Paparazzi Girl

20. Distraction

"Must be what Stella feels. She lost her dad a while ago." He barely recalled that conversation, but it had broke his heart to hear.

"That must've been hell. Losing Ginna was bad enough for me to stay detached from everyone, it's easier that way."

"That's not right, though. You deserve to start fresh."

"Like who? I'm too old for that anyway. I don't even have time for that. It's too much."

Xavier had never seen Tyler so soft.

"It's okay to get close to someone."

"That's the thing. I don't think I can."

Xavier looked back at Stella. She was starting to wake up. Adorable. But his conversation with Tyler was far from over.

"Oh, sorry." Xavier smiled, "I hope we didn't wake you up."

"It's fine," she replied, sitting up. "I barely even heard you guys. I guess I'm just tired of sleeping."

Tired of sleeping. That's a new one.

Xavier lied back down and put his arm around her shoulder. She smiled and her cheeks were flushed with red.

"How long are you planning on staying here?" Tyler nodded at her, waiting for her answer while he folded some of his clothes. The soft Tyler he had just seen was no longer there.

"Until I feel confident enough to confront my mom. I just need some time away from her."

"You think she'll call the cops? I don't wanna be a part of anything like that. And Xavier doesn't need that kind of publicity. He has enough on his plate that he still needs to gobble down."

"I know, he's told me. And I don't want to be a distraction or anything. I just need help, nothing more. I won't take up your time or anything."

"Xavier just can't be distracted right now."

Silence.

Tyler spoke again. "Out of curiosity, since the upcoming movie Xavier is making won't be here in California, are you gonna go where we all go to? You always do."

The mood was finally lighter. "Yeah, I will. It's my job."

"And who pays for the tickets and all? Not you, right?"

"Nope. My boss, Mr. Robins pays everything. All I have to worry about is getting on my plane on time."

Xavier laughed, making Stella feel tingly. She loved it when she could make him smile or laugh. There was something so light and sexy about it. She watched him stand up and go to the bathroom. His back was nice and defined. It was harder to breathe. Seeing Xavier shirtless was life changing.

"Do you not like me?" She finally had the nerve to ask Tyler, now that Xavier had gone away.

The question had been stabbing at Stella. Being as he was close to Xavier, she wanted him to find her pleasant. Maybe it would make it easier to get to Xavier. He would have more trust in her. More secrets. More money.

She shut her eyes to erase her thoughts.

He raised an eyebrow, clearly already receiving her question in a very wrong way, "Actually, I thought Xavier was more your type. But if you want..."

"You know what I meant." She rolled her eyes with a smile, Xavier stepping out of the bathroom, looking between them both with suspicion. One look at him and you could tell he had heard what Tyler had said. She felt her cheeks squash into a pink shade.

Tyler drew closer to her, throwing some of her hair to the side before whispering into her ear so low, she had to strain just to make sure she could hear him. Something inside her was yelling that this would be important, "He has a crush on you. Huge. He never stops talking about you. I would jump on it before Kat does."