Page 4 of Stalked By the Cornerback

No one was out there, and if there was, it was probably because they were going to shower themselves. Almost like they had been reading my thoughts, whoever was in the showers turned the water on, and I breathed out slowly. I shook my head, about to giggle. I was being paranoid. I quickly changed, frowning at the missing clean panties I must have forgotten when I packed my clothes. Thankfully, I was just going to put on loose pj pants and a tank. I’d be fine panty-less for the night. After towel-drying my hair, I tossed on my robe and grabbed my shower caddy with all my toiletries and dirty clothes bag before stepping out. Whoever was showering was still in there. I wanted to laugh at myself for being so weird.

I walked straight to my room. But for some reason, that feeling of being watched followed me all the way to my dorm. Something I couldn’t shake off. I walked in and locked my door just to be on the safe side. I was probably overreacting. My imagination was playing tricks on me. Not to mention the fact my old roommate loved to listen to crime podcasts when I was the world’s biggest scaredy cat.

‘I’m just in a new building, new room. Just something I gotta get used to,” I muttered to myself, tossing my dirty clothes into my hamper and sliding my caddy of toiletries under my bed.

“New place, new noises,” I repeated to myself. I had to remember that. The University of the Desert was a division one school, and athletes, for the most part, trained all year round. Despite that, the building did feel kind of empty. I stretched and set my alarm before getting into bed.

No matter what I tried, I still dreamt of the devilishly handsome football player I hoped I didn’t bump into while I was at work the next day.

CHAPTER 3

DYLAN

I wipedmy face and felt like a damn creep.

A stalker.

Fucking hell! The exact thing I had been trying to avoid happened. That thing in me hadn’t relaxed in the last forty-eight hours. Two whole goddamn days without seeing her, without texting or hearing her voice, and I was ready to come out of my skin.

I’d been pacing my dorm that I shared with three other guys. Crank, the linebacker for the football team I played on, and two baseball players. The way Jason and Jeremy were looking at me, I had already passed annoying them. I’d decided to get out and walk around my floor. Worst case, I could go down to a different floor and walk around there, too, or go for a run. It wasn’t like I wasn’t dressed for it in a black long-sleeve lightweight shirt and matching gym shorts.

When I stepped out and turned the corner, my eyes had felt like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

As if I had conjured her up with some magic spell, there she was.

Mattie Fuentes and her curvy body slipped out of a dorm. A dorm in my building and on my damn floor! I watched her closeand lock her door before heading down the hall. Every step she took away from me felt wrong.

And I stupidly did the last thing I should have. I followed her.

I hadn’t called out her name like some normal guy. Like the kind of guy she deserved. No. I wasn’t normal. My entire life, I could have sworn I was, but this thing inside me that wanted her was so far from normal it was insane! Fucking sick and desperate with the way it needed to be around her. To look at her when she didn’t know it. To keep her safe.

Before I knew which way was up, I was in the co-ed showers. The ones for the people who lived in the double- or triple-occupancy rooms. There were four of us, so we had a private bathroom. Not only that, but we were also baseball and football players, which meant we got all sorts of perks, and that included the accommodations of where we slept.

Yet I stepped inside, and my feet quietly guided me towards the back of the showers, and before I knew what I was doing, I was staring hard at the curtain she was behind. My dirty mind couldn’t stop thinking about what she was doing on the other side.

She was probably naked and soapy.

Surrounded by steam.

I could imagine the way those bubbles slid down her body, and my mouth watered. Fuck, I was tempted to shove my fist into my mouth and bite down to stop myself from growling. Jesus Christ, what I would do to lick her clean. The AC kicked in, moving the curtain just enough for me to sneak a peek of her in there, and my hands fisted at my sides.

There she was. Naked. Smooth slightly tanned skin. Slick. And bent over, shaving her legs.

Fuck. My hands flexed at my sides before I brought them to my front. My cock was hard and ready, straining to get out of my pants and right into the woman it thought belonged to him.I stroked myself over my jeans to find some relief, but nothing helped.

Jesus, she was gorgeous.

Her smooth skin, slick with water and soap. Her curves on full display. My hands itched to touch her. Grip her body and hold her close to me. Kiss her under the hard pelting of the shower raining down on us until the whole building ran out of hot water. Until she begged me to do more than kiss her.

I was crossing so many lines, so many fucking boundaries, but it was like I wasn’t myself in that moment. My attention moved to the bag of clothes that sat right there on a bench.

I had no idea what came over me, but the moment I saw her pretty, pink panties sitting right on top, I reached in and swiped them. Shoving them into my front pocket. The water shut off, and I moved to the side of the shower, right into the stall next to her.

My heart felt like it was going to pop out of my chest with anxiety.

Will she catch me?

How the hell can I explain this?

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