Rae of Sunshine (Light in the Dark 1)

Shit, now I felt like crap. Rachael would have never overreacted like this.

I hung my head in shame. “No, don’t apologize. You’re right, you were only joking and I shouldn’t have reacted like that.” I let out a pent up breath and admitted, “Sometimes I forget.”

“Forget what?” He tilted his head, his brows furrowing together.

“How to be normal,” I mumbled. I wished I could be a normal girl—like Rachael again. I wanted nothing more than to joke and laugh with Cade and not be so…so sensitive, like he said. But I couldn’t help myself. It was an automatic reaction and it made me angry with myself.

He chuckled and the sound was rich, warm and husky. “Rae,” he smoothed his fingers down my cheek and my eyes fluttered closed, “there’s no such thing as normal.” My eyes opened when his thumb circled over my bottom lip. He made that simple touch feel like so much more and I had to suppress the urge to moan. “Come with me,” he nodded his head in the other direction. “I want to show you something.”

I opened my mouth, unsure of what to say.

“Please, don’t say no,” he pleaded.

The smart thing to do would have been to refuse him and go back to my dorm. But I hadn’t done the smart thing from the moment I set foot on campus, so why change now?

“Okay,” I nodded.

He grinned boyishly and I couldn’t help smiling in return.

I followed him across campus and the amount of times he was stopped by someone wanting to talk to him was insane. I was starting to understand why he normally stayed hidden. And I knew Cade well enough to tell from his body language that he didn’t like the attention. Yeah, Cade could be arrogant at times and cocky, but what guy couldn’t? Most of the time he was rather shy. I found it endearing.

“Finally,” Cade breathed, when we reached a set of doors.

“Where are we going?” I hissed, looking over my shoulder. “I get the impression that we’re not supposed to be here.”

He chuckled. “Relax, I’ve got a key.” He pulled a key out of his pocket and held it up for my inspection.

“For some reason that isn’t providing me comfort right now.”

“Oh, Rae,” he shook his head, his hair falling forward to hide his eyes, “you need to get out more.”

It was true, so I didn’t argue with him.

He twisted the key in the lock and reached inside, turning on a light switch.

I stepped inside and looked around. Tile floor. Tile walls. And lockers. Lots and lots of lockers.

“Why are we in the locker room?” I asked as he closed the door.

“This isn’t what I wanted to show you, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he nodded for me to follow him. “This is just a shortcut.”

“A shortcut?”

“Shortcut. Pitstop. Does it matter?” He quirked a brow and stopped beside a basket. He picked up a football from inside and cradled it in his arm.

“Are we playing football?” I asked, following him once more.

He tossed the ball in the air and caught it. “I suppose, if catch was considered football.”

“Catch? Trying to make it easy on me?” I laughed, as he unlocked another set of doors. This time we stepped into what appeared to be a tunnel. I could feel the cool evening breeze flowing around us and see the stadium ahead. A rush flitted through my body. If this was even an ounce of the high Cade felt before a game… wow.

“Aw, Sunshine, I’d never make it easy for you. Then you might win and my pride can’t handle that,” he winked, bumping my shoulder playfully with his.

Feeling mischievous I reached up and snatched the ball from his hands and started running.

“Cade,” I called over my shoulder with a laugh, “I always win.”

Our laughter echoed in the tunnel and then I was on the field, still running.