He jumped off his Tesla and giddily walked over to Hazel’s front door. He saw a red convertible parked not far from where his car was. And just as he stepped into the driveway, someone came out from inside.
The guy was wearing a baggy shirt and sweat pants, he looked like he just got out of the shower. He was tall, muscular and fit a description of a jock. This must be the guy, he thought.
“Hey man … is Hazel home?” he greeted him.
The guy looked surprised. “Hey … yeah … who’s asking?”
He acted like he knew her better than him, Marlon didn’t like that. “I’m Marlon … Marlon Reynolds,” he extended his hand for a shake.
Theo’s grip was firm and strong, “Theo … I’m a family friend … Hazel’s inside, does she know you’re coming?”
They looked at each other in the eyes, each trying to catch the other one’s vibe.
“No … actually … I was going to surprise her … so you’re the jock?” Marlon and his loud mouth just couldn’t hold his tongue for a little bit.
Theo pulled his hand swiftly, he thought the question was a bit rude. He chuckled, “So you’ve heard about me?”
“Your name might have come up a few times,” Marlon smiled cheekily. “Catch you later?”
Theo tilted his head up in agreement, “Later.” He walked over to his car and watched Marlon as he walked into the house. He seemed really comfortable there, he may have underestimated their friendship. It seemed like they were closer than he would’ve liked it.
Her duffle bags were still scattered on the floor, her jacket hung on the dining chair, left over foods on the table and when he walked up the stairs, her bra was on one of the steps. He picked it up.
“Hazel? Are you decent?” he called out as he walked the rest of the steps. “You in there baby?” he talked louder so she could hear from inside her bedroom.
The bedroom door swung open, she greeted him with a wide smile and a big hug, “Hiii … oh my God you’re here … I missed you!!”
He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up for a brief moment. He kissed her cheek. “Somebody had a nice time … more than I can say for myself,” he put her down and dangled the bra in front of her face.
She laughed so loud then covered her mouth with both hands, “Oh my God … where did you find that?” she snatched the bra from his hand.
He raised a brow with a sneer, “On my way up … I had the privilege of bumping into the guy who I assume unhook that from your back?”
“You met him? Did you talk to him?”
Marlon threw himself on her bed, “Briefly … not a fan …” he stared at the ceiling.
“What? Why? Was he rude? No … were you rude?” she nudged him.
He chuckled, “What made you think I would be rude? No … I just … told him we’ll catch up later … a lot later I hope … ’cause I want some brunch with you, just the two of us … he’s not planning to join us or anything is he?”
“I didn’t even know you were coming, but he did say he was coming back later … so he’s not allowed to join us?” she laughed lightly.
“No … we’ll join him later after we’re done, is that okay with you?”
Hazel was combing her hair and turned to Marlon. She realized she was looking at another part of her life that didn’t have anything to do with Theo and she missed Marlon so much. “Of course … I wanna tell you all about it … I promised to tell you everything.”
Marlon rolled his eyes, “I’m not so sure I want to know the details but I have to admit … I’m a little surprised … how long has he been back? One week? And how long have you been with Lee? A year?”
“If you put it that way … that sounds terrible … but that’s not how it was … I think it has always been Theo,” she pursed her lips.
“Hmm … ” Marlon didn’t know much about their history, but he has a feeling he was not going to like this ‘Theo’ character very much because of how Hazel had just described him. “So … he’s the one?”
She giggled, “That’s not what I meant … I don’t know … he was my long time crush when I was a kid … until now … I don’t know …” she laughed it off.
Yeah, it was confirmed, Marlon did not like this guy one bit.