Page 16 of Fumbling in the Dark

Jermaine’s voice pulls me out of my anger spiral just enough for me to hear him say, “Are you datingtheShane Mitchell?”

“No. I went ononedate with him. Last night. In fact, it was a blind date and I’m not going to see him again.”

“Why not?” he asks curiously.

“Because he’s a liar. I’ve got to go to work,” I say hanging up without any more fanfare.

“Samantha,” I yell out through the small house.

“What?” she says coming out of her room.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Shane from last night was a football player?” I ask her.

“I didn’t know for sure. I mean, Kade plays football and I assumed that he knew him from there, but I didn’t ask. Why?” she says unapologetically.

I push my phone into her face. “I’m on the internet.”

She grabs it and I see her eyes scanning the article. “It’ll be okay. Just talk with Shane.”

Shaking my head, I take my phone back from her and tuck it into the pocket of my sweatpants. “No. I’m not going out with him again.”

“Janae. You like him, you should at least give him a chance to explain.”

“He’s a liar and you know how I feel about liars. I asked him if he played football and he said he worked for the team.”

I turn to walk back to my room to get ready for work. Right before I close the door, I hear Samantha yell, “It will all workout, Jay. Trust me.”

Chapter twelve

Shane

Putting my gear away, I can’t help but recall everything about last night. It was amazing and not just because we had sex. No, it was everything abouther. I’ve never connected with anyone like I did with Janae. She was nothing like I expected. I mean, it started off a little rocky because she showed up late and honestly that irked me, but as soon as she sat down next to me in the booth, it all changed.

We are completely different. I’m an optimistic person and mostly an open book. But her? She was like a rose right before it blooms. Closed up tight and a little prickly, but the moment she begins to open up, you can see that she’s going to be the most beautiful flower you’ve ever set eyes upon.

Look at this, I’m waxing poetry. No one has ever had me like this before and so quickly. I was with Shelby for a year before I even told her about how my dad could be, and I told Janae on our first date. The best part about it is that she listened, and seemed to care about what I had to say.

Most people only want to know about football when they’re trying to get to know me. They ask questions from how I prepare for a game to actual plays that I might use. It’s all ridiculous.

“Hey man, did you see this?” Kade says as he shoves his phone into my hand. Squinting, I read the headline and all the blood drains from my face. Shit, did Janae see this? The thoughts about not telling her right away that I was a football player rushes through my mind, and from what I know about her, she’s going to be pissed. Fuck.

I push Kade’s arm out of my way, muttering, “Do you know if Janae saw this?”

“Yeah. Sam’s the one who sent it to me,” he says.

“Fuck.”

“It’s not a big deal. So someone took a few photos of you, just be careful next time,” he says.

“That’s not the problem,” I say, tightening my towel around my waist.

“What’s the problem?”

“I didn’t tell her that I was a football player. Actually, I made it sound like I was a trainer,” I tell him.

“Oh shit, thatisbad,” he says.

“Yep. Now let me go take a shower so I can figure out what to do to make Janae go on another date with me,” I say as I leave him behind and head to the showers.

---