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

to put too much pressure on us. What if we don’t have a good time like we did on Sunday? Each of us is going to think that we will have to try harder to be entertaining.”
    “Oh no, not that. I will e nd up feeling like I’m having dinner with mom and dad. Perform Howard. Make us laugh. Make us proud.”
    Alicia said, “I used to think that when I grew up and got away to university that how mom felt wouldn’t affect me anymore. I’m glad to see that I am not alone in feeling that way.”
    “Is it how she feels that affects you? Or how she makes you feel?” Howard said.
    Oh, Alicia thought, he was overstepping the bounds of polite conversation. She bounced that boomerang back to him, “Is that the way it is with your dad?”
    “ A question is not a question if you already know the answer,” he responded. Then, changing the subject abruptly, he said, “I have a better idea. Let’s go to the new place downtown.”
    Alicia didn’t reply so he continued. “If you don’t like to make decisions, there’s always someone else willing to make that for you.” He realized he was taking a chance but he also realized it was a lot easier to focus on her fears then on his own.
    “It sounds like you might be more like your father than you realize.”
    “What you mean?”
    “It seemed to me when you are talking Sunday night that your father was used to making your decisions for you.” She hesitated then continued, “And that you are used to letting him make them for you.”
    “Blunt. And observant.”
    “Thank you,” she said demurely. And then she continued, “Small talk isn’t my thing.”
    “Nor mine,” he said. “Let’s make a deal. For as long as we are friends, let’s be blunt with each other. Talking to you the other night stirred up an energy in me that I didn’t even know I had.”
    “Agreed; let’s just be as open as possible with each other. I’d like that.”
    They were silent for the next few minutes as Howard maneuvered through traffic to the downtown area. As he pulled into the restaurant parking lot, he said, “Now I feel a tremendous pressure on me to say something witty and meaningful every time I speak to you.”
    “As well you should,” she said. She was smiling.
    “Do you think we can take the pressure?” he said.
    She ignored his question and said, “Or even worse. What if we get in the habit of saying what’s on our minds and we forget when we talk to other people and tell them exactly what we think.”
    “That might not be a bad thing.”
    Over dinner, Howard talked about the plan he was developing for his future endeavors. He sketched in the rough version of it on a piece of paper he got from the waiter. It was just the very basics of a plan that involve setting up a small organization that could network with organizations already in place and coordinate the skills needed with the areas that needed each specific set of talent.
    “The best part,” he said, “is that I can get started with some of the paperwork already.”
    Alicia was about to ask him what his father thought of the idea when she realized that the time had come for her to begin to view her life in a whole new light. Howard was clearly doing this project with no thought of having his father’s approval or thwarting his father’s life plan for him.
    He was doing it because this was his passion.
    ***
    It was Saturday night before Howard kissed Alicia. She had been kissed before, several times. She had even briefly dated two separate boyfriends during high school, one in her first year and one in her last year. She always disliked that time at the end of the date because it was a double edged sword.
    The kiss es had felt good and she’d liked having the boy’s arms around her but after the first few kisses good night, the hands would begin to wander, which had irritated her no end. Now with Howard kissing her and his arms around her, she felt her heart pound against her ribcage and wanted time to stand