Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
“Shit, man,” was all Taliana managed to mumble a few moments later, although she was quick to down the rest of her drink shortly after. “This isn’t remotely going the way I thought it would.”
Blair snickered and knocked back the last corner of her whiskey as well. “Don’t tell me you feel sorry for me, Stick Girl,” she mocked, reaching forward to grab the bottle to refill their glasses. “We can’t have that.”
“Hell no,” Taliana shot back, watching as Blair carefully poured the amber liquid. “Deep down I still think you’re a demon, but at least I’m starting to understand why you’re that way.”
“It’s like sympathy for the devil.” Blair set the bottle back on the table. “Alright, what else do you want to know?”
With one of the biggest questions out of the way, Taliana could feel a million more beginning to bubble up. Maybe it was just the alcohol in her system screaming that this was her one and only opportunity to find out everything she wanted to know, but whatever it was, she wasn’t about to stop herself from leaning in and asking more.
“If you were tired of people meddling in your relationship with Sebastian,” Taliana began, shifting so her entire body was facing Blair, “why did you try so hard to get him back?”
There wasn’t an ounce of mirth behind Blair’s answering smile. “Have you met my father?”
“Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure,” Taliana confessed, not sure she ever wanted to make the elder Bakhtiar’s acquaintance.
Blair let her head fall back against the couch. “He’s just yet another man who won’t take no for an answer. There seem to be a lot of those in my life.”
“Your dad was pushing for you to get back together? That’s why you were trying to break us up?”
“Less pushing, more like flat out shoving.” She rolled her eyes, upper lip pulling back in a vague sneer. “He made it clear that my only use was for making alliances, as if the only reason to have a daughter was to marry her off to the family that could offer him the most. And the Phillips have always been that family. So when I came back from boarding school, the first thing my father said to me wasn’t ‘Hi, Blair, I missed you,’ but ‘You need to fix things with the Phillips boy, or else.’ You know everything that happened afterwards.”
“So you essentially made my life hell to make your father happy,” Taliana hypothesized.
“More like to keep my father from making mine even more hellish than it already is. I had to get you out of the picture so I could have a chance to actually live my life.”
“And you almost succeeded,” Taliana mumbled, glancing away from Blair as a familiar resentment began seeping into her chest. “Or maybe you actually did. I’m not sure yet.”
A few long moments of silence passed between them, and then came a statement Taliana never thought she’d hear.
“I’m sorry, Taliana. I really am.”
It wasn’t the apology that got her to glance back at Blair, but the warm hand that had settled overtop hers, squeezing gently.
“I know you’ll probably never believe that in a million years,” Blair said, eyes locked on their hands. “But I needed to say it to you again. I did some shitty things to you and Sebastian, and I’m sorry. I said it before, but I know you were in no position then to really buy it.”
“That’s true,” Taliana chuckled, searching Blair’s face for any sign of deception, but there seemed to be nothing but remorse in her eyes. “Although if you actually think I’m going to forgive you immediately, you’ve got another think coming.”
Blair glanced up, amusement playing around her eyes. “I’d never expect you to do such a thing. Forgiveness doesn’t suit you anyway.”
Taliana sighed heavily but couldn’t ward off a smile. “I guess I’ll just have to keep being a badass bitch then.”
“Glad to hear that,” Blair laughed, raising her drink in a mock toast.
The girls clinked glasses and drained their contents, quickly refilling them without asking whether or not another round was a good idea, a process that ended up repeating itself over the hours they sat together on the couch. Taliana lost track of time as they traded questions and answers but couldn’t bring herself to care. As it turned out, Blair wasn’t terrible company.
“Okay, okay, one more question!” Taliana slurred, rising slightly from where she was kneeling on the couch, far closer to Blair than she’d ever been. “Did you ever, like, um… you know … with, like, Zak?”
Blair-who had her legs draped over the top of the couch and her head resting on the seat, hair practically spilling down onto the hardwood floor-made an exaggerated gagging noise. “Ew, gross, no! He’s so not my type. Like, honestly, I have no idea what you ever saw in him. He’s a total douche.”
“Oh my god, tell me about it,” Taliana groaned, running a hand down her face. “I can’t believe I ever slept with him, let alone dated him. That was the worst time of my-“
The sound of the front door slamming shut and boisterous male laughter caused Taliana to cut her story short.
“Ugh, they’re home already?” she whined, disappointed this strange bonding session was bound to end now. There was no way the two of them would be able to talk with the boys around. “What, it’s only like-” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Holy shit, it’s three in the morning. When did that happen?”
Blair shrugged, forcing herself back up into a normal sitting position. “Beats me. But I guess they had to come home eventually.”
“That’s a shame.” Taliana snorted but began to peel herself off the couch anyway. “I guess I should probably head up to bed before I get stuck having to fend off all those drunken dickheads out there.” As she stood, she glanced over her shoulder at Blair. “You coming?”
Blair shook her head and motioned to the corner of whiskey left in her glass on the table. “Gonna finish my drink first. I was raised to never waste good booze.”
“I guess your dad got one thing right.”
“Screw you,” she laughed, flipping Taliana the bird with one hand and grabbing the glass in the other. “It was actually my grandmother who taught me that one. Grandma Noor is an OG.”
“Well, maybe your family’s not all bad then.” Taliana shot her a wink before turning toward the door, already hearing her bed calling her name. “Goodnight, bitch.”
“Goodnight, whore.”
As Taliana stepped into the hall, carefully avoiding the front of the house where the boys seemed to be, she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. Maybe it was the booze, maybe it was exhaustion, or maybe it was the fact that she’d actually enjoyed talking to Blair, but the warmth in her chest was undeniable, and the lightness in her heart was more than welcome. Maybe this had been just what she needed.
And maybe-just maybe-grudges were overrated.
49
The Hamptons (II)
Blair Bakhtiar wasn’t one for apologies. Coming from her they were half-assed, insincere, and only given through coercion. But tonight, that hadn’t been the case. For once in her life, her apology had been one hundred percent genuine, and she had given it to the last person she ever thought she would.
And, dare she say, it had actually felt…good.
Blair let her eyes slide shut as she reclined on the couch, delightfully warm from the whiskey and conversation. She could hear the boys being rowdy in the front hall, a sound she found oddly soothing, and for a moment she was back in time-back when she and her boys were the best of friends, and she couldn’t imagine a moment when they’d ever be apart.
But nothing lasted forever.
It wasn’t the thought that made her crack open an eye, but the sound of footsteps drawing closer. She could still hear Jacob and Marcus horsing around, and even Jude’s maniacal laughter at what was happening, but two voices seemed to be missing from all the commotion.