The Next Step

ROMAN

I stared at Valerie, waiting for her reply. My heart was pounding so hard I was certain she could hear it, could see the pulse jumping at my throat, could sense the way every nerve in my body had drawn taut with anticipation.

Earlier, when I went back home, my grandmother had tried to blackmail me emotionally. She cried, clutched at my sleeves and told me not to abandon her, that she on