Under Shadow

1. Shane

Shane dribbled the ball passed Greg and passed it quickly to Jas. Jas darted across the lawn, her brows knit together in intense concentration as she weaved between her mother and father and shot the ball into the net.

Shane cheered, pumping his fist in the air as Jas ran circles around them. Greg leaned against his thighs, panting.

"Screw you, Shane," he muttered between breaths.

"I'm not the one that scored," Shane said with a smirk. "It was your daughter."

"C'mon, Dad, you're not even trying!" Jas whined, kicking the ball over to them.

"I say we switch up the teams," Jas's mother said. "It's not fair to put the two worst players together."

"Get good!" Shane teased, kicking the ball away from Jas and around them.

"Yeah Shane," Jas said, throwing her hands on her hips. "Me and Mom verse you and Dad!"

"I don't wanna be stuck with him," Shane whined playfully.

"Let's do it," Greg said, straightening and glaring at Shane. "If I'm going down, I'm bringing you with me."

Shane rolled his eyes and took his position in front of the net. He watched as Jas darted around her father with the ball, running right towards him. Shane grinned, preparing himself for the block as she neared. He watched the ball fly through the air and he dove across the net, blocking her shot.

"No fair!" Jas yelled. "You're bigger than the net!"

"C'mon, Jas," Shane taunted her, throwing the ball back into play. "I taught you better than that."

"You forgot one thing," Jas said, stopping the ball with her knee. She picked it up with her hands and glared at him with a devilish smile. "You also taught me how to cheat." Jas ran towards him with the ball in her hands, throwing herself into his gut. When his arms came down around her, she ducked quickly and tossed the ball around him and into the net. "GOAL!"

"Cheater!" Shane yelled, grabbing her by her waist and flipping her upside down over his shoulder.

"You always cheat, Shane!"

"Never!"

"Shane's a cheating jerk," Greg said as he made his way to them. "Never trust a guy like Shane."

Shane smirked as he put Jas back on the ground. "Don't trust any guy," he said, giving her a wink.

Jas crossed her arm and stuck her nose in the air before hurrying towards the porch where Aunt Marnie appeared with a pitcher of lemonade.

"Are you and Shane playing fairly?" Marnie asked Jas as Jas eagerly took a glass from her aunt.

"Mom and Dad are just mad because they can't keep up," Jas said into her cup.

"Thanks for teaching our kid good values," Greg said to Shane, slapping his shoulder.

"She needs some kind of skill, and neither of you are good at anything."

Greg shrugged and wrapped his arm around his wife.

"Clock's ticking," Jess said with a sly smile. "Jas needs a friend."

"Shane's gotta land himself a woman, first." Greg laughed sharply. "Good luck with that."

Shane narrowed his eyes at them. "Jas is enough kid for me."

Jess laughed. "You've come a long way, I have to admit. I thought you were gonna piss yourself the first time you held her. Looked like you saw a ghost!"