Rae of Sunshine (Light in the Dark 1)

“Here they come!” Thea grasped my arm, her fingernails digging in to the point that she drew blood.

Our team—and I on

ly knew that since they were wearing blue and yellow—ran out on the field. They were huge, all tall and muscular. It made for an intimidating sight.

And then the atmosphere changed. Everything became hushed and music—some rock song or something—started to play through the speakers.

The last player slowly walked out onto the field, his shoulders straight. When the music picked up he turned to face us, as he walked sideways. He lifted his arms in the air and jumped up and down a bit, hyping the crowd up even more.

I knew it was Cade. It sounded crazy, but I felt that it was him.

The antics he was pulling on the field with the crowd didn’t seem like the Cade I knew, but what did I really know about him?

After he had the crowd worked into a frenzy he ran over to his teammates. I made sure to memorize his jersey number. Eighty-three.

“Isn’t it incredible?” Thea asked me with wide eyes.

“Spectacular,” I agreed. And it was. I couldn’t deny that even if I had no idea what the hell was going on.

The opposing team came out without the pomp and circumstance ours had.

When they started playing I watched with awe. For the first time ever I wasn’t bored out of my mind watching football. My dad had been obsessed with it and every weekend during football season it was the only thing on our TV. I’d never cared about it then. But now I had someone to root for.

At one point Cade was tackled to the ground, rather forcefully from what I could see, and I winced, hiding my face behind my hands. I didn’t like seeing him hurt.

During halftime when they were about to walk off the field, I watched Cade remove his helmet and turn to search the stands. His shaggy hair was damp with sweat and he pushed his fingers through it, forcing it away from his eyes.

His gaze landed on me and his grin spread. He slowly lifted an arm and pointed right at me.

Thea squealed, “I knew it!” She kicked her legs excitedly.

With a wink, Cade lowered his hand and ran off the field.

People in the stands looked around wildly, trying to find whom he’d been pointing to. I knew it was impossible for them to figure out it was me, but I still found myself trying to blend in and not try to catch their attention.

“You are so dating my brother you little liar,” Thea said from beside me. I turned to her and let out a sigh. She wasn’t mad at the idea of me dating her brother, oh no, she was so dang excited, which made it difficult to keep telling her that nothing was going on.

“I’m not, I swear,” I told her. “I know you’re probably already planning our wedding and excited over the idea of us being sister-in-laws, but Cade and I are not dating.” I slashed my hands through the air. “We’re just friends.”

Thea sighed, her eyes growing sad, but she quickly brightened. “For now.” She let the subject drop and turned her attention to one of the people walking the stairs selling food. Once she’d bought enough food for ten people she shoved most of it at me and demanded that I eat. Cade might be Cocky Cade, but Thea was Bossy Thea. It didn’t have quite the same ring to it, but it was the truth.

I couldn’t believe that only a few weeks ago I’d told this girl I wasn’t here to make friends, but yet I was sitting beside her at a football game, and it was safe to say that we were friends. My plans never seemed to work out.

“So,” I asked, munching on some popcorn, “where are Xander and Jace?”

“Xander plays football,” she explained, “and Jace is…Jace. This isn’t his thing.”

“He seems kind of…odd. Nice,” I assured her, “but odd.”

“Like you?” Her eyes sparkled with laughter.

I laughed, tossing some popcorn at her. “Yes, like me.”

“I don’t really know how to explain Jace. We grew up with him too, but he didn’t really become friends with Cade until high school. I don’t know the story there.”

“So…what’s going on with you and Xander?” I asked and watched her cheeks flame with color.

“Nothing.”