Her Teen Dream (9 page)

“Thank you, Mother,” he said, looking
embarrassed.

Karin smiled. “Don’t blame her for making
sure you don’t look like a slob.”

“I don’t. Wipe away all you want, Lesley.” He
chuckled and stuck out his chin.

“Don’t get too carried away with the slob
act, man,” Reese said playfully. “Otherwise it might become
contagious.” He bit into a piece of pizza, being extra careful to
catch the cheese with his tongue before it landed his face.

Karin did the same and was just as cautious.
She brushed against Reese and said, “The school Valentine’s Day
dance is in two weeks. Do you want to go?” She didn’t want to be
too forward or seem desperate, but now was the time to know if they
would attend as a couple.

Reese didn’t hesitate to respond. “Yeah, I
do.”

Karin beamed. “Good.”

“I think it’ll be fun to bump and grind with
you on the dance floor,” Reese said.

And even better to slow dance, Karin thought
dreamily. Not to mention be seen on his arm instead of Cheryl
Green.

“I can’t wait,” Karin admitted, not even
wanting to think about trying to convince her parents that she
should go with Reese. She looked at Lesley, commanding her silently
to step up to the plate for herself.

“Please tell me we’re going, too?” Lesley
looked at Marcus with pleading eyes.

He shrugged. “I have two left feet and two
right arms, Lesley. I’d probably only end up tripping over myself
and you.”

“I don’t think so,” she persisted. “Besides,
we don’t even have to dance, if you don’t want. We can just hang
out with our friends and have a good time. But we have to be there,
Marcus! It’s the social event of the season. Or at least in
February.”

Marcus pushed aside his dreadlocks. “All
right, you talked me into it. We can go.”

Lesley grinned, leaned over and kissed his
cheek, then gave Karin a high-five.

“See how easy it is to please us,” she told
the guys and winked at Lesley.

“Yeah, it doesn’t take much,” Reese said.
“Not like the high maintenance types.”

“Gee, I wonder who he’s talking about,”
Lesley said sardonically.

Karin was suddenly glad that she didn’t
require much in the way of makeup, clothing, and accessories to be
happy with herself or a boyfriend.

“Speak of the
devil
—” Marcus said,
looking up towards the entrance.

Everyone turned that way as if in a hypnotic
trance. Cheryl walked in with Jeffrey Jamison. Tall, dark, and
handsome, he was a senior and president of the Elmwood High Student
Council. They were brushing shoulders and Karin wondered if Cheryl
had truly gotten over losing Reese or if her apparent interest in
Jeffrey was only for show and to make Reese jealous.

“Hey, what’s up?” Jeffrey asked as they
walked up to them.

“Just chillin’, man,” Reese said
nonchalantly. “Hi, Cheryl.”

“Hi, Reese,” she cooed in a sanguine voice.
“Hey, everyone.”

Cheryl locked eyes with Karin, and seemed to
say through her expression:
Look who I’m with. I’ll bet Reese is
looking and having second thoughts about letting me get
away.

As though the words rang in her ears, Karin
looked at Reese. His eyes were glued on Cheryl’s face. Then, as if
sensing her staring, he met Karin’s gaze and smiled awkwardly.

“Well, we’ll let you get back to your food
and grab a table before there’s none left,” Jeffrey said.

“Take it slow, bro,” Marcus said, and grabbed
another slice of pizza.

“Bye,” Cheryl said sweetly, seeming to revel
in the moment.

“Looks like someone is trying her
devilish
best to make someone jealous,” Lesley said.

“I’m not jealous,” Reese said quickly. “We’re
not together anymore. Cheryl’s free to date anyone she
chooses.”

“Even Mr. Everything?”

“Yeah, even him.” Reese put his arm around
Karin, as if to reaffirm his choice of girlfriend. “I’m happy. She
should be, too.”

“I know I am,” Karin said, resting her hand
on his leg. She was feeling reassured about their relationship;
though she believed that Cheryl would be quick to pounce on Reese
should she see even the slightest opening.

Marcus wiped his mouth. “Good. Now that it’s
settled and we’re all where we want to be and who we want to be
with, what do you say we get out of here. It’s getting a bit
stuffy, don’t you think?”

Everyone was in total agreement. Karin was
only too happy to get Reese away from the place and his past, which
she feared could still threaten their future.

* * *

Karin was sitting in the family room with her
parents that night when she brought up the Valentine’s Day
dance.

“That sounds good, baby,” her father said.
“Who’s the lucky guy?”

She hesitated and considered saying it was
her dorky, but sweet neighbor and friend, Calvin Joplin. They had
known each other since grade school and Calvin had a crush on her
ever since. Even though she had indicated she had no romantic
interest. Karin was sure he would cover for her if she asked him
nicely. But that wouldn’t solve her long-term problem of getting
her parents to accept Reese as the boy she was truly interested
in.

“Reese McKenzie asked me to go,” she said
nonchalantly.

“The basketball player?” Her mother asked,
though her expression indicated that she knew exactly who he
was.

“Yeah, Momma. He needed a date and I needed
one. It just worked out that way. No big deal.”

Josephine frowned suspiciously. “Going to a
Valentine’s Day dance with a boy is a
very
big deal, Karin.
I wasn’t born yesterday and neither was your father. If he wants to
take you, it’s because you’re his sweetheart.”

Greer’s nostrils flared. “Karin, I thought we
already went over this—”

“Daddy, we’re not sweethearts, okay?” Karin
tried to put on her best performance. “We’re only friends who see
each other mostly at school. I think he probably only asked me
because Lesley is going to the dance with his friend, Marcus
Payne.”

“The alcohol-abusing basketball player who
tore up Barbara Hathaway’s house?” Her mother leveled a knowing
gaze at Karin. “Yes, I know Barbara. She comes to the studio for
Pilates and has a real gift for gab.”

Karin was stunned. She hadn’t expected her
mother to not only remember the incident with Marcus, but know
Jayne’s mother as well.

“That was a onetime thing,” she tried to
defend Marcus. “Does he have to be punished for the rest of his
life? Or Lesley just because she’s going out with him?”

“No one’s saying Marcus doesn’t deserve a
second chance,” her father said. “And Lesley is free to date any
boy she chooses, if her mother doesn’t have a problem with it.”

Josephine, who was sitting next to Greer on
the sofa, leaned forward and said, “This isn’t about them, it’s
about
you
, Karin. I don’t want you hanging out with the
wrong crowd.”

“They’re not the wrong crowd, Momma,” she
stuck up for her friends. “Lesley is my best friend and Marcus and
Reese are my friends, too. They also happen to be starters on the
Spartans basketball team with good futures ahead of them. Please
don’t deny me the chance to go to my first high school Valentine’s
Day dance and have some fun.”

After a moment or two of uneasy silence,
Karin’s father once again took the lead role.

“She’s right, honey,” he said to her mother.
“This is a special occasion and Karin should be allowed to
experience it with her friends. We have to give her a little space
to grow up into the young woman we both know she will be.”

Josephine smoldered, but begrudgingly came
around. “All right, you can go to the dance. Just don’t make us
regret this.”

“You won’t, Momma,” she promised, and felt a
little guilty that she hadn’t been totally truthful about her
relationship with Reese. A little at a time, Karin told herself,
until her parents realized that they were a perfect high school
couple or could be, if given half a chance.

* * *

Karin and Lesley went to the mall to buy
dresses for the dance. It seemed as if everyone else had the same
thing in mind with all the shoppers crowding into the stores.

“Remind me next year to come a month
earlier,” Lesley complained.

“Need I remind you that last Valentine’s Day
we were dateless and very frustrated,” Karin said. “Isn’t this much
better, even if we have to worm our way through the entire city of
Crestview to get what we want?”

“Yeah, you’ve got a good point there. If
you’d told me last year that I’d be going to the Valentine’s Day
dance with Marcus Payne, I would’ve thought you were crazy.”

“Same thing if you’d mentioned that Reese
McKenzie would be in my future. Guess good things can happen to
teenage girls if they wait long enough and don’t settle for
less.”

“That would be us!” Lesley suddenly grabbed
Karin’s hand. “Let’s go in there.”

They made a sharp left, slicing through waves
of shoppers, and entered a boutique specializing in designer
clothes for young women. Almost as quickly, a petite saleswoman
asked, “Can I help you girls?”

“Maybe,” Karin said. “We’re looking to
improve our wardrobes just in time for a Valentine’s Day
dance.”

“Our lives may depend on it,” quipped
Lesley.

The woman smiled broadly. “Well, girls, I
think you’ve come to the right place!”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

On Valentine’s Day, Karin and Lesley got
started early with their hair and makeup, working on each other and
trying not to overdo it.

“It’s not too caked on, is it?” Karin asked,
looking in the mirror at her reflection.

“Yeah, all we need now is some lemon frosting
and you’ll look tasty enough to eat.” Lesley laughed. “Your makeup
is perfect, silly. And so is your hair. If Reese doesn’t consider
you the belle of the ball, then he’s definitely blind!”

Karin smiled. “You look perfect, too. Marcus
will be very happy to have you as his date.”

“He’d better be,” Lesley declared,
“especially after I had to draw on my meager salary and a loan from
my Mom to buy a dress for this dance.”

“Speaking of which,” Karin said, glancing at
the clock, “I’d say it’s time for us to get changed and pray that
nothing gets wrinkled too soon or in the wrong places.”

They went from Karin’s house to Lesley’s and
back again, getting some advice from their mothers, whether they
wanted it or not. As it was, Karin was happy to get her mother
involved. It was her way of trying to smooth the waters for the
future when she would have to come totally clean and admit that she
and Reese were more than just friends going to a Valentine’s Day
dance.

“Stay still now, girl,” her mother said, as
she pulled up the hidden back zipper of Karin’s black beaded print
dress.

“I feel like I’m being transformed into
Cinderella,” Karin said, a little frightened at the prospect. As if
to further the notion, she stepped into some sandals and couldn’t
help but think of Cinderella’s glass slippers. Was this the true
start of womanhood for her?

“Cinderella is a fairy tale,” Karin’s mother
said. “You’re the real deal, only better.”

“I agree,” offered Lesley. “That dress looks
wonderful on you.”

Karin inspected Lesley’s attire, admiring the
maroon, v-neck dress. “And you look pretty hot in that dress,” she
told her. “I think we’ll definitely set the dance on fire!”

Josephine frowned. “Well, just be sure you’re
close to a fire extinguisher. Overheating the place might be a bit
much.”

Lesley chuckled. So did Karin, getting the
message loud and clear: attract the guys, but not too much, too
soon. She wasn’t sure where to separate the two where Reese was
concerned. She wanted him to like her for who she was and hoped he
respected her enough to do that without expecting more than she was
ready to handle.

They went back to Lesley’s house, where
Shelly and Edgar were waiting to see them off.

“You girls have a great time,” Shelly said.
“Remember the special moments.”

“We intend to,” Lesley said.

“Like probably forever,” Karin added
dreamily.

“Kind of makes me wish we were young again,
sweetie,” Edgar said to Shelly as he put his arm around her. He
gazed at Lesley. “Never went to a high school Valentine’s Day
dance. And the girls I knew in high school were definitely not as
pretty as you, Lesley—or you, Karin.”

The girls giggled and thanked him together.
Karin felt a trifle uncomfortable being complimented by Shelly’s
boyfriend, who was like way too old to even notice them. But then
she acknowledged that they were both beginning to grow up
physically so men would notice, like it or not.

Edgar shifted his eyes to Shelly. “Of course,
if I could do it all over again, I’d love to go to the Valentine’s
dance with an even prettier gal.”

Shelly laughed. “Hey, who says it’s too
late?” she cooed and kissed him on the mouth.

“Not me,” he said smoothly and kissed her
back.

“We’d better get going,” Lesley said, eyeing
Karin.

“Yeah.” Karin quickly agreed before they got
any ideas about tagging along as chaperones. “We don’t want to be
late.”

“Wouldn’t it have been better if the boys
picked you up, instead of your driving?” Shelly asked.

Lesley sighed. “Like I told you, Mom, Marcus
doesn’t have a car and Karin’s date agreed to be there early to
help set things up.”

At least that was the story they concocted,
mused Karin. In reality, it seemed best that she meet Reese at the
school rather than have him come to her house and risk her parents
discovering that they were going steady. She feared that her mother
might have forbidden her from going to the dance or anywhere else
with Reese.

“Well, just be careful out there,” Lesley’s
mother said.