Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
“Let me guess,” Marissa giggled, twisting a lock of golden hair around her finger. “Going to visit your actual boyfriend?”
“Damn straight.” Taliana grabbed her keys from her desk and started toward the door. Being with her real boyfriend sounded a lot more appealing than being with her fake one, especially when he was practically fawning over Marissa. “Have fun, kids.”
Taliana didn’t bother looking back to see their reactions, but she had a feeling they’d be perfectly fine without her.
She left her car parked in front of the house and walked the short distance to Sebastian’s. Honestly, she was pretty sure she nearly ran-or at least powerwalked. Ten minutes later, she was standing on his front porch, hand poised to knock, but her knuckles never met the wood.
One second, she was face to face with the door, the next she was being yanked inside the house and into familiar arms. Before she could even say a word, Sebastian’s lips were on hers and his hand was slipping underneath her shirt.
What a greeting.
After recovering from the initial shock, Taliana was quick to kiss him back, her own fingers drifting down to the waistband of his khakis. Sebastian chose that moment to pull away and shoot her a satisfied smirk, but he leaned in again before she had to force his lips back to hers.
“We should break up more often,” he mumbled between kisses, dropping his lips to her collarbone. “You’re so sexy when you’re screaming at me.”
“Remind me to get mad at you more often,” Taliana chuckled, threading her fingers through his hair as he slowly worked his way back up her neck. “I think I like fake making up with you.”
“Baby, as long as you’re still mine, I couldn’t care less whether it’s fake or real.”
As his lips found hers once again, Taliana thought that maybe-just maybe-this whole thing wouldn’t be so bad.
38
Calm Before the Storm
Sebastian’s hand was on Blair’s knee. Her hand was over his. He looked distracted. She looked less than happy. He whispered something in her ear. She responded with a slightly forced smile and a chaste kiss on the cheek that had Taliana gagging.
Okay, fine, gagging and contemplating homicide.
“What’s the maximum sentence in DC for two counts of first-degree murder?”
“Don’t even think about it,” Michael scolded as he wrapped his arms tighter around Taliana’s waist. It was as if he expected her to attack the canoodling couple at any second and was trying his best to keep her far, far away. “We don’t need any trouble.”
Taliana knew he was right, but it didn’t stop her from scowling at Blair and Sebastian sitting on the opposite side of the courtyard. It was lunch time on a warm mid-April afternoon, and though it had been three weeks since her boyfriend and his fake girlfriend had gotten together, it still hadn’t gotten any easier for Taliana to handle. Had it not been for her ever-so-loving fake boyfriend and the late-night rendezvous with her real boyfriend, she probably would’ve called the whole thing off ages ago.
She was still tempted to. Seeing Sebastian and his ex together every day was beginning to take its toll on her. All the worrying about them possibly rekindling their romance made her nauseous, and the bottled-up rage that came from watching Blair fawn all over him had Taliana battling migraines. Unfortunately, all she could do was grin and bear the torture of seeing them together. She just hoped the sight of her and Michael together had the same effect on Sebastian.
“I’m not going to cause trouble,” Taliana grumbled, letting her head fall back against Michael’s shoulder. “Well, maybe. Just not right now. I promise.”
“Oh, sugartits, what am I going to do with you? You’re a menace.”
Taliana shrugged, but his teasing tone did lighten her scowl some. “You should probably lock me up somewhere. Mental institution, possibly?”
“That’s a solid option,” he said, leaning down to press his cheek against hers, allowing her to feel his grin. “I think it might be a perfect fit.”
Taliana pursed her lips to keep from smiling along with him. “You’re lucky we’re pretending to be in love. Any other time I would have elbowed you in the gut.”
“At least you weren’t considering the groin.” He shifted, probably grateful she hadn’t issued a blow to the family jewels. “Hey, are you and Sebastian getting together later?”
Taliana quickly scanned the group of people surrounding them to make sure no one was listening before answering with a slight nod. “He’s supposed to come over tonight. Why? You didn’t want to hang out, did you?”
“God, no,” he scoffed, as if the idea were outrageous. “I don’t think I could take another second with you. You’re all Sebastian’s tonight, sugartits.”
“You sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself,” Taliana muttered.
“It’s my specialty.” He pressed a loud kiss to her cheek, but instead of pulling back a moment later as he usually did, he dropped his lips to her neck.
Taliana froze momentarily, not knowing what he was doing. This was the biggest show of affection they’d ever put on. While she’d seen Blair and Sebastian exchange a couple kisses on the cheek, Taliana had made it very clear to Michael that his mouth needed to stay as far from her as possible. The furthest she let him go was a lingering hug or two, so the fact that she’d been sitting wrapped in his arms for all of lunch was quite a stretch.
However, it didn’t seem like there was anything she could do right then about the current issue of his lips on her neck. If she pulled away, it would send the wrong message to anyone watching, but if she didn’t, she’d feel dirty for the rest of the day. Or hell, the rest of her life.
“Stop freaking out, I’m not enjoying this anymore than you are, trust me,” Michael murmured against her skin, nuzzling her jaw. “Just look at your boyfriend.”
Taliana did as Michael said, and the sight that greeted her made her feel a hell of a lot better. To say her boyfriend looked unhappy would’ve been an understatement, considering he was all but glowering in their direction. Blair tried to regain his attention, an attempt to save face, but Taliana knew she would fail as long as Michael continued to kiss Taliana’s neck.
“See?” He chuckled a moment later. “You’re not the only one contemplating murder at the moment.” He pulled away after that, laughing softly as he leaned back on his elbows. “Mon Dieu, if I’d known I could make him this angry, I would’ve done it a lot sooner. Maybe we should make out next.”
Taliana couldn’t help but grin as she watched Sebastian realize what Michael had just done, which was quickly followed by his lackluster attempt to look indifferent once more. Taliana was almost tempted to blow him a kiss, but she resisted.
“He’s going to kill you later, you know,” she pointed out to Michael, not particularly concerned.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Taliana rolled her eyes but was distracted from commenting on his cockiness by her phone buzzing in the grass. She scooped it up and opened the message, biting her lip to keep her grin from expanding as she read her newest text.
I’ll be at your house at 3:30. And tell Michael if he tries that again, I’ll choke the shit out of him.
* * *
Sebastian got to Taliana’s house before she did.
She honestly wasn’t surprised to see him leaning against his sleek car, arms crossed and eyes cool, but she was amused nonetheless. He, however, was the furthest thing from it.
“Is this how you feel when you see me and Blair together?” he asked as Taliana slid out of her own car. “Angry, disgusted, and hurt?”
She smiled as she shut the car door and moved toward him. “Maybe a little.”