Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
“Mom!” Taliana practically shouted, managing to shut them up for a moment. “I’m not pregnant!”
“Then why did Arabella call and say that?” Katherine demanded.
“Because she jumped to conclusions!” she exclaimed, throwing up her hands in exasperation. “Would you just drop it?”
Charles raised a threatening finger. “Now, young lady-“
However, Taliana’s mother was quick to wave a hand, cutting him off. She looked more intrigued by what Taliana had to say. “What I can’t seem to figure out is what you were doing with that Phillips boy in the first place. I thought you two hated each other.”
Great, now she had some explaining to do.
“We’re friends now,” she began uneasily. “Actually, we’re…kind of dating.”
Her statement was met with heavy silence.
“Dating?” her mother repeated, squinting. “But how-“
“It’s a long story,” Taliana interrupted, not wanting to get into the details. “We talked it out, realized we have a lot more in common than we thought, and just sort of hit it off. He’s really not that bad.” Well, that certainly sounded like a ringing endorsement. “I mean, I just really like him, okay?”
Andrea shook her head, pressing her fingers to her forehead. “If only you had figured that out years ago.”
Charles eyed Taliana wearily before blowing out a heavy sigh. “All right,” he conceded, bringing an end to the interrogation. “Go on upstairs, Talia. I need to talk to Kat and your mother.”
Not wanting to stick around longer than she needed to, Taliana hauled ass upstairs and collapsed on her bed. Once her heart rate returned to its normal range, she grabbed her phone and scrolled through to find Sebastian’s number, needing to tell at least someone that she’d come out of that encounter practically unscathed.
“Good, you’re not dead,” he said upon answering, finally sounding awake. “I was afraid I was going to have to find a new fake girlfriend.”
“It was touch and go there for a minute.” She sighed, kicking off her shoes. “This is the last time I’m letting you keep me anywhere overnight, Phillips. It never turns out well the morning after.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t have any plans to kidnap you again.” He paused momentarily, and it was then that Taliana realized he was breathing heavily. “Is there any reason for this call? I’m kind of busy at the moment.”
“Doing what, exactly?” Taliana questioned, suspicious of what could possibly have him panting like that.
“Plotting your demise.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, there’s a surprise. What else are you doing?”
“Out running with Michael. That’s why he tagged along this morning. I would invite you to come along, but I’m kind of sick of seeing your face.”
“I wouldn’t have come anyway. I can’t run for more than a minute without collapsing.”
“Are you seriously that out of shape?”
“If you haven’t noticed, my nickname is Stick Girl, not Fit Girl. I get winded just going up a flight of stairs.”
“That’s pitiful.”
“You’re telling me.” The sound of her name being called from downstairs floated into her room, and Taliana heaved another sigh. “I’ve got to go. See you tomorrow.”
“Unfortunately,” he said playfully.
Taliana couldn’t help but crack a grin. “Fuck you.”
Sebastian laughed, then the line went dead, leaving Taliana with a goofy smile on her face and a strange fluttering in her chest.
Honestly, it was kind of nice.
* * *
“Was that Talia?” Michael asked when Sebastian hung up.
They were currently jogging up Wisconsin Avenue for their usual Sunday run, and Sebastian spared a glance to his left to see the sly smirk on his friend’s face. “Yeah, it was.”
Michael’s smirk grew to a grin. “You’re actually able to hold a civil conversation now?”
“I guess we’re sort of friends now,” he offered as he narrowly avoided running into a telephone pole. “I mean, after last night… We kind of bonded.”
“Aw, how? adorable . When’s the wedding?”
Sebastian gave him a hard shove to the shoulder, forcing him off the sidewalk and into the street. A car screeched to a halt to avoid hitting him and honked its horn at Michael, who only continued to cackle as he jumped back to safety.
“You could have killed me,” he exclaimed cheerfully, settling back into the established pace. “Did I hit a nerve, sweetheart?”
“Oh just shut up and run.”
An hour later, they collapsed at a table outside Cool Beans, taking a moment to rehydrate before beginning the trek back to Sebastian’s house.
“I hate running with you,” Sebastian groaned, setting down his water bottle. “You’re barely winded, and I can barely breathe.”
“Lungs of a swimmer, baby,” Michael chuckled, wiping his forehead with the hem of his shirt. “Speaking of, I’ve got a meet next Friday. You coming?”
Sebastian shook his head. “Can’t. I’ve got my sister’s dance recital.”
“How exciting.” Michael’s eyes locked on something farther down the sidewalk, and his mouth twisted into a half-grimace. “Speaking of sports, here comes one of your lacrosse bros. I’m gonna go get an iced coffee. You want anything?”
“Grab me one too.”