Shut Up and Kiss Me by Madeline Sheehan, Claire C Riley Read Free Book Online Page A

just shocked you brought him back here.”
    So was I. We had both agreed never to bring anyone home with us—friends or more than friends—for my peace of mind more than anything else.
    Sighing, Nikki lay down on the bed beside me, and together we stared up at the ceiling fan.
    “ I’m really sorry,” I murmured. “I wasn’t thinking.”
    “ Obviously,” she said, laughing. “But that’s sort of the point, isn’t it?” She laughed again.
    I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling mortified. I had never done this sort of thing before. Now I understood what the walk of shame was, and what it felt like. Only this wasn’t the walk of shame. This was a different sort of shame—the one where you woke to find the man you’d shared one of the best nights of sex with in your life had left while you were sleeping.
    I groaned again and Nikki rubbed my shoulder sympathetically.
    “ Let’s go out for coffee. We’ll eat donuts and get fat. Then we’ll eat more donuts because we’ll be fat and blame it all on the fact that men suck.” She grinned at me. “It’ll be a never-ending cycle of donuts and man-hating. Sound good? Good.” Rolling off the bed, her hands on her hips, she frowned down at me. “Get up, lazy ass.”
    Groaning, I dragged myself out of bed, throwing on underwear, jeans, and a hoodie before heading to the bathroom to quickly brush my teeth. Joining Nikki in our tiny living room, I sat down on one of our mismatched armchairs and slipped into my sneakers.
    “ I hate you,” I muttered.
    “ You love me,” she trilled happily.
    Scooping up our purses, we headed out into the sunshine, our destination the small café at the end of our block. It was still early, but the streets were already bustling with New York traffic, the sidewalks busy with people going and people coming. When I first moved here I’d hated it—the constant hustle and bustle, the never-ending noise. Here, there was always something happening; it was bright even in the dark, and teeming with life when I’d been nearly dead inside. Most of all, I’d hated it because it had been a constant reminder of how alone I’d felt.
    Inside the café, I took a seat by the window while Nikki placed our order, losing my thoughts among the stream of people passing by outside.
    “ So, spill it,” Nikki said, placing a coffee and a donut in front of me.
    I emptied several packets of sugar into my coffee and shrugged. What was there to say? It had been amazing—in fact, I was still sore from just how amazing it had been. But Will clearly didn’t share my feelings of amazement.
    “ It was a one-night stand, Nik, a one-time thing. There’s nothing to say.”
    “ I know that, but there has to be more to it.” Biting into her donut, Nikki groaned with pleasure. “God, that’s good. Why is all the good stuff so bad for us?”
    I shrugged again, my thoughts still on Will. Perhaps that was what this was: a sign that he was bad for me. Maybe this was a good thing after all, because when I really stopped to think about it, I knew I didn’t need the added complication in my life. And certainly no one needed the many complications I would cause in their life.
    I picked at my donut, pulling free a piece and popping it into my mouth. What was it my mom used to say to me? “A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.” I smiled to myself, remembering Will’s fingers digging into my hips.
    “ It was really good,” I said, sighing wistfully. “And I hate that I really liked him. It just makes me feel pathetic.”
    Putting down her coffee, Nikki shot me an incredulous look. “Oh no, Mila! You can’t fall for a one-night stand. That’s not how it works. One-night stands are like rest areas off the highway: you only stop to send a quick text and refresh yourself before resuming your travels. It’s the five-star hotel you should be looking for! Full amenities and shit like that!”
    Finishing my donut, I dug around in my purse until I found the note