SVH08-Heartbreaker (3 page)

Now it was Bill's turn to blush. "I guess I couldn't think of anything to talk about before."

"Well, we have something in common now," she said and smiled.

"We do? Uh--what?" Bill stammered, so flustered he couldn't think straight.

"Surfing!"

They both laughed. After that, Bill found conversation easy. It turned out they had more than surfing in common. He discovered she loved the same books and music he did. They were both crazy about old movies and monster comics and Mexican food. Julianne was an only child, too, so she knew what it was like to be a loner.

They spent the rest of the afternoon chasing waves, zigzagging in front of each other, showing off their best moves. At sundown they

paddled in, then gathered up a pile of driftwood and built a huge bonfire. They sat in front of it, holding hands and talking, until they were toasted dry. It seemed to Bill as if they'd known one another for years. When he kissed her, it was as natural as a wave breaking.

After that, they were inseparable. Bill grew to love her more with each passing day. They shared everything. When Julianne's beloved old cocker spaniel had to be put to sleep, it was Bill who accompanied her to the veterinarian's and dried her tears afterward. When Bill broke his leg the day before the big spring dance their sophomore year, Julianne chose to stay home with him rather than go alone.

Sure, they'd had their fights. Mostly just silly little arguments, but they could never stay mad at each other for long. Bill would never forget the fight they'd had the night of Sue Cuthbertson's party, though. He'd accused Julianne of flirting with Eddie Roth. It probably wasn't true. Later on, he realized that he had just been jealous because he knew how much Eddie liked her. Julianne was so upset that she left the party without Bill, grabbing a ride home with a friend. The second she walked out the door, Bill realized how foolish he'd been. He made up his mind to call her as soon as she got home.

He never got the chance because Julianne never reached her house. It was raining. The

car she'd been riding in slid out of control on a slick curve and exploded against an embankment. Julianne was killed instantly.

For Bill it was like the end of the world. He went a little crazy the night she died. Blinded by guilt and anguish, he grabbed his surfboard and took off for the beach, plunging into the storm-tossed waves. The tide was so strong he was swept out to sea and would have drowned if a coast guard cutter hadn't spotted him in time. They brought him home semiconscious, muttering Julianne's name over and over.

Afterward, he developed pneumonia, but he was too brokenhearted to care whether he got better or not. What was the use of living without Julianne? How could he go on, knowing he'd never see her again? What made it even worse was that he felt responsible for her death. If only he hadn't started that stupid argument! If only he'd insisted on driving her home himself!

Slowly, as the days passed and he recovered, Bill began the painful process of inching his way out of the black tunnel of his grief. Julianne would have wanted him to live, he realized. She would have wanted him to remember their love with joy, not sorrow. She was too forgiving a person to have blamed him for what had happened.

Still, it wasn't easy. There were days when he couldn't bear the thought of not seeing her

sweet, smiling face. He dreamed of her almost every night. Gradually, though, the ache diminished.

The move to Sweet Valley was a new beginning in many ways, but he still found it hard to be around other girls. He'd be talking to a girl, and suddenly he'd be seeing Julianne's face, hearing her laughter. Blinded by tears, he would have to turn and walk away.

The first time he saw Elizabeth Wakefield he was stunned by the resemblance to Julianne. The same shimmering blond hair, the same deep blue eyes. He got goose bumps every time he looked at her. But that was right after he'd arrived in Sweet Valley. He still wasn't completely ready to let go of Julianne's memory-- that was why he'd turned Jessica down that time she'd asked him out. He was scared stiff of falling in love again--and getting hurt. Jessica, like her twin, reminded him too much of Julianne.

Now it was too late, he told himself miserably. Whatever whim had attracted her to him in the first place was a thing of the past.

Bill noticed that it was getting cold. He shivered in his thin T-shirt. The wind had dried his tears. Time to head back. Ever since the time he'd almost drowned, his mother worried about him when he stayed out too late.

He stared up at the moon, and for an instant his vision blurred, and he saw a face that

could have been either Julianne's or Jessica's. He blinked, and it was gone.

Bill trudged back to his car. Maybe he'd never find love again. Maybe some people were just doomed as far as love was concerned....

Four

"Hey, Jess, looks like Bill is striking out for greener pastures," Cara said, smirking. "Or should I say greener
waters?"

Cara Walker stretched out on the sand beside Jessica, her dark hair and olive complexion a striking contrast to her best friend's blond good looks. It was a glorious day at the beach, and half the student body of Sweet Valley High was lazily taking advantage of it. And no one seemed to be enjoying it more than Bill Chase, whose name was practically synonymous with sun and surf. At the moment he was engaged in giving DeeDee surfing lessons.

Jessica frowned as she watched them. "Doesn't DeeDee ever give up?"

Cara snickered. "Maybe she lassoed him with a piece of seaweed."

"I don't know," Elizabeth observed. "Looks to me like Bill is having a pretty good time."

She sat up, brushing the sand from her legs. "Would you please pass me the suntan lotion?"

Jessica lobbed it at her sister as if it were a hand grenade. What did Elizabeth know?
Bill is in love with me, not DeeDee,
Jessica assured herself.

"Looks like Liz is right," Cara said. "But maybe they're just practicing for the play. Only they're calling it
Splendor in the Surf."

"You're a real riot, Cara," Jessica said, only she wasn't laughing.

"You have to admit one thing, Jess," Elizabeth remarked. "DeeDee does look pretty good for a beginner."

Of course, Jessica would never have admitted such a thing out loud, but secretly she had to agree with her sister. As Jessica watched, a glassy swell rolled in with DeeDee riding it. Though she didn't dance over the board with the ease of the more experienced surfers, at least she managed to stay on. It was obvious she was a natural, and with a little more practice she could be really good. Straddling the board in an eye-catching canary-yellow one-piece, she even managed to look alluring enough to make Jessica a little bit nervous. Still, DeeDee wasn't half as pretty as she was. Why was Bill wasting his time?

"Bill tells me he's been giving her lessons every day after school," Todd put in.

He was in the midst of rubbing suntan

lotion on Elizabeth's back. He paused to kiss the nape of her neck as he lifted her hair.

"Yeah, Bill's a real sweetheart," Jessica cracked, but inside she was fuming. Suppose Bill really was losing interest in her?

Impossible!

Abruptly she stood up, yanking off the sun visor she wore. She shook her hair so that it tumbled over her shoulders. "I think I'll go swimming," she announced.

Cara squinted up at her. "I thought you didn't want to get your hair wet."

"Well, I changed my mind," Jessica tossed back defiantly, ignoring the warning glare Elizabeth shot her.

Determinedly she set off down the beach. Aware of the stares she was getting in her bronze, wet-look bikini, she added a slight swing to her hips, for the benefit of her male audience. One boy dove in front of her to retrieve his Frisbee. "Pardon me, gorgeous," he muttered, flashing her a grin of apology.

Jessica smiled. If DeeDee thought she was any match for the Wakefield magic, she had another think coming.

"Hi, there!" Jessica sang out as she splashed her way through the swirling foam toward Bill. "I didn't know you gave surfing lessons."

"Not really," he said. "I'm just giving DeeDee a few tips."

"How sweet. Maybe you wouldn't mind giving me a few sometime. I've always wanted to learn how to surf."

"S-sure, Jessica," Bill stammered. "Anytime. I'd--I'd like to."

With a sinking heart, DeeDee watched the transformation in Bill. A minute before, he'd been relaxed and confident, chatting easily with her as he showed her how to crouch low on the end of the board to gain the maximum speed. Jessica's appearance was like a wave knocking him over. AH of a sudden he seemed to have trouble catching his breath.

"Let me know when you have the time," Jessica said. "It looks as if you're pretty busy right now. I wouldn't dream of interrupting." She started to turn away.

"You're not interrupting," he threw out in desperation. He shot a look at DeeDee that pleaded with her to understand. "Maybe I could teach both of you at the same time. You--you could use my board, Jessica."

DeeDee's face felt tight and hot. For some reason she felt like crying. But that was crazy, wasn't it? She and Bill were just friends.

She forced a' smile for Bill's sake. She knew he'd rather be alone with Jessica but was too polite to say so to her face.

"Oh, that's too sweet of you, Bill," Jessica

drawled. "But I really do hate to butt in. You know what they say, two's company, three's a crowd. Maybe some other time."

Bill looked so stricken that DeeDee couldn't stand it any longer. "Don't rush off on my account," she said with forced brightness. "I was just going in anyhow. I've been in the water so long that I'm starting to shrivel up."

Jessica wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Gee, that's too bad, DeeDee. Mind if I use your board?"

"Go ahead." DeeDee was fighting back her tears as she turned to Bill. "Thanks. I really learned a lot today. You're a good teacher."

But Bill wasn't looking at her. He was focused on Jessica as if hypnotized. "Uh, sure, DeeDee. You were great, too. Keep up the good work."

As DeeDee trudged up through the backwash, a silvery peal of laughter rippled out over the water. She could hear Jessica declare breathily, "Oh, Bill, it'll take me a hundred and thirty-seven
years
to learn all this...."

"A little to the left, Bill. I think you missed a spot on my shoulder." Jessica languished on her beach towel while Bill, her adoring slave, rubbed suntan lotion on her back.

Elizabeth looked on in disgust. How could Jessica be so obvious? She looked as smug as

the cat who's just eaten the canary. Only in this case the victim was a girl in a canary-yellow bathing suit. Farther down the beach, DeeDee sat with a group of friends, trying not to look forlorn. Elizabeth was even starting to get a little angry at Bill for being so blind to Jessica's manipulations.

Todd shot Elizabeth a meaningful look. "Cleopatra had nothing on your sister," he muttered under his breath.

Elizabeth frowned. It was OK for
her
to be critical of Jessica, but for some reason she bristled whenever Todd made one of his barbed comments. It was probably the only real sore spot in their relationship. The one time they'd come close to breaking up was when Elizabeth had stubbornly insisted on bailing Jessica out of a jam. Jessica had been late for a test, and Elizabeth had taken it for her. Todd had been furious. But Elizabeth couldn't bear to see her twin get into trouble--even though she knew Jessica deserved it.

Elizabeth spotted a group of kids making their way down the beach. Among them was Tom McKay. Jessica must have seen him, too, for she instantly pulled away from Bill.

"Oh, gosh," she said, "all that swimming really made me hungry. In fact, I'm positively
starved."
She directed a beseeching gaze at Bill.

Bill reacted as if on cue. "I could run up to

the Dairi Burger and get you something if you want," he volunteered eagerly.

"Would you, Bill? Are you sure you wouldn't mind?" She fluttered her long eyelashes at him.

"I--I don't mind a bit."

"I'd be eternally grateful. If I don't get a snack soon, I'll positively
faint."

Bill scrambled to his feet. "What do you feel like having?"

"Let me see. A cheeseburger--and a double order of fries. Oh, and a chocolate milkshake. I shouldn't"--she touched one flawless cheek-- "but I can never resist."

Elizabeth couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her sister with a pimple.

"Anything else?" Bill asked.

"Tell them to leave off the onions. I hate onions."

"No problem." He looked around at the others. "Anybody else want anything while I'm at it?"

Elizabeth put in a request for a root beer, but at the same time she felt vaguely guilty--as if she were somehow part of a conspiracy to take advantage of Bill.

Bill was loping off in the direction of the parking lot when Tom finally reached them, accompanied by Ken Matthews, Lila Fowler, and last--but certainly not least--Patsy Webber.

"What's cookin', good lookin'?" Tom quipped, sinking down beside Jessica and draping a

bronzed, muscular arm about her shoulders. His blue eyes were the color of faded denim against the deep tan of his face.

She giggled. "Nothing much was, but it looks as if things are starting to sizzle."

Elizabeth's attention was riveted on Patsy, who was positively breathtaking in a bikini that looked as if it consisted of nothing more than three tiny scraps of material and a yard or so of string. Elizabeth had never seen anything so daring, except maybe in pictures of the French Riviera. On anyone else it might have looked sleazy, but Patsy managed to appear both elegant and alluring.

"Whew, am I
hot
!" Patsy exclaimed. She dropped her beach bag on the sand next to Elizabeth, who couldn't help noticing the exclusive label. "Anybody feel like joining me in the water?"

"Are you kidding?" Lila patted her wavy, light brown hair. "When I go swimming, it's strictly frizz city."