Book picks similar to
Second Chance by Van Barrett
sports
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m-m
cowboys
Heels Over Head
Elyse Springer - 2017
He intends to keep pushing himself with one very clear goal in mind: winning gold at the summer Olympics in two years. That medal might be the only way to earn his father’s respect as an athlete.Brandon Evans is everything Jeremy isn’t: carefree, outgoing, and openly gay. With his bright-blue eyes and dramatic tattoos, he’s a temptation that Jeremy refuses to acknowledge. But Jeremy can’t ignore how talented Brandon is—or that Brandon has no interest in using his diving skills to compete.They’re opposites who are forced to work together as teammates, but Jeremy’s fear of his own sexuality and Brandon’s disinterest in anything “not fun” may end their partnership before it begins. Until a single moment changes everything, and they help each other discover that “team” can also mean family and love.
Offside Pass
Stephani Hecht - 2011
Set to become the next superstars of the sport, they had lucrative contracts and numerous endorsements within their reach. Then the bottom fell out of their world and everything changed. Now struggling to make ends meet, they have been reduced to playing in the minor leagues. To make matters worse, they all end up playing for the same dead-end team, the Battle Creek Hawks. Not only hasn’t that team won a game in three years, but their arena is falling down around them and is in danger of being condemned. Then Devon and his brothers hit a new low when they get thrown out of their first game for getting into a brawl…with each other.Battle Creek Times sports reporter Saul Davis knows the instant he see the three brothers beating the snot out of each other that he has a story. It only takes a little digging to find out how far the once promising hockey players have fallen. Intrigued, Saul tries to pin down Devon for an interview, only to be rudely rebuked. Unfortunately for Devon, that only makes Saul more determined to get to the bottom of the story.Then Saul uncovers something about the brooding hockey player that could not only destroy the man’s reputation, but also ruin any chance of him every playing on the professional level again. Saul knows he should go ahead and run the story, but as he finds himself growing closer to Devon, he realizes that his feelings for the other man are too strong to ignore. When a rival reporter also discovers Devon’s secret, Saul recognizes that he may have to make the most painful decision of all – his own journalism career or Devon.
Bat Boy
Christina Lee - 2020
Except, things have never come together for me in the romance department. Until Kellan Crawford walks onto the field as the team’s newest bat boy. Bells and whistles go off in my body, and just like that, I’m totally crushing on a guy for the first time in my life. Too bad he’s the coach’s son and officially off-limits.Kellan CrawfordI’m working toward my statistics degree, so landing the bat-boy position with the Easton U Pirates is right up my alley. It keeps me close to the action on the field, even if that means hauling equipment, picking up sweaty jockstraps, and putting up with the players’ antics. My dad’s the coach, and his number-one rule is never to play favorites…which probably includes getting too friendly with the team captain. But Brady Donovan’s annoyingly perfect smile and protective nature are making that nearly impossible.When something shifts between us at an away game, everything is thrown off-kilter. Donovan’s never been with a guy before, and I certainly don’t want to be his test case. But I can’t seem to help myself. He’s sweet and hot and somehow charms the baseball pants right off me. If Coach ever catches wind of this, he’ll bench us both. Disappointing my dad might kill me, but so would losing the guy who makes my heart pound harder than a home run in the bottom of the ninth.So much for not playing favorites.
The Quarterback
Mackenzie Blair - 2017
Matt is also very much in the closet, and he thinks he’s kept his secret well hidden. Until his best friends take him to a happy endings massage parlor and request a male masseuse for him. In walks Trevor Kim, a gorgeous, pierced, tattooed fellow Bodine student who does massages—without happy endings—to pay for school after his family kicked him out for being gay. Trevor takes one look at Matt and breaks all his own rules about mixing business with pleasure.Matt needs to keep his scholarship, win the National Championship, and survive his asshole father. Instead, he falls in love. Trevor needs to accept that the football god is meant to end up with him rather than a perky cheerleader. It’s time for a happy ever after for both of them.
Plan B
S.J.D. Peterson - 2013
One night at a frat party, Danny meets Lance Lenard, football jock and apparent straight guy. Lance is shocked when he's immediately attracted to Danny's feminine side. Danny is happy to be the subject of Lance's first man-on-man experiment—until Lance begins to struggle with the fact that despite his appearance, Danny is indeed a man.Lance's whole life has been focused on his goal of playing in the NFL, and he knows those dreams will be smashed if anyone finds out about his little secret. Although Lance has come to hunger for Danny's touch, he's not willing to give Danny what he's grown to crave: a boyfriend who's proud to love him for every flamboyant and snarky cell in his body.Life sends Danny and Lance in different directions, each of them focused on his respective Plan A. But the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
Too Many Chances
Lavinia Lewis - 2012
First his boiler breaks down in the middle of his shower then he learns his beloved cat would rather live with his crotchety old neighbor. But while he’s in work, at a job he hates, a phone call from the hospital gives Matt the worst news of all—his father has just passed away. When the man he’s been ‘dating’ for the past five months tells him he’s getting married to a woman, Matt doesn’t know if he can take any more bad news. Thoroughly dejected and sick with grief, he packs a bag and makes the six-hour drive home to Missouri to arrange his father’s funeral. While out near his childhood home, Matt runs into James, his ex-best friend and the last person on earth he wants to see. James was Matt’s first crush and the person who hurt him more than any other when they were just eighteen. However, James has an apology for Matt and a confession that could tilt Matt’s world on its axis. Can Matt forgive the person who broke his heart ten years ago and learn to trust him again or has he already given him too many chances?
Clean Slate
Isla Olsen - 2021
Figuratively. But I don’t care about that anymore. At. All. I have a great life in Chicago… I mean, things aren’t exactly rosy right now, what with my boyfriend slash boss cheating on me, and then losing my job over that little vandalism incident… But that’s just a blip. Things will get better. They have to. I’ll be damned if I’ll be returning home to Finchley with my tail between my legs. But then I get some news: The Devil’s grandfather, whom I love as if he were my own, has passed away in a tragic mishap of the coital nature, and missing his funeral is not an option.Despite my desperate prayers, when I return home I’m appalled to find The Devil has not been the victim of some disfiguring flesh-eating disease. Nope, if anything he’s even hotter. And he’s sweet, and funny, and everything I remember falling for back in high school. But he’s still The Devil who shattered my heart and there’s no way I’ll give him the chance to do it again. Exes with benefits, though? Now that could be an idea…Come visit Finchley, CA, where the sun’s always shining, the locals are always gossiping, and you won’t walk two steps without bumping into a member of the Goode family. If you’re lucky, you might find gold; or, even better…true love.
Jake's Regret
Shawn Lane - 2009
Now, all these years later, Damian shows up at Jake's father's funeral. After a reunion night of making love, Damian is hoping for a renewed relationship with Jake, but when a woman from Jake's hometown sees them together, a still-closeted Jake panics and leaves Damian with only a note once more. Now, when Jake's small town turns against him and his life goes from bad to worse, he realizes he needs to take a chance with the man he has never stopped loving. Will Damian forgive him or has he moved on from the man who keeps breaking his heart? Genres: Gay / Contemporary / Sports / Athletes / Interracial / Multicultural
Highside
Lizzie A. Williamson - 2019
Meet the characters and their roller-coaster lives...They were the high school sweethearts that seemed to be inseparable -- until a tragedy ripped them apart...Brie O'Donnell hasn't always been the cool-as-a-cucumber business owner that she is today. A turbulent childhood eventually found her and twin brother, Finn, in the custody of the Mitchell family, where Brie began to understand what love really meant. The Mitchells' youngest son, Jesse, was her savior, her boyfriend, and ultimately, her undoing.Jesse is a professional motorcycle (MotoGP) rider with a chip on his shoulder on and off the track. A tattered love life keeps him closed off emotionally. But his inability to keep his shifter peg in his pants means that he becomes way more invested in Brie's life than he should be.When Jesse's faced with an impossible choice, does he throw his girl under the bus or admit to something that could ruin his career? Secrets can cause a Highside -- try to land on your feet.
My Only Reason
Leigh Lennon - 2020
And to add more complications, I'm a football player, about to be drafted. We're manly men. We aren't supposed to be gay. But I am and I love the one person I'll never have. Until fate forces us together six years later. It'll be both a fantasy and hell on earth, playing along Crush—the only man who will ever truly own my heart.CrushHe dropped a bomb on me. Then he left, never looking back. Our friendship—ruined until he lands back in my life. His presence is just as big as ever. I never forgot him, or what that one kiss so many years ago still does to my body. He's here, but is he willing to stay.
X-Factor
Sean Michael - 2010
He also loves that the X-treme Games blow into the area for a month every year, bringing with them hundreds of athletes. Ecco Rasmussen loves boarding; he needs it in fact. He knows he'll never make it to the big times but as long as he can get on his board and go he doesn't care. The only fly in the ointment is his manager Blake Dobbs. The man is possessive and mean and believes he owns Ecco. Given the way he's isolated Ecco and holds all the money, not to mention the way he treats the boarder, Ecco figures maybe he does. When Henry and Ecco meet at the Branchberry Games, it's lust at first sight. An injury on Ecco's qualifying run gives them the opportunity to spend some quality time alone together at Henry's home, away from the crowds and out from under Blake's thumb. Will lust have the opportunity to turn into love? More importantly, what will Blake do when he finds out?
See the Light
Cassandra Carr - 2013
A serious relationship is out of the question, and Jason makes do with anonymous sex in barroom bathrooms, not willing to take the chance on coming out as gay in a decidedly macho sport.Advisor to the US Olympic hockey team Patrick Parker knows a thing or two about being a professional hockey player who’s not out. He’s fifteen years older than Jason, and when he senses the sexy younger man is interested, he knows he shouldn’t give in to the attraction.The two men can’t keep their hands off each other, though, and with each heated encounter it gets harder to hide their relationship. When their world blows up around them, forcing them into the limelight, though, will their love survive or be put on ice?
Sight Unseen
Susan Mac Nicol - 2017
BLINDSIDEDSoCal natives, Nate and Cody have been friends since childhood. Both knew they were different—and the same. At seventeen, a stolen weekend in the Florida Keys drove their connection deeper and hotter than either could imagine. They were meant to be together. Then, for reasons only Nate knows, suddenly they weren’t.They’re still friends. Best friends. But they’ve moved on and found other partners. The yearning remains, however, despite the long-ago secret that drove them apart, and when tragedy strikes, both men find themselves in the dark. They must grope their way back to who and what they are...which they will find in each other’s arms. Sometimes, losing one’s sight can open one’s eyes—and heart.
Into the Blue
Pene Henson - 2016
Now they live with their best friends and Ollie’s kid brother in a pulled-together family, all of them piled into a run-down beach house. They share cooking, bills, and the saltwater running in their veins. They might have no money, they might argue, they might be in dead end jobs, but they live in Hawaii so it’s always summer. There’s always time for one last wave.Tai’s spent years shutting down any feelings for Ollie. They’re friends. Their family depends on them. But with Ollie off on his first world tour, with Ollie’s dreams of a pro surfing career finally within reach, their steady world shifts. Is it worth risking their friendship, their family, their dreams for a chance at something terrifying and beautiful and altogether new?