Hazel was hoping that she could tell Lee about Marlon’s visit later that night. After Marlon left, Lee came and then she can tell him the story in a peaceful and relaxed circumstances.
But luck was not on her side that night because as Marlon stepped out of her porch, Lee’s car was parking in front of her driveway. ‘Shit’ she cursed in silence. She didn’t know why she felt agitated, but this was not how she wanted them to meet each other for the first time.
“Hey,” Lee greeted her but his eyes were on Marlon.
“Hey … Lee … have you met Marlon? He just came by a few minutes ago,” she wanted to emphasize the time he was in her house.
“Hi, yeah … I needed to get something for school, I forgot to take it with me yesterday,” Marlon covered for her, he offered a handshake. “I’m Marlon … it’s nice to finally meet you, Hazel told me all about you,” he lied again.
“Hey,” Lee shook his hand, he didn’t seem to be pleased to meet him but he tried to be nice.
“So … I’ll see you Monday?” Marlon turned to Hazel.
She nodded, “Yeah, Monday.”
“Cool … thanks for letting me steal your girlfriend by the way … you know we study together after school every day, right?” Marlon’s tone was casual, but there was something in the way he said it made Hazel and Lee fell silent.
“Sure,” Lee finally said.
“You kids have fun tonight … I’ll see you baby,” Marlon waved his hand as he walked towards his car without looking back.
Just when she thought Marlon was being sweet and totally out of character, he turned back into his normal self. And with that, he officially ruined her night with Lee.
“And you never corrected him when he calls you ‘baby’?” Lee was particularly annoyed by that, aside from the insinuation he made about ‘stealing his girlfriend’.
“I did … but … he’s just like that, he’s being silly … he didn’t mean anything by it.”
Lee was not amused, his face said a thousand words as he drove his car faster and not making any more comment. It’s bad enough that they spent hours together at school everyday, knowing that this guy is obviously flirting with his girlfriend and she was too naive to realize it and now she’s defending him.
“You don’t think he did that on purpose? Calling you baby right in front of me? He came by your house unannounced on a Saturday night tried to make you cancel your plans with me, don’t you think that’s odd?”
Hazel thought for a moment, she saw the whole thing differently. She was unsure of what she was going to tell him next, “He seemed troubled … I don’t know … maybe I’m wrong but he seemed a bit off today, he didn’t mean to make me cancel, he was just …”
Lee glared at her, “Really? Hazy … do you even know who you’re dealing with here? He’s a player, if you knew half the stories that goes around about this guy, you wouldn’t be so sure in defending him … unless …”
She waited but Lee didn’t finish his sentence, “Unless what?”
“Nothing,” he tried to shrug it off.
“No … finish your sentence, unless what?” she insisted.
“Unless you wanted him to do that, it’s Marlon Dean Reynolds … I have never met anyone at school that didn’t want to be in his circle … not one, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you feel privileged to be his student guide,” he finally said what’s been bothering him for days now.
Hazel was taken aback, “I can’t believe that’s how you feel … I never asked to be his student guide, I was half forced to tutor him … I even asked Mr. Edgerton to consider someone else because it was taking up a lot of our time but he declined … are you saying you don’t trust me?”
“That’s not what I’m saying … I do trust you … I just don’t think you can see how he’s manipulating you into liking him more than you actually do.”
Could it be? It sounds like people have a very different opinion about Marlon than she does. He can be a jackass sometime, but there was something more about him that he didn’t show. He’s not as bad as everyone else made him out to be, at least in her eyes, Marlon was trouble but at the same time he’s also troubled.
“I don’t like him like that, Lee, I’m very much aware he can be a jerk sometime, maybe he did it on purpose just to annoy you, I don’t know but does it matter? Please … this is ridiculous, can we not talk about him any more tonight? I want to spend a nice time with you … you’re leaving soon.”
The car went quiet. Lee was reminded by why he was so tensed about Marlon in the first place. He was leaving. He was leaving her and there’s a guy that’s closing in on her. And he’s not just some guy, Marlon Dean Reynolds, someone that is very likely to steal her girlfriend right from under his nose.
He had been thinking about their relationship for the past couple of weeks. He had been talking about it with his dancer friends too. Long distance relationships won’t last. That was the bottom line. No matter who he talked to, they all say the same thing.
Which made him realize that at some point, this relationship will have to end too. It was an unavoidable topic, if he wanted to keep her in his life, he will have to let her go in the best possible way. Breaking up from another country would not be a good option. The only problem is, he didn’t really want to break up with her.
He glanced at her, she was sulking but quiet. He reached for her hand and kissed it. That little gesture softened her, she leaned towards him and kissed his cheek. She laid her head on his shoulder the rest of the way and Marlon was never mentioned again that night.
At some point, they will have to talk about what they’re going to do with their relationship. But not tonight.