Three

“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.