Her Teen Dream (5 page)

“You think so?”

Lesley nodded. “I’m positive. You’ll look so
hot, they’ll need to turn on the air conditioning.”

Karin chuckled at her friend’s flair for the
dramatic. She glanced at Lesley in a form-fitting turquoise V-neck
sweater and navy chino pants.

“I think Marcus will find you irresistible,
too,” Karin said. Assuming he didn’t get drunk and was able to
focus on a pretty girl who had the hots for him.

“He’d better,” Lesley warned. “Otherwise the
opportunity might be lost forever.”

The thought of losing her chance with Reese
was depressing to Karin, especially if it meant that Cheryl Green
got him back, which seemed to be her mission.

Karin had hoped she could sneak out of the
house and avoid her mother, but Josephine had been waiting for them
to come downstairs.

“Not so fast, girls,” she said. “Karin, I
want to talk to you for a minute.”

Karin made a face, though she knew that
Lesley’s mother had given her the third degree as well. It seemed
to come with the territory for teenage girls who just wanted to
have some fun.

“I’m not sure I like the idea of your going
to some boy’s house that your father and I have never even met,”
her mother said stiffly.

Karin sighed. “It’s just a party, Momma.
Plenty of other kids will be there.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. Too many kids can
equal trouble. Just like what happened recently with your friend’s
friend.”

“It won’t be like that, Momma,” she tried to
say convincingly. “Reese’s parents will be there making sure things
don’t get out of hand.” Actually, Karin had no knowledge of that,
but it sounded good anyway.

Her mother seemed reasonably content with
that explanation. “I’ll expect you home by eleven.”

“Okay.” Karin wanted to argue for midnight,
but knew she might be pressing her luck. “Can we go now?”

“Go.” Josephine smiled softly. “Just be
careful...both of you.”

“We will, Mrs. Blanch,” Lesley said
sweetly.

Outside, Karin muttered, “Geez, I thought
she’d never let us out of the house.”

“But she did. Now, let the partying begin,”
Lesley said as she got behind the wheel.

“I can hardly wait!” Karin grinned as
butterflies started to swim in her stomach like baby sharks.

* * *

Reese’s family lived in a Mediterranean-style
home. The music was blaring as Karin and Lesley made their way past
cars to the front door. Reese opened it, as if expecting them at
that very moment.

“Hey, Karin,” he said with a big grin. “Glad
you could make it.”

“So am I.” She quickly sized him up. He was
wearing a gray shirt and jeans. A silver cuff was attached to his
right ear. He smelled nice. “This is my friend, Lesley.”

“Hey, Lesley. I know I’ve seen you around at
school.”

“I’ve definitely seen you,” she said,
grinning.

He laughed. “C’mon in and let me show you
around.”

The party was in full swing and seemed to
occupy much of the house, spilling out onto a patio courtyard.
Karin recognized most of the people from school. Just about
everyone had a drink in hand and some were smoking cigarettes. She
was pretty sure she detected the faint odor of marijuana.

“Do you want something to drink?” Reese
looked at both girls.

Karin hesitated, but when Lesley said,
“Sure,” she went along as well.

“Are your parents here?” Karin asked
curiously, noting she had seen no sign of adult supervision.

“They’re out of town,” Reese said
nonchalantly. “Another one of those conventions my old man has to
go to every so often and drag my mother along. Make yourselves at
home. Be right back.”

Karin and Lesley stood in the middle of a
crowded Great Room and looked totally lost.

“What do we do now?” Karin asked, fearing
that they may have gotten in over their heads as outsiders trying
to become insiders.

“We circulate and hope we don’t make complete
fools out of ourselves,” Lesley said.

“Easier said than done.” Karin spotted
Marilyn Chamberlain, who waved at her as if flagging a cab. She
waved back and suppressed a smile.

“Well, look who’s here...” Cheryl Green
walked up to them with Amy Flaunders, a fellow cheerleader. “Two
little fish out of water.”

Karin sneered. “And you think
you
belong here?”
Not anymore, you don’t.

“More than you ever will,” Cheryl said
confidently.

“That’s right,” Amy agreed like a robot with
blue eyes and bottle red hair.

“You’re both
full
of it,” Lesley said
snidely. “Leave us alone.”

Cheryl got up in her face. “Or what?”

She backed off just as Reese returned with
Marcus. Cheryl’s scowl was replaced by a saccharine smile.

“Hi, Reese...Marcus,” she cooed. Glancing at
Karin, Cheryl said threateningly, “See you around.”

She walked away, followed by Amy.

“What was that all about?” Reese asked.

“Oh, they were just making us feel right at
home,” quipped Karin, rolling her eyes.

Karin wasn’t sure Reese understood. Or maybe
he knew exactly what tension he had created between her and Cheryl
and was enjoying it. Karin chose to believe the latter.

“This is Marcus,” Reese said, as if they were
clueless.

“Glad you came,” Marcus told Karin, towering
over her. “If it weren’t for you, there might not be anything to
celebrate.”

“I doubt that,” she said quickly. “Chances
are any good lawyer would have achieved the same result.” Or maybe
not, she conceded, never underestimating her father’s skills at
brokering settlements for his clients.

“But only one lawyer did—your Dad,” he stated
as if reading her mind.

“This is Lesley,” Karin introduced her best
friend, not wanting the opportunity to slip by for them to possibly
bond.

“Hey, Lesley,” Marcus said. “You look
familiar. Aren’t you in my geometry class?”

Lesley beamed. “Yep, that’s me. I didn’t
think you noticed, since I sit three chairs behind you most
times.”

He smiled. “I noticed. Especially since you
seem to know what you’re doing better than anyone else in
there.”

Reese handed them cups of beer, then looked
at Karin. “You want to step outside for a bit?”

She glanced at Lesley, as if separating would
not be a smart idea for either of them. But she knew Lesley was not
one to back away from the chance for some one-on-one time with
Marcus.

“It’s okay,” Lesley assured her. “I’ll be
fine.”

Karin, realizing she relished the opportunity
to be alone at last with Reese, smiled at him and said, “Lead the
way.”

* * *

They sat in a gazebo in his backyard, amongst
maple trees and evergreens. No one else was back there and the
music coming from the house was somewhat muted, as was the
light.

“I like to come back here sometimes just to
get away from it all,” Reese told her. “There always seems to be
people around, whether here, in school, or elsewhere.”

“It must be really difficult being so
popular,” she said, only partly teasing him, having spent much of
her life in the shadow of her parents.

“Yeah, it’s not always what it’s cracked up
to be,” he muttered. “People always expect things from you. When
they don’t get them, they’re disappointed and you feel like you let
someone down. You know what I’m saying?”

“I think so.” Karin tried not to allow
herself to get too caught up in the celebrity basketball star so
much as the person. “Is that why things didn’t work out between you
and Cheryl...because she expected too much?”

Reese tasted his drink thoughtfully. “Maybe.
I guess we were together longer than we should have been. But it
seemed like that was the way it was supposed to be between us. Then
when things got out of hand at her friend’s house, we both took
opposite sides and there went the relationship.” He paused. “It was
probably for the best.”

“Does Cheryl feel the same way?” Karin had
her doubts, but was interested in his opinion.

He lifted a brow. “Yeah, I think so. Why do
you ask?”

Karin desperately wanted to tell him that his
ex-girlfriend had been on her case at every opportunity. But she
resisted, fearing it might come across the wrong way.

“No real reason,” she told him.

“All right.” He drank more beer. “You have
any brothers or sisters?”

“I wish. I’m an only child. Guess my parents
ran out of steam or something after me.”

Reese laughed. “Well, better after you than
before.”

Karin flushed. “True. How about you?” She
could imagine him being an only child, hogging up the entire
spotlight. Or perhaps he was right in the middle of a large
family.

“Just me and my little brother,” he said.
“The kid can be a real pain in the you know what sometimes, but
mostly he’s cool.”

“Bet he plays basketball,” she assumed.

“Yeah, he tries his best. He’s only six, so
he’s pint-sized and has to rely on his own little hoop to put the
ball in.” Reese eyed her. “You play any sports?”

“Nothing formally,” she responded, and
suddenly felt like an underachiever. “But for fun I like to run,
play volleyball, tennis, bowl, and swim.”

He tugged at his chin. “Sounds like you’re
definitely into sports.”

“Except basketball,” Karin said almost
guiltily. “I was never very good at it. Maybe I would have been if
I’d had an older brother or if my Dad hadn’t given up the sport
after hurting himself in college.”

“Your father shot hoops in college, huh?”

“Yeah. He wasn’t on the team or anything, but
played intramural ball.”

“That’s cool. So did mine. But his main thing
was baseball. He got as far as the minor leagues before realizing
he wasn’t good enough to make it to the pros.”

Karin tasted the beer. It wasn’t the first
time she had beer. It was definitely an acquired taste, and one
that she had yet to embrace.

“Is it your dream to play in the NBA?” she
asked. She wondered if his father was living vicariously through
him.

Reese put the cup to his mouth. “No, not
really. I mean, I probably wouldn’t turn my back on it if they
wanted to offer me a zillion dollars to play. But that’s probably a
long shot. Right now, I just want to graduate, go to college, and
maybe even law school. But I’m more interested in corporate law
than criminal law.”

Karin was impressed and liked him even more
as she got to know him.

“What about you?” he asked. “You plan to go
to college?”

Before she could answer, they were
interrupted by a group of people led by Cheryl Green. They
surrounded the gazebo like a posse, with Cheryl stepping
inside.

“We wondered where you had disappeared to,
Reese,” she murmured in a disappointed voice.

“Just getting some fresh air,” he said, and
sucked in a deep breath as if to illustrate his point.

“Well, the party is pretty much dead without
you,” she whined.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.” She looked at the others surrounding
the gazebo. “Am I lying, or what?”

“She’s right on time,” said one boy with a
big Afro.

Another bellowed, “C’mon, man, let’s take the
par-tee
back inside.”

Reese furrowed his brow at Cheryl and then
turned to Karin. “Guess we’d better rejoin the party.”

She could hardly argue the point, all things
considered. Karin saw the smug look of satisfaction on Cheryl’s
face and tried to ignore it. As if that were possible, since it was
exactly what Cheryl had wanted to happen.

Karin stood up, and followed Reese out of the
gazebo. She wondered how Lesley was doing with Marcus. Or had
Cheryl tried to sabotage their burgeoning relationship, too?

CHAPTER EIGHT

Karin ran alongside Lesley on a well-worn
path through the park that was filled with numerous trees of all
shapes and sizes. It was a chilly afternoon and some other runners
were out as well; along with a few dogs that the owners had the
decency to have on leashes.

“Can you believe Cheryl?” Karin asked, still
fuming over her antics last night when she was alone with Reese and
Cheryl had ended it prematurely. “She’ll obviously stop at nothing
to keep Reese from me or apparently any other girl.”

“He’s not that dense, Karin,” Lesley said,
panting. “Maybe he likes having her around. Like an insurance
policy, in case things don’t work out with someone better.”

“Or maybe Reese just doesn’t know how to tell
Cheryl that it’s all over for good between them,” Karin suggested,
though she hoped he had made it clear when they broke up.

Lesley scoffed at the notion. “It doesn’t
really matter what he tells her or who she chooses to believe.
Reese obviously likes
you
now and you like him. Sooner or
later Cheryl will get tired of the boring chase and go after
someone else, but it better not be Marcus. Not that he’s in to
me—not yet, anyway. But talking last night was a first step. I also
agreed to tutor him with his geometry.”

“It’s always a bonus when you happen to be
smart,” Karin said, starting to get a bit winded from the run.
“Most guys don’t want an airhead for a girlfriend, no matter how
attractive they are.”

Lesley wiped her brow. “We’re
both
smart, in certain subjects anyway. But it hasn’t exactly gotten us
very far in our lives thus far.”

While Karin could not argue the point, she
said optimistically, “So maybe our fortunes are due for a
change.”

“Yeah, I think you may be right.”

“If nothing else, maybe Reese and Marcus can
teach us how to play basketball.”

“Yeah, right,” Lesley giggled. “Like that’s
something I’ve always dreamed about.”

Karin laughed. “We might even get good enough
to try out for the team.”

Lesley playfully pushed her. “I’ll race you
back.”