Jessica yawned and rubbed her
eyes. Her dad was cruel, cruel man. What
kind of father ran his lawnmower at nine-thirty on a Saturday morning?
She stumbled out of bed and practically fell into the shower. Twenty
minutes later she emerged feeling more human.
She bounded downstairs and saw Conner and Elizabeth talking and
laughing at the table. Jessica immediately felt jealous. They seemed so
relaxed with one another. But Jessica quickly shoved the thoughts away.
There was no way a guy could like Elizabeth over her. It just didn't
happen.
"Morning," she said brightly.
"Hey," Elizabeth said looking away and shoving a piece of toast in her
mouth.
Conner remained silent.
Jessica wanted to chew him out about last night but she decided not to.
It wasn't that big of a deal since Lila had driven her home.
"So, did you get home okay?" Conner asked after a while.
Jessica almost melted. "Yeah, you should have told me that you were
leaving," she said teasingly and rumpled his hair. She sat on his lap and
grinned at him.
Elizabeth cleared her throat, "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Hmmm," Jessica replied as she kissed Conner. She wrapped her arms
around his neck. Conner's arms were already wrapped around her waist. She
deepened the kiss but Conner didn't respond right away.
Suddenly Jessica felt something cold and sticky drip over her head.
"Ugh!" she shrieked. She jumped up from Conner who was also wet.
"Sorry," Elizabeth said not sounding very sorry at all. "I slipped,"
she held up an empty pitcher of orange juice.
"I don't know what her problem is," Jessica complained to Melissa later
that afternoon. The two of them were lugging around shopping bags as
they strolled the mall.
"Maybe she's jealous," Melissa suggested. "Maybe she likes
Conner."
Jessica laughed. "No way! Conner is so not her type. Elizabeth has no
patience for that slacker thing." Jessica paused. "And I don't think I
do either."
Melissa's eyes widened. "What? You're going to dump Conner?"
"I didn't say that," Jessica said. "Or maybe I did. It's just…I like
guys that are more outgoing and more involved in the relationship.
Conner's great, don't get me wrong. It's just that I want him to treat me
more like Will treats you."
Melissa was silent. "Conner's not like Will. He's never had a serious
relationship before. Actually he's been with you longer than any other
girl. Maybe you need to make the next move. You know, let him know how
important he is to you."
"What do you mean?" Jessica said curiously.
Melissa gave a wicked grin and gestured.
Jessica noticed that they had stopped. She glanced over to where
Melissa was pointing and her heart stopped beating. The store had a white
entrance way with 'Victoria's Secret' written in gold script.
Melissa giggled at Jessica's stunned expression. "Come on like you've
never thought about it!"
Actually, she had. Conner and her were moving fast and she was finding
it harder to stop. But she still wasn't sure if she was ready. This was
a big step.
"Come on," Melissa said pulling her into the store. Jessica blushed at
all the racks filled with lacy, filmy lingerie. Melissa was already
flipping through the racks. "Now do you want smoldering temptress?" she
giggled holding up a red slip. "Or demure virgin?" she held up a white
lace gown.
"Stop!" Jessica said giggling. "You don't actually think I should sleep
with Conner?"
"Maybe he's been acting all distant because he's scared. He's never
been in love, Jess. Maybe after years of pushing girls away he finally
wants to get close to one and the idea terrifies him."
Jessica was quiet. Melissa did have a point. It was scary…and exciting
all at the same time. "My parents are going to visit my brother this
weekend," Jessica said slyly.
Half and hour later her and Melissa drug a huge armful of slips, bras
and panties to the dressing rooms. They quickly discarded the more modest
pieces. Each new outfit was met with shrieks of laughter. Finally they
both had agreed on a baby blue slip.
They dumped their packages into the car and headed for the House of
Java. When they arrived they practically fell into the vinyl seats. "Boy,"
Melissa sighed. "I'm beat. Sometimes I think shopping is more tiring
than cheerleading!"
Their waiter walked over. "What can I get you ladies?"
"Jeremy?" Jessica exclaimed.
"Hey, Jessica!" Jeremy said, his eyes lighting up.
Jessica groaned inwardly. The guy was everywhere!
"I'll have a cappuccino," Jessica said quickly.
"Me too," Melissa said, her eyes darting forth between Jeremy and
Jessica.
After Jeremy had walked away, Melissa leaned over the table. "I didn't
know that you and Jeremy knew each other."
"Yeah, I met him at Gina's," Jessica said waving her hand like it
wasn't a big deal.
"He's cute," Melissa ginned. "Cherie's been asking me to set her up
with a guy."
Jessica shrugged but she felt ill at the thought.
"But I don't think he's her type," Melissa went on. "And I think he
likes you."
"No way!" Jessica denied. "He's a pain and he likes to see me
unhappy."
She paused. "And he's not that cute," she lied. "Plus, I have Conner,
remember?"
Later that afternoon, Melissa dropped Jessica off at her house. Jessica
unloaded her bags and stumbled under their weight up the front steps.
She struggled with the door and after it opened she practically fell
into the house.
"Hello, dear," her mother called from the kitchen. "Did you have a good
time?"
"Yeah," Jessica said dumping her bags and going into the kitchen. Her
mother was cutting up vegetables for a salad. Jessica grabbed a carrot
stick and started munching on it.
"You got some mail," Mrs. Wakefield said handing Jessica a small white
envelope.
Jessica tore it open and read it eagerly. It was a very short message:
You are Beautiful.
It wasn't signed and Jessica didn't recognize the handwriting. It
wasn't Conner's scrawl but maybe he had asked someone to write it for him.
She gave a little sigh. She loved mysteries!
"Conner, please let me in!" Elizabeth pleaded.
Conner sighed and flung the door open. The site of Elizabeth almost
left him speechless. "What is it?" he grumbled.
Elizabeth stalked into his room. "I just wanted to apologize for this
morning. It didn't mean- wait, yes I did." Elizabeth put her hands on
her hips. "How could you do that after last night?"
"We kissed, big deal," Conner shrugged.
"It was a big deal," Elizabeth said jabbing a finger into his chest.
Conner reveled in the small touch. "Listen, what do you want from me?"
Elizabeth sighed. "Jessica is my sister. I hate doing this to her. If
she knew what was going on…let's just say it wouldn't be pretty."
Conner and Elizabeth were locked in a heated gaze. Then Elizabeth said
so quietly that he could hardly hear her, "I want you to break up with
her."
Conner flopped down onto the bed, lying on his back. After a while he
said, "I can't."
"Why-"
"Because she would kick me out," Conner said, interrupting Liz. "I have
nowhere else to go, Liz. None of my friends have room and I don't have
enough money for my own place. If Jessica were to kick me out I would
drop out of school. I wasn't even going to go back this year but Tia
forced me."
"But if you ended things with Jessica on good terms than we could-"
"Could what?" Conner snapped. "Start dating? I've dated enough girls to
know that you can't do that."
Elizabeth stood there choking back tears. Conner felt his heart clench
at the sight of her pain. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her on top of
him. "Listen," he said softly. "I'll think of something." Then he knew
he had to say something. Something that would make her trust him and
know that he wasn't just using her. "I can't not be with you." He
touched
her face with the back of his hand. He thought that he would regret saying
those words but after they were said he felt…happy. Elizabeth threw her
arms around him and that was all it took. Conner was a dead man.
