Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
“I don’t know,” he said instead. “I really don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
He cringed. “I don’t know, Blair.” He finally turned to her, taking in her conflicted expression. “I just want to move on. I just-“
“Tell me one thing, Sebastian,” she interrupted. “And answer honestly.” She drew in a breath, about to ask a question that was bound to shape the fate of the night. “Do you think we could ever be together again?”
The truth was on the tip of his tongue, a bold and resounding no, but he couldn’t get it out. “I don’t know.”
But that was enough for her.
He didn’t stop her as her lips met his, a question of a kiss. It was gentle, fleeting, but when her tongue brushed his bottom lip, he found himself pulling her closer. And yet, as his hands slid from her waist to her hips, the realization that this was the wrong girl draped across him finally sank in.
He needed to stop while he still could, but Taliana’s words were still burning in his mind.
She never loved him. She never would.
The little voice in the back of his head was whispering for him to leave, but the low hiss had morphed into an easily ignorable murmur. And when Blair’s hips pressed into his, he was done thinking. His fingers trailed up her back to where the zipper of her dress was nestled, and he tugged gently to make the barriers between them disappear.
Much to his chagrin, she pulled back and shook her head. “Not here.”
He leaned in again, missing the contact already. “Then where?”
“Come with me,” she said, rising to her feet.
He didn’t think twice as he followed her down the hall and up the stairs. The ultimate destination was her bedroom, a place he knew unsurprisingly well, and it took him no time to get back to where they’d left off.
He pulled her back to him, lips meeting again in a series of desperate kisses. His hands made it back to the zipper on her dress, but this time she didn’t protest, and the fabric pooled at her feet a second later.
His eyes drifted across her body, drinking in every detail. Even in his heartbroken haze, he knew the girl in front of him was the closest thing to perfection he’d ever seen in his life, but she was nothing in comparison to-
She doesn’t love me.
“Is this really what you want?” Blair asked, her voice once again drawing him out of his thoughts.
He didn’t want to hear her speak. He didn’t want her to remind him of all the things he’d lost while just trying to do good.
“I need you to be sure,” she pressed, turning her head when he tried to kiss her again, his lips meeting her jaw instead.
He wasn’t sure in the slightest, but at least there was one person in the world who still loved him.
“Shut up, Blair.”
43
(l)over(s)
She was perfection in the morning light.
Dawn had finally broken, weak rays filtering in through the curtains. For the past few minutes, neither had said a word as they watched the room go from inky black to pale peach. But for the two of them, the night had ended before the sun rose.
That didn’t stop him from following Blair’s every move as she slid out of bed and padded silently toward the window. She was unselfconscious about her body, but it came as no surprise; she’d always been comfortable in her own skin, especially around him, and even now that hadn’t changed.
Something else undoubtedly had, though.
“This was a mistake.”
She nodded once, but her eyes never left the window, the silence lingering. Sebastian leaned back against the headboard, the white sheet slipping down to his hips as he scrubbed a hand across his face. She hadn’t moved when he looked up again, the soft sunlight surrounding her. But as he stared, all he saw was a reminder of how much he’d ruined things.
Another reminder that this wasn’t the girl who held his heart.
“I think this was inevitable.”
Sebastian frowned. He hated the truth in her words, hated how easily she said it. But more than anything, he hated himself for not having recognized that sooner.
Blair chose that moment to turn back toward him. “Think of it as closure.”
“Closure?” he repeated, wanting to cringe at the sound of his own voice. “How is this closure? We’re not finished, Blair.”
How could they possibly be? This wasn’t a situation that could be tied up neatly after just one night. There was too much history, too much drama, too many broken pieces that needed to be put back together for this to be over. No, it wasn’t even close.
“Yes, we are.” She shook her head, eyes closing momentarily before slowly reopening. “We can’t keep doing this. You know that.”
He knew he should’ve felt some sort of emotion at this proclamation-joy, most likely-but the numbness had yet to dissipate from his chest. He wasn’t sure if it ever would. “So you’re giving up.”
“Yes.”
When a beat passed and she didn’t elaborate further, he prompted her with a simple question. “Why?”
Blair shook her head. “You know why, Sebastian.”
“No, Laleh, I don’t.”
And he truly didn’t. This wasn’t a girl who gave up, even when defeat was staring her down. In the situations where he would’ve bailed almost immediately, Blair would stick it out, and in most cases would win. There was no telling her something was impossible; the word wasn’t in her vocabulary. It never had been and probably never would be.
So when she frowned and glanced up at him with sad incredulity, he knew something had changed.