Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
“I’m sorry, what?” Blair interrupted, her expression one of genuine confusion. “He told you we slept together?”
“Did you really think he wouldn’t tell me about it?” Taliana dragged a hand through her hair, suddenly annoyed again.
Blair’s snort of laughter caught Taliana off guard. “I can’t believe he would say something like that. Come on, the one thing you don’t lie about is sleeping with your ex-girlfriend. What a prick.” A sound of disgust escaped her. “Ugh, never mind, maybe you shouldn’t get back together.”
Taliana ignored that last part, too focused on the beginning. “What do you mean, he lied to me?”
“We didn’t sleep together,” she said, as if it were common knowledge. “Honestly, all he did was cry on my shoulder over you.”
Taliana shook her head, unable to accept that Sebastian would lie about something so major, something that could’ve saved them both a lot of pain. “I don’t believe you.”
“It’s the truth,” Blair said breezily as she got to her feet. “But whether you choose to believe me or not isn’t my problem. Ball’s in your court, Stick Girl. You get to decide how this is going to end.”
With one last glance in Taliana’s direction, Blair turned on her heel and strode out of the cafeteria, commanding all the attention in the room.
Taliana still may not have liked her very much, but she had to hand it to her: the girl certainly knew how to make an exit.
* * *
Jude ignored Taliana for the rest of the week.
Despite the fact they shared three out of four afternoon classes, he refused to even look in her direction, let alone speak to her. Taliana’s attempts to get his attention were denied, and he had gone so far as to switch seats in their last class just so they wouldn’t have to make eye contact.
By the time the final bell rang on Friday, she couldn’t take it anymore.
“You’re lucky I like you,” Taliana huffed, finally managing to corner him as he was putting his books into his locker, “because I wouldn’t put up with this from just anyone.”
Although it wasn’t quite an apology, Jude’s eyes finally flicked in her direction, but clearly it was going to take more than that.
“I’m sorry, okay?” Taliana sighed, reaching out to grab his arm. “I’m sorry I’ve been so sad and mopey, but I had no idea this affected you too. I really didn’t, Jude.”
Jude looked like he was tempted to continue ignoring her, but he clearly couldn’t hold back any longer. “Of course it did!” he blurted, turning to face her. “Don’t tell me you really thought that seeing you so sad wouldn’t get to me.” Jude heaved a sigh and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Look, I’m sorry about what I said, but seeing you so upset over a boy just made my heart ache. You know I hate to see you hurt.”
Taliana nodded, beginning to understand how he felt. “I know, and it’s a crappy situation for both of us.”
“You’re telling me.” He snorted, that familiar twinkle coming back to those dark blue eyes. “I’ve got to put up with listening to you? and Sebastian whine.”
Taliana laughed along with him, and then, just like that, it was as if a switch had been flipped. Before she could think to take a precautionary step back, Jude swept her into a hug, squeezing so tight that she thought her ribs would crack.
“I’ve missed you,” he said. “Can I please have my happy Talia back now?”
Wincing, she tried to pry his arms away. “I’ll consider it if you let go of me.”
She exhaled in relief when Jude finally released his grip, but he kept an arm draped around her shoulders. It was a comforting weight, one she’d missed during their time apart. Jude was her best friend, her brother, and the one she knew would always be there for her, even if he did throw hissy fits every so often.
“Hey, wanna come over tonight and watch a movie?” he asked, twirling a piece of her hair around his finger. “I was thinking we could pop in some violent action movie so you can laugh at me every time I cover my eyes.”
“That depends. Will there be food involved?”
“For you, anything.” Jude pressed a kiss to her temple before pulling away. “I’ll see you at six.”
Taliana watched as he closed his locker door and strode off down the hall, allowing herself to smile for the first time in too long. Jude was right, it was time to start moving on, to learn from what had happened and better herself with it. There was no reason to act like her entire life had just ended when it had really only just begun.
He’s just a guy, she tried to remind herself.
He’s just a guy, and I’ll get over him.
Even if he’s a guy I still love.
46
A Not-So-Fairytale Reunion
It was a little past six fifteen when Taliana pulled onto Jude’s narrow street. His car was parked in the driveway, right outside the closed garage doors, leaving her to find a spot on the street. The fact that his car was in the driveway instead of tucked away in the garage seemed a bit odd, not because he usually saved that spot for guests, but because the sports car was his baby; he stopped at nothing to make sure no harm would come to it. Still, Taliana brushed it off as she backed into a tight spot across the street.
The door was ajar when she reached the front porch, so after giving a precursory knock, she pushed her way inside.
“Jude?” she called as she shut the door behind her. “You down here?”
She waited a moment for an answer, but one never came. Still, she could smell the scent of baked goods wafting from the kitchen, so she figured he was in there and hadn’t heard her.
Knowing he’d find her hanging around eventually, Taliana kicked off her shoes and started for the living room, already going through a mental list of action movies they could pop on.
But all her ideas disappeared when she saw who was standing by the couch.
She had to grab the doorframe to keep on her feet. From the way his eyes widened and lips parted in surprise, it looked like Sebastian was in the same boat.
“Taliana,” he said softly, and she knew as soon as her heart skipped a beat that there was no way she’d be getting over him anytime soon.
That realization hadn’t come by itself, though. Instead, it was tied to the unfortunate comprehension that she’d been tricked into coming here.
“Son of a bitch,” she swore, hoping Jude was within earshot this time.
Sebastian lifted a brow, offense in his eyes. “Excuse me?”
“Not you,” she brushed him off with a sigh, letting go of the doorframe as she stepped further into the room. “Though it would be fitting.”