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the Phoenix Wildcats, until he realizes the coach has no intention of letting him start, and his childhood hero is a withdrawn, wary man.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

“Surprise,” DeShawn said, using hiskey to open Patton’shotel room.


“Surprise,” Patton echoed weakly. “What is this?”


“Because I thought you would like it,” DeShawn, dropping his bag on the bed closest to the door. The side Patton always claimed for himself.


DeShawn’s face changed a little at that, as if he could now sense the general panic and chaos growing inside of Patton. “Because I thought we were friends now.”


“That doesn’t mean we need to have sleepovers.”


“This isn’t a sleepover. Besides, now if we go out to see the town, you won’t have to worry about waking poor Bob. That guy weighs like four hundred pounds. He probably needs his rest after he spends the day supporting himself.”


“You can’t…just rearrange everything.”


“What’s wrong? Is it because I didn’t ask you? I thought you’d like the surprise.”


Chapter 17