

"I have to get home," she demanded, her lower lip edging out in a trembling pout that had never been known to fail as a last-ditch means of getting her way. "If you don't take me home, I'll tell my parents you tried-to-" She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

Scott's only response was a harsh bark of laughter. "Go ahead, Jessie, baby. Tell them. Tell them how you lied to them so you could sneak up here with me. Tell them how you just happened to be in a deserted boathouse, practically naked, when I came along and tried to take advantage of you." He shook his head. "Sorry, baby, it just doesn't wash."

Jessica's cheeks burned scarlet with rage and humiliation. "Liz was right about you," she growled at him through gritted teeth. "You really are a creep!"

Scott shrugged. "You know what they say-play with fire and you're going to get burned. So you got a little scorched around the edges. Just be glad it wasn't worse."

Casting her a look of idle disdain, he rose and started for the door.

"Where are you going?" she shrieked, suddenly panicky at the thought of being left alone. It was dark outside, and she hadn't the slightest idea where she was. Even a creep like Scott was better than nothing, she decided. "You can't just leave me here. How will I find my way back?"

"Don't worry, you'll find a way. I have a feeling you can do just about anything you set your mind to, Jessie, baby."

"Scott!" She struggled to her feet, but the rope was still caught about them, and she landed back on her rear with a painful thud. "Come back here. Scott!"

It was no use. He didn't care if she got lost in the wilderness. He probably wouldn't care if she died out there, she thought. She tightened the strings of her bikini top, breaking a fingernail in the process.

"Damn," she swore as she freed herself from the rope and ran outside to catch up with Scott.

He was nowhere in sight. She looked for the path, but that, too, seemed to have disappeared in the darkness. Why did all trees have to look so maddeningly alike? How on earth did Scott expect her to find her way out of this rat's maze?

It was all his fault. He'd practically kidnapped her, for heaven's sake! It would serve him right if something horrible happened to him on the way back-like stumbling into a bear trap.

At the thought that there might actually be bears in the woods, Jessica experienced a fresh wave of panic. Tingling with goose bumps, she thrashed her way through the underbrush with increased determination, unmindful of the twigs that scratched against her bare legs and arms. She had even forgotten that she was cold.

She wished now that she hadn't dropped out of girl scouts when she was younger. Maybe it would have taught her how to find her way out of a situation like this. Even knowing how to rub two sticks together to make a fire was better than nothing. But she'd told Elizabeth it was only for goody-goodies, and her sister had shrugged and told her to suit herself. Why had Elizabeth let her drop out so easily? She could have convinced her to stay if she'd given it half a try....

By the time Jessica had located some semblance of a path, all her anger was focused on Elizabeth and Scott. She figured her sister owed it to her to cover for her. It was the least Elizabeth could do after getting her into this mess. Of course, Jessica knew it would be up to her to provide a convincing excuse for why she was so late. She discarded half a dozen or so before deciding on the tale that sounded most plausible. She would tell her parents that Cara's father's car had broken down on a remote country road, and she couldn't get to a phone. Cara would back her up. She'd better. Jessica would never forgive her if she didn't!

After what seemed like hours, she finally stumbled upon a cabin that looked inhabited. Lights shone in the windows, and loud rock music spilled from the open doorway. A familiar voice greeted her as she groped her way up the front steps.

"Well, well. If it isn't our little lost lamb." Scott emerged from the shadows inside, beer can in hand. His expression had the Silly Putty distortion of intoxication. "What happened, Jessie, baby, did you take a wrong turn back there in the woods?"

She shook him off when he grabbed her elbow with clumsy roughness. Removing a twig from her tangled hair, she tossed it defiantly in his face.

Scott pretended to be mortally wounded and staggered backward into the room, falling onto the couch with a snort of drunken laughter.

Jessica looked around for Scott's friends, but judging from the muffled noises coming from the bedrooms, they were obviously far too busy with one another to be concerned with her plight. It looked as though they'd been busy for quite some time. Empty beer cans littered the floor alongside overflowing ashtrays. A table in the corner was piled high with dirty dishes.

"If we'd known you were gonna make it, we would've saved you something to eat," Scott said, not sounding the least bit sorry.

"I'm not hungry," Jessica spat back. The truth was she was starved, but she wouldn't have given him the satisfaction of knowing it. "Where's the phone?" she demanded.

Scott started to giggle as if she'd just said something immensely funny. His head lolled back against the armrest, and his arms flapped weakly at his sides. How could she ever have thought he was good-looking? Something in Jessica snapped. She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him hard.

"Now you look here, Scott Daniels!" she screamed, two inches from his face. "I'm cold and tired and scratched to pieces, and I'm in no mood for rotten jokes! Either you tell me where the phone is or-or-" She looked wildly about for something to threaten him with. Finally she seized an empty wine bottle from the coffee table and brandished it over his limp form. "Or I'll break this over your stupid head!"

Scott sobered a notch, his drunken laughter replaced by a lopsided grin. "I hope you brought a good pair of hiking shoes, 'cause the nearest phone is a good ten miles down the road."

"Ooooh!" Jessica had a good mind to break the bottle over his head anyway. Damn Scott! Damn Elizabeth! Damn everybody!

Instead, she slumped onto the edge of the couch in momentary defeat. "What am I going to do? My parents are expecting me home. And I have a test tomorrow that I haven't even begun to study for." It was no use pleading with Scott to drive her home. He was too drunk for that now.

Scott's expression held not a flicker of sympathy. "You should've thought of all that before you came," he told her. "But, hey, don't let it get you down, babe. I have a feeling you're used to getting in and out of trouble. I'm sure that pretty little head of yours will come up with something."

"Thanks for your confidence," she flung back at him in disgust. "You're a real winner yourself." An idea came to her all of a sudden, and she smiled. "Listen-I think I left my sweater in the car. If you'll just give me the keys..."

"No dice, baby. I know what you'd do with those keys if you got your hot little hands on 'em. I'm wise to you, Jess. You know why? 'Cause we're alike, that's why. We want what we want, and we don't care how we get it."

He flashed her a wicked grin. "If you want a ride home bad enough, there's only one way of getting it. Otherwise, you'd better find yourself a place to sleep on the floor, 'cause all the beds are taken, and I'm sure as hell not giving up this couch."

"I'd rather sleep with a grizzly bear!" fumed Jessica. "You're the most insufferable creep I've ever met in my entire life. Besides being a conceited jerk, you're the-" She stopped when she saw that he wasn't listening.

Scott's eyes had drooped shut, and his mouth hung slackly open. A loud snore shook his chest. Furious, Jessica plucked the sock that dangled halfheartedly from one of his feet and crammed it into his mouth. Scott sputtered and rolled onto his side, but he didn't give her the satisfaction of waking up.

With a groan of frustration, Jessica surrendered to her fate. She found a place on the floor where she could lie down, then wadded up a beach towel to use as a pillow. Getting to sleep was another matter, she discovered. The floor was hard and uneven. She shivered in the chill draft that swirled down from the chimney. Loud music blared from the next room. Jessica had never been so miserable in her life.