GOAL LINES & FIRST TIMES (CU Hockey #3) by Eden Finley & Saxon James
COHEN
It turns out making out with my best friend in high school could be considered gay. Who knew? Apparently, everyone but me.
Now that it’s been pointed out, I can’t help reliving it in my head. Repeatedly. Goodbye Denial Town, hello Confusionville.
When my path leads me down the gay dating app route, I don’t expect to meet anyone I like, but then I meet him.
He can’t be more opposite than me. He’s smart, he hates hockey, and he identifies as demi—something I’ve never heard of.
Yet I can’t deny something’s there. Something I want to explore in person. If only I could get him to agree.
SETH
All my life, I’ve felt broken.
Sick of being asked if I could be gay by ex-girlfriends, friends, and even my parents, I join a gay dating app to prove a point.
I don’t expect to find what’s always been missing. A real connection.
The problem is, I’m too scared to meet him in person. He’s a hockey player, and I fear when he finds out my twin plays for the NHL, I’ll be overshadowed by my overachieving brother. Again.
Worse yet, what happens if we meet and that connection isn’t the same?
When I tell him I’m not ready, he’s disappointed but supportive. Fate, on the other hand, isn’t as accepting.
I had no idea the person I’ve been falling for is someone I already know.
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Einstein: I get the impression you’re a total dork. I like it.
Richie: Interesting. If you had to guess, what would you say I look like?
Einstein: Well according to your photo, you have some solid abs, but I’m thinking you’re a bigger guy with a baby face and would be the type to open the door for your dates.
Richie: Is that what you’re into?
My alarm beeps obnoxiously, reminding me it’s time to get moving. I hurry to grab my keys, but even after I lock my apartment and head for the car, I can’t bring myself to end the conversation.
Einstein: I don’t know if it’s a demi thing or a me thing, but I don’t have a type. At least, with women. Jury’s still out on guys.
I climb in the car, and when his reply doesn’t come straightaway, I wonder if that was the wrong answer. Maybe he wanted specifics.
The thing is, Richie has given me enough to find out exactly who he is. If I really wanted to know who I’m talking to, I could easily go look. I’ve been close a few times.
I’m holding strong though. Letting this thing between us happen naturally.
I lock my phone and back out of my parking space. Of course, I’m barely on the road for a minute when Richie writes back, and it takes a stern reminder of the road rules to stop me from grabbing my phone and checking it anyway.
The drive that barely takes ten minutes seems like an eternity. I get every red light, and there’s no parking spaces by the café, so I have to lap the block before I find one.
I’m flustered and my brain is a chaotic mess as I grab my phone and open ChatUp.
Richie: I’m going to ask something and I hope I don’t sound like a dick. Have you been attracted to dudes before or is this all a test to prove your ex-girlfriend wrong?
Einstein: You’re going to laugh.
Richie: It’ll make us even then.
I get out of the car and text him while I walk.
Einstein: You know the show The Witcher? Turns out I have a bit of a thing for him.
Richie: When you say ‘a thing’ …
Einstein: He turned me on, okay? I jerked off to him so much I worried I’d pull a muscle.
Richie: Technically you were pulling a muscle.
I want to point out that the penis isn’t actually a muscle, but I hold off, because I’m having fun.
Einstein: *middle finger emoji*
Richie: Hey, I get it. Henry Cavill’s hot.
I snort back a laugh.
Einstein: I’m struggling to work out how you didn’t know you’re attracted to guys.
Richie: My blinders were on, but I’m seeing the world in a whole new way now.
Einstein: Okay, first, I warn you. I look nothing like him. Unlike you (apparently) I don’t have abs. Second, it’s not the actor. It’s the character. According to my old pal Google, demi people can form connections with fictional characters easier than people. And from what I know about myself, it seems pretty accurate.
I’m worried I’ve said too much, or sound too weird, so I quickly follow the message up.
Einstein: Now if that doesn’t turn you on about me, nothing will.
The little dots appear on my screen, telling me he’s replying. I’m holding my breath, totally consumed by my phone.
So consumed—
Oof!
I slam right into someone.
I bounce back, and hands clamp down my shoulders to steady me before I stumble over my own feet. There’s a thump of a phone hitting the ground, and as I blink the pain in my forehead away, one of Foster’s old teammates comes into vision.
Rossi?
Martin?
No, it starts with a C.
“Graceful, Cohen,” another of the hockey guys calls out from inside while giving us a thumbs up.
Ah, Cohen, then.
“Hey, you okay?” he asks, forehead lined with concern as his eyes meet mine.
“Yeah, fine.” I brush him off. “Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
His grin catches me off guard as he bends and picks his phone up off the pavement. “Me neither.” He rubs his shoulder. “You bodycheck as hard as your brother.”
“Sorry?”
He chuckles and grabs the door to the café, holding it open. “All good. You going in here?”
“Thanks.” I pass him and catch sight of Zach sitting at a far table. Damn, he beat me here. Which means message time is over even as the thought of Richie’s waiting reply burns in my consciousness.
“Sorry again,” Cohen says, cuffing me on the shoulder as he makes his way to the counter.
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OTHER TITLES WITHIN THE SERIES
Power Plays & Straight A's (CU Hockey #1)
Amazon * My Review
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Face Off's & Cheap Shots (CU Hockey #2)
Eden Finley is an Amazon bestselling author who writes steamy contemporary romances that are full of snark and light-hearted fluff.
She doesn't take anything too seriously and lives to create an escape from real life for her readers. The ideas always begin with a wackadoodle premise, and she does her best to turn them into romances with heart.
With a short attention span that rivals her son's, she writes multiple different pairings: MM, MMF, and MF.
She's also an Australian girl and apologises for her Australianisms that sometimes don't make sense to anyone else.
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Saxon James unapologetically writes happy endings for LGBT+ characters.
While not writing, SM is a readaholic and netflix addict who regularly lives on a sustainable diet of chocolate and coffee.
Member of SCBWI.
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