Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
Sebastian glanced up to look at the other boys, taking in their range of expressions. Michael and Jude both looked pleased by the fake couple’s current position, the former smirking while the other looked like he was just about ready to burst with joy. Marcus looked happily surprised, clearly not having expected this new development. And Jacob, as always, looked like he didn’t really care.
He tore his gaze away from the four when a breeze ruffled his hair, and with a quick glance upward, he saw dark storm clouds rolling in. “I should probably get you home before the storm starts,” he murmured to Taliana.
She glanced up as well and grimaced at the impending storm. “Good idea. Let me just grab my stuff, and we can get going.” She disentangled herself from him and jogged into the house.
Michael’s gaze lingered on her until she disappeared around the corner. “Still denying you feel something for her?” He grinned, swinging his sparkling hazel eyes back to Sebastian. “I don’t think anyone would believe that after what you just pulled.”
Sebastian’s cheeks burned as he looked down to the ground, trying to hide the blush as best as he could, but nothing passed Michael’s notice. The boy slung a friendly arm around his shoulders and ruffled Sebastian’s hair with the other.
“Fucking adorable.” He laughed as Sebastian tried his best to break free. “Didn’t think you’d fall for someone else so hard, but you’ve proved me wrong.”
Sebastian managed to pull out of Michael’s grasp by kicking him in the knee. “What do you mean, I’ve proved you wrong?”
Michael’s grin faded slightly as he looked between Jacob and Marcus for assistance. “Well…”
“Well, what?” Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “Don’t tell me you guys thought I would never get over Blair.”
His best friend looked to the ground. Jacob bit his bottom lip. Marcus grimaced. Their answer was loud and clear.
“You’re kidding me,” he scoffed, taking an offended step back. “You actually thought that? After everything she’s done, you really thought I’d go back to her? You’re all fucking stupid.”
“Can you really blame us?” Marcus questioned with a shrug. “She was your best friend for years, then your girlfriend after that. It takes a long time to fall out of love with a person you’ve known forever.”
“I knew I would never go back to Blair the moment I saw her with my brother,” he snapped, sliding Marcus a sharp look. “You all should’ve known better than to think otherwise.”
Jacob snorted and shook his long, auburn hair out of his eyes. “Well, it doesn’t matter now, does it? You’re in love with Stick Girl.”
The statement felt like a punch in the chest. “Come on, I don’t love her, I’m just-“
“Madly in lust?” Michael supplied slyly.
“What? Are you-“
“Falling hard?” Marcus cut in.
“Look, I don’t know, I’m just trying to-“
“Figure out how to tell her how much you adore her?” Jude interjected hopefully.
“God, will you people even let me get a word i-“
“Just own up to it,” Jacob snorted. “You want her. Simple as that.”
Trust him to put it that way. “Okay, yeah. I do.”
Jacob gave a mock bow just as Taliana slipped out the door.
“Ready to head out?” she questioned as she approached. Her smile disappeared when a flash of lightning shot across the sky. She grabbed his wrist and began dragging him toward the gate that led to the front of the house. “See you guys tomorrow,” she called to the others over the crack of thunder that had finally caught up.
Sebastian turned halfway to give them a pathetic glance before he allowed her to pull him out of the backyard and over to his car. He fumbled for his keys and opened the passenger’s side door, helping her inside before jogging around to the other side and sliding into the driver’s seat just as another flash of lightning darted across the sky. He quickly threw the car into reverse and pulled out of the driveway, eager to beat the storm, but judging from the fact that the rain was starting to fall harder now, that didn’t seem likely.
The silence between them was easy, with him concentrating on the road in front of them and Taliana looking up at the dark sky. As he drove, he racked his brain for a good conversation starter, but nothing came to him until ten minutes later when he was parked in front of her house.
“You sure you’re going to be okay?” he asked, barely audible over the heavy rain. “That’s quite a bruise you’ve got there.”
Stick Girl laughed as she turned to look at him, a tendril of dark hair falling across her eye.
“I’ll wear it as a badge of honor,” she teased. “And, yes, I’ll be fine, stop worrying.” She lifted a hand to her mouth to cover a brief yawn. “I’m exhausted though. I guess I’ll see you in the morning?”
He nodded. “Of course,” he said softly, reaching out to tuck that stray lock of hair behind her ear. He let his hand linger on her cheek for a little longer than necessary before dropping it back to the gearshift. “And please, try to be on time.”
Taliana rolled her eyes but smiled back nonetheless. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I know how much you hate being late.” She chuckled and pulled back as she opened the door. “Goodnight, Seb.”
“Goodnight, Talia.”
His eyes followed her as she wrenched herself out of the car and sprinted through the torrential downpour to her house. After a brief fumble with her house key, she managed to get the door open and sent him a wave before disappearing inside, leaving Sebastian sitting by himself and desperately wishing he’d done something to keep her with him longer.
29
The Great Misunderstanding
If there was one thing Taliana knew for sure, it was that the phrase good morning was an oxymoron. There was no such thing as a good morning, especially when said morning included waking up at for yet another day of school.
Fortunately, this particular morning was a Friday, four days after her altercation with Zak at Arabella Phillips’ dinner party, and while Taliana may have hated having to haul her ass out of her nice warm bed, at least she had the long weekend to look forward to. The prospect of a three-day weekend motivated her enough to roll out of bed and stumble into the shower, realizing the sooner she got started on the day, the sooner it would be over.
Twenty minutes later, she was dressed in Trinity’s universally unflattering uniform as she breezed into the kitchen, surprised to discover the twins weren’t around. Usually, they were downstairs before Taliana was, often arguing about something. Today, however, the kitchen was quiet.
“Where are the twins?” Taliana asked her father as she handed her tie to him and hopped up on the counter. “Don’t tell me they left early for school.”
“That’s what they said, but I’m not sure I believe them.”
He shrugged as he moved to where Taliana was sitting and draped the fabric around her neck, quickly setting to work on the knot. Though she and her dad didn’t spend much time together, this had become one of their morning rituals. In a way, it was their distant version of bonding, though it was unlikely either one of them would admit it out loud. Clearly, she’d gotten her pride from him.
“Oh, by the way, your mother called.”
“Why is she calling you?” Taliana asked suspiciously as he tightened the knot around her neck. “Mom only does that when she can’t get in contact with me. And as far as I know, she hasn’t tried to call in a couple days. What did you two talk about?”