Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
Vanessa was the first to notice Taliana’s presence, momentarily glancing up from the phone she’d been furiously messaging away on. She flashed Taliana a quick smile before elbowing her sister gently, causing her to look up from her own phone as well.
“Hey, Talia,” Marissa said before returning her attention to her phone. “Glad to have you back.”
And that was the only greeting Taliana got from them. Fine with her. Despite being relatively close in age, she and the twins had never really had much in common or run in the same circles. And after she’d left for LA, they hadn’t done much but share a few “happy birthday” messages via social media for the ensuing years. They may have been half siblings, but they certainly hadn’t bonded. Though Taliana had to admit, she was hopeful that would change.
Her gaze returned to the front of the car where her soaked father had just slid into the driver’s seat. “It’s a monsoon out there,” he complained, hair plastered against his forehead. “I can’t wait for summer to end.”
Taliana glanced out the window, enjoying the sudden onslaught of water. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen rain like this.” She was almost tempted to stick her hand out the window, but she held back.
“I suppose you don’t get much rain in LA,” Katherine conceded, swiping her damp forehead with the back of her hand.
Taliana kept her eyes on the window as the car pulled away from the curb. “We’re lucky to get an inch this time of year. It’s usually just hot and dry.”
“I think I’d take that any day over this humidity,” Charles said, glancing in his mirror before changing lanes and entering the highway. “Are you glad to be back?”
Taliana hesitated before answering, not sure if she really was or not. Sure, she was glad to be away from the drama of LA and glad for the current thunderstorm, but she’d only been in D.C. for less than twenty minutes. That definitely wasn’t enough time to decide whether or not she was happy to be back in a city she hadn’t visited in several years.
“Yeah,” Taliana lied, flashing them a small smile. “It’s good to be back.”
Soon the conversation turned to things that were going on in their everyday lives. Taliana tuned in for a while, but her attention was soon diverted once they crossed over one of the many bridges and finally entered the city she could call home again.
Though she’d been exposed to the sights of D.C. since the day she was born, she couldn’t help but admire how beautiful it truly was. The Potomac River was probably even more polluted than it had been years ago, but it still seemed to sparkle. And while the Washington Monument was barely visible through the thick sheet of rain, it seemed whiter and brighter than Taliana remembered.
Her eyes were practically glued to the window as they slowly made their way through the evening traffic, and before long, they entered familiar territory. Georgetown was a section of D.C. that had always been synonymous with money and power, seeing as it was one of the oldest and most expensive areas in town. Plenty of influential people from the government and society could be found in the Italianate row houses that lined the narrow streets, and while the homes may have looked diminutive from the outside, the insides tended to be huge. Well, the Avilla household was at least.
“Home, sweet home!” Katherine sang as the car came to a halt in front of the house.
The five of them climbed out of the SUV and grabbed whatever they could before making a mad dash to the front door. They all took a moment to shake off the rain in the foyer before Charles nodded toward the staircase.
“Come on, Talia,” he said. “Let’s get your bags upstairs.”
Katherine flashed her a warm smile before Taliana turned away and followed her father upstairs, struggling slightly under the weight of the massive bags. Eventually she made it up to the second-floor landing and dragged herself down the hallway until she caught up with her father, who was standing in front of Taliana’s old room.
“Everything should be the same,” he told her, glancing inside as she approached. “I couldn’t bring myself to pack up your stuff when you moved away with your mother.”
One step inside revealed he wasn’t lying. Posters of old boy bands adorned the walls, stuffed animals sat on top of the dresser, and she could swear there were glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. It was practically a shrine to her childhood in there, which was slightly embarrassing. Taliana quickly decided that everything would have to go soon. Very soon.
“Thanks, Dad.” She chuckled, scanning the room one more time. “It’s just the way I remember it.”
“Should be.” He reached out to ruffle her hair like he’d always done when she was younger. His hand drifted down to her cheek momentarily before he let it drop completely and glanced at his watch. “Go ahead and relax for a bit; I know you’ve had a long trip. Dinner will be at seven.”
Taliana nodded and waited until he left the room to change out of her wet clothes and collapse on the bed. There was no denying she was exhausted after her flight and worrying about how her new life was going to be.
But so far, she couldn’t complain. Things were looking good, and all she could do was hope they’d stay that way.
* * *
Sebastian was unsure of how many times he’d sneaked out of the hotel rooms of random girls, but the number was now one higher than it had been yesterday.
As he stood under the promenade that led to the entrance of the Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown, he found himself questioning what the hell he was doing. He knew he’d become a bit of a womanizer, but when had it gone this far? It certainly hadn’t always been like this.
For a while, he’d been into relationships with meaning, not one-night stands-or two-hour stands in this case-with random girls. But since he’d had his heart served to him on a silver platter, this had become his new normal.
The thought of his most recent heartbreak was enough to make his stomach churn with misery, and no number of new girls had been able to soothe that feeling either. Luckily, he was spared from thinking about what had happened and what he had become when a sleek, red Ferrari pulled to the curb in front of him. Sebastian only knew of one person in the city who drove such a flashy car, and any doubt as to who was in the driver’s seat disappeared when the window rolled down.
“Need a ride?” Michael drawled as he stared at Sebastian with a half-disdainful, half-amused expression.
“I’d love one,” he grumbled, yanking open the door and quickly sliding inside to avoid getting drenched by the torrential downpour. “You owe me fifty bucks by the way.”
“Well, damn.” Michael playfully slapped the steering wheel as he navigated the car down the narrow street. “I was convinced there was no way that shade could have been natural.”
Sebastian let his eyes shut as he leaned his head against the cool window, though part of him was vaguely amused. Leave it to this guy to cheer him up. “We’re not having this conversation.”
He could sense Michael’s sparkling hazel gaze on him. “Since when do you kiss and not tell?”
“Since I realized you don’t need a play-by-play of my sex life.” His eyes drifted back open when the car took a sharp left turn. “Where are we going?”
“Cool Beans,” Michael replied, referencing the coffee shop that had been their hangout since they’d been freshmen almost three years ago.
Sebastian’s heavy eyes scanned the streets, watching women in high heels avoid puddles while men in khaki shorts and colorful polos ducked into stores to avoid the menacing bolts of lightning. “Are Jacob and Marcus going to be there?”
“Marcus was the one who wanted to meet,” Michael responded, shifting gears with ease as traffic slowed. “He didn’t sound too happy about something.”
Sebastian snorted softly. “That’s nothing new.”
The conversation lapsed into an amicable silence until the car came to a halt in front of the quaint coffee shop five minutes later. Sebastian entered the dimly lit space first, letting his eyes adjust for a moment before searching the room for the familiar faces of his other two best friends.
It took no time at all to pick out a gloomy Marcus Patterson and an utterly stoned Jacob Weston sitting at their normal table in the back corner of Cool Beans. After a quick nod to Michael to follow him, Sebastian slid past the other tables and dropped into the oversized armchair between his friends.
Jacob was the first to glance up from his coffee cup, though it looked like he had just been gazing into its murky depths as if it held the answers of the universe. His red-rimmed eyes only confirmed Sebastian’s suspicion that he’d partaken in a certain substance recently, and the relaxed smile on his lips made Sebastian wish he’d had some as well.
Jacob raised his coffee cup in greeting before bringing it to his lips and taking a sip. Sebastian took this time to focus on Marcus, who was frowning as if someone had just taken away his favorite teddy bear.
“Why the long face, sweetheart?” Michael questioned, beating Sebastian to the punch. “Mommy tell you Santa isn’t real?”
Marcus scowled and pushed a chocolate curl out of his eyes of the same color. “No,” he mumbled, playing with the pack of cigarettes in his hand. Marcus may have been a good boy when it came to school, girls, and responsibilities, but his one vice was smoking. “It’s worse than that.”