Her Sweetest Mistake (Amelia) novel Chapter 28

Step–Taboo

AMANDA’S POV:

Kyle looked at me with this weird mix of hope and hesitation, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his hoodie. Please don’t ask me to be your girlfriend, please don’t.

“Are you mad at me?” he asked, his voice all soft, making me pause.

I blinked at him, confused. “No, why would I be?” I said, shaking my head. I wasn’t mad. That wasn’t even the issue, if there was an issue.

He shifted awkwardly. “Cool. Um, do you wanna hang out later?”

For a second, I just stared at him. I knew what he meant by “hang out.” And honestly, I was so not in the mood for anything, let alone that. “Nah,” I said, trying to sound casual. “Not tonight.”

There was this awkward pause where I could feel him trying to figure out what to say next, and I was just praying for something, anything, to interrupt us. And then, like some kind of miracle, Shawn strolled over.

“Yo, Kyle,” Shawn greeted him, throwing a nod his way before looking at me. “Amanda, we’re late for class. Let’s go.”

I could’ve hugged Shawn right then and there. “Oh, right!” I said quickly, waving at Kyle. “I’ll text you later, okay?

I added, knowing full well that I wouldn’t.

“1

Kyle nodded, but he looked kind of disappointed. “Yeah, sure. Later.”

As soon as we were out of earshot, Shawn turned to me, his eyebrows hitting his hairline. “Okay, spill. What the hell was that about?”

I groaned, already regretting everything. “Nothing,” I muttered, avoiding his gaze.

“Don’t ‘nothing‘ me. Details. Now,” he demanded, crossing his arms and stopping right in the middle of the hallway.

I rolled my eyes but knew he wasn’t going to drop it. “Fine,” I whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. “I slept with Kyle.”

Shawn’s reaction was not subtle. At all. And I regretted telling him. “WHAT?!” he practically shouted, making a couple of people down the hall turn and stare. I smacked his arm.

“Shh! Keep your voice down!” I hissed, glaring at him.

He was still staring at me like I’d just told him I was moving to Mars or something. “You slept with Kyle? Kyle Kyle? Are you serious?”

“Yes, Kyle Kyle,” I snapped, feeling my cheeks heat up. “It’s not a big deal, okay? It didn’t mean anything.”

“Not a big deal?!” he repeated, throwing his hands up like I was insane. “Where? When? How? What the hell, Amanda?”

I sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to let this go until I gave him the full story. “The night of the party. In his car. It just… happened.”

Shawn’s jaw dropped. “In his car? Ew, Amanda!”

I groaned again, wishing I could just disappear into the floor. “Can you not make a big deal out of this? It’s done.

1/4

Step Taboo

+25 Bonus

Over. Forget about it.”

But Shawn wasn’t done. “Wait, wait, wait. Why? Why would you even…” He stopped mid–sentence, his eyes narrowing. “Oh my God. Is this because you were stressed? Cause of your mom?”

My stomach twisted, but I forced a laugh. “What? No. Don’t be ridiculous.”

Shawp just stared at me, his expression screaming, I don’t believe you. But thankfully, he didn’t push it. He just shook his head and muttered, “Unbelievable,” before dragging me off to class.

Once we were seated, Shawn leaned over like he was about to start interrogating me again, but I shot him a look that clearly said, Don’t even think about it. He sighed and leaned back, finally leaving me alone.

And of course, my thoughts went straight to Xavier. I wondered what he was doing, if he was even thinking about me. Probably not. I mean, we didn’t even have each other’s numbers, which was… weird now that I thought about it.

Class was boring as hell, and I couldn’t focus on what the teacher was saying. Something about… I don’t even know. History? Science? Whatever, it didn’t matter. I pulled out my notebook and decided to entertain myself by writing down random stuff.

At first, I just doodled. Little hearts, stars, random squiggles. But then I had this idea to make a list, a bucket list, sort of. 100 Things to Do Before the End of the Year. Why not? It was something to do, and it made me feel like I was actually in control of something.

I started writing,

1. Watch the sunrise.
2. Go to a concert.
3. Learn to cook something that’s not noodles or sandwich.
4. Get a tattoo.
5. Read a whole book in one day.
6. Go stargazing.
7. Ride a rollercoaster.
8. Try sushi.
9. Have a picnic in the park.
10. Write a song.

I paused, tapping my pen against my notebook. What else?

11. Take a dance class.
12. Visit a museum.
13. Paint something.
14. Go hiking.
15. Make a new friend.

2/4

Step Tobxon

16. Watch a foreign film.
17. Try meditation.

L

18. Go to a haunted house.
19. Bake a cake from scratch.
20. Go bowling.

I started to get into it, the ideas coming faster and faster.

21. Take a road trip.
22. Learn to skateboard.
23. Host a game night.
24. Volunteer somewhere.
25. Try karaoke.
26. Have a sleepover.
27. Build a blanket fort.
28. Watch a meteor shower.
29. Plant something and keep it alive.
30. Go to the beach.

Shawn glanced over at my notebook, raising an eyebrow. “What are you doing?” he whispered.

“Making a list,” I whispered back, not looking up.

“A list of what?”

“Stuff to do before the end of the year.”

He snorted. “Let me see.”

I shoved the notebook away from him. “No way. It’s personal.”

“Personal? You just told me you hooked up with Kyle in his car, but this is personal?” he teased, grinning.

“Shut up, Shawn,” I muttered, but I couldn’t help the tiny smile that tugged at my lips.

31. Go ice skating.
32. Write a letter to my future self.
33. Try yoga.
34. Have a water balloon fight.
35. Make a scrapbook.
36. Go to a drive–in movie.

+25 Bonus

37. Try a new hairstyle.
38. Do a random act of kindness.
39. Have a bonfire.
40. Ride a bike somewhere far.

The more I wrote, the more I felt this weird kind of joy in me. Like maybe, just maybe, things could be okay.

41. Learn to play an instrument.
42. Go camping.
43. Dance in the rain.
44. Visit an amusement park.
45. Make a vision board.
46. Send a message in a bottle.
47. Watch a sunrise and sunset in the same day.
48. Try a food I can’t pronounce.
49. Write a poem.
50. Have a “yes” day.

I stopped there, staring at the list. It wasn’t perfect or anything, but it felt… good. I looked through the list again

and thought about adding, have sex with Xavier but it seemed too soon so I decided against it.

The bell rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. Shawn nudged me. “Come on. Time for lunch.”

I smiled a little, tucking the notebook into my bag. “Yeah, okay.“.

Maybe I should also make it my goal to have sex with Xavier this week. Just for the fun of it. It shouldn’t be bad, right?

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