For Puck's Sake

Egon Wolf is on a hockey scholarship but failing at everything else. Knowing he's going to lose his ride if he doesn't get his academic act together, he seeks out a tutor. Rakesh Aahnu is a dual major and dangerous when bored. What he enjoys more than anything is the challenge of making straight men fall for him before walking away. Just because he can. Both Egon and Rakesh are about to discover that life has a way of throwing you in the sin bin when you least expect it.

I've been secretly married for eight years. Why is it a secret? Because having an open marriage splashed all over headlines isn't a good look. We'd constantly be under the spotlight, our lives and relationships judged. That's not the kind of hockey player I want to be known for, especially because we play for different teams. Although most of my relationships outside of my marriage are passing, I've been pining over my best friend and teammate for years. Years! Just as I decide that maybe it's time to see where this leads, management throws an unexpected play in our faces.

Even a gay athlete has an appearance to uphold. There are a handful out in every sport and while every trashy magazine wants to get the scoop on what the gays are up to, looking for a scandal and a way to ruin us, every one of us is constantly on our best behavior. Acting a certain way, dressing a certain way, speaking a certain way. If the world knew the real me, it'd shudder. Lace. Pearls. Dresses. Collars. All I want is to be someone's pretty little doll that they dress up and tell me how pretty I am. I want to be loved for the real me, not the image I'm forced to show to the world.

This wasn't supposed to happen to me. I'm supposed to be at the top of my career. Untouchable. Worshiped. Finally proving to all the jerks in my life that I made it. I'm at the top. Then a video that shouldn't exist leaks and everything comes crashing down. I'm about to lose it all and I can't seem to get out of my own way. My agent banishes me to a place that technology can't touch while he tries to salvage my career.

When you fight for so long, sometimes it's just easier to give in. I want to give in to the god before me. Sent to me from the heavens, Owen is the very definition of divine perfection. But he doesn't know my truth. If he did, he'd know that I don't belong in his world. The shame of seeing the disgust on his face when he figures it out keeps me running from him. Even though fate or destiny or something cruel keeps throwing us together. Maybe he's the motivation I need to get my shit in order. But can I do it before he figures out I'm nothing but a street rat?

After a series of relationships where I've been made to feel inadequate because of my asexuality, I've made the sole focus of my life my coaching career. I love hockey—the chill of the ice, the fast-paced, high-stress game. I love the fans and the atmosphere. The energy. Now that I'm coaching in the NHL, I feel a sense of serenity and comfort with life. All that's left is to get my team to the Stanley Cup. The frustration that my boys feel echoes through me, and after one of the most horrible plays I've ever witnessed, I turn my back on the ice—only to catch his eyes.

High school sweethearts, dream wedding, exotic honeymoon, white picket fence, two and a half kids… that's the dream. My prescribed future. Except, I don't want any of that. When my on/off girlfriend of fifteen years and I finally called it quits for good, I decided that I'm ready for a new beginning. I didn't expect that new beginning to be a dude.

Sometimes, all it takes is a single moment to realize you're needed somewhere, and in that moment, your entire life changes. Felton has so many broken pieces that he can barely breathe. But that's okay. I'm going to show this man what love is. If he doesn't have the capacity to protect himself, I'll do it for him. The abuse ends now.

I've lived a very quiet life, keeping my deepest secrets close to my chest. I let no one in, not even my closest friends. When I'm invited to participate in the All-Star Games, I'm suddenly forced to share a hotel room—and a single bed—with a stranger. My carefully guarded world starts to come undone when he kisses me, and I can't get enough.