A gentle touch on her cheek woke Hayley up early in the morning at 5 o’clock. She opened her groggy eyes and looked around the bedroom. There was no one! Was it a dream? She was sure she felt someone caress her cheek, and tuck her hair behind her hair with a lot of tenderness.
Then she remembered her promise to Ashton. She was supposed to go out jogging with him at 5 in the morning. Groaning, she rushed to the washroom. In ten minutes, ready in a blue top and yoga pants, she picked up her keys and mobile phone and rushed out.
To her surprise, Ashton sat on the staircase beside his apartment, waiting for her.
“Good morning! How did you manage to wake up so early?” he asked, with eyes twinkling with amusement. Hayley groaned, unable to figure out the reason for his good mood.
“I just did! Sorry, I’m late! Shall we go?” Ashton sprang up, and Hayley groaned at his level of energy. All she wanted was to crawl back to bed and sleep. Why did she need to agree to this when she had a hectic day ahead of her?
“What’s wrong now?” he asked, chuckling as she gingerly made her way towards the elevator.
“I’m feeling tired already. I shouldn’t have agreed to this shit.” Ashton grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the elevator with him.
“You will do it every day. I’ll ensure that you do.” Hayley noted that he still didn’t release her hand. It felt nice, as if they were a married couple going on a morning walk together! She quickly blinked those crazy thoughts away. It could never happen!
“You’re such a dictator, Ashton. In fact, you’re worse than my family,” she grumbled as he pulled her along towards the jogger’s track around the complex. Ashton chuckled, not minding her banter at all. “Gosh! It’s still dark! I’m sure only birds are up at this time.”
“Not at all! You’ll find the place teeming with morning walkers after ten minutes.” The tree-lined avenue was still lighted up as the sun was yet to rise. Surprisingly, there were joggers even at that odd hour.
“If you feel tired, you can sit down somewhere or go home. I usually take 7-8 laps!” Hayley rolled her eyes, and they started off with a walk. After some time, Ashton started his jog while Hayley continued with her walking. She jogged a little, but her body wasn’t as flexible as Ashton’s, who went past her innumerable times, each time encouraging her to go on.
“You can go home if you’re tired. I’ll be there in ten minutes to make breakfast for you,” he offered as he jogged past her. Hayley smiled, remembering his demands last night. Why was he doing so much for her? Was it only with good neighborly intentions? Or to get into her pants? Blinking the thoughts away, she dragged her tired body back home. The sun was up and it was getting crowded. She was dead tired already!
After a refreshing shower, she felt much better and went out to the terrace to inhale the fresh morning air. This was the perfect life she had wanted for herself! No worries, no attachments, no heartaches, no relationships, nothing! Her heart, however, didn’t agree with her reasoning! It longed to be with a tattooed guy whom she could see working out on the parallel bars right opposite her terrace. She watched him flex his muscles as he worked out relentlessly. So this was the secret to the alpha male vibe he always gave out! The sheer, raw animal power oozing out of him was enough to hook her attention. With his tee shirt strained against his body, his swirls of tattoos peeking out from the edges, Hayley couldn’t look away.
A blonde wearing a pair of hot yoga pants and a sports bra that displayed her magnificent body jogged up to him. Hayley immediately felt a pang of jealousy hit her hard. So this was his actual jogging interest! She moved away from the terrace, unable to see them laughing together. Picking up the keys to the apartment, she stormed out to check out what plans they were making together!
“I’ll look forward to it, Ash. See you then,” said the woman, jogging away before she could grab her and punch her hard. She heard her call him by the cute nickname and seethed more with jealousy!
“Hey! What are you doing here?” he asked, a lazy grin spreading all over his face. He pulled his tee shirt off his body, watching her all the while. Hayley tried hard not to ogle at his magnificent body and trained her eyes on his smirking face.
“I was dying of hunger. So I came for your apartment keys. Maybe I could make breakfast while you were busy flirting with some random woman!” Hayley felt relieved to be able to cover up for her stupid jealousy. She had no reason to feel jealous. He was a man-whore and he would always remain one.
Ashton’s eyes twinkled with amusement and he placed a hand around her shoulders, leading her back to the elevator. A tremor went up her body and her nipples immediately hardened to pebbly peaks with awareness.
“You mean Paula? She is no stranger!” Hayley waved him off and extracted herself from his hold, scooting to the far side of the elevator.
“Oh, yeah! I forgot that all females you meet end up being your f*ck buddy!” she scowled angrily, refusing to look at him. What was she thinking? This guy would never change!
“How can you be so sure? You know nothing about me, Hayley.” He watched her with a brooding look in his eyes. Why did she think so low of him?
“Then tell me what I should think. Oh, forget it. I’m going to work. I’ll stop somewhere for breakfast,” she said, totally annoyed and jealous by now. She had no time to listen to his excuses. She stormed into her apartment and got ready in five minutes. Locking her apartment, she drove away to work, forgetting to stop for breakfast. The name Paula kept on flashing across her mind. As if Madison wasn’t enough! Now she had to deal with this Paula too. If he had so many f *ck buddies, why was he keen on dating her? A headache started forming out of stress and fatigue! It was the worst way to start her day. Maybe moving into Ashton’s building wasn’t a good idea at all. But now she had no way out other than to live there. Maybe she would avoid him from now on.
The entire day, there had been no message or call from Ashton. By the time she completed her work, it was 9 o’clock at night. She drove home, stopping by a departmental store to purchase some necessary stuff. She wouldn’t depend on Ashton from now on.
It was too late when she unlocked the door to her apartment and dumped her purchases on the floor near the sofa, slumping into it. There seemed to be a party going on somewhere in the building. She could hear loud dance beats reverberating all around. It must be from the apartment just below her. Hayley groaned in agony. How would she sleep if it continued until late in the night?
Quickly freshening up and changing into her pajamas, she fixed herself some pasta. It was strange that Ashton hadn’t put in an appearance at all since the time she came in.
After dinner, she went out to the terrace to breathe in some fresh air before hitting the bed. Suddenly, she heard a woman’s voice from the terrace below her. She seemed to be talking to someone.
“Thank you for coming, Ash. It means a lot to me.” Hayley was immediately on high alert. So Ashton was there at the party with a woman.
“Thanks for inviting me, Paula. This is the first party I’m attending in four years,” said Ashton’s deep voice. It immediately made Hayley frown. So he hadn’t attended a party since she left!
“Why didn’t you bring your girl?” asked the woman, sounding concerned.
“She’s busy. She doesn’t have time for me,” came his broken voice. Was he drinking? The Ashton she knew never spoke so much to a stranger. Maybe Paula wasn’t a stranger! Their conversation thoroughly confused Hayley. She had no idea that Ashton had a girlfriend. So he was involved with Madison! Maybe he loved her while she cared little about him. Her heart shattered at the realization. If only he had loved her, she would have given her life for him.
Tears pricked at her eyes and she couldn’t listen to them anymore. She ran inside straight to her bedroom and cried herself to sleep.
The next morning, she felt a caress on her cheek again. After the third time, she opened her bleary, swollen eyes and looked around. There was no one! Was she hallucinating? She was sure that someone stroked her cheeks and tucked her hair away from her face.
Glancing at the bedside digital clock, she noted it was 5 o’clock in the morning. It was time for her morning jog with Ashton, but who could have woken her up? Was there a ghost in the apartment?