Page 22 of Fumbling in the Dark

“To his first football game. You should get dressed soon so we’re not late,” she says as she looks me up and down. That’s when I realize that she’s wearing a Vegas Vipers shirt.Is that the name of their football team?Nope, don’t care.

“No. I’m going to stay home. I don’t like football,” I tell her.

“Nope, you’re coming. Jermaine and Jasmine are already on their way,” she says.

“You brought my brother and sister into this?” I ask.

“Yep, it’s time to pull out the big guns. Now, go get dressed,” she says.

Knowing that none of them will let me get out of this, I turn away and slink back to my room to get ready. What does someone even wear to a football game?

Entering my room, I don’t have to wonder long because there is a Vegas Vipers shirt sitting on my bed. My guess is that Sam put it there. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, hoping I’ll be able to get through today.

How did I end up here?I’ve asked myself this a million times in the last hour that we’ve been here. I’m sitting in the front row on the fifty-yard line with a Las Vegas Viper’s shirt on, and letting Jasmine put a stupid tattoo of a glittery silver number twenty-three on my cheek. I don’t even know why that number. I assume it’s some football thing. At the time, it seemed like a good way to shut her up, but now I’m regretting it.

The crowd cheers loudly and everyone around me stands up in their seats, yelling and clapping. My eyes go to the jumbotron and I see that Shane made another touchdown, or at least that’swhat I think it’s called. When I told him I didn’t know anything about sports, I meant it. I’ve never been interested in learning aboutanysport.

After a few minutes, the cheers calm down and most people, including my brother, return to sitting in their seats.

The moment his butt touches the seat, I turn toward him and ask, “Is this almost over?”

“Stop being a sour puss. Yes, it’s almost over,” he says, returning his gaze back to the game.

Jasmine pulls my attention to her when she screams, “Isn’t this fun? I can’t believe Sam is dating a professional football player.”

“Whoa. Whoa. No one said anything about dating,” Sam yells from next to her.

Jasmine rolls her eyes at Sam’s words. “Whatever. Can you introduce me to one of his friends?”

“Sure. I’ll ask Kade,” she says, but the crowd begins cheering again, interrupting their conversation.

I watch in amazement as they both get wrapped up in the game. My eyes go to the field, but I try to avoid looking at Shane. Which is easier said than done, especially when he’s the one who is making all the plays.

“Whoa. Shane Mitchell is onfire. Welcome to the NFL,” the announcers say. A wave of sadness and pride washes over me. My heart breaks at the idea of not being next to him as he accomplishes everything he’s set out to do.

Jermaine comes over to me and says, “I told you the game was almost over.”

His words grab my attention and I look over at the field. The players are dispersed around the field, some congratulating each other, others talking with the media. Shrugging my shoulders, I guessed he was right. It looks like the game is over.

“Should we go then?” I ask him as I look around the stadium and see people leaving.

“Sam says we need to wait for Kade,” he says, looking out at the field.

“Okay,” I say, searching among the sea of people.

“Are you looking for him?” my sister asks me, pulling my attention to her.

“No,” I deny immediately.

“Are you sure?” she says, lifting one of her brows up at me.

“You might want to look over there,” my brother chimes in, pointing me in the direction of three players holding up signs.

The first one reads my name. Wait. I turn back toward my brother and ask, “What’s going on?”

“Keep reading, Janae,” he tells me.

Returning to the signs, I read them:

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