Rae of Sunshine (Light in the Dark 1)

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“Small?! You call this small?!” I shrieked, sinking my hands into the fabric of the Jeep’s seat. I stared at all the cars lining the street and the large amount of people hanging around outside despite the cold.

Cade shrugged sheepishly. “I may have underestimated the size.”

I felt like I was suffocating. Was this what a panic attack felt like? Oh God.

I clutched at my chest, dragging air into my feeble lungs.

“Rae?” He questioned. “Are you okay?”

“Give me a minute,” I pleaded.

Even Rachael would’ve had trouble with a party this size, so Rae was in full on freak out mode.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

I wanted to climb in the back and hide beneath the seat.

“It won’t be that bad,” Cade said soothingly. “I’ll be by your side the whole time. There’s nothing to worry about. It’ll be fine.”

I chewed worriedly on my fingernail.

“We won’t stay long, I promise, but I have to show up or the guys will give me hell.” He took one of my hands in his, rubbing it soothingly. “Whatever you’re imagining I promise it’s not like that.”

He was making an awful lot of promises I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to keep.

I looked at the house and back to him. “Okay.”

If I didn’t get out of this car now, I never would, and I think Cade sensed that because at my word he was out of the car and at my side in only a few seconds.

“Breathe,” he told me, pulling me against his side.

Breathe? What was breathing?

Oh, yeah. That thing where you forced air in and out of your lungs.

Cade’s hold on my hand was tight as we slithered between cars and up to the front door. The people milling around outside didn’t seem to be paying us any attention. They were too busy smoking something that was definitely not a cigarette.

Cade didn’t bother to wait for anyone to come to the door. He just reached out, took the knob in his hand and twisted it.

I immediately wanted to slap my hands over my ears from the deafening sound of the music playing. The rumble of so many voices didn’t help my ears to feel any better. I realized as soon as the door closed behind us that there was no way Cade and I were going to hear a word the other said.

Cade pushed through the throng of people crowding the entryway, heading towards t

he back of the house. I could see the kitchen and figured that was his destination. I held tightly to his hand, afraid if I let go that I would be sucked into a black hole and lost forever.

He looked back at me and seemed to sense my fright, so he drew me closer to his body until I felt like I was glued to his side.

“Hey, Cade,” someone I couldn’t see called.

Then a chorus of, “Hi, Cade,” and “Hey, Cade,” started up.

He nodded, not really acknowledging a specific individual.

We finally made it to the kitchen and it was as packed as the living room and dining room we’d come from.

“Want anything to drink?” He asked me.