Her Teen Dream by Devon Vaughn Archer Read Free Book Online

from the run.
“Most guys don’t want an airhead for a girlfriend, no matter how
attractive they are.”
    Lesley wiped her brow. “We’re both smart, in certain subjects anyway. But it hasn’t exactly gotten us
very far in our lives thus far.”
    While Karin could not argue the point, she
said optimistically, “So maybe our fortunes are due for a
change.”
    “Yeah, I think you may be right.”
    “If nothing else, maybe Reese and Marcus can
teach us how to play basketball.”
    “Yeah, right,” Lesley giggled. “Like that’s
something I’ve always dreamed about.”
    Karin laughed. “We might even get good enough
to try out for the team.”
    Lesley playfully pushed her. “I’ll race you
back.”
    Karin suddenly got a second wind and was up
to the challenge. “You’re on.”
    They started to sprint. Karin knew she was
the faster of the two, even if her legs felt like lead weights. But
she let Lesley win because she wanted to keep their competition
friendly. Unlike with Cheryl Green, where it could apparently turn
into an all-out war.
    * * *
    When they got back, the girls found Karin’s
parents sitting on Lesley’s porch with Shelly and her new
boyfriend, Edgar Crompton.
    “Looks like a nice, big happy family,” Lesley
joked to Karin as they cooled down in front of the house.
    Karin smiled. “Well, we are like sisters, so
don’t knock it.”
    “Hey, I wouldn’t dream of it. And if we could
just add Marcus and Reese to the mix, we could really have a family
to talk about—as long as they’re our boyfriends and not our
half-brothers.”
    Karin giggled. “You’re crazy, girl.”
    “One day, I hope to be crazy in love.”
    “Don’t we both,” offered Karin, as she
wondered if that day could be sooner than either of them ever
thought possible.
    They walked up to the house.
    “You two look like you’ve had a nice
workout,” Karin’s father said.
    Karin wiped her brow. “Yeah, we worked up
quite a sweat.”
    “So I see. The shower’s ready when you
are.”
    Karin wrinkled her nose at him. “Thanks,
Daddy. I’ll try to remember that.”
    “Shelly didn’t tell me that you’re a runner,
Lesley.” Edgar smiled at her and took a puff of his cigarette.
    “I’m not, really. I only run mainly to keep
Karin company.”
    “I doubt that,” he said, smoke streaming from
his nostrils. “It’s obvious that, like your mother, you’re in great
shape.”
    Shelly chuckled at his flattery. “I think
it’s more a genetic thing with us. But I do Pilates exercises every
now and then with Josephine, who’s a very good teacher and an even
better friend.”
    Josephine smiled graciously. “I try to be
both.” She looked at Karin. “Your father and I have given Shelly
and Edgar a standing invitation to go out to dinner. Of course you
girls are invited, too.”
    Karin knew her mother was just trying to be
neighborly and make Edgar feel right at home. She wondered if he
was just a passing phase for Shelly. Or could he actually become
Lesley’s stepfather someday?
    “We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Karin
said, and playfully nudged Lesley. “Would we?”
    “Not in a million years,” she concurred.
    “Oh, you two get out of here and let us
grownups talk a bit more,” Josephine chided them.
    The girls giggled and went inside to the
kitchen for bottled waters.
    “Looks like my Mom is serious about Edgar,”
Lesley said. “Or about as serious as one can get after dating for a
little over a week. They text more than we do.”
    “Does that scare you?” Karin gulped down
water, feeling its chilly journey down her parched throat.
    Lesley shrugged. “Maybe a little. I do want
my Mom to be happy. I just don’t want her to forget my Dad in the
process.”
    “I’m sure she won’t. What they had together
can’t be replaced any more than what my parents have. Your Mom’s
just at a new stage in her life now. Edgar seems nice enough, I
guess, although smoking is a definite minus in my book. I say