Her Teen Dream (12 page)

“Where are we going?” Karin asked, since it
usually seemed to be a surprise.

“My house,” Reese answered. “I want you to
meet my little brother. I promised to shoot some hoops with him.
Well, it’s more like him watching me shoot and learning from it.
And, while we’re at it, you can say hello to my parents.”

“Oh.” Karin was almost at a loss for words,
never considering that she would actually meet his parents before
he met hers.

“Are you up for that?” Reese looked at her
tentatively.

“Every step of the way,” she said, though her
stomach was tied up in knots at the prospect of spending time with
the most important people in his life.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Hey, little bro!” Reese greeted his brother
with a low-five in the hallway off the living room.

“Hey, man,” he responded, trying to sound
like Reese.

“This is Jessie,” Reese said. “Say hello to
Karin, bro.”

“Hi.” Jessie smiled and looked very much like
a miniature version of his older brother.

“Hi, Jessie.”

He squinted as though they were in bright
sunlight. “You Reese’s new girlfriend?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” she smiled, comfortable at
the thought.

“Cool.” He turned to Reese. “We’re still
going to play some ball, aren’t we?”

“You bet. Why don’t you go get the
basketball?”

Jessie sprinted off at about the same time
Reese’s mother came down the stairs. She was as tall as Karin,
attractive, and her short dark hair was wound in Bantu knots.

Reese hugged her and kissed her cheek. Taking
Karin’s hand, he said, “Mom, I want you to meet Karin Blanch.”

“Hello, Karin,” she said in a bubbly voice,
and surprised her with a hug.

“Hi, Mrs. McKenzie.” Karin felt awkward. She
had never had a real boyfriend before, so she’d never had to meet
his parents.

“Reese has been telling me about a pretty
girl he likes. And I can see the attraction.”

“Thank you.”

“Reese says your mother is a Pilates
instructor,” Mrs. McKenzie noted.

“She is. Part-time.”

“I’d love to talk to her sometime and find
out exactly what Pilates is all about.”

“I’m sure she’d be happy to fill you in and
will probably want to drag you to one of her classes.”

Reese’s mother smiled. “Can I get you
something to eat?”

Karin would have been more than willing, but
Reese answered, “We just dropped by for a little while. We’re going
to play some ball with Jessie. Dad around?”

“You just missed him. He went to the
office.”

Reese flashed a look of disappointment. “His
car’s out front.”

“That’s because Clyde picked him up. They’re
meeting with some important clients.”

“So what else is new?” groaned Reese. “It’s
always about business with him.”

“Not always,” his mother stressed.

“Seems like it to me.”

Mrs. McKenzie looked at him with narrowed
eyes. “Now don’t be like that, boy,” she chided him. “Not in front
of your girlfriend. Your father’s just doing what he needs to do.
It’ll be the same with you one day.”

“I can hardly wait,” Reese muttered.

“Karin will get to meet your father soon, I’m
sure.”

“I hope so,” Karin said, wondering if this
was an invitation for Reese to bring her back. She considered that
after Cheryl and probably several other girls, Reese’s mother may
have gotten used to a love them and leave them attitude on the part
of her son. In Karin’s mind, she planned to be the exception to the
rule and stick around.

Jessie came back in, bouncing the ball on the
hardwood floor. “Can we go play now?” he asked eagerly.

“Yeah, man,” Reese said.

“I’ll see you later,” his mother told Karin,
making her feel as though she would. Perhaps many times, if Karin
had any say in it.

Out back, Karin watched Jessie chase the ball
down after Reese missed a shot.

“Your mother seems really nice,” she said to
him.

“Yeah, she’s cool,” Reese agreed.

“And your Dad?” Karin sensed this was a
tender subject and hoped she wasn’t overstepping her bounds.

Reese grabbed the ball from Jessie. “He’s
cool, too. We have our differences sometimes, but I guess that’s
normal—especially for two people who are cut from the same cloth,
as my Mom likes to say.”

“My mother says that, too—only she’s
referring to me and her,” Karin said, even if she didn’t
necessarily agree.

Reese tossed her the ball. “Enough talk.
Let’s see what you can do.”

“Yeah,” seconded Jessie, looking on with
interest.

Karin grabbed the ball. “Just don’t expect
any miracles.”

“We’ll settle for you putting the ball in the
hoop,” Reese said with a chuckle.

Karin chuckled, too, knowing it was all in
fun and she had the best teacher for advice, if needed. She looked
at the basket, which somehow seemed so far up, took a few dribbles,
and let the ball fly. To her surprise, it went in and she
high-fived Reese and low-fived Jessie. She was really starting to
feel as if she belonged.

* * *

Two days later, it was Karin’s turn to play
host to Reese, as he was going to meet her parents for the first
time. She had numerous outfits strewn across the bed, trying to
decide what to wear.

“You’re not the one who’ll be in the
hot
seat,” Lesley said as Karin listened on her cell phone.
“Just wear something comfortable and tell Reese to dress
casual.”

Karin started to relax. “How was when Marcus
met Shelly?”

“It was cool. He seemed to hit it off with my
mother.” Lesley paused. “But it wasn’t quite as good when he met
Edgar, who seemed to get overly protective for some reason.”

“Maybe he was just trying to look out for
you,” Karin suggested, “as a sort of father figure.”

“I don’t need a father figure,” Lesley
insisted. “Even then, he’s just my Mom’s boyfriend—not my step dad.
Anyway, he and Marcus get along better now.”

“That’s good to know.” Karin wondered if her
mother and father would both like Reese equally from the start. Or
would it take them some time to get used to him? And vice
versa?

“To tell you the truth, I wish it could just
be me and my Mom when Marcus comes over,” Lesley said. “But since
Edgar is more or less a permanent fixture around here now, I don’t
seem to have much say in the matter.”

“You really miss your Dad, don’t you?” Karin
asked perceptively, knowing how hard it would be for her if she’d
lost her father.

“Yeah, I miss him, but I can’t bring him back
to life. I can be happy for my Mom, though, even if it’s hard
sometimes. But that’s what I’m trying to do.” There was a long
moment of silence. “Anyway,” Lesley said, suddenly sounding more
cheerful, “let’s get back to the subject of Reese meeting your
parents. Tell me
exactly
what you plan to wear tonight and
I’ll be happy to give you my opinion.”

Between the two of them, they decided Karin
should wear her maroon turtleneck and flare jeans. After pulling
her hair back into a ponytail, she helped her mother prepare dinner
as a means to calm her nerves. It wasn’t every day that she
introduced her parents to her boyfriend. In fact, she never had and
she didn’t want it to somehow turn into a nightmare.

“Momma,
please
don’t interrogate Reese
like he’s a criminal or something,” she pleaded while slicing a
cucumber for the salad. “Or will that be Daddy’s job?”

Josephine smiled. “Your father’s a defense
attorney, remember? If anything, he’ll go to bat for Reese.”

Karin stiffened. “Does that mean you’re not
going to cut him any slack?” she asked warily.

Her mother peeked at the roast in the oven
and faced Karin. “I’m not your enemy, child, and neither is your
father. We may not be as certain as you are that Reese is the right
person for you to date at this time in your life, but we’re willing
to give him the benefit of the doubt. So long as he understands
there are ground rules he must abide by.”

“Ground rules?” Karin shuddered at the
thought.

“Yes. We expect Reese to treat you with the
respect you deserve as a sixteen-year-old girl who is inexperienced
when it comes to boys and dating.”

“We’ve already been over this, Momma,” she
sighed. “He treats me nice. And it’s not like this is our first
date.”

Josephine frowned. “Don’t remind me.” After a
moment, she smiled. “No one’s going to attack Reese. We want the
experience to be pleasant for everyone. So relax.”

Karin let out the breath she’d been holding,
and smiled. “Reese’s Mom wants to meet you.”

“I’d like to meet her, too.”

“She’s interested in Pilates.”

Her mother perked up. “Is that right? Well,
I’m sure I can point her in the right direction there.”

Karin was counting on it. Having their
mothers tight could only help her and Reese get closer in the long
run.

“How’s everyone doing in here?” Karin’s
father asked as he entered the kitchen.

“Everyone’s fine,” Josephine responded
equably. “We’re just getting ready to feed your face and meet
Reese, who should be showing up any moment now.”

Greer grinned. “I’m looking forward to both.”
He put his arm around Karin. “How about you?”

“I just want everything to go right, Daddy,”
she told him fretfully.

“Don’t worry about it,” Greer said. “Leave
the worrying to Reese. I had to go through the same thing when I
met your Momma’s folks. Yeah, they gave me the third degree and
then some. But at the end of the day, they respected me and
understood that I was serious about your Momma. Probably more than
she was about me at the time.” He winked at Karin.

“I’ll never tell!” Her mother laughed.

Karin tried to imagine Reese being nervous to
meet her parents. He didn’t seem the type to be fazed by much,
other than maybe losing a basketball game to an inferior team,
trying to bail a friend out of hot water, or maybe dealing with
some normal father-son issues. Besides, it wasn’t like he didn’t
have experience meeting a girl’s parents. She was pretty sure he’d
met Cheryl’s parents and wondered how many other parents he’d met
before them.

Karin believed that Reese was serious about
her, though less certain what that meant exactly. Whereas her heart
skipped a beat whenever she thought about him or when he walked
into the room. Not to mention when he touched her or kissed her,
making her heart nearly pounce right out of her chest. She had no
basis for comparison, but Karin was convinced that what she felt
for Reese was genuine and special.

The doorbell chimes snapped her out of the
reverie.

“Looks like our guest has arrived,” her
father said. “Shall I do the honors or—”

“I’ll get it,” Karin quickly cut in.

“You do that,” her mother said. “And I’ll
finish up where you left off in here.”

Karin felt the nervousness return to her
stomach as she headed for the door and the boy of her dreams who
had come to life in a nice, handsome package.

* * *

“Hey,” Reese said simply, grinning from ear
to ear.

“Hi, Reese,” Karin said meekly, inviting him
in. She gave him a quick scan and saw that he was dressed casually
in an open coat over a sage sweater and dark jeans.

“Hope I’m not too early?”

“Not at all,” she said. The truth was he was
about a half-hour early, which was much better than being a
half-hour late.

“This is for you.” Reese handed her one of
two long-stemmed yellow roses.

“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.