Family Ties

Chapter 6
Florida -- Summer 1989 



Arriving at the beach the girls slipped on their sunglasses to protect their eyes from the glare of the sun that shone brightly off the clear blue ocean. They gazed over the beach searching an area away from the huge crowd that was expected for a day of fun in the sun. The girls knew once the guys showed up it would be chaos, they had to share them with the fans, but today being their first day back together with the group, they were a bit selfish and wanted them to themselves. Finding a perfect spot, Beth and Lizzie made their way to a sunny area a bit away from the throng of families and teenagers.

Beth quickly laid her towel out , shimmed out of her shorts and tank and stretched out. It felt so good to be surrounded familiar faces again as much as she loved being at school and studying her passion she missed her family terribly . She and Lizzie had the whole summer planned out but both girls secretly wished for some time with their "crushes" . Realistically though they knew how busy they were so that might not happen as much as they hoped for but a little bit of time was better than nothing.

Lizzie smiled at the dark haired girl lounging in the sun as she spread her towel in the sand and tossed her sundress to the side. She was so happy to see Beth again. The last time her and Beth had been able to spend the whole summer together had been 4 years ago. Lizzie sat on her towel and grabbed her sun lotion from her bag. She was totally astounded as she glanced over at Beth

Unbelievable 

She knew Beth wasn't an ugly duckling like she hopelessly claimed she was just a few years ago but she never dreamed she would blossom into this bewitching goddess and the funny part was Beth was none the wiser .

Gone was the short, chubby, unconfident 15 year old and here in her place was a stunning raven haired beauty. Lizzie was almost envious. Bethany was now somewhere near 5'6 with smooth mocha colored skin and a svelte figure that was by no means anywhere near chubby! More so curvy and solid with, as her brother would say 'legs for miles'.

Really, Elizabeth had no reason to be envious. When Bethany was 16 she was no where near as lucky as Liz in the looks department. Liz for some reason had skipped from cute kid to attractive young woman missing the awkward in between stage totally. She still had the same petite form standing a mere 5'1, and though she had curves in all the right places they were very proportionate to her size.

Her hair, though still as curly as ever, had been enhanced a bit with the lightest of light blond highlights, and instead of keeping it pulled back at her neck she now let it fall unruly down her back and around her shoulders in a thick cascade of spun gold. Her skin now had a more sun kissed glow than pale porcelain tint, but her eyes, those vibrant blue eyes that always got her whatever she wished for in just one single flash. Were still exactly the same.

Lizzie finished applying her lotion and turned to Beth "So, how's College Beth?" The girls hadn't had a chance til now to do more than hug excitedly and rush to their hotel rooms to change into beach gear and high tail it to the beach. They were supposed to meet the guys here at 2 pm and they barely made it in time.... of course it was 2 pm now and no sign of the guys. That was so typical.

Beth glanced over at her friend and grinned " Well.... it's OK.... London is strange.... and the weather is deary but the school is fantastic, I love the classes I'm taking we went out just last week to Buckingham Palace to do a quick sketch then our assignment was to take the rough sketch and turn it into our interpretation of it which was pretty cool. But I have to say the best part is the hot guys!" She grinned wickedly " I know before you say a thing London does have some hotties not as hot as ......so how's school been?"

Lizzie grinned like a Cheshire cat she knew damn well who Beth was referring too and she couldn't help but tease her " Oh c'mon Bethy say it not as hot as Jonny"

Beth feigned anger and threw her tank top at her " Lizzie I wasn't gonna say Jon "

"Yea you were " Lizzie continued on

"Was not ..... besides I am so over my crush " Beth lied

"Ummmmm hmmm tell me another one Bethy ...... Bethy and Jonny sitting in a tree... " Lizzie crooned in a gut wrenchingly off toned voice.

"Stop it " Beth said bursting into a fit of laughter " Okay .. maybe I'm not but don't you tell ... swear on it Elizabeth .. I mean it "

"OK , OK I solemnly swear not to tell Jon he is gonna marry you someday and give you tons of babies " Lizzie giggled as she recited her promise

Beth rolled her eyes and changed the subject " So I'll ask again how's school been ? "

Lizzie rolled her eyes and groaned "Oh you know.... same shit..... different year.... thank God this coming year will be my last!" Lizzie sighed in pure bliss as she felt the warm rays start toasting her and laid back placing her hands under her neck and smiling as she closed her eyes. " Then I can move on to more.. important issues...." She chuckled lightly as she let her mind drift to those other issues a calm yet slightly smug look crossed her angelic features.

"Like Richie " Beth teased but it fell on deaf ears Lizzie was hopelessly lost in her own thoughts

Richie..... 

She thought to herself as she recalled that summer 4 years ago when she first realized why she always wanted to spend so much time with him. Though her and Beth had kept in close contact since that summer, the band had been so busy that beyond a brief time 2 years ago when they had stopped by the house on New Years Eve to say hello before flying off to who knows where, Lizzie hadn't seen him at all. She had talked to him quite a few times on the phone when her brother had called home. But that just wasn't the same as sitting with him on the front porch steps listening to him tell her all about the places they had played and the sights they had seen while he slung his arm around her shoulders and ruffled her hair playfully.

Yes Elizabeth had a crush on Richie. She could admit that now. She hadn't wanted to back then. She had been only 12 and just starting to notice boys at all. And even back then Richie was not a boy, but a man. He was 26 then and already had such an effect on Lizzie.

He always knew just how to make her laugh when she was feeling down, always knew what buttons to push to tick her off but at the same time knew exactly what to say to calm her down and settle her volatile temper. She could only imagine what effect he would have on her now. She was no longer an innocent little girl who knew nothing about the opposite sex. She was turning 17 in less than two weeks and since that summer 4 years ago had had the usual amount of boyfriends come and go. Though her parents found it amusing, her dating was much to her brothers dismay.

Beth watched in silence as Lizzie's mind drifted away. She knew exactly what she was thinking, or rather WHO she was thinking of. She smiled and relaxed back letting the companionable silence between them just be and started reminiscing a bit herself. Thinking back to the plain Jane, chubby unsure Bethany of years gone by. Things sure had changed. She knew now how hard she had been on herself. It had taken time and that one long conversation with Jon to make her see. Her stomach fluttered a bit as she thought of him. He had no idea how much it had meant to her. The time he took that summer to just be there for her. To let her vent. To encourage her and make her see that she WAS beautiful. Not only on the outside, but most importantly on the inside. Ever since that summer she had hidden her feelings for him. She like Lizzie had developed a crush, and that crush had never faded. Now she was 20, about to graduate college and go job hunting for a job in her career field. She was acing everything. Everything but love.

Beth didn't have trouble in the date department but she always seemed to find something wrong with them no matter how gentlemanly or dangerously sexy they were. She sighed to herself wishing she could stop comparing every guy she met to that one perfect guy from Jersey. That guy who was her friend, confidant and always there for her, only a phone call away no matter what time of the day or night. A guy that would never see her as anything other than 'his good friend Bethy'