Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
He pushed open the front door and ushered them out. “Ask away.”
“Why were they calling her Laleh?”
“Because that’s her first name,” he answered once they were all outside, the cool night air rustling the few leaves that had already fallen from the trees. “Blair’s just a nickname.”
“What’s her actual name?”
“Laleh Sahar. When our kindergarten teacher butchered her name on the first day, she was so embarrassed that we all helped her pick a nickname the teacher could pronounce, and it stuck.”
“I had no idea,” Taliana commented as she looked down the relatively busy street. “By the way, where are we going?”
“Discotheque M,” Michael announced, sweeping her away from Jude and Sebastian. “We’re going to have? lots of fun.”
“We better,” Taliana teased, hardly minding his arm around her shoulders. “Just don’t let me get drunk. I don’t want a repeat of what happened the last time I was wasted in a club.”
“You know you had a good time!” Sebastian shouted from behind them.
Taliana laughed and gave him the finger over her shoulder, trying to ignore the steady fluttering in her stomach.
Before long, they stumbled upon what looked to be a simple row house near the waterfront, except that the front doors boasted a velvet rope and a bouncer. With one glance at Michael, the ropes were lifted and the doors swung open, granting us all access to the hideaway.
“Come here often?” Taliana questioned as they stepped inside the dimly lit foyer with stairs leading down to a lower level.
His grin was blinding. “Often enough. Now come on.”
He was quick to pull her toward the spiral staircase that led to the lower level. While Taliana was expecting to see a simple house party set up, what greeted her was anything but.
It was as if they’d stepped out of Georgetown and into an underground warehouse that stretched much further than the width of just one rowhouse. The all-glass bar was the focal point of the dark room, illuminated only by the strobe lights, with what looked to be a separate lounge off to the right. The dance floor surrounded the bar and was packed with more bodies than Taliana thought possible.
With the sheer amount of people around, it didn’t take long for her to lose sight of everyone but Michael, who still had his arm securely around her. She wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or a curse.
“Let’s get a drink, sugartits!” he yelled over the music.
“Don’t let me have more than one!” Taliana laughed as she leaned into him, allowing him to lead the way.
She should’ve known from the playful gleam in his eyes that tonight wasn’t going to go the way she planned.
23
Drunken Confessions
“Hey, you wanna dance?”
Sebastian shook his head at the offer and let the woman walk away. For now, he was perfectly content to sit at the bar and watch his friends, whose antics were entirely too entertaining.
Marcus was off to the left of the dance floor with a harem of girls cooing over his boyish grin and dimples. Jacob had been abducted by a group of frat boys to play some drinking game Sebastian didn’t recognize but looked surprisingly complicated. And last but not least, Jude was making his way toward the exit, hand in hand with a guy who Sebastian had no qualms with calling attractive. At least good taste ran in the family.
The only ones missing were Michael and Taliana, and he hadn’t seen either since they’d arrived a couple hours ago. Something about that was vaguely unsettling, but as long as Michael hadn’t gotten her completely drunk, Sebastian figured he had nothing to worry about.
Unfortunately, that was exactly what it looked like Michael had done.
The pair had finally come into view halfway across the club, seeming to have just exited from the lounge. Michael looked immensely pleased with himself, while Taliana looked like she was having an even harder time than usual staying upright. Sebastian watched as Michael leaned down to whisper something in her ear, causing her to gasp and slap his chest playfully, a sign he had said something unquestionably inappropriate.
That was enough to set Sebastian in motion toward them, and Michael’s face lit up as he approached.
“Darling!” Michael exclaimed, reaching out to pat Sebastian’s shoulder with his free hand while the other struggled to keep Taliana upright. “We’ve been looking all over for you!”
His motion caused her to stumble slightly, and Sebastian was quick to save her from toppling over by slipping an arm around her waist and detaching her from Michael.
“Time to go,” he called over the music. “Get the others.”
“Aw, but we were just starting to have fun,” Michael pouted.
Taliana laughed as she clung to Sebastian’s shirt, as if it were the only thing keeping her on her feet. “Maybe? you were,” she drawled, clearly holding back a fit of giggles. “You kept making me spill my secrets.”
“Go, Michael,” he commanded, beginning to drag the drunken Stick Girl toward the staircase. “I’ll meet you outside.”
Though he was hesitant, Michael nodded once and disappeared into the crowd.
After he was out of sight, Sebastian finally spared Taliana a glance. “Are you okay?”
“I’m? fine,” she said, rolling her eyes as if the question was the dumbest thing she’d ever heard. “Just a little…tipsy.”
Jesus, the girl was farther gone than he’d thought. “Let’s go outside.”
It took a little persuasion and a lot of tugging, but he managed to get her outside. Taliana was quick to distance herself from him when they reached the sidewalk and pushed her hair off her shoulders, leaving her skin exposed. She shivered slightly when a breeze blew by.
“Are you cold?” he asked, taking in the goosebumps that had sprung up on her skin. He wasn’t sure why he’d even asked-it wasn’t like he was about to give her the shirt off his back or anything.
She shook her head as she stared down the street. “No.”
Despite her answer, his eyes drifted downward, suddenly aware of the fact that she was either wearing a flimsy bra or nothing at all under her clingy top. The outfit had caught his attention earlier, but now that the knot around her neck had loosened and was exposing far more of her, he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
“Your friends are saying differently,” he murmured before he could stop himself.
Taliana glanced down as well, finally noticing what he’d been staring at. “Well, would you look at that,” she giggled before glancing back to him. “I can’t believe you were staring at my tits.”