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the Phoenix Wildcats, until he realizes the coach has no intention of letting him start, and his childhood hero is a withdrawn, wary man.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

“I guess you were right about that fight,” DeShawn said, once he was buckled in.


“It might not have had anything to do with it. They could have been talking about making this trade for a while.”


“It might have cemented me as somebody they didn’t want on the team.”


“Yeah, it could have. It’s hard to say. I don’t think you should spend too much time thinking about it.”


“You seem happier than I am about it.”


“I already told you I’m happy. The Breakers are a great team, and you’ll fit better in their defensive scheme than you do here.”


“I know. And honestly, if things were different, I would have probably been celebrating for the past three days.”


“If what things were different?” Patton asked, shooting him a quick frown.


Chapter 42