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the Phoenix Wildcats, until he realizes the coach has no intention of letting him start, and his childhood hero is a withdrawn, wary man.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

The water boys produced the slickers, helping the players shrug them on over their pads. Patton pushed his helmet up and gulped Gatorade, watching the field with a fraction of his usual interest. They were going to win this game. Patton wouldn’t dare state that out loud, superstitious enough to be wary of jinxing himself or the team. But they weregoing to win. Sometimes, he could just feel it. Like he was the center of the stadium and the entire game rotated around him like an extension of his body. He’d tried to talk about it with Chris once, but Chris either hadn’t understood or hadn’t cared. Did DeShawn ever feel that way? Was he feeling that way now?


Chapter 45