Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
“We’ll be good, I promise.”
She smiled wryly, shaking her head as she inched closer. “Liar, liar.”
Her eyes met his for a split second before she closed the distance between them, their lips meeting in an innocent goodnight kiss. It was over in an instant, and before he knew it, she was out the door with her bag in hand. She didn’t even give him a second look as she moved toward the house and disappeared.
Once he was sure she wasn’t about to reemerge and drag him in with her, Sebastian pulled out his phone and eased away from the curb. As he made his way through the neighborhood, he hit Michael’s number and asked the question he already knew the answer to.
“You up for skipping tomorrow?”
“Hell yes.”
“Cool Beans. Noon.”
“I’ll be there.”
* * *
Cool Beans at noon on any day of the week was busy, but it was even more so on the first day of the work week, especially following a three-day weekend. Sebastian and Michael were seated in their usual corner, carefully sipping from cheap cardboard cups.
“So,” Michael began after a moment. “You and Talia, huh? Wow.”
Sebastian lifted a brow, amused by Michael’s inability to completely process the fact that he and Taliana were an actual couple now. To be honest, he almost couldn’t believe it either. “Is that a good wow or a bad wow?”
“No, it’s a good one, I promise. Just still a little shocked is all. I know I encouraged you to go for it, but…” Michael trailed off, a strange seriousness taking over.
The fact that there wasn’t even a hint of amusement on his face had Sebastian worried. It was a rare occasion to see his best friend fighting to find the right words. “But what, Michael?”
A few more awkward beats passed before the question came. “Do you really think this is going to work out?”
Shoulders tensing, Sebastian suddenly found himself on the defensive. “Why wouldn’t it?”
“Come on, Seb, you know I didn’t mean it like that,” he sighed, putting his hands up as a sign that he wasn’t trying to pick a fight.
“Then what? did you mean by it?”
Michael ran a hand down his face. “Take a step back and look at the situation, man. While you may have taken care of Zak, Blair is still in the picture. That’s all I meant, I promise.”
“That’s it?”
Michael answered with a shrug. “Why? Did you think I was going to bring up something else?” His hazel eyes scanned Sebastian briefly and, before long, a familiar smirk returned. “Aw, baby, you didn’t think I was going to accuse you of not truly liking her, did you? I’m hurt. I thought you knew me better than that.”
“Shut up,” he chuckled, tossing a wadded-up napkin in Michael’s direction. “I had no idea what you were going to say.”
Michael caught it with ease, a lazy grin sliding across his face. “Trust me, I have no reason to doubt your affection for each other. It’s disgustingly cute. I hate it.”
“Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”
“Fuck no,” he scoffed. “You know better than anyone that I don’t do relationships. They’re more trouble than they’re worth.”
Sebastian shot him a sly glance. “Sounds like someone’s a cynic.”
“No, just a realist.” He downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp. “You ready to get out of here? I’m sure we can think of something better to do than sit around all day talking about our feelings.”
“Yeah, let’s go. I need to stop by the store anyway.”
“Oh?” Michael questioned as he slowly got to his feet. “For what?”
Sebastian got up as well and took a moment to dump his empty cup in the trash. “I’m planning a surprise.”
“For me? Aw, sweetheart, you shouldn’t have!”
“It’s for Talia, actually. Sorry to disappoint.”
“Shame,” he sighed, moving toward the exit. “Just don’t tell me you’re going to do something romantic.”
Sebastian trailed behind, a smile tugging on one side of his mouth. “And if I am?”
A sound akin to a gag came from his friend. “What has that girl done to you?”
“I don’t think you want to know.”
“I definitely don’t.” Michael slung an arm around his shoulders once they were out on the sidewalk, eyes twinkling with a mix of mirth and what Sebastian could only name as approval. “Come on, lover boy, let’s go show your girlfriend what a sap you are.”
33
Unexpected Allies
Taliana could deal with an hour of Latin, an undeniably dead language. She could tolerate AP Lit taught by a spacey hippie. She could even deal with a double period of Calculus. But gym class with a bunch of other girls? That certainly wasn’t her idea of fun.
She usually never paid attention to the fact that she was lacking in the female friends department, but on Tuesday afternoon in the girls’ locker room, Taliana found herself wishing she had at least one her my corner.
“Oh my god, Coco, wasn’t that party at Bentley’s amazing?” the half-dressed girl to Taliana’s right gushed, tossing her plaid skirt into one of the tiny lockers.
Taliana vaguely remembered her name to be Kelsey, captain of the field hockey team. She remembered her and her best friend, Coco, from their lower school days, but they hadn’t gone out of their way to even say hello to Taliana since she’d been back, even though her locker was in between theirs.
“I know, right?” Coco squealed back, pulling on the hideous gray t-shirt that was part of the gym uniform. “Kate’s party just could not compare.”