Page 33 of Hayden's Stalker

5

The Club

As we’re pullingout of the garage, I say quietly to Sebastian, “Seriously. Don’t you dare fucking say anything like that to Blake.”

“Come on, Hayden. You know I wouldn’t. I’m just teasing you, but I also find it very interesting that you’re so defensive.”

“I just want to have a good night. I would’ve thought that you would, too.”

He looks me in the eyes for a second, then glances toward the front seat where Tatiana is driving the SUV before he looks back at me. “I do. You, however, should probably do your best not to check out her ass in front of Soggy Flake.”

I hate when he calls Blake that, and I glare at Sebastian. “Don’t call him that”—I lower my voice another couple of decibels because I’m aware from the drive to his place that this car is small, and I don’t want Tatiana to hear what I have to say—“and I wasn’t checking out her ass, I was looking for her gun.”

“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” he asks with a smirk at me.

I can’t stop myself from chuckling as I say, “Yes, because it’s true. I was wondering where she’s hiding a gun under that dress.”

Sebastian turns to stare at Tatiana for a second, then murmurs to me, “Shit. Whereisshe hiding it?”

“My guess is that it’s in a holster under the skirt. I think I saw it after Heather and Ariana arrived.”

“Even if you are ‘searching for her gun.’” He smirks again as he says it. “I doubt your boyfriend will appreciate it.”

“Yes. Well, now I’ve figured out where it is, the mystery is solved, and I don’t have to look anymore. If you don’t mind, I’m going to read my book now,” I say casually.

Sebastian chuckles under his breath as I pull out my phone and open the Kindle app again. I’m getting into Sherlock’s adventures when we arrive at Club Delirium.

This place is our favorite place to go for a night out. We always head straight to the VIP section, and I’ve been here more times than I can count. When we get out of the car, Tatiana moves next to me immediately.

I dart a glance at her, and she has a pleasant smile on her face. She’s looking around as though she’s curious about the new place we’ve taken her to, and I wonder once again if people will think we’re together if we’re seen out at clubs all the time.

We head straight to the bar, where Sebastian and I order a whisky each. Then I look at Tatiana to see what she’ll order.

“Can I get a virgin Tom Collins, please?” She smiles at the bartender, and he nods.

Interesting.

She said earlier that she doesn’t drink when she’s working, so I expected her to get water, and I wonder why she ordered herself a cocktail. Maybe she just enjoys the taste of them.

I drop my head down to her ear so she can hear me over the sound of the pumping music and ask her, “Is there a reason you order a cocktail but get it as a virgin?”

She turns her head up to look up at me, and she doesn’t answer my question immediately. Her eyes are wide, and her lips are parted slightly. Her tongue darts forward to touch her lip, then she closes her lips tightly and swallows before she smiles at me.

As she answers, I drop my head lower again to hear her reply. It means her cleavage is directly in my line of sight, and I struggle to focus on her response.

“It’s part of blending in. People notice if you’re not drinking, or are only drinking sodas. They assume a mocktail is alcoholic.”

“Makes sense,” I say as I stand up again, safely away from her.

I turn to face the bar and wait for our drinks as Sebastian catches my eye.

He raises an eyebrow at me, then leans over to say in my ear, “I’m sorry, did you think she was hiding a gun in her cleavage or something?”

“Shut up. I was trying to hear what she was saying,” I mutter under my breath.

“Sure you were,” he chuckles, and I nudge him as we take our drinks from the bartender.

“Here, Tati,” I say as I hand her drink to her.

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