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

Quinn saw the look of fear, dread and hurt that began to veil the eyes of the players on the sidelines. He called them together.


“Listen to me, look at me,” he said. “We are not losers, and this is far from over. Our D-line is going to hold them off, and our O-line is gonna get one more chance on the field. One more, and that will be enough. Believe me: We were born to win.”


Don’t make a liar out of me, Quinn prayed as he took the field with two minutes to play. Make my words a reality, God, Aunt Lena, he said to himself.


Thirty seconds now. Thirty brief seconds. Thirty long seconds. Time out. Space-time expanding. The ball as big as a flying saucer. Derrick catching it, barely holding it, but hold it he did.


The Miners looking to blitz. Quinn looking to stay upright. Which he did. One more pass now, this time to Greg, who fell backward into the end zone—touchdown. The extra point was the cherry. It was over at last.


Chapter 58