“I know and I told her that. She says I’m too spoiled and need to grow up and experience more of the real world.”
Karin scoffed. “So how much more real can it be to lose your father so early in life and be expected to pretend like everything is still normal?”
“Yeah,” groaned Lesley. “Speaking of fathers, have you talked to yours about Marcus Payne yet?”
“Nope. Waiting for him to get home.”
“Well, let me know what he says as soon you find out. It could be important for my future relationship with Marcus. And yours with Reese.”
Karin laughed and rolled over onto her stomach. “Now who’s jumping the gun a bit?”
“So maybe I’m a little desperate to date guys that we can look up to for a change. Aren’t you?”
Karin sighed. Her dating experience up to this point had been fairly limited and that was an understatement. There was Benjy Cooper, who she had a crush on in elementary school. Only their attempt at kissing went awry when his braces got in the way. Then in middle school, Walter Pickford tried to be her boyfriend, but he was more like a brother she couldn’t get along with.
Lesley had pretty much experienced the same bad luck when it came to guys, which made Karin empathize with her sense of desperation at this stage of their lives.
But turning dreams into reality was a whole different matter.
“Gotta go,” Karin said reluctantly. “My Momma’s yelling for me to come down.”
“Are you sure it’s not my Mom you’re hearing?” Lesley kidded. “Cause my ears seem to be ringing with the same thing.”
Karin laughed, but didn’t find it funny. “Maybe our Moms are cut from the same cloth,” she suggested. “It could explain why we and they get along so well.” Most of the time anyway.
Karin disconnected at about the same time she heard her father’s car in the driveway. Suddenly her heart began to pound, as though she would be pleading her own case to him.
* * *
After dinner, Karin found her father where she often did: in his home office. It was not only where he worked after hours on behalf of his firm’s clients, but also served as a place for him to kick back and watch sports and news, or listen to blues and jazz.
“Hey, Daddy,” Karin uttered tentatively, resting her hands on the other side of his massive desk.
Greer Blanch looked up at her. “Hey, baby.”
“Can I talk to you?”
He studied his daughter’s face and put his pen down. “Of course. What is it, Karin?”
She sat down in one of the chairs usually reserved for clients and friends.
Hope this works. An uneasy look crossed her face.
“I have a friend—actually, a friend of a friend—who, um, needs some legal help.”
“Oh? What kind of legal help does this friend of a friend need?”
Karin hesitated, wondering just how much she should reveal. She realized that if he were to help Marcus, she needed to be up front about everything and face the consequences later, if there were any.
She swallowed before blurting it out. “He drank a little too much and vandalized a house during a party last night. Now the homeowners want to press charges against him.”
Greer’s brow furrowed. “What the hell did he expect—them to throw him another party for doing something so stupid?”
“I know, and I’m not excusing him for what he did, Daddy,” Karin emphasized. She agreed with her father. But people did make mistakes and deserved a second chance. “He’s really sorry for it and wants to make restitution without getting wrapped up in the criminal justice system. He’s also a member of the school’s basketball team,” she added as incentive.
Her father cocked a brow. He was a big basketball fan, having played a year at Cal State before a knee injury ended his playing days. He had even gone to an occasional Elmwood High Spartans game, though seemingly mostly to impress clients.
“Who are we talking about?” Greer asked pointedly. “I need a name.”
Karin sighed. “His name is Marcus Payne. He’s—”
“The kid from Chicago? Yeah, I know about him. He has a deadly jumper, but needs to work on his free throws. And apparently his abuse of alcohol, assuming that’s all it was.”
Karin shifted in the chair. “So will you intervene on his behalf, Daddy?” She held her breath hopefully. “Please—”
“I don’t come cheap,” he warned.
She cast him a worried gaze. “Marcus doesn’t have a whole lot of money—”
“But he does have my daughter going to bat for him.” Greer eyed her shrewdly. “Is there something you aren’t telling me, Karin?”
“No, Daddy. I’m only doing a friend a favor. Nothing more.”
Okay, so maybe I’m helping myself, too in hoping that Reese and I can at least come away from this as pretty tight, if nothing else.
“Must be a pretty good friend.”
“Not really,” she admitted. Not yet. “We see each other in school mostly.”
“I see.” He gave her an understanding look. “Well, why don’t you tell Mr. Payne and his parents to drop by my office. Maybe we can work something out that will be agreeable to all parties.”
“Oh, thank you, Daddy.” Karin grinned.
“Better hold those thanks till we see the outcome,” he warned.
“Outcome of what?” Karin’s mother asked as she entered the room.
Karin looked at her father, hoping he would keep this between them.
No such luck.
“Karin has a friend of a friend who’s made a bit of trouble for himself,” Greer told his wife.
“You mean a friend of Lesley’s?” Josephine asked, as if she couldn’t imagine it being anyone that Karin knew.
“What makes you think that?” Karin challenged her mother.
“Because, other than you, it’s her friends who seem to attract trouble like a magnet.”
“That’s not true,” Karin said. Maybe a little, she conceded. But mostly just family and school stuff. Not drunkenness and certainly not destruction of property.
Josephine gazed down at her. “So who’s this friend? And what does he need your father for?”
Karin looked to him and could tell that he was mildly curious about the friend, too, but had been willing to leave it at that for now. Till her mother took the lead, as usual.
“If you must know, his name’s Reese McKenzie. He’s on the school basketball team.”
“And he’s a damn good point guard at that,” Greer declared with a grin. “It looks like our daughter is moving up in the world with her circle of friends.”
Josephine frowned. “Since when?”
“Since today,” Karin said tersely. “It’s no big deal.”
“It sounds like one to me, if you never bothered to mention it—or him—before now.”
“Which only proves my point,” she shot back.
Josephine dismissed this and turned to her husband. “So what’s going on, Greer? What type of trouble has this boy dragged your daughter into?”
Karin bit her lip, wondering why everything always had to be so difficult when it came to her mother. Her mind drifted to Reese and she smiled dreamily.
CHAPTER THREE
The following day, Karin looked for Reese at school to relay the message from her father and was told she would find him in the gym. She went in and saw that the team was practicing and working out. Reese was running in place as if he had run into a brick wall and Marcus was on the other end of the court shooting free throws. Coach Cleaver, a heavy man with a graying horseshoe-shaped hairline, was barking out orders to anyone who would listen.
Maybe I should just wait till later. Wouldn’t want to interrupt their practice.
She was about to leave when Reese called out, “Hey, Karin, wait up—”
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.
Her Teen Dream Page 2