Her Teen Dream (13 page)

“Is the food all right?” she asked Reese,
trying to change the subject.

“The food’s great,” Reese replied, and
scooped up some candied yams as proof. “My Mom makes these all the
time. I can never seem to get enough.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” Greer said.

“I’m happy that you two are enjoying my
cooking,” Josephine said. “I learned everything I know from my
mother. And maybe I’ve passed a little bit of it on to my
daughter.”

“Yeah, a very little,” Karin said sheepishly,
knowing that cooking had yet to become a strong point with her. But
she was pretty good with chicken and dumplings and peach
cobbler.

“Maybe we can put that little bit of know-how
to the test sometime.” Reese smiled at her and bit into a dinner
roll.

“Don’t hold your breath,” she tossed back,
grinning. “I wouldn’t want you to end up with a major case of
indigestion.”

“I doubt that.” He drank some water and
looked at Karin’s mother. “My Mom wants to give you a call to talk
about attending your Pilates class.”

Josephine smiled. “She’s more than welcome
to. I’m sure we could find a spot for her.”

“Cool.”

“I hear it’s also good for basketball
players,” Karin hinted. She imagined them going together and
sculpting their bodies.

Reese’s eyes widened. “Yeah? Maybe we can
work out a deal to get the whole team to sign up for classes.”

Not exactly what I had in mind.
“Momma
would love that,” she told him anyway.

Josephine agreed. “Bring them on!”

Greer forked a yam, and gave Reese the
benefit of a steady gaze. “How’s your friend Marcus doing? Staying
out of trouble?”

“Yeah, he’s behaving himself.” Reese grinned
uneasily at Karin.

“I’m happy to hear that,” Greer said.
“Sometimes kids need a wakeup call and it’s entirely up to them to
answer it.”

Karin almost got the feeling that her father
was punishing Reese for Marcus’s behavior, but knew he was only
making conversation. Or at least the attorney in him was.

“You seem like a nice young man, Reese,”
Josephine said sweetly.

“Thanks, Mrs. Blanch,” he said evenly.

Karin held her breath, sensing there was more
coming from her mother.

“Karin is a nice, sweet girl, too,” her
mother said. “And we expect that you won’t do anything to hurt
her.”

“Momma—!” Karin protested, even though she
had been warned in advance about ground rules.

“It’s all right,” Reese said, as if
anticipating it. “I really like Karin and I won’t hurt her—not
intentionally.”

“That’s good to know,” Greer said. “We were
sure we could count on you to behave responsibly.”

“You can, sir.”

Karin felt relieved when her parents didn’t
dwell on the subject. She trusted Reese and didn’t want him to feel
that dating her had too many strings attached for his liking. Or
hers, for that matter.

After a moment or two of awkward silence, her
mother asked, “So, how about some dessert now, Reese?”

His lips formed a smile. “I’m game.”

“Do you like apple pie?”

“Love it!”

She beamed.

Karin stood with her mother to help clear the
table. She was sure that Reese had scored some major brownie points
with her that could only work in their favor. He had handled her
parents like a pro, which had obviously come from experience. Karin
could only hope that it truly meant something and a breakup like
with Cheryl was not inevitable at the end of the day.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Things began to move progressively for Karin
and Reese as an official couple in the coming days. They spent as
much time in each other’s company at school as possible. They hung
out at one another’s house or the park, went to movies with Lesley
and Marcus, and tried to make the most of their budding
relationship. Karin even took Reese up on the offer to drive his
car. One day she used it to drive Lesley to work and pick her up
from the shop where her car was being serviced, since Shelly was
either busy working, with Edgar, or otherwise unavailable.

On the romance side of things, Karin enjoyed
kissing Reese and did so at every opportunity. It was her way of
expressing how she felt about him and knew that his kisses showed
the same in reverse. She let Reese touch her when he wanted to, but
drew the line when it seemed as if they were about to overstep the
boundaries she had set. While Reese complained about it a little,
he didn’t put any pressure on her, seemingly wanting Karin to be
happy and not do anything she wasn’t ready to.

Although she was grateful for that, Karin
couldn’t help but wonder if Reese would continue to feel as he did
about her were she to reject going down the path that Cheryl—any
maybe other girls as well—obviously had with him. Or would he, like
other guys, run elsewhere if he couldn’t have his way with her?

Could she possibly resist Reese’s advances,
if she thought she would lose forever the first real boyfriend
she’d ever had?

On this day, such thoughts seemed a thousand
miles away while they kissed in Reese’s car. It was parked outside
the school and the windows had become fogged up from their heat,
which Karin could feel up and down her spine.

Finally Reese pulled away and said
reluctantly, “I’ve gotta go. Basketball practice. See you
later.”

He kissed her again and Karin kissed him
back, tasting the spearmint of the gum he had been chewing
earlier.

“Bye, Reese.”

Before she could exit the car, he had flung
his door open and was racing towards the school as if his pants
were ablaze. She followed, blending in with other students, but not
paying much attention to them. Her thoughts were still very much on
Reese and what he seemed to be doing to her. Was this what every
girl went through who was crazy about a boy? Or was it just her
feeling this way about this special boy?

Later, at her locker, Karin put away her
backpack and was about to grab some books, when Jayne Hathaway
suddenly appeared.

“Hey, Karin,” she said pleasantly, holding a
notebook as if it were a prop.

“Hi.” Karin looked around uneasily, expecting
her shadow to show up at any moment to cause her more grief.

Jayne smiled. “If you’re looking for Cheryl,
don’t bother. I can actually do some things on my own, believe it
or not.”

“I suppose seeing is believing,” Karin said
sarcastically. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to invite you to a party.”

“Me?” Karin asked with skepticism.

“Yeah, you,” Jayne reiterated amusingly.

“Where?”

“My house. Next Saturday. My parents will be
in Palm Springs for a boring convention my Dad likes to use as an
excuse to play golf. Seemed like a good time to gather a few of my
friends for some fun.”

Karin looked at her suspiciously. “I didn’t
know we were friends, Jayne. Unless I’m missing something?”

Jayne chuckled. “You’re not. Look, we may not
have hung out in the same circles in the past, but I’ve never had
anything against you personally, Karin. That was between you,
Cheryl, and Reese. Anyway, now that you’re dating Reese and I’m
with Harold Franklin, it makes us cool as girls dating basketball
players.”

Harold was a backup forward, but one who got
as many minutes as the starters. He was also a hunk, though not
really Karin’s type.

“So can you come?” Jayne asked.

Karin hesitated. She didn’t want to go
without Lesley. And Lesley would kill her if she went to a Jayne
Hathaway party without her.

Jayne seemed to read her thoughts. “Lesley
can come, too. After all, she’s also part of our select group of
girls with basketball player boyfriends.”

Now things were starting to get interesting.
And weird, too. “Will guys be there—?”

Jayne laughed. “Of course, silly. What would
a party be without guys? Especially
our
guys.”

Karin was admittedly getting more and more
intrigued by the moment.

“Aren’t you concerned about having Marcus
over, after what he did to your house the last time?”

Jayne twisted her lips. “Not really. What’s
done is done. He apologized and paid my parents for the damage. I
just want to move on. And have some fun.”

Karin was happy for Lesley that Jayne was not
holding a grudge against Marcus. Not to mention inviting her best
friend to come along for the ride and entertainment.

“We’ll be there,” she said confidently.

“Great.” Jayne met her eyes. “So, we’re cool
then?”

“Yeah, Jayne, we’re cool.”

Jayne smiled effervescently and sashayed
away.

Karin moved in the opposite direction. She
saw Lesley and Marcus all over each other against the wall. She
made a squeaky sound, causing Lesley to look up.

Clearly unabashed at being caught in the act,
Lesley pulled back from Marcus and said without preface, “Excuse
me. I’ve gotta go talk to Karin.”

He looked befuddled as she wormed her way out
of his long, muscular arms.

“You coming back?”

“That depends,” Lesley answered
noncommittally.

“Hey, Karin,” he said over Lesley’s
shoulder.

“What’s up, Marcus?” she said routinely.

“Nothing much.” He grabbed his backpack off
the floor. “I’ll see you this afternoon, Lesley.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

She tiptoed and gave him a quick kiss and he
lumbered away.

“This had better be good!” Lesley warned.

“I think it has the potential to be
great
.” Karin grinned, and they began walking.

“You’re killing me with suspense,” Lesley
groaned.

Karin stopped and looked at her. “Guess who
just showed up at my locker?”

Lesley put her finger to her lips. “Hmm. How
about Cheryl Green looking to finish what she started?”

Karin laughed. “Close enough. It was Jayne
Hathaway.”

Lesley furrowed her brow. “One of the Queen
B’s hornets. What did she want? To sting you?”

“Yeah, but not in the way you think. Would
you believe she’s invited
us
to a party at
her
house?”

“Shut up,” Lesley voiced in disbelief.

“I thought the same thing,” Karin admitted.
“But apparently Jayne’s turned over a new leaf—now that she’s
dating Harold Franklin.”

“Yeah, I heard about that from Marcus. Harold
seems to really like her. Don’t ask me why.”

“Who cares?” Karin said. “What’s more
important here?”

“Us,” Lesley answered emphatically.

“Right. You get a
star
for being
smart.”

“So what did you tell Jayne?”

“Naturally I said we’d come—since Marcus and
Reese were invited, too and we need to be there to keep our eyes on
them, if for no other reason.”

“Good thinking.”

“Who knows, we might even find that we enjoy
ourselves in the company of Jayne and probably Cheryl, among
others,” Karin said, not sure if she really believed it or not.

Lesley rolled her eyes. “Speak for yourself.
We may join them for our own best interests, but I doubt I’ll ever
really enjoy the likes of Cheryl and Jayne. Not unless they get
some major personality adjustments and maybe become a little less
attractive.”

Karin laughed and put her arm around her
friend’s shoulder. “Yeah, I think you’re right. We’ll never be
quite like them. And, anyway, who’d want to be?”

Even as she said that Karin wondered if they
were becoming more similar than not to their previous foes. Only
they didn’t want to own up to it as if some sort of contagious
disease. Maybe girls just changed when it involved having
boyfriends and trying to stay ahead in the competitive world of
high school dating and friendships.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

On Wednesday, school was dismissed at noon as
a precautionary measure after someone phoned in a bomb threat.
Reese gave Karin a ride home when Lesley decided to spend the
unexpected free time with Marcus.

“Would someone really try to blow up Elmwood
High?” Karin asked. “It gives me chills just thinking about
it!”

“Probably not,” Reese answered. “But who can
say what some idiot might do to get attention? After Columbine they
have to take everything and everyone seriously.”

“Yeah, I guess,” she muttered. “It just sucks
that we all have to jump whenever anyone says boo these days.”

“Well, consider the alternative. Besides, I
can use some time away from the gym.”

Karin was happy that they had an afternoon
off from school together, too. But she also knew that her parents
were both at work. Would Reese want to come in? Should she let him
in, knowing they would be alone?

She tried to focus on the song blaring
through the speakers. The truth was Karin loved spending every
moment she could with Reese. Even if on this day it was because of
an anonymous caller threatening to turn the school into a
graveyard. There was no reason for her to freak out as though they
were doing something wrong before they actually were.

Reese pulled into the empty driveway. “Looks
like we’ve got the place all to ourselves,” he said, looking at
her. “Assuming I’m invited in—”

Karin hesitated for a moment. “Of course you
are. But my mother could come home at any time,” she warned.

“That’s cool. I won’t stay long.”

They went inside and Karin felt Reese follow
on her heels as she walked across the hardwood floor straight to
the kitchen. She cut on the light, even though there was plenty of
natural light coming through the window from the afternoon
sunshine.

She faced Reese, avoiding direct eye contact.
“Do you want me to make you a sandwich or something?” Neither of
them had eaten lunch, since they had been let out early.

“Nah, I’m not really hungry right now,” he
said. “But some water would be nice.”

“Two waters coming up.” Karin opened the
refrigerator, happy to have something to do with her hands. She got
out the bottled waters that only she drank. Her parents, though
health conscious, stuck with tap water for their drinking as old
habits seemed to die hard. She handed Reese a bottle and opened her
own.