Stepping Out : Young Adult Romance Books (A New Adult Romance Story "Swanson Sisters Series" : Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

the lists of the people he could contact and he should contact. He was almost embarrassed that he had never volunteered to work with disadvantaged children. Even worse, he had never even thought of it. He was burning with excitement and he wanted to tell someone about his plans.
    He reached for his phone. He wanted to call Alicia to tell her about his – and then he stopped. To tell her what? That he had taken a few preliminary steps toward his chosen life’s goal? Then he realized that he still did not have her phone number. He did have Sophie’s. Then he realized that it was after midnight.
    It was too late to call anyone tonight. However, tomorrow would be another day and he made a list for himself.

Chapter 6
    Alicia was surprised that her thoughts had returned to her dinner with Howard again and again. She reviewed their conversation and kept thinking about how he said he wanted her to call so he could ask her out on a date. She did have his number.
    All through her classes her mind kept wandering to the matter of calling Howard. At first she liked that he was willing to leave it up to her. Then she was annoyed that he didn’t take that opportunity to ask for her number. Her mind came full circle back to her world where no distractions could be permitted.
    By the time she returned to her room, Alicia was angry. She had wondered over the years how her mother had come to be such a bitterly unhappy person. At what point were her life’s choices taken from her? She had thought it might have been some big momentous event, such as a pregnancy that caused her to choose marriage over a career but the older she got, the more Alicia realized that could not be the case.
    Beyond the logistics of such a wedding which Alicia had explored in depth, Alicia had not been the reason for her mother to remain unhappily at home for years. Her mother could have done anything she wanted. She could have gone back to school, opened her own business, used her education….
    Alicia ’s mind slipped over all the thoughts and explanations so many times that they were nothing more than background noise to her own thoughts.
    After one date that was a pretty casual date with Howard, it came to Alicia. She suddenly saw how it could happen. It was nothing momentous after all. A person could become swayed from their chosen path with a series of minor choices.
    Calling Howard was one of those minor choices. It would only be polite to call him and thank him for dinner. That was just common courtesy. But if she called Howard, she was taking the first deliberate step and that could change everything.
    If she called Howard…. Alicia fell into a troubled sleep, angry at the situation she was in. She woke up a little less angry. However, she knew it would be another distracted day for her and it was nearly noon when she realized that her anger was still with her, still simmering under the surface.
    She was sitting on a bench, a bottle of water in one hand and a half a sandwich in the other hand, trying to regain her normal sense of equilibrium. Usually sitting outside and carrying out her own version of meditation helped her shut out the noise of her own thoughts.
    She was aware of someone sitting down next to her but that was not unusual. The bench didn’t have her name on it and usually other students sat next to her and they just ignored each other. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing slowly and mindfully.
    “Are you sleeping?” the person beside her asked and her eyes flew open.
    “Howard!”
    “You were sleeping.” He grinned at her.
    “No. Just trying to untangle the knots in my brain.” She took a bite of her sandwich. “Nourishing body and mind. It’s a healthy thing to do.”
    “So is calling me. That is a very healthy thing to do.”
    “I did intend to call you and thank you for dinner. I had a lovely time.”
    “So did I.”
    For all of their talking in the restaurant, they were having a difficult time with conversation at the