Page 25 of Fumbling in the Dark

“No. Come on, I’ll show you,” I say as we get out of the car. Taking her hand, I walk her over to the bleachers of the football stadium. “Thisis my favorite place,” I tell her as we sit down in the front row.

“This is where I got away from all the bickering between my older brother and Dad. Or the perfectionism everyone expectedfrom me.” Pointing to the field, I continue, “Out there is the only place I could be free.”

She turns and wraps her arms around my neck. “I’m glad that you had football for all of that.”

I nod. Then I decide it's time to tell her. She has broken down enough walls for me and is ready. Sliding my hand into her hair, holding her possessively at the base of her neck, I say, “Janae Levine. I love you. The moment I saw you, I knew.”

Her eyes go hooded, and they move to my lips as she whispers back, “I love you, too, Shane Mitchell. I’ve just been too scared to say it.”

With her confession, I crash my lips to hers and as always, we enter our own world where no one else exists, just us two. Pulling back, I look deep in her eyes. “This used to be my favorite place, but now it’s anywhere you’re at.”

“You are my home,” she whispers.

And she’s right. No matter where we go, as long as we are together, we will be exactly where we need to be.

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Chapter 1

Cliff

“Understood sir,” I reply, but apparently that doesn’t get the ole’ kook to stop talking. He’s been saying the same thing repeatedly. I get it. Do we really need to hash everything out this many times?

“Even her teammates say she can be frigid. That she doesn’t socialize with them or even try.” He keeps going. “Even fans are talking about how cold she is when they approach her outside of the arena. They’re making videos on social media. Social Media Cliff!”

“I hear you Mr. Wilkes. I promise I’ll talk with her,” Irepeat once again but it takes everything in me to not lash out, I can feel him triggering my protective instincts for Jade.

“You do that, son. I want to see improvement over this upcoming season, or I’ll be forced to trade her no matter how good she is on the court.” Leaving me with those last words, he hangs up.

With my phone in one hand, I softly bang my head against the desk, hoping it will help a plan magically come to me. Dealing with managers and owners having hissy fits because they feel the players aren’t acting exactly how they want them to be is not why I left the family farm, my small town, behind to become a sports agent.

I wanted to help athletes accomplish their goals, especially those who have a harder time in the industry, like woman, but unfortunately, it’s part of the job. An important part of being a manager for women, because in this world we don’t see them as capable. I roll my eyes at the thought because every woman I know is stronger than most men.

Woman sports are less likely to make money, just because the audience doesn’t gravitate toward them, and that’s because we don’t market them the same as men’s sports. Anyway, I digress, but I could go on forever on this subject.

My stomach rolls at the thought of having to talk with Jade about all of this. She’s a talented basketball player and despite what the owner feels about her, she is nothing like he described. She’s strong, independent and knows what she wants, she can be hard to get to know sometimes which makes others uncomfortable around her. They’re a winning team so it’s obviously not an issue.

I hear the door to my office open, but I don’t look up to see who it is, needing time to figure it all out. “Cliff, why are youhitting your head on the desk?” Hunter, my boss and friend, asks me with a cautious tone.

I take a deep breath as I think about how I would still be stuck in Rose Valley if it wasn’t for Hunter.

I owe so much to him. When he came into our small town three years ago, to check out one of the local kids, I sat down next to him, both of us feeling sorry for ourselves, and he somehow got me to spill my guts. “Growing up I always thought I would do something in sports.”

“Really what changed?” he asks me with an eyebrow raised.

Shrugging my shoulders, I mutter, “Life.”

“Yeah, it has a way of doing that,” he said.

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