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His eyes widened in shock.
“Why not?” I closed my eyes and ran my head under the spray. I opened my eyes and found Marlon staring at me, still flabbergasted by my omission. “Oh… I get it. You like her, and now you’re self-sabotaging.”
Leave it to Marlon to read me like a book.
I shrugged, squirting shampoo into my palm.
“Did you hook up at her place or yours?” My silence told him everything he needed to know. “Your place. Interesting. I better be your best man.”
“I will squirt this shampoo in your eyes,” I drawled.
“Violence against your captain is highly frowned upon.”
“Maybe my captain shouldn’t speak so recklessly.”
“Look, Hart. You said you wanted companionship, and it seems like you found a good match. Must I remind you that you purposefully scoured the Sugar Rush app for over an hour to find her?”
True…
“If you don’t want to listen to me then call DeAndre. Lord knows he’s the only one who can get through to you.”
“That’s not true. I listen to you,” I said, moving on from washing my hair to washing the sweat from my body.
“Hart, tell me what’s really happening,” Marlon pleaded.
I sighed and trained my eyes on the white tile in front of me.
“She’s perfect, man.”
“Uh-huh. Go on.”
“She’s a fucking rocket; she’s intelligent and super sweet. I told her about losing one of my wireless earbuds the other day in passing, and she bought me a new pair.”
“And the sex?”
“Don’t get me started. I’m fucking hooked, man, but what we have has an expiration date. She made it perfectly clear that this was supposed to be companionship and nothing else.”
“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you already feel a little something for her. I mean, you’re gushing about this woman while you’re in the shower surrounded by naked dudes. Hell, she could feel the same way about you. All I know is that time changes everything,” he said, turning off his showerhead and leaving me behind with my tumultuous thoughts.
Thirty minutes later, most of us had spilled out of the locker room and into the parking lot.
“Don’t forget to meet us at Netz at 6:00—you’re paying,” Marlon reminded me as we walked to our vehicles.
“Y’all are on a $500.00 limit.”
Marlon hissed through his teeth and clutched his thighs as he stumbled through the parking lot. “My legs. Oh, my legs. They hurt so bad because some dumbass decided it was a great idea to text during review.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You’re so dramatic,” I said, unlocking my sleek gray Corvette. My truck was still at Andre’s, so I had to drive my weekend car.
“You better be there, or we’ll come looking for you.”
“I’ll be there,” I said, accepting an incoming call from DeAndre. I threw my duffle bag into the passenger seat and lowered myself into the car.
“Hello?”
“I’m calling because Marlon texted me and said you needed a good talking to.” I was about to deny when he cut me off. “I love you like a brother, Hart. You know that, but if you turn that pretty little young thing down, then I’m gonna hit her up.”
