When the playboy quarterback of the hapless New York Templars is injured in a freak sexcapade, backup QB Quinn Novak picks up the ball and takes the team to the playoffs. There he attracts the attention of two other quarterbacks who’ve been rivals since high school, Mal Ryan of the Philadelphia Quakers and Tam Tarquin of the San Francisco Miners.<br><br>Quinn begins a volatile relationship with the narcissistic Mal and a loving one with the open-hearted Tam, keeping each secret from the other. What he doesn’t know is that the two have a complex sexual history of their own.

The Penalty for Holding

“I would advise you always to use condoms.”


“It’s okay. I’m not here to judge. I’m gay myself. So you’re using protection, right?”


“And just as important, if I thought for a moment some of the bruises I saw on you were from domestic abuse rather than the football field, I would have to report them to the police immediately.”


Quinn flashed on Mal unthreading the belt from his pants and snapping it between hands.


“No, no, it was from the game where I cracked my ribs.”


“Uh-huh,” Dr. Matthew said, unconvinced. “I have no proof, and that’s the hell of it.”


He offered Quinn a card for a domestic abuse hotline.


“I don’t want you to be afraid to use this. And I’ll expect to see you in a week.”


Chapter 22