Her Teen Dream

by Archer, Devon Vaughn

  “Thank you!” Karin put the rose up to her nose, relishing its scent. It was the first time anyone had ever given her a flower. She would treasure the moment forever.

  She heard her parents approaching and knew there was no turning back now. Not that she would want to. They were about to meet her first boyfriend.

  “Momma, Daddy, this is Reese,” Karin said, trying to keep her cool. She looked at him. “Reese, these are my parents.”

  Her father gave Reese a stiff handshake. “Nice to meet you, son,” Greer said. “Karin’s spoken highly of you.”

  Reese grinned. “Well, I hope I can measure up to that.” He looked at her mother and handed her the rose. “For you, Mrs. Blanch.”

  Josephine fluttered her lashes like a schoolgirl. “Why thank you, Reese. It’s lovely. You’ve certainly gotten off to a good start.”

  “I try my best,” he chuckled.

  Karin took the exchange as a positive sign that everything really would work out okay.

  They sat at the table and her father immediately moved to the subject of basketball.

  “The team’s looking pretty good thus far,” Greer said, lifting his glass of red wine. “You think you can go all the way to the championship this year?”

  “There’s some stiff competition in the conference,” Reese admitted. “But we’re the best and I believe that as long as our top guys stay healthy, we can’t be beaten.”

  “Good answer,” her father said with a nod. “Well, as long as you can keep sinking that mid range jumper, you should have a fighting chance in every game.”

  “That’s the plan,” Reese said confidently. “And it doesn’t hurt to have the right girl cheering me on.”

  Karin caught his gaze and grinned. She imagined she would always be his number one fan, even if his last girlfriend may have once thought the same thing.

  Greer looked up from his plate. “So Karin tells me you plan to go to college and hope to practice law one day.”

  Reese wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Well, yes, I definitely plan to go to college. Law is one option I’m considering. I’m also thinking about business management or investment banking.”

  Her father looked impressed. “That’s quite a range. You can’t go wrong with any of those choices.”

  “That’s what I was thinking.”

  Whereas Karin was thinking that this almost sounded like an interview for a job. She hoped Reese didn’t take it that way.

  “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 co
uld 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.

  Reese took a long gulp of the water as if he had been in the desert for a week. He put the bottle on the granite island and studied her. “It’s nice being here with you, without your parents watching our every move as if neither of us could be trusted to be alone.”

  “Yeah, it is.” Karin hid her nervous enthusiasm behind her bottled water, sipping it and feeling the cold liquid drain down her throat. “Do you want to watch TV or listen to some music?”

  He put his arms around her waist and drew her close to him. “Nope.”

  She watched him gaze into her eyes with an unreadable expression. “What do you want to do then?” she hesitated to ask.

  “I want to do this, right now.” He bent down and kissed her mouth. His lips were cold, but still felt good on hers. Maybe too good.

  Karin pulled away. “Why don’t we go into the living room and we can do that some more,” she suggested, figuring it was more comfortable and safe.

  “I’d rather we check out your room,” Reese said.

  She stiffened. “My room. Why?”

  “Why not, baby? You afraid to let me see where you sleep at night, or what?”

  Now he had put her on the spot. “Of course not,” she lied, not wanting to admit she was uncomfortable with the notion.

  “So lead the way,” he said with a smile.

  Though she feared this wasn’t a good idea and suspected what Reese’s intentions might be, Karin took him to her room anyway. He looked around, as though entirely for effect, before settling on their reflections through the mirror atop the dresser.