JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<a href="#">hello</a>
<div class="overlay"></div>

CSS

a { position: relative; z-index: 1; }
a:hover + .overlay { display:block; }
.overlay { position: absolute; left:0; right:0; top:0; bottom:0; content:''; background:red; display:none; }