Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
A wave of calm washed over the kitchen when the television shut off and her father dropped into the chair on her left.
“Morning,” he greeted, reaching out to ruffle Taliana’s hair. He then turned his attention to the twins, who were glaring venomously at each other. “Girls? What’s the problem?”
Marissa’s eyes narrowed a fraction more, but she didn’t turn away from her sister as she answered the question. “She’s wearing the same outfit as me and refuses to change.”
Taliana glanced at them, taking in their matching blue tank tops, miniskirts, and sandals. All in all, it looked great on both of them, but it was an outfit Taliana wouldn’t have worn in a million years.
“Why should I have to be the one to change?” Vanessa huffed. “I was wearing this first.”
“No, you weren’t.”
“Yes, I was.”
“Were not.”
“Was, too.”
“Were not!”
“Was-“
“Girls!” Charles cut in, putting an end to an argument that was bound to end with hair pulling and screeching. At least that was how it used to end when they were kids. Hopefully they had moved on from that kind of problem solving. “How about you both go change?”
“I shouldn’t have to change,” Marissa whined, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she finally swung her brown eyes away from her twin. “She’s the one who insists on copying me.”
“Oh, please. Like I would ever want to copy? you .”
Marissa opened her mouth to counter the insult, but their father beat her to it. “Both of you change or you’re not getting the credit card to go shopping today.”
The girls were out of their seats before Taliana could even blink.
“Gets ’em every time,” Katherine chuckled. “Think they’ll ever learn?”
“Let’s hope not,” he said, digging into his food. “We won’t have anything else to threaten them with if they grow out of it.”
She took a seat next to him. “I doubt they ever will. I just hope they don’t go overboard like last time.”
My father cringed, remembering a previous disaster. “They were lucky I’d just sealed that deal at work or else they’d be getting jobs to pay off that ten-thousand-dollar credit card bill.”
Though Taliana’s dad, Katherine, and her mother all came from money and had raised her and the twins with the comfortable lifestyle, Taliana still couldn’t comprehend how two sixteen-year-olds could spend that much money in one sitting. She had a hard time when it came to paying five bucks for a cup of coffee or more than forty for a new pair of jeans.
“Maybe you should go with them, Talia,” Katherine suggested. “You could help keep those two in check. Plus, I’m sure you’d like to get out of the house for a little while.”
Taliana almost choked on her orange juice. “Yeah, sorry, I’ll pass,” she answered once she recovered. “Not really my thing.”
“Oh, come on. It’ll give you a chance to bond with the twins. Plus, it should be fun.”
Shopping was not synonymous with fun in Taliana’s vocabulary, but the look on Katherine’s face was making her feel guilty. “Okay, sure,” she agreed hesitantly. “Are they looking for anything in particular?”
“Dresses for some boy’s party tomorrow night, I think.”
Taliana hadn’t even looked at a dress since she’d been zipped up in one of her mother’s awful creations a few months ago. Memories of that event made her cling to her comfy athletic shorts and t-shirts for dear life.
“He’s not just some guy, Mom,” Marissa cut in from the entrance of the kitchen, now sporting a yellow sundress. “He’s Sebastian Phillips, the most gorgeous guy, like,? ever.”
It took a moment for the name to register, but Taliana’s eyes widened when it finally did. “Sebastian Phillips?” she asked, having practically forgotten about his existence. “As in the kid who got me expelled from Georgetown Trinity?”
“That’s the one!” Vanessa chirped as she breezed in, her outfit modified with a white button-down shirt.
Taliana couldn’t help but stare at the girls in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Talia, it’s going to be amazing,” Marissa went on. “He always goes all out for his parties, but this one is supposed to be the best of the best. I mean, it’s
Sebastian, what else would you expect?”
She continued to watch them carefully. “I would expect it to be stupid like his birthday party back in fourth grade when he had to invite the entire class, just because his mommy insisted.”
Marissa giggled and took her seat again, Vanessa joining her a few seconds later. “I forgot you haven’t seen him since you guys were, like, eleven. He’s changed.”
“A lot,” Vanessa added, reaching for a piece of toast. “He’s not that scrawny little boy anymore.”
“He’s hot as hell now.”
Taliana didn’t believe a word of what they were saying. “Is he still a raging asshole?”
Marissa looked to her twin for help, but Vanessa merely shrugged
“We wouldn’t say that,” Vanessa murmured, treading carefully. “He’s just a little…standoff-ish.”
Taliana snorted. A little standoff-ish, her pasty white ass. It had to be ten times worse than that. “Sounds like the same Sebastian to me. You two have fun at the party, though.”
Before the girls could get in another word, their father cut in. “Why don’t you go too, Talia? There’s bound to be people you know there. Go socialize a little.”
She shook her head as she took a sip of her juice. “I wasn’t invited. I wouldn’t want to crash it.”
Charles waved it off. “I’m sure it’ll be no problem. I know the owner of the club hosting the party. You won’t have any issue getting in.”