Her Teen Dream Read Online Free

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