Page 16 of Meet the Teacher

20. Go camping at Cherry Springs

21. Stay up and watch the sunrise

22. Throw a pie in Mr. Parson’s (Summer’s old retail manager’s) face

23. Flash or moon someone

24. Crash a wedding

25. Take a class to learn something new

26. Cliff dive off Sunrise Rock

And I added one just for you . . .

27. Ditch a plan and follow your heart, even if it scares you

I finish reading through the list aloud with Zayn next to me. Once I’m finished, I burst into tears again.

“Whoa, Autumn. It’s okay,” he says leaning in closer to me. He rubs my shoulder, which surprisingly doesn’t repulse me. “You feelin’ like you aren’t ready to do these things?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Well, no, but it’s not that . . . I just can’t believe she’s gone and I’m doing all this without her.” Wiping away more tears, I take a sip from the cup of water he brought me. I add, “And to be quite honest, I am a chicken. I’m not a risk-taker.”

Zayn pauses for a moment, licking his lips before biting them. He always used to do that when he was thinking. I used to think it was so hot. Okay, fine. It still freaking is. “It seems like a fairly low-risk list. No sky diving, no bungee jumping. I do get the toilet papering of Nick Hartzell’s house though. That dude was a scumbag. But other than that, where are all the thrill-seeking adventures Summer was all about on this list?” He looks at me with eyebrows raised.

“Well, I told her we could make the list under the condition that it had be to things I agreed to.”

He gives an understanding nod. “Well then, that’s quite the list there, but you’ve already done most of it by now, I’m guessing?” he asks.

“Hmm . . . honestly, no. That’s what I’m saying. I’m still as much of a scaredy cat as I was the day we made this,” I admit. “Half of these Summer had already done when we were younger, but she wanted me to do them with her. Like I can bury her in the sand all day, but I’d rather die than get buried in it.”

“Scared no one will dig you back out, huh?”

“Um, yes. Exactly. I can’t trust anyone,” I say. As soon as the words leave my lips, I realize he probably thinks I’m directing that at him.

“Let’s find you a pen so you can definitely cross out the ones you have done. Maybe it’ll seem less intimidating then,” he suggests.

I read through the list again. “Hmm, well number one is definitely done. Not that it’s the dream job I thought it would be, but nevertheless, it was part of the list that I did.”

“Teaching isn’t what you expected it to be, huh?” he asks.

“Yeah, it’s a long story. I’m considering a career change, but I’ve already been hit with so many dang changes that I might combust if I have to handle anymore,” I answer honestly.

“I remember how much you hated change,” he says. For some reason, I like that he remembers that about me. “So, what else have you already done then?”

“Thanks to yesterday’s adventures, I now have taken a Four Horsemen shot and danced on a bar.”

Zayn chokes on his own spit before laughing. “That makes so much more sense now! I was wondering why the hell you ordered that drink at Karma.”

“Oof, you saw that?”

“Yeah, I heard Joe giving you a hard time about ordering it. He seemed to be caught off guard about you doing it, too.”

I nod. “Yeah, and for the record, I don’t usually go around dancing on bars, either.”

Zayn laughs. I look back to the list.

“You did fracture your foot from the bar fall, so you’ve now broken a bone, right?” Zayn asks.

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