Double Penetration – Word count: 37,018
“I’m not insecure,” she mumbled into his chest. “A raging sociopath, maybe, but certainly not insecure.”
The music stopped, and everyone clapped. The Droids really are the most awesome band in Sweet Valley, Jessica thought to herself.
“Ugh, thank god they’re done,” Jayden said, refusing to clap.
Jessica pulled back and turned toward the stage. “Shh,” she said to Jayden. “I think they’re about to make an announcement.”
Dana Larson took a minute to catch her breath before taking the microphone again. “What’s happening, Sweet Valley?” she yelled into the microphone. A loud cheer erupted from the crowd. “Now, in just a few minutes, we’re going to announce the recipient of the Pi Beta Alpha makeover for the beautily-challenged. You still have time to vote on which one of Sweet Valley High’s female students most needs a makeover, so be sure to cast your ballot right here in front of the stage in the next few minutes.”
The crowd cheered again, and Dana laughed and gestured with her hands for them to settle down. “In the meantime, enjoy this song, written and performed by our guest artist and Guy Chesney’s girlfriend, Lynne Henry. She wrote it especially for tonight, and it’s called ‘I Was Once an Ugly Loser, but Then I Got a Makeover and a Boyfriend and Now I’m Totally Better Than You (Except for You, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, Because You’re Totally Cooler Than Me Still)’.” The crowd clapped as Lynne took the stage. “Enjoy, everyone!” Dana called. “And don’t forget to vote!”
Lynne dragged a barstool that had been at the back of the stage to the center of the stage and sat down on it, taking an acoustic guitar from Max and placing it on her lap. Guy took his position behind the keyboard, and the rest of The Droids left the stage to mingle with the Sweet Valley High crowd and cast their votes for the ugliest girl in school.
“An acoustic guitar and an ’80s synthesizer?” Jayden said, groaning. “This is going to be awesome.”
“She’s actually a really good singer,” Jessica admitted. “Lynne Henry may still be a tall, gangly girl with a vision problem, but through the magic of Lisette’s boutique and contact lenses, she gained enough confidence to share her talents with the world. Girls like Lynne are the whole entire reason we’re here tonight! We’re making a difference!”
“Trying to save the world one fugly-ass girl at a time?” Jayden asked, smiling and slipping an arm around her waist.
“Something like that,” Jessica murmured, fitting the curve of her body into his as Lynne closed her eyes and began to sing.
“I was once an ugly loser,
“But then I got a makeover
“And a boyfriend,” Lynne sang, her voice stretching out over the long, languid notes. She opened her eyes and gave Guy a little grin. He smiled back, mesmerized by Lynne. Before Lynne’s makeover, the two of them had become friends, bonding over their shared love of music, makeup and Linda Ronstadt. When The Droids announced a songwriting contest, Lynne had entered an anonymous tape, and Guy had fallen in love with the sultry voice on the tape, not knowing it was Lynne! Once Lynne realized Guy was looking for the anonymous chanteuse, she started dressing better, brushed her hair once in a while and got rid of her clunky glasses.
“And now I’m totally better than you,
“Totally better than you,
“And now I’m totally better than you
“Except for you, Jessica and
“Elizabeth Wakefield,” Lynne sang.
“Because you’re totally cooler than me,
“Totally cooler than me,
“Because you’re totally cooler than me,
“Still,” Lynne sang, her voice fading out slowly as she rocked out a blazing acoustic guitar solo.
“How exciting! She wrote a song about me!” Jessica exclaimed.
“And about Elizabeth, too,” Jayden said gently. Jessica’s face darkened as he pointed to Elizabeth and Bruce, who were up by the stage and looked completely absorbed in Lynne’s song. There was no doubt about it – the girl had a fantastic voice. Too bad her songwriting skills were so lame, Jayden thought. “This music’s nothing like I normally listen to,” he admitted.
“Oh, what kind of music do you like?” Jessica asked, her voice suddenly dripping with interest. Maybe he knew some cool rock stars he could introduce her to!
“You ever heard of this band called Limp Bizkit?” Jayden asked. Jessica shook her head no. “Of course not,” he said. “Anyway, they have this awesome song called ‘Nookie.’ It’s a songwriting tour de force! A lyrical masterpiece! They’d blow your ugly friend here right out of the water!”
“That sounds so interesting,” Jessica said. “You know all kinds of cool stuff, Jayden.”
“So,” Jayden said, nodding toward the stage area, “have you voted yet?”
Jessica shook her head. “No,” she said. “I guess I’d better go do that now.”
“I’ll just wait here,” Jayden said, releasing his grip on Jessica. He gave her an approving stare as she walked away from him, swinging her hips as she wound her way through the crowd. She would definitely translate well to film, Jayden thought. Well, his type of films, anyway.
Jessica pushed her way to the stage area. She knew she looked hot, but it was as if everyone in the place was ignoring her! None of them seemed to notice her as she passed by, and not one of them acknowledged her at all. Jessica looked around angrily.
In contrast, Elizabeth was surrounded by a crowd of Pi Beta Alphas, some moderately popular people and a whole host of losers. She looked fantastic in her dress, and she was wearing a positively radiant smile. I hate her, Jessica thought. And suddenly, a vile thought came to her.
She reached the table and picked up a pen and a slip of paper. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she hastily scrawled a name on the piece of paper, folded it into a neat little square and popped it in the ballot box. An evil grin spread across her face.
“What are you smiling about?” Jayden asked Jessica when she reached him again.
“Oh, nothing,” Jessica said, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. This is going to be utterly hilarious! she thought to herself.
“Are you having fun?” Bruce asked Elizabeth as they slow-danced in each other’s arms.
“Actually, I am,” Elizabeth said, smiling. “I wasn’t sure I’d have a good time, but everything seems to be going so well.”
It did seem like the perfect night. Elizabeth looked around her. Practically everyone who attended Sweet Valley High was there, and they all appeared to be having a good time. Elizabeth laughed as she spotted geeky Winston Egbert doing a crazy robot dance.
She pointed him out to Bruce. “Winston seems to be having a good time,” she said, smiling.
Bruce shrugged. “Whatever,” he said. “Winston is a first-class nerd, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“Bruce!” Elizabeth admonished, giggling. “He may be a nerd, but remember, I have to be nice to everyone.”
“Oh, that’s right,” he said, giving Elizabeth a grin. “I forgot about all that. And it’s what I love about you.”
Elizabeth snuggled closer to Bruce, leaning her head against his chest. He may have given someone like Winston Egbert wedgies in the locker room, but Bruce had really turned over a new leaf. In fact, he had impressed her so much, Elizabeth – the new and improved Elizabeth, anyway – was even considering Jessica’s original idea and taking her relationship with Bruce to a new level.
She looked longingly toward her twin. It seemed that just a short time ago, they had been so close. Elizabeth had always loved the special bond that came from being a twin, but it seemed that every time there was a big dance or big event in Sweet Valley, she and Jessica somehow always ended up fighting with each other.
Jessica’s body was tightly entwined with Jayden’s, and she was looking up at him with adoration. Jayden didn’t seem to be paying much attention to Jessica – instead, his eyes were scanning the crowd. She slowly brought her eyes to meet Elizabeth’s. Jessica started to give her a small smile, but then thought better of it, and her smile turned into a scowl. Elizabeth stared sadly at Jessica. Jessica’s eyes had darkened, the anger in them evident.
“Hey,” Bruce said softly, tilting Elizabeth’s face up to meet his. “What’s on your mind, Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth sighed. “It’s Jessica,” she said. “It just seems that lately, we’ve been at each other’s throats all the time.”
“You’re always at each other’s throats,” Bruce said. “I’m sure something profound will happen to make you both realize that you’re sisters and can’t live without each other, and everything will be forgiven. That’s how it always goes.”
“I know, but it’s even harder, now that I don’t have Todd or even Enid to talk to,” Elizabeth lamented.
“You have me,” Bruce said sincerely, giving Elizabeth a gentle kiss on the lips.
“I don’t know what I would have done without you,” she said, settling her head back on his shoulder. “You’ve really helped me make it through this week, Bruce.”
“And to think, you were just using me for your article on date rape,” he teased.
“Well, yeah,” she said, laughing. “But I have to say, Bruce, I’ve been really impressed with the changes you’ve made since Regina died.”
“Well, dating a girl with a disability who later dies of a random cocaine overdose will really do that to you,” Bruce said.
Elizabeth nodded. “In that case, I’m really glad Regina was deaf,” she said softly.
“So am I,” Bruce said, his voice growing husky. “Because it means that now, I get to date a Wakefield twin – without having to ply her with alcohol and gamma hydroxybutyric acid.”
Elizabeth giggled. “I think you picked the right Wakefield twin,” she said. “Jessica is a real bitch.”
“Well, yeah, but I thought for sure she’d put out before you would,” Bruce said. He eyed Elizabeth’s body appreciatively. “But in that dress, I’m not so sure you won’t.”
Elizabeth didn’t say anything. Her only answer was to snuggle closer to Bruce and close her eyes, swaying to the music.
“All right everybody,” Dana Larson called, taking the microphone. “Are we still rocking out, Sweet Valley?”
Everyone clapped and cheered, including Bruce and Elizabeth. With her short, spiky haircut and even shorter skirt, Dana looked every bit a rock star, Elizabeth thought. She was confident that with a little persistence and Dana’s willingness to sleep with a record producer or two, The Droids would make it onto the radio one day, if only to become a one-hit wonder.
“Okay,” Dana said, smiling out at the crowd. “It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for – we’re going to announce the Sweet Valley High student who will receive a makeover!” She paused, giving the crowd a chance to amp up their cheers and whistles. “But first, I’d like to take a moment to thank the members of Pi Beta Alpha for arranging this charity fundraiser. Thanks especially to Jessica Wakefield, Lila Fowler and Cara Walker for all their hard work!”
Jessica beamed and waved as all eyes turned to her.
“She didn’t do shit!” Elizabeth muttered under her breath to Bruce. He nodded sympathetically.
“Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to the winner of the makeover!” Dana yelled. Mr. Collins, who was waiting by the stage and trying to get a glimpse up Dana’s skirt, handed her a small red envelope. Dana opened it dramatically, her eyes widening as she read the results. “Wow, this wasn’t even close!” she exclaimed. “There were 353 votes for Enid Rollins, who is this year’s winner of the Pi Beta Alpha makeover!” The gym erupted into loud cheers and shouts as Enid hugged Todd and hurried to the stage.
“And, uh, there was one vote for Elizabeth Wakefield,” Dana added, her voice showing her confusion.
The crowd hushed and all eyes turned to Elizabeth, who began blushing profusely. She was happy her friend had won – everyone knew Enid was in desperate need of an update to her bland looks – but who could have dared to write the name of a Wakefield twin onto the ballot for Sweet Valley High students in dire need of a makeover?
There’s only one person I can think of, Elizabeth thought grimly. And that someone is my very own twin!
Her eye caught Jessica’s, and it was then that Elizabeth knew for sure. Jessica was out to humiliate her! Elizabeth almost couldn’t believe it, but then again, it was such typical Jessica behavior.
“It was totally Jessica,” called a voice from the back of the gym. Nearly everyone in the crowd gasped when they saw who had spoken. It was Lila Fowler. She was standing in the doorway of the gym, looking stunning in a short white dress that set off her tan and long dark hair. She had her hands on her hips.
“Everyone knows Jessica is totally psycho and completely jealous of her sister,” Lila continued, striding confidently into the room and tossing her glossy hair over her shoulder. All around the room, there were murmurs of agreement.
“Lila’s right,” Winston Egbert said. “Everyone loves Elizabeth. Sure, she might be a meddling busybody and slightly condescending, but no one here would vote against her.”
“That’s right,” Caroline Pearce said, nodding in agreement. “Elizabeth has helped all of us out at one time or another. Remember when I was writing those fake love letters to myself because I wanted everyone to think I had a fabulous boyfriend out of town and Elizabeth helped save me from certain humiliation and gave me the confidence to confess to everyone in Sweet Valley that I had written all the letters to myself?”
“And then there was that time I tried out for the cheerleading squad, but Jessica wouldn’t let me because I liked to hold hands with an awful lot of boys,” Annie Whitman added thoughtfully. “If Elizabeth hadn’t dragged Jessica to the hospital to talk me out of the coma I ended up in after I tried to off myself after not making it onto the squad for being such a slut, I don’t know what I would have done!”
“Died, probably,” observed Cara Walker, squeezing Steven Wakefield’s hand. “And Elizabeth did help get Steven and I together by asking the sister of Steven’s dead girlfriend for her permission for Steven and I to date.”
“And, although Jessica is my best friend and I think Elizabeth is a bore and a huge waste of time, Elizabeth has even helped me out a time or two,” Lila said, sauntering over to Elizabeth and placing a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder. “Remember that time I was shoplifting because I have major daddy issues, even thought I’m rich?”
“You bitch!” Jessica yelled, breaking free from Jayden’s grasp, running across the room and lunging at Lila. “I’ll rip that weave right out of your head!”
She grabbed a fistful of Lila’s hair and started pulling, dragging Lila to the ground.
“Ouch!” Lila screamed. “It’s not a weave, you moron! It’s my real fucking hair!”
Instead of breaking up the fray, Mr. Collins shirked his chaperone duties and instead watched with interest. There was a very good chance he would get a glimpse of Jessica or Lila’s thong, and he intended to keep an eye on their scuffle for as long as it lasted.
Jayden pulled Jessica off Lila, and a large clump of brown hair came with her. Bruce helped Lila up.
“It may have worked, Jessica,” Lila said, slightly out of breath. “But you forgot one tiny little detail.”
“What’s that?” Jessica snarled, struggling to try to break free of Jayden’s grasp.
Lila held a hand to her aching head. She was pretty sure there was a bald spot just above her left temple. “You forgot to switch all the other votes, Jess,” she said with a smirk. “It’s an amateur move, especially for someone as skilled at scheming as yourself.”
“Very good detective work, Lila Fowler,” Jessica spat. “And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!”
“I can’t believe you, Jessica!” Elizabeth cried. “You are just determined to ruin my life, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t be trying to ruin my life if you weren’t always trying to ruin mine,” Jessica shot back, her voice full of venom.
“How do I try to ruin your life?” Elizabeth asked. “It’s not my fault that you’re such a sorry excuse for a carbon-based life form!”
“I’m not even sure what exactly that means, Elizabeth Wakefield, but I’m pissed!” Jessica yelled, and before Jayden knew what she was doing, she had escaped from his grasp.
As she swatted at Elizabeth, Bruce quickly stepped in between the two girls and grabbed Jessica by both wrists. She struggled, but she had to admit it was strangely erotic.
“Ouch! You’re hurting me” she said harshly. “Let go of me, Bruce Patman! You may be incredibly, insanely, fabulously wealthy, but you’re nothing but a common date rapist!”
“Let go of her,” Jayden said, stepping in and giving Bruce a shove. Bruce tumbled backward, releasing Jessica from his grasp and nearly knocking over Elizabeth as he hit the ground.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Bruce asked angrily, brushing himself off as he stood up. “Don’t you even know who I am?”
“All I know about you is that you’re a senior who hangs out with a bunch of juniors, and that makes you a loser,” Jayden snapped.
“I’m practically the only senior at Sweet Valley High!” Bruce yelled. “Who else am I supposed to hang out with?”
He shoved Jayden back, and the two of them started throwing punches at each other. Elizabeth and Jessica both started screaming.
“Kick his ass, Jayden!” Jessica cried. She took the opportunity to grab one of Elizabeth’s spaghetti straps and tug on it, snapping the strap and dragging Elizabeth to the floor in the process.
“Ouch!” Elizabeth cried, hitting her head on the floor.
Jayden looked in their direction. “Quit fighting, Jessica,” he said sternly. “I don’t want you and Elizabeth to have black eyes and cuts and bruises in the film.”
“Screw it,” Elizabeth cried. “I don’t want to be in your stupid film, anyway!”
“Jayden, look out!” Jessica cried as Bruce landed a punch square on Jayden’s jaw.
“Fuck!” Jayden cried, holding his jaw and elbowing Bruce in the face. There was an audible crack, and blood started flowing from Bruce’s nose onto his designer button-down shirt.
Elizabeth screamed. She wriggled out of Jessica’s grasp and struggled to get up off the floor while holding her dress up over her chest. A hand reached down to help her up, and Elizabeth found herself staring into a very familiar pair of chocolate-brown eyes.
“Todd,” she gasped as he pulled her up.
“Are you okay, Elizabeth?” he asked gently. She nodded. But before she could say anything else, a frustrated scream cut through the gym.
“You are all ruining my big moment!” Enid Rollins cried from the stage.
Ten
All activity in the gym paused, and everyone stared at Enid.
“That’s much better,” Enid said calmly, smoothing down her dress. Then she started laughing, her voice echoing loudly throughout the gym. Soon, she was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face.
Elizabeth and Todd exchanged glances. Oh my god, Elizabeth thought. Enid has really lost it!
“Can you believe how stupid we’ve all been acting lately?” Enid asked the crowd. “I mean, here we are, fighting! Fist fighting, people! At a high school dance!”
Elizabeth started to giggle. “It is kind of pathetic,” she said to Todd. He nodded.
“Let’s help Bruce and Jayden up off the floor,” he suggested. He gave Jayden a hand, while Elizabeth helped Bruce up.
“What about me?” Jessica wailed, pounding her fist on the floor.
“As far as I’m concerned, you can stay down there,” Todd said sternly. “I’ve never really liked you much anyway.”
“And I’ve never liked you, Todd Wilkins,” Jessica spat. “You’re even more dull than that other boyfriend Elizabeth had, Jeffrey French. Whatever happened to that guy, anyway?”
“Uh, guys, right here,” Jeffrey said, stepping forward out of the crowd and raising a hand.
“Oh, who cares?” Jessica cried in frustration. Jayden knelt down and gave her a hand. “I hate all of you,” Jessica said, her voice low and her eyes blazing as she scanned the crowd.
“Come on, Jessica, let’s go,” Jayden said gently, guiding Jessica out of the gym. She was still screaming about how much she hated everyone at Sweet Valley High as Jayden led her out the door.
Todd nodded toward Bruce, who was propped up in a folding chair. “You’d better go tend to your date,” he said softly.
Elizabeth nodded sadly. She didn’t want to leave Todd’s side, but she knew he was right. “Yes, I’ll go help Bruce,” she murmured.
Someone had given Bruce a paper towel, and he was using it to mop up the blood that had seeped from his nose.
“How are you feeling?” Elizabeth asked, kneeling in front of Bruce and taking the paper towel out of his hand.
He cracked a smile. “I’ve been better,” he said.
Elizabeth smiled back as she gently dabbed at his face with the paper towel. “I don’t think it’s broken,” she said finally. “But you’ve got one hell of a nosebleed. Here, tilt your head back.”
Bruce did as he was told. “Elizabeth?” he asked. “May I ask you something?”
“Of course, silly,” Elizabeth said, giggling. “What is it?”
“Do you think you and Todd are going to get back together?” he asked. “I saw the way he looked at you when he helped you up.”
Elizabeth followed Bruce’s gaze toward Todd, who was now standing by Enid next to the stage. “I’m not sure,” she said slowly.
Bruce sat straight up and eyed Elizabeth. “I think you need to go to him, Elizabeth,” he said. She looked at Bruce uncertainly. “Go,” he said, shooing her away with a smile.
“Will you be all right?” she asked.
“Of course I’ll be all right,” he said. “Now, get out of here.”
“Thank you, Bruce!” Elizabeth exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and giving him a tight hug. “You’re a really good friend.”
“Go on!” he said, giving her a playful push on her backside as she stood up.
Elizabeth cut through the crowd, her eyes on Todd and Enid. When she arrived at them, she gave her best friend an impulsive hug.
“Congratulations, Enid,” she said. “I always knew you needed a makeover – and I’m so glad you’re now going to get one!”
Enid pulled back from Elizabeth, tears of joy in her eyes. “Oh, Elizabeth,” she said, “I’ve been so awful to you lately. I want to apologize for my behavior.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No, Enid, it’s me who should apologize. I haven’t really been acting much like myself lately,” she said.
“None of us have,” Todd observed, a wry smile on his face.
“I was really jealous of you,” Enid said. “You see, when nearly everyone at Sweet Valley High got into that movie except me, I felt really bad about it. And then to hear that you were going to be in it, and you didn’t even care, well, it really messed me up. And I started avoiding you. But now that I’m getting a makeover, I feel much more secure about myself!”
“Oh, Enid,” Elizabeth said happily, “I can’t wait until you’re marginally pretty!”
“Me, neither,” Enid squealed. “And, I also need to apologize for going to the dance with Todd. You’re my best friend, and that wasn’t cool.”
“It’s okay,” Elizabeth said, giving Enid and Todd a wink. “I’ll share him with you anytime.”
Todd put his arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders and gave her an affectionate squeeze. “There’s plenty of me to go around, ladies,” he said. “Let’s not get into another brawl.”
Elizabeth giggled. “I guess I should apologize to you as well, Todd,” she said, her voice growing serious. “I shouldn’t have been talking to another man without your permission.”
Todd nodded. “It’s just that you’ve cheated on me so many times, Elizabeth, I just can’t trust you,” he said soberly.
“Well, the funny thing is, it was just a big mix-up,” Elizabeth said. “Like it always is.”
“So you mean, you don’t really have feelings for Bruce?” Todd asked, surprised. Elizabeth shook her head no.
“Wow,” Todd mused. “I mean, Bruce is so rich and handsome. So … muscular and athletic.” He paused, letting his voice trail off. “I bet he has a huge—”
But Todd didn’t have time to finish his sentence. Elizabeth had silenced him with a gentle kiss.
He pulled back, his eyes probing Elizabeth’s. “Elizabeth,” he said slowly, “I think we need to have a little talk.”
Enid smiled at the couple. “I guess that’s my cue to get lost,” she said, grinning. She drifted over to Lila Fowler and Amy Sutton, who congratulated her on winning the makeover.
“Let’s go outside,” Todd suggested, taking Elizabeth by the hand and guiding her out of the gymnasium.
The air outside was fresh and crisp, cooling without being too chilly. Elizabeth gazed up at the full moon and the stars, pinpoints of light that shone over Sweet Valley.
“What is it, Todd?” Elizabeth asked. She couldn’t imagine the night could get any better. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately – more passionately than she ever had before. Elizabeth wasn’t quite sure what had gotten into her, but she was filled with a sudden, overwhelming desire to rip Todd’s shirt off and force him to the ground right then and there.
Todd pulled back with a sudden jerk. “Elizabeth, don’t,” he said quickly. She looked crestfallen.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“It’s just – it’s just that I need to talk to you first,” he said, stammering.
“Okay,” Elizabeth said, sitting down on a bench and patting the seat beside her. “Let’s talk.” With Todd back by her side, Elizabeth felt she could face anything.
Todd took a seat beside Elizabeth. She took his hand in hers as he turned to face her. “This is going to be really hard for me to say,” he began slowly.
“It’s all right,” Elizabeth said encouragingly. She gave his hand a little squeeze.
“Well, there’s really no good way to say it, so I’ll just – Elizabeth, I’m gay,” he said.
Elizabeth blinked. She was completely unprepared for Todd’s revelation. “But … but the only gays in Sweet Valley are minor characters,” she said in a daze, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I know,” Todd said, patting Elizabeth’s hand. “I know.”
“You know, maybe that’s why I cheated on you all those times,” Elizabeth said slowly. “I guess, deep down, I always knew I was your beard.”
She thought back to all those late-night basketball games Todd had played in, all the times she’d waited outside the locker room for him to “shower.”
She gave Todd an encouraging smile. Gay or not, the two of them would always be friends. “Do you have a special someone in your life?” she asked.
“Well, the only other gay male in Sweet Valley is Tom McKay,” Todd said. “But he’s a little too much of a twink for my taste.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “I’m more into the jocks. Ken Matthews is an absolute stud!”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, if you dismiss the borderline retard IQ,” she said, giggling.
Todd laughed. “It’s not his IQ I’m interested in, if you know what I mean,” he said.
Elizabeth and Todd stood up. Elizabeth gave him a hug. “I’m happy for you, Todd,” she said fondly. “I’m glad you were finally able to come out of the closet.”
“Me, too,” he said. “It’s really such a relief.” He cast a glance back at the gym doors. “Care to go back inside?”
Elizabeth nodded and linked her arm with his. Once inside, she let her gaze fall back on Bruce, who was still sitting in the corner.
Todd caught her looking at Bruce. “You really like him, don’t you?” he asked Elizabeth softly.
“Oh, Todd,” Elizabeth said, her eyes shining as she turned back to him. “I didn’t think I liked Bruce, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Girl, he’s got the money, the looks, the car, and probably a huge package,” Todd said. “You need to go over to him right now and molest him.”
Elizabeth giggled. “I have a feeling that around here, it’s Bruce who does the molesting,” she said.
“Either way, go get you a piece,” Todd said, releasing Elizabeth from his grasp. He winked at her as she walked away.
“Go get you a piece, as well,” Elizabeth said, nodding toward Ken Matthews, who was drooling on himself over by the punch bowl.
When she reached Bruce, he looked up at her, surprised.
“Hey, Elizabeth,” Bruce said. “I thought you were getting back together with Todd.”
“It didn’t really work out as planned,” Elizabeth said, taking a seat beside him.
“So you’re not back together?” he asked.
“No,” Elizabeth said, shaking her head.
“Very cool,” Bruce said, grinning.
“Bruce Patman, do you have any idea what I want to do to you right now?” Elizabeth asked. He shook his head, and she pressed up against him and seductively whispered something into his ear.
“Wow, Liz,” he said, clearly surprised. “That sounds great and all, but it’s not as much fun for me if you actually consent to it.”
“Well,” Elizabeth purred, “how about we go somewhere quiet with a six-pack and a roofie or two, and you can pretend I didn’t consent to anything.”
“That sounds awesome,” Bruce said, jumping up and grabbing Elizabeth by the hand. “Let’s go!”
He led her out to his Porsche, and the car squealed out of the parking lot, leaving a pair of skid marks on the otherwise unmarred asphalt of the Sweet Valley High parking lot.
When Bruce parked the car at Miller’s Point, there was already a familiar car parked there. He turned off the ignition and gestured toward the other car. “Hey, isn’t that Jessica and Jayden?” he asked.
Elizabeth giggled. The one beer she had drank had already given her a little bit of a buzz. “Where?” she asked, looking in the opposite direction from where Bruce was pointing.
“There,” he said, grabbing her head and gently turning it toward Jayden’s car.
“Oh, yeah,” she said, still giggling. Elizabeth rolled down the window and started yelling at the other car.
“Jes – Jessica,” she slurred. “What are you doing up here in this – at this place?”
“Shh,” Bruce cautioned Elizabeth, smiling. He leaned over her and rolled up the window.
“What are you doing, Bruce,” Elizabeth said slowly and deliberately. She went to swat at his hand but missed and instead lazily swatted her own thigh. “Let me do that.” She tried to roll the window down again. “Bruce, I can’t do it,” she said, struggling with the handle.
He pulled Elizabeth toward him and silenced her with a kiss. “Don’t mess with that anymore,” he said softly, pressing his lips against hers. “Just relax.”
“Relax?” Elizabeth asked, giggling. “Like this?” She tried to make the seat recline, but ended up just slamming her body against the back of it.
“Elizabeth, sweetie, please don’t damage my car,” Bruce said, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice.
“I’m – I’m sorry,” she said, sliding a hand down his cheek. “It’s just that I don’t feel so good. I want to lay down.” She slumped against the seat back and closed her eyes.
“Please don’t throw up in my car,” Bruce begged. “You’re not going to throw up, are you?”
“No,” Elizabeth said, opening her eyes. “Can I drive your car?”
“No, Elizabeth,” Bruce said gently. “We’re not going anywhere, remember?”
“Why are we up here again?” Elizabeth slurred, leaning over Bruce and honking the horn.
“Elizabeth! What are you doing?” Bruce asked, tenderly pushing her back into her seat.
“I wanted to see where we were going,” she complained. She turned her head to look out the window. “Hey, it’s Jessica.”
Jessica was walking toward Bruce’s car, and she didn’t look happy. Bruce leaned over Elizabeth to roll down her window.
“Hey, Jess,” he said, peering up at her. “Sorry about that. Elizabeth’s a little—”
“I’m drunk,” Elizabeth slurred, hanging her head out of the window. “Completely, utterly, stinking drunk.”
Jessica raised an eyebrow. “I have to say, Lizzie, I’m impressed,” she said. Jessica gave Bruce a stern look. “What’s going on here?”
“Nothing,” Bruce said, flashing Jessica an apologetic smile. “In fact, I think we might be leaving pretty soon. Sorry to have disturbed you.”
“Bruce Patman,” Jessica said, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Were you planning on seducing my sister?”
“I’m planning on sed— sedu— whatever that word is – Bruce,” Elizabeth said slowly, her eyes half closed. “For your information.”
“Right, Lizzie,” Jessica said, grinning.
“Are we friends again?” Elizabeth asked. “I hate fighting with you.”
Jessica leaned down to hug Elizabeth through the open window, giving Jayden a good look at her barely-covered ass. “Of course we’re friends again,” Jessica said. “We’re twin sisters, remember?”
“Hey, evil twin,” Jayden called, rolling down his window. “You’d better get back in here, before you freeze that cute little ass of yours clean off!”
“Just a second,” Jessica said, shooting Jayden a seductive glance over her shoulder. “There’s something I have to take care of first.” She turned back to Elizabeth and grasped her hand through the window. “Elizabeth, will you change your mind and still be in the movie with me? Please?” She gave Elizabeth her best puppy-dog eyes.
Elizabeth laughed. She could never stay mad at her twin. “Of course, I’ll be in the movie with you,” she said.
“Did I hear that correctly?” Jayden called. “Both Wakefield twins are going to get top billing once again?”
Jessica and Elizabeth nodded happily. “We’re on,” Jessica called.
“In that case, I think this calls for a celebration,” Jayden said as Jessica walked back to the car. “Bruce, follow me.” Jayden started up his car and backed up.
“Damn,” Bruce said under his breath. “Cock blocked again!” He threw the Porsche into reverse and followed Jayden’s car.
“Where – where are we going?” Elizabeth asked, looking around. “I thought we were going to—”
“We will,” Bruce said reassuringly, patting Elizabeth on the leg. He let his hand travel up her thigh.
She giggled. “Bruce, that tickles,” she said.
“We’re going to celebrate something with Jessica and that sleazy guy she’s been hanging out with,” Bruce said. “I really hope we’re not going to the Dairi Burger for a hot fudge sundae or something.”
“Ice cream sounds so good,” Elizabeth slurred. “Can we get a hot fudge sundae? With whipped cream? And nuts? And one of those little cherries on top?”
Bruce kept his eyes on the road. “Maybe, if you’re good,” he teased. “But please stop with the nuts and the cherries and any other double entendres you may be thinking of using.”
“Okay,” Elizabeth said, looking out the window. “I’m so glad Jessica isn’t mad at me anymore.”
“See?” Bruce said. “I told you everything would work out.”
They followed Jayden until they ended up at a cheap motel just a few blocks from the beach. “Where the hell are they going?” Bruce asked under his breath as Jayden pulled his car into an empty parking spot. Bruce pulled the Porsche in beside Jayden.
Bruce cracked his door and called to Jayden. “Hey, do you think my car is going to be okay here?” he asked.
Jayden shrugged and opened Jessica’s door to let her out. “I don’t see why not,” Jayden said. “It’s not like there’s a ‘No parking’ sign or anything.”
“No, I mean, this doesn’t look like the safest area,” Bruce said, looking around nervously. “I don’t want my car to get stolen.”
Jayden laughed. “Are you kidding me, bro? There’s no way in hell your car will get stolen out here, even if it is a vintage Porsche. If there’s one thing I’ve learned since I’ve been in Sweet Valley, it’s that there’s practically no crime in Sweet Valley.”
“I don’t know,” Bruce said. “Elizabeth here has been kidnapped and stalked.”
Jayden rolled his eyes. “Look, man, I know your car is your baby, but if you want to get some, you’ve got to leave it here and come with me,” he said.
“Well, all right,” Bruce said doubtfully. He pulled the keys out of the ignition and turned to Elizabeth. “Stay there,” he said. “I’ll come around and get you out of the car.”
“Okay,” Elizabeth murmured, leaning her head against the back of the seat and closing her eyes.
“Is she okay?” Jessica asked anxiously, looking at her sister. “She seems really out of it.”
“She just had one beer,” Bruce said as he walked around to the passenger side of the car. “And it was a Pabst Blue Ribbon. She can’t be that drunk.” He opened the door and unbuckled Elizabeth’s seat belt. “Come on, Elizabeth,” he said gently. “Lean on me, okay?”
“All right,” Elizabeth mumbled, hooking an arm around Bruce’s shoulder. As she did so, the side of her dress that was broken slid down, nearly exposing her nipple. As thrilled as Bruce was to get a glimpse of Elizabeth’s breast, he did the gentlemanly thing and pulled her dress up to cover her chest.
“Here, hold this up,” he said, placing her hand over her dress. “Can you hold this right here?”
“Mmm hmm,” Elizabeth said seriously, nodding her head. “I can.”
“Okay, hold onto me,” he said. “Here we go.” Bruce hoisted her up out of the car. As he had guessed, Elizabeth was not too steady on her feet. She stumbled into Bruce, clutching onto him. “You all right?”
“I’m okay,” Elizabeth said.
“All right, where are we going?” Bruce asked, looking at Jayden.
“Right over here,” Jayden said, leading the way to one of the motel rooms and unlocking the door. He led Jessica, Bruce and Elizabeth into the darkened room.
“You got any lights in here?” Bruce asked, setting Elizabeth down on the bed closest to the door. She flopped back onto the mattress.
“Hold on a second, man,” Jayden said, turning on a lamp in the middle of the room. “Is that better?”
Bruce looked around the room. There were several cameras, some sort of industrial-looking lighting arrangements and a giant microphone set up around the room.
“Like the setup?” Jayden asked, patting one of the cameras, which was aimed squarely at the other bed.
“Uh, yeah, it’s great,” Bruce said, eyeing the equipment and the motel room. The walls were paneled in a light wood veneer and covered in generic landscape artwork depicting mountains and evergreen trees. The bedspreads were checkered with a gold and green diamond pattern and suspiciously stained. He’d never been in such a low-class establishment before.
“I’ve done practically all the filming for my movie here,” Jayden bragged. “The only other location I’ve used is Lila Fowler’s mansion.”
At the mention of Lila Fowler’s name, Jessica scowled. She had been unusually quiet since they’d entered the motel room, and for the first time, Bruce found himself wondering whether she was nervous.
“I have a mansion too, you know,” Bruce said quickly.
“So I’ve heard,” Jayden said dryly, opening up the mini-fridge and handing Bruce a beer. “Jess, are you sure you don’t want one?”
“I’m sure,” Jessica said, shooting a glance at her sister, who was passed out on the bed next to her.
“How about something fruity and girly?” Jayden asked. “We’ve got liquor here. I can make you a Sex on the Beach or something.”
“Um, yeah, okay,” Jessica said slowly. Jayden opened some bottles and started mixing a drink in a paper cup. She looked at Elizabeth. “Do you think she’s okay?” Jessica asked, worried.
“She’s fine,” Bruce said, sitting on the bed next to Elizabeth. “She’s just passed out.”
Jayden handed Jessica her drink and sat down next to her. “Here’s to the film,” he said, clinking his beer bottle against Bruce’s.
Bruce tipped back the beer as Jessica sipped on her drink. Well, this is awkward, he thought to himself. And now that Elizabeth’s passed out and I’m spending my time drinking with Jessica and Jayden, I’m now one-hundred percent sure I’m not getting lucky tonight.
“Mind if I call my friends?” Jayden asked. “They said they’d like to come party with us.”
“No problem,” Bruce said weakly. This was going to be super lame.
Jessica shrugged and continued to sip on her drink. Before Jayden was finished with his phone call, she had downed the entire thing and was already acting kind of drunk. She tugged at his shirt sleeve.
“Make me another one,” she purred. “That was so good.”
“Hold on a sec, Jess,” Jayden whispered. “No, you guys can come over now,” he said into the phone. “Or later, if you want. I don’t care.” Bruce stared at his tiny phone jealously. Why didn’t he have one of those? He was the richest student at Sweet Valley High! “All right, bye,” Jayden said, pressing a button on the phone and slipping it back into his pocket.
Jayden looked at Jessica and smiled. “So you finished up already, huh?” he asked.
Jessica nodded deliberately. “Yes,” she said. “And I want another one.”
Jayden got up to mix Jessica another drink. “My friends will be over in a little bit,” he said. “It turns out they’ve got a fierce game of Scrabble going on.”
Scrabble? Bruce thought. These people must be nerds!
Jessica giggled. “That’s a funny word.” She accepted the drink Jayden handed her and downed it quickly. “This is so good, Jayden. What’s in it?”
“Fruit juice, vodka, whatever,” Jayden said, settling back down next to Jessica and kissing her on the cheek. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.”
“Jayden, are we going to be in the movie now?” Jessica asked, slumping against him.
“If Elizabeth was awake, maybe,” Jayden said. “But since she’s already passed out and you’re about two seconds away from passing out, we’ll just wait until tomorrow.”
“But tomorrow’s our birthday,” Jessica slurred. “And Lila’s having a party for us, even though she did act like a total bitch at the dance tonight.”
With that, Jessica closed her eyes and leaned up against Jayden. Within minutes, she was fast asleep. Jayden gently laid her down on the bed.
“Well,” he said, looking at Bruce, “We’ve got two gorgeous, perfect size-six, underaged, passed-out blondes next to each of us.”
Bruce gave Jayden an uneasy smile. He knew what Jayden was getting at, but surely the man wasn’t serious. Bruce thought of date rape as a strictly solo proposition. He had to change the subject, and fast.
“So, uh, what kind of progress are you making on your movie?” Bruce asked Jayden.
“It’s going pretty well,” Jayden said. “There’s just these two left.” He indicated toward Jessica and Elizabeth. “And maybe that Enid Rollins chick, if her makeover goes particularly well.”
At the mention of Enid’s name, Bruce gave an involuntary shudder.
“I assume you’re familiar with my work?” Jayden continued.
“No, I don’t believe I am,” Bruce said, taking another sip of his beer.
“Oh, come on,” Jayden said. He laughed. “You haven’t seen the infomercials?”
“The what?” Bruce asked, confused.
“Those long commercials that are on late-night TV,” Jayden clarified.
Bruce shrugged. “No, I’ve never seen them.”
Jayden laughed. “You seriously mean to tell me you have no idea what ‘Skanks Gone Stupid’ is,” he said. “You’re kidding me, right, man?”
“I’m not kidding,” Bruce said, annoyed. “I have no clue what a skank is.”
Jayden’s laughter continued. “You’re too much, man,” he said. “Are you sure you’re not gay?”
“I’m not gay,” Bruce snapped.
“All right, all right,” Jayden said, throwing up his hands. “I think I have some DVDs around here somewhere.” He got up and started rummaging around in a duffel bag that was sitting by the TV. “Of course, there’s no DVD player here.”
“I’m not sure what a DVD is, either,” Bruce offered helpfully.
“Of course not,” Jayden said, continuing to dig through the bag. “Sweet Valley is in some sort of weird time warp.”
“What do you mean?” Bruce asked, setting down his beer on the nightstand as Jayden offered him several plastic cases. They looked like videotape cases, only they were thinner.
Bruce shuffled through the cases. “‘Skanks Gone Stupid: Spring Break,’ ‘Skanks Gone Stupid: South Beach,’ ‘Skanks Gone Stupid: College Girls,’” Bruce read out loud. On the front of each case were photos of girls lifting up their shirts to reveal supple – and sometimes lopsided – breasts. “Jayden, what is all this?”
Jayden laughed. “What does it look like, Bruce?” he asked. “It’s pornography.”
“Pornography,” Bruce repeated, mesmerized by the photos on the boxes. He had never seen anything so wonderful in his entire life.
“And you’ve been doing one of these films in Sweet Valley?” Bruce asked. Suddenly, everything made sense.
“Yeah,” Jayden said, settling down on the bed next to Jessica. “We were scouting new locations, and we stumbled upon Sweet Valley. The girls around here are super hot, bro!”
“Oh, I know,” Bruce said, his throat dry. He was still staring down at the DVD boxes he was holding in his hands.
“Imagine my surprise when I found out they were all virgins,” Jayden continued. “Especially the infamous Wakefield twins.”
“It’s not for lack of trying,” Bruce said. “I’ve personally tried to date rape both of them at least once.”
Jayden shook his head. “That’s not the way to do it, man,” he said. “You need to gain their trust, make them think there’s something in it for them, maybe get them a little drunk.” He paused and shook his head. “That’s one thing I’ve had a hard time with here,” he admitted. “These girls must not drink too often. It’s been hard to find the right balance between sober and completely passed out.”
“I’ve had that problem myself,” Bruce confided. “Something about this town gives most girls an awfully low tolerance for alcohol.”
“Once you strike the right balance, it’s easy,” Jayden said. “I’ve got hours and hours of footage from Sweet Valley.”
“Girls – girls I know?” Bruce asked.
“Oh yeah,” Jayden said, ticking the names off on his fingers. “Lila Fowler, Cara Walker, Olivia Davidson, Amy Sutton – who, by the way, is going to have a great porn star name, Amy Slutton – Annie Whitman, Penny Ayala, Caroline Pearce, Jeannie West, Sandra Bacon – those two did a hot girl-on-girl scene – Robin Wilson, Maria Santelli, Dana Larson – pretty much any girl you can think of at Sweet Valley High who is not an ugly mess.”
“Wait – did you say girl-on-girl scene?” Bruce asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Jayden said. “A very popular niche, as you can imagine.”
Bruce nodded slowly. Jayden had just about blown his mind. “You don’t happen to have any footage of this, do you?” he asked.
“Yeah, dude, let me just hook up this camera,” Jayden said, getting off the bed and pulling one of the cameras off its tripod. He ran a line from the camera to the TV and turned them both on. “Here we go,” he said, settling on the edge of the bed and messing around with some buttons on the camera.
Bruce glanced at Jessica and Elizabeth. The two of them were fast asleep, completely unaware of Bruce and Jayden’s presence or what they were up to. Jessica was even snoring softly and had rolled over onto her side.
The screen was fuzzy and filled with lines as Jayden fast forwarded through the tape. “Here it is,” he said, stopping the tape. On the screen, Jeannie West and Sandra Bacon appeared. They were sitting on the bed in the motel room, glancing at the camera nervously. Jeannie was twisting a thick strand of her hair around her index finger.
“So tell me a little bit about yourselves,” a voice on the tape said. It was Jayden’s voice, but he wasn’t in the frame.
“We’re members of Pi Beta Alpha,” Sandra said.
“It’s the most exclusive sorority at Sweet Valley High,” Jeannie added.
“They may be high school students, but they’re at least eighteen, right girls?” Jayden asked on the tape.
The girls giggled. “Uh, yeah, we’re at least eighteen,” Sandra said.
“So are you two best friends, or what?” Jayden prompted on the tape. Bruce could see that the two girls were drunk. They giggled nervously.
“We’re best friends,” Jeannie said. “We do practically everything together.”
“Everything?” Jayden asked. The two girls giggled again.
“Everything,” Jeannie confirmed.
“What about kissing?” Jayden asked.
Sandra and Jeannie looked at each other and broke down into hysterical laughter. “Kissing?” Sandra asked.
“Yeah, kissing,” Jayden asked.
Jeannie wrinkled her nose. “You mean kissing, like, each other?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Jayden said. “Girls can kiss each other.”
“No, we don’t do that,” Jeannie said. “But my ex-boyfriend, Tom McKay, he kisses other guys. He’s gay.”
On the tape, Jayden laughed. “I don’t want to hear about dudes kissing each other,” he said. “That’s not hot.”
“But girls kissing each other is hot?” Sandra asked doubtfully.
“Sure it is,” Jayden said. “Why don’t you try it?”
“Try it?” Jeannie asked. “I don’t know.”
“Just try it with each other,” Jayden persuaded.
Sandra shifted uncomfortably on the bed, and Jeannie twirled her hair even more furiously. “I don’t think so,” Sandra said finally.
“Oh, come on,” Jayden said soothingly. “Some of the other girls have already done it for the film.”
“Really?” Jeannie asked.
“Really,” Jayden said. “Just try it. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it anymore.”
“Okay,” Sandra said, glancing at Jeannie. “We’ll try it.”
The two girls leaned their faces together and gave each other a quick peck on the lips before pulling back, giggling.
“Oh, come on, girls,” Jayden prompted. “You can do better than that.”
Sandra gently grabbed Jeannie’s face and pulled her closer. This time, the two of them locked in a long, lingering kiss. The next thing Bruce knew, Sandra was pushing Jeannie down on the bed.
“Holy shit!” Bruce exclaimed. He was starting to feel kind of funny.
Jayden looked back at him and grinned. “Good stuff, huh?” he asked.
Bruce gulped. His throat had gone dry, and he wasn’t sure whether he’d be able to croak out any type of verbal response. He’d never before thought of Sandra or Jeannie as particularly attractive, but suddenly, Bruce was very interested in how this scene would play out. He nodded at Jayden, and then the both of them turned their attention back to the film.
Sandra had pulled Jeannie’s T-shirt off as well as her own, and now the two of them were wearing only their bras and skirts. Bruce was starting to feel stranger and stranger.
“Turn it off,” he managed to say, but it was too late.
“Oh, dude,” Jayden said. “Not cool.”
“I’m sorry,” Bruce said, embarrassed. His face turned bright red.
“No, man, it’s cool,” Jayden said. He jumped off the bed and grabbed a suitcase. “I think I have some shorts or something you can borrow.” He dug around in the suitcase until he found a pair of Hawaiian-print shorts. “Uh, here, you can just keep them.”
Bruce took the shorts into the bathroom and changed. He splashed some cold water on his face and stared at his reflection in the mirror. His face was burning hot. Nothing like that had ever happened to him before! And he certainly hadn’t expected it to happen while watching Sandra Bacon and Jeannie West, of all people!
Bruce tossed his designer pants in the trash. He could afford to buy another pair, he reasoned.
“You all right there, buddy?” Jayden asked with a grin when Bruce emerged from the bathroom.
“Yeah, I’m all right,” Bruce said.
“I guess we’ll just put this away,” Jayden said, unplugging the video camera and setting it back on the tripod.
Just then, someone knocked at the door. “It must be my friends,” Jayden said, striding over to the door and opening it.
“Hey, Jayden,” a girl said, striding into the room. She was followed by two men. Bruce stared at the girl. She was beautiful, and very thin – even thinner than the Wakefield twins, Bruce noticed. “Who’s this?” she asked, staring at Bruce.
“Oh, Ava, this is Bruce,” Jayden said. “Bruce, this is Ava.”
“Hey, Bruce,” Ava said seductively. “This is Owen and Chase.”
“Hi,” Bruce said, lifting a hand to wave.
“Damn, Jayden,” Ava said, looking at the passed-out Wakefield twins. “What have you done to these poor girls?”
“Nothing,” Bruce said. “They – they got drunk and passed out.”
“Same old story,” Ava said, sitting down on the bed next to Jessica and throwing her purse on the floor. She leaned over Jessica, revealing a flash of her underwear to Bruce. “Which one is this?”
“It’s Jessica,” Bruce said.
“Well, I do believe I can see some of Jessica’s areola,” Ava said, lifting up the neck of Jessica’s dress and peeking down it.
“Ava,” Jayden said warningly.
Ava rolled her eyes. “So, I thought we were going to get these two on camera tonight,” she said, “not sit around and watch them snore.”
“They have a really low tolerance for alcohol, all right?” Jayden said, running a hand through his hair. “Besides, you wouldn’t believe that high school dance.”
“Why?” Ava asked. “What happened?”
“There was a lot of fighting, hair-pulling, you name it,” Jayden said. He grinned at Bruce. “Bruce and I even got into a fistfight.”
“Jesus,” Ava said. “That sounds kind of white-trashy.” She turned to Bruce, who had settled back down on the bed Elizabeth was passed out on. “So, I take it you’re the other one’s boyfriend?”
“Elizabeth’s boyfriend? I guess you could say that,” Bruce said.
“Cool,” Ava said, nodding. “You’re not bad looking.”
She seemed to be rather flirtatious, and Bruce wasn’t sure how to react. He didn’t want to blow his chances with Elizabeth, but this girl was really attractive. Plus, she seemed way more worldly than Elizabeth – and would probably get with another girl, too.
“You’re not bad looking yourself,” Bruce replied, eyeing the girl.
“Tell me,” Ava said, crossing her long, tanned legs, “have you and Elizabeth been dating long?”
“Not really,” Bruce said nonchalantly.
“These girls really are gorgeous,” Ava said, winking at Bruce. “You’re lucky to get your hands on one of them.”
“They’re perfect,” Bruce agreed. “Shoulder-length blonde hair, sparkling blue-green eyes, perfect size-six figures—”
“Wait a minute,” Ava interrupted. “Size six? That’s so fat.”
“Fat?” Bruce asked, confused.
“Ugh, gross,” Ava said. “Size zero is perfect. Anything more than that is just gross.”
“Oh,” Bruce said. How could he be so stupid? He looked at Jessica and Elizabeth once again. Upon closer inspection, he could see a touch of cellulite on the top of Jessica’s thigh. And Elizabeth had kind of a fat roll on either side of her hips.
Ava laughed. She leaned over toward the bed Bruce and Elizabeth were on and pinched Elizabeth’s side. “This girl’s got a muffin top!” she exclaimed.
Bruce wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about, but he laughed anyway. Ava placed a hand on Bruce’s leg. He wanted to pull away from her, but it didn’t seem to be an option. Bruce was completely mesmerized by Ava. It was as if he was under some sort of spell.
Jayden wandered over to the two of them, ignoring Chase and Owen, who were fiddling with the camera setup. He placed a hand on Ava’s shoulder. “Ava here is one of my top girls,” he said. “She goes everywhere with me.”
“So she’s your girlfriend?” Bruce asked.
“No, not exactly,” Jayden said, casting a meaningful glance at Ava. “But she is very persuasive.”
“You see, Bruce,” Ava purred, moving her hand farther and farther up Bruce’s thigh, “I can get girls like this – girls like the ones in Sweet Valley – to do anything I want.”
“Anything?” Bruce asked, gulping.
“Just about anything,” Ava said. “I bet I can get you to do anything I want.”
Muffin top!!!
Jeffrey French raises his hand: “Uh guys, right here.”
BWAHAHAHA! You are a goddess of snark. Luuuurve your stuff.