Her Teen Dream (3 page)

He ran up to her, perspiration dripping down
his face like running water. Grabbing the towel flung across his
sturdy shoulder, he dried his forehead, nose, and mouth.

“Did you come to see me?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He smiled tentatively. “Did you have a chance
to talk with your Dad?”

“That’s why I’m here,” Karin said. “Daddy’s
willing to meet with Marcus and his parents to see if an out of
court settlement can be reached.”

Reese gave her a pleased look. “Cool. Thanks
for doing this, Karin. It means a lot to me and everyone on the
team—especially Marcus.”

“No problem,” she said shyly.
Anything for
you.

He wiped his head with the towel. “Hey, you
wanna hang out sometime?”

Karin could hardly believe he was asking.
Like she would ever say,
No way!
“Yeah, sure.”

“Good.” He produced a drop-dead gorgeous
smile that made her heart skip a beat.

The moment was disrupted when Coach Cleaver
said boisterously, “McKenzie, tell your latest girlfriend goodbye
and give me five laps—now!”

“I’ve gotta go,” Reese said, sounding
disappointed. “See you later.”

Is that a promise?
She felt wistful.
“Bye, Reese.”

* * *

After third period, Karin applied lip gloss
in the girls’ bathroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
She wondered if she was pretty and mature looking enough to attract
an older guy like Reese. Or maybe he just wanted to hang out as
friends, which wouldn’t be so bad either. Except that it might make
Lesley jealous if she spent too much time with him over her.
Unless, of course, Lesley was preoccupied with Marcus.

Karin nearly jumped out of her skin when she
saw the reflection of Cheryl Green behind her.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Cheryl
demanded.

Karin faced her. Cheryl was actually an inch
or two taller and shapelier in a skimpy cheerleading uniform. She
had long black box braids and her dun-colored eyes were practically
red with fury.

“Excuse me?” Karin batted her lashes
innocently, hiding the fact that she was slightly intimidated by
the older girl.

“You heard me.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking
about.”

Cheryl pursed her full lips. “Don’t play
games with me. I know you’re hoping to stick your claws into Reese.
Well, don’t even try!”

“Are you saying you’re
still
dating?”
The very notion was somehow disheartening to Karin.

“No, we’re not still dating,” Cheryl said,
mimicking Karin’s tone of voice. “But that doesn’t mean I want some
lowlife sophomore like you trying to use her father’s law firm to
worm her way through the back door with Reese.”

“Hey, he came to me, not the other way
around!” Karin tried to keep her temper in check, which at the
moment threatened to overcome her intimidation.

“Tell it to someone who cares,” Cheryl
snapped. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from
Reese.”

With that, Cheryl whipped her head in the
other direction, sending braids flying, and stormed out.

A moment later, Lesley came in. “What’s with
Ms. Queen Bitch? She nearly ran me over.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Karin had trouble digesting it herself,
trying to calm her nerves. It was clear that Cheryl Green viewed
her as a threat. And saw Reese as her own personal possession.

Whereas Karin had no such claim on him. Even
if Cheryl refused to believe it.

* * *

“That’s hilarious,” laughed Lesley, as they
sat outside having lunch. “Who would’ve thought just two days ago
that you and Cheryl Green would be in competition for Reese
McKenzie?”

“We’re
not
in competition,” Karin
insisted as she sipped bottled water. “As far as I know, Reese and
I are barely even friends at this point. And Cheryl is supposed to
be his ex.”

“Right, an ex who’s obviously not quite ready
to let go of him, especially to a ‘lowlife’ sophomore who’s not
part of her clique.”

Karin dug her teeth into a chicken sandwich.
Admittedly, she had considered herself way out of Cheryl’s league
when it came to guys. Maybe she still was. Only time would tell.
And perhaps how well things went for Marcus and his troubles.

“Who cares about Cheryl’s insecurity anyway?”
Karin tossed out brusquely. “That’s her problem.”

“I think she’s also making it yours, girl,”
Lesley said. “Which, as your best friend, makes it my problem, too.
Suddenly life is becoming a whole lot more interesting.”

As if part of a stage production, they
watched Cheryl and a group of other carbon copy girls, mostly
cheerleaders, strut past them. They were carrying trays with hardly
anything on them. They all seemed to give Karin the evil eye before
piling around two tables.

“I don’t know about you, but I think I’ve
lost my appetite,” muttered Karin.

“Yeah, my stomach has begun to act up,”
echoed Lesley, making a face. “Let’s get out of here before one of
us has to puke.”

Karin walked right past Cheryl, refusing to
look at her, but feeling the heat of an icy glare. It made Karin
wonder if it was even worth it to be interested in someone who just
might have no interest in her other than as the daughter of a
prominent attorney whose services were needed to, in effect, save
the Spartans basketball season.

CHAPTER FOUR

“How do you girls think I look?” Shelly
Rochester asked.

Karin glanced at Lesley and back to Shelly.
Shelly was sporting a new hairdo, a reddish-brown layered bob to go
with a sharp new designer outfit. All for her date with a man she’d
met on the Internet. It was her first real date since her husband
died.

“You look great, Shelly,” Karin said.
Lesley’s mother had wanted to be called by her first name ever
since they moved next door. It took a while for Karin to get used
to it, since all her other friends’ mothers were Mrs., Ms., or Miss
Something. At least Lesley still referred to her mother as Mom to
keep things real.

“And what do you think, Lesley?” Shelly
looked at her daughter curiously. They were in the Rochester’s
living room.

“I think you look fabulous, Mom,” she
responded.

“You’re not just saying that?” Shelly asked
doubtfully, as if needing her sincere approval for this big leap
back into the dating market.

“I wouldn’t lead you astray, even if you are
my mother,” Lesley promised. “Trust me, Mom, he won’t be
disappointed.”

Shelly smiled warily. “Guess I’m just really
nervous. I mean, I know Edgar and I have exchanged photos online
and spoken on the phone, but now it’s the real deal for both of us.
And I don’t want to blow this.”

“You won’t, Mom,” Lesley insisted. “And Dad
would’ve been the first one to push you out the door. He wouldn’t
want you to just work, clean, and take care of me without having a
life of your own.”

“Oh, honey, you’re going to make me cry and
mess up my mascara.” She hugged Lesley and kissed the top of her
head. Then, because Karin was standing there, she gave her a hug as
well.

The doorbell rang and everyone froze for a
moment.

“Looks like he’s here,” Karin said.

“Better not keep him waiting,” Lesley voiced
anxiously.

Shelly sucked in a deep breath and smiled at
them. “All right. I’m ready.”

She opened the door and invited the man in.
He brought her roses, which Shelly gushed over. Karin felt envious
and, for an instant, imagined Reese McKenzie giving her roses. She
doubted that would happen anytime soon. Even in the best-case
scenario, it wasn’t the type of thing most guys thought to do for
girls.

“This is Edgar Crompton,” Shelly introduced
him to the girls. “My daughter, Lesley, and her friend, Karin.”

Karin surveyed the man, who she guessed to be
in his late thirties. Wearing a navy suit that seemed too tight for
his stocky frame, he had dark, wavy hair with a side part. There
was a scar on his chin that she imagined did not come from
shaving.

He shook their hands and Karin thought that
his hand felt cold and clammy, as if he worked in a fish market.
But then Shelly said, “Edgar owns a bookstore.”

He tilted his head in a self-conscious way.
“It’s not Barnes and Noble, but I do have my loyal customers who
make me remember why I decided to get into this business in the
first place.”

“Where’s your store?” Lesley asked as if for
effect.

“On Sunnyside Drive,” he answered. “Not too
far from the Melrose Mall.”

“Oh.” She looked to Karin as if for help.

“We both love to read, so I guess you can
count on some new customers,” Karin said.

He smiled. “I like your daughter and her
friend already, Shelly. Ready to go?”

“Yes, I am.” Shelly looked at Lesley.
“Remember, I have my cell phone if an emergency comes up.”

“I’ll be fine, Mom,” she assured her.

After Shelly left, Lesley and Karin made
popcorn and went into the den to watch a video.

“So how do you really feel about your Mom
dating again?” Karin asked, sitting in a beanbag chair.

“It’s kind of weird,” Lesley admitted with a
mouthful of popcorn. “How would you feel if your Dad died and your
Mom started seeing someone else?”

“I don’t know.” Karin shrugged. “I guess I’d
want her to be happy and not alone for the rest of her life.”

“That’s how I feel about my Mom dating. No
one can ever take my Dad’s place, but he’s not here anymore so we
both have to move on. Right?”

“Yeah,” Karin agreed, while hoping she did
not find herself in the same awkward situation anytime soon.

“Anything new on the Marcus situation?” asked
Lesley.

“Haven’t heard anything yet.” Karin sipped a
Diet Coke. “Daddy’s supposed to meet with all parties tomorrow.
Hopefully it’ll get Marcus off the hook.”

“Yeah, then maybe you can
hook
up with
Reese and I can hook up with Marcus. Then we’d be the envy of all
the other sophomores at Elmwood High.”

“And apparently some of the juniors, too,”
quipped Karin, in reference to Cheryl Green.

“You know, it was Cheryl’s friend Jayne
Hathaway whose house was trashed after a party she gave,” Lesley
noted.

“No way?” Karin raised a brow, though not so
much because of the news, but that Lesley seemed to always have the
scoop on the juiciest stuff.

“Yeah. I heard it contributed to Cheryl and
Reese’s breakup, as each stuck up for their friend and had a
falling out.”

“Interesting,” hummed Karin, grabbing more
popcorn and glancing at the movie that neither really seemed to be
watching. “Now it looks like Cheryl’s having second thoughts.”

“That’s because girls are naturally jealous,
especially when they sense that the person they gave up has his eye
on an even prettier girl,” Lesley said.

“I’m not sure that’s true.”

“What? The prettier part or that he has his
eye on another girl?” Lesley gazed at her.

Karin stared at the question. She knew that
she was attractive—or at least above average—but unsure if it could
measure up to Cheryl’s gorgeous looks. She wondered if guys saw
girls differently than they saw themselves.

“Eye on another girl,” she responded.
“Honestly, I think Reese’s eye was more on my Dad and helping out a
teammate than me.”

But Karin hoped things could change, even if
Cheryl Green seemed to think that she wasn’t good enough for Reese.
It didn’t mean he felt the same way.

“Let’s just wait and see,” Lesley stated.
“Maybe we both need to have a little more faith that guys aren’t as
dumb as they sometimes seem.”

Karin laughed. “How about a lot more
faith?”

Lesley giggled and they high-fived each
other. “That, too.”

Karin looked up at the TV and realized that
the movie had ended. Meaning it was time for her to go home. She
was already thinking about tomorrow, which could be judgment day
for Marcus Payne. And maybe for any possibilities she could have
with Reese as well.

CHAPTER FIVE

Karin sat at the formal dining room table for
dinner. Her mother sat at one end and her father the other. It was
a routine that never changed, as if doing so would somehow disrupt
the family’s equilibrium. They were having her mother’s famous
casserole along with biscuits and turnip greens.

Karin sensed her mother watching her like a
hawk, as if she intended to skip out on the meal. She had no
intention of doing that, especially when she knew that her father
had news on Marcus’s predicament.

Greer seemed to read his daughter’s mind as
he wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin. “Looks like your friend’s
friend won’t have to face charges for destruction of property and
his otherwise poor behavior.”

Karin was elated though, oddly enough, she
and Marcus had never even spoken. But at least she had done Reese a
favor and felt pretty good about it.

“That’s great,” she said sincerely.

“Well, he’s not totally out of the woods,”
her father cautioned. “Marcus needs to pay the Hathaways for the
damage he caused and attend a substance abuse seminar. Once these
are completed successfully, the Hathaways have promised not to
pursue formal criminal charges.”

“Sounds to me like this boy’s getting off
pretty easy,” Josephine tsked while buttering a biscuit.

“Maybe he’ll live and learn,” Greer
suggested.

“This is what happens when kids drink,” her
mother said. “They get into all types of trouble. I hope you use
this as a lesson, Karin.”

“I don’t need to,” she said, as if being made
the guilty party. “I know that drinking—especially getting drunk—is
stupid.”

“It’s more than just stupid, it can put you
in a hole you can’t climb out of. That includes STDs, pregnancy,
and worse.” Josephine leveled a gaze at her daughter. “I hope you
understand what I’m saying, Karin.”