Pepper Espinoza

Patton Cooper won three national championships as the starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Marauders, but that didn’t stop them from trading him to Phoenix without so much as a warning. At thirty-two, he finds himself weighed down by old injuries and forced to start over again as a backup quarterback for an untried rookie. Deeply hurt by the betrayal of both his team and his ex-lover, Patton keeps to himself and takes what solace he can in football.<br><br>Cornerback DeShawn Jones has loved two things in his life -- football and Patton Cooper. It seems like his dreams have come true when he’s drafted to play for the Phoenix Wildcats, until he realizes the coach has no intention of letting him start, and his childhood hero is a withdrawn, wary man. But DeShawn refuses to give up on his dreams of playing, or his hope of reaching Patton.<br><br>A tentative connection forms between the two men, but the pressures of the game may be too much for the relationship to withstand. Especially when DeShawn is given the chance of a lifetime while Patton struggles not to relive the mistakes from his past.

Mr. November

Patton was the first out of the locker room, trotting to the field in surprisingly high spirits. His knee didn’t bother him at all, despite Friday’s flight. His shoulder was loose, and he’d slept well the night before, unaware of any nightmares or stress dreams. The only thing stopping the smile that threatened to break free was the knowledge that it didn’t matter how good he felt that afternoon, he wouldn’t be playing.


Patton began his warm-ups, stretching every major group of muscles, spending extra time on his right leg. He snagged a short jump rope from the sidelines, easily falling into a rhythm with the rope. He jumped forward, backward, crossed his arms, circled the small space he’d staked out for himself, and chanted playground songs to himself to keep time. In LA, nobody ever paid any attention to him as he went through his routine. But now he felt somebody’s heavy gaze, and he wasn’t surprised to find DeShawn staring at him when he turned around.


Chapter 5