Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
“Maybe she decided to come over early…”
When his lips trailed down to her collarbone, an alarm went off in Taliana’s head. This was wrong on so many levels, and she was damning herself for letting what had initially started as simply for show begin to feel real. Her thoughts were so loud that she barely heard what he said next.
“Why are you so eager to get away?”
“Because…” Taliana trailed off, distracted by his touch. “Because you make me? nervous .” She managed to get her hands up to his chest, prepared to push him away. “Can you please let me go?”
She half expected him to refuse and keep her trapped against the wall, but he slowly took a step back, an unreadable expression crossing his face.
“Go see if it’s Blair,” he said gently before turning and striding back toward his bedroom.
Taliana was frozen as she watched him disappear inside and remained rooted to the same spot for a few more seconds until she shook herself out of it, but there was only one thought running through her head.
What the fuck?
Regaining her senses and recovering what little dignity she had left, Taliana turned her head just in time to see William disappear into another room. So Sebastian hadn’t been lying about him watching them… Not that she had a reason to believe he would’ve been. It wasn’t as if he felt anything for her, but she was almost positive she felt something for him-and it wasn’t hate.
Taliana didn’t let herself dwell on it. Instead, she willed her feet to move, and she stumbled down into the foyer, still in a bit of a daze. However, when she put her hand to the front door and yanked it open, she immediately snapped out of it.
“Hi, Talia,” Blair greeted. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
Ha, that was for sure. Not having to deal with her for a week had been a godsend.
“Yeah, I guess that’s what happens when you get suspended from school for associating with people like Zak.” Taliana shot her a sharp smile as she stepped back and opened the door further. “Come on in. I think they’re serving appetizers out on the veranda if you’d like to join them.”
Blair smiled back as she stepped inside, the scent of her jasmine perfume tickling Taliana’s nose. “Thanks, Stick Girl. Are you coming as well?”
“No, I think I’m going to go back upstairs with Seb.” A wave of pleasure surged through Taliana when Blair’s smile dimmed ever so slightly. “Hope you have a good time.”
With one last smile in Taliana’s direction, Blair sauntered toward the back of the house, leaving Taliana with the growing urge to smack something. Preferably Blair’s face.
Oh god. This was bound to be a long night.
27
Fear and Self-Loathing in Georgetown
Sebastian had always found that a shower was the cure-all for anything that was bothering him. He could always count on the hot water to ease the knots in his shoulders and soothe his mind, but today that didn’t seem to be working.
“You’re an idiot,” he scolded himself as he thunked his head against the shower wall. “An absolute fucking? idiot.”
The scalding water cascading down his back wasn’t doing anything to relieve his tension -tension that had come from the scene that had just played out in the hallway. He hadn’t meant to take it that far just because William had been watching them, so he couldn’t help but wonder what had pushed him to do it.
No, that was a lie, he knew exactly why he’d done it. He just wasn’t ready to admit it.
He blew out an exasperated sigh as he closed his eyes and let the water run over his face. Denial wasn’t going to get him anywhere, he knew that. He just needed to own up to the fact that he, quite possibly… …liked Stick Girl.
The thought brought about another head thunk. Maybe if he killed enough brain cells, he’d forget any of this ever happened. Hell, maybe he’d kill enough to forget she even existed.
Suddenly, the door to the bathroom swung open, and a wave of cold air blew in. Before he could say anything in protest, the intruder spoke.
“Dude, I can hear you talking to yourself from down the hall,” Michael called out as he kicked the door shut behind him. “If you’re going to do some serious self-loathing, you could at least be considerate to others and keep it down.”
Sebastian wiped water out of his eyes, frustrated at Michael’s inopportune entrance but glad no one else was with him. “Fuck off, Michael.”
“I never thought you were that type of guy, Seb,” he said in mock surprise, his footsteps drawing closer. “But if you really want me to, I can get in there with you. I’ll wash your back if you wash mine, sweetheart. What do you say?”
An involuntary smile pulled at the corners of Sebastian’s mouth. “Are you trying to cheer me up?”
“Something along those lines,” Michael replied offhandedly. Through the fogged-up glass of the shower door, Sebastian saw Michael wipe the condensation off the mirror to check his appearance. “But mostly I’m just wondering why you’re talking to yourself.”
“It’s nothing,” Sebastian replied shortly. “Really.”
“Are you trying to say you don’t trust me?” Michael gasped, mock hurt. “You wound me, Sebastian! Here I was thinking we had something? special .”
“I didn’t mean it like? that . I meant it in the ‘I’d feel awkward having a heart-to-heart with you while I’m naked’ way.”
“Well, you sure do know how to make any situation uncomfortable,” Michael drawled, stepping back from the mirror and moving toward the door. “But now that you mention it, I think I’ll wait until you’re dressed to attempt this again. If you need me, I’ll be downstairs suffering the wrath of your crazy ex-girlfriend. Just follow my screams of agony.”
Sebastian froze. “She’s here already?”
Michael grunted in reply. “Yeah, I saw her standing on the front porch before Taliana opened the door and let her in. And since I wasn’t keen on interrupting their little lovefest, I came in through the patio and hightailed it up here.”
“Smart of you,” he agreed, knowing damn well he probably would’ve done the same thing. “Just keep her occupied and don’t let her come up here, all right?”
The boy on the other side of the glass snorted. “What? You don’t want any ambush shower sex? I’m sure she’d be more than happy to comply.”
“Out, Michael.”
“Okay, okay, I’m leaving. Just stop talking to yourself. We don’t want anyone else thinking you’ve lost your mind.”
Sebastian waited until he heard the door shut before turning off the shower and stepping out, quickly grabbing a towel and drying off, then going to his bedroom to dress. Mere seconds after he’d pulled on his pants and done the last button on his shirt, the door swung open, and an agitated Stick Girl stormed inside, slamming the door behind her.
“I can’t do this,” she groaned, leaning against the door. “I really can’t.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked, taking in her expression and deciding not to go off on her for not knocking. Yeah, he may have liked her, but that didn’t mean he liked surprises now as well.