Page 101 of Hayden's Stalker

I follow Tati as she walks over to one of the sun loungers and drops her towel on it before she turns around. I drop my towel on the lounger next to hers, and she tilts her head to look up at me as we stand closer together than we were in the elevator.

“Does it get weird having people looking at you all the time?” she asks quietly.

“It depends who’s doing the looking,” I assure her, even though it’s not really a professional comment. “I definitely prefer you to them.”

“Hayden,” she says in a warning tone.

I smile and give in, telling her, “Yes, it’s weird. I don’t like it, but I’m used to it. I’ve never been a person who liked having a bunch of attention on me.”

“But you became a rock star?” Tatiana scoffs.

I laugh because she wouldn’t be the first person to assume I love the spotlight that being a rock star puts on me. “Because I love music. Also, that’s what I’ve got Gabriel and Sebastian for. They take the attention off me.”

I’m always so grateful for those two. They take the lead in interviews and get the most attention, while Harrison and I get to chill and answer a question here or there. We’re all equal members of the band, but we each have our skills and being in the spotlight isn’t one of mine. I much prefer writing and performing music to every other aspect of being a rock star.

“I can see that. Sebastian certainly has no problem with everyone looking at him,” Tatiana smirks.

“Indeed,” I say, amused at her comment. I glance over at the pool and ask, “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”

I didn’t mean it to sound so dirty, but I grin at the double entendre. I really wouldn’t mind if she wanted to ‘come with me.’ Hell, I’d like her to ‘come with me’ many, many times over.

“No, thank you,” she says in her coolly professional voice. “Unless I think those people pose a threat, I’m fine watching you from here.”

“Okay. Have fun watching, then,” I tease her.

My cock jerks as she makes a soft groan while I walk away from her. The nervous energy grows inside me as I make my way to the pool. I walk down the steps and into the warm water, aware of the other hotel guests watching me as I do. I ignore them and start swimming laps.

It feels good to use my muscles, and as I swim, I untangle the swirl of thoughts in my mind. Everything with Tati is complicated, but not as complicated as things were with Blake. Not as complicated as things were with Ally. For a start, she wants me.

I make a turn at the deep end of the pool and begin swimming back toward the shallow end. It’s obvious that she wants me, despite her apparent desire to keep our relationship professional. I want to respect her wishes, but something deep inside me needs to know if what we have could be more.

The frustration of not being able to explore that desire hits me, and I swim faster, making a turn at the shallow end of the pool. I know I won’t do anything Tati doesn’t want to do, and that’s part of my frustration. She clearlywantsme as much as I want her. She just won’t allow herself to want me.

I feel myself getting frustrated, and I know I have no control over Tati, so I have to let it go. I focus on the dull ache in my arms as they pull me through the water. As I move up and down the pool, I start to count my breaths. Eventually, the thoughts in my head drift away, and my body moves mechanically, with my focus on nothing but swimming.

Eventually, I have to stop to catch my breath in the deep end of the pool. At once, my focus is slashed by the people nearby.

“Oh my god, I’m going to go talk to him,” the woman whispers to her friends.

“Go on. Do it,” her guy friend urges her.

I haven’t had enough of a break, but I also don’t really want to talk to anyone right now, so I continue my laps without taking as much time for a breather as I’d like to have done. The sound of my arms and legs splashing as I move through the water fills my ears, and I get back into the zone I was in before.

I have no idea how long I’ve been swimming before I notice someone enter the pool on my way back toward the shallow end. It’s pretty normal for a hotel pool to have random guests jump into the pool, but as I approach, the person moves into my path at the last moment, causing me to crash into them.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” a woman says, sounding apologetic. “Oh wow, Hayden Vega. Hi!”

I stand up in the pool to find myself facing a brunette woman in her thirties, and I’m guessing from what she just did that she’s a Cruise Control fan.

“Hi.” I smile at her before I shake my head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to crash into you.”

“No, no. I got in your way, my bad. Are you guys staying here?”

I glance over at Tati, wondering how much information I should give out. Is this woman my stalker? I have no idea, so I should probably be careful even though Tati is looking alert but not overly concerned.

I look back at the woman in front of me. “Yeah, we are. We’ve got a concert on Friday.”

“I know, we’ve got tickets. I’m Shannon, by the way.” She smiles brightly at me, and I smile back before I reach my hand out to shake hers.

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