Book Title: Rough Contact
Author: Beth Bolden
Publisher: Beth Bolden Books
Cover Artist: Angsty G Book Cover and Media Design
Release Date: October 14, 2020
Genre/s: Gay sports romance, forbidden romance, age gap romance
Length: 93 000 words
It is a standalone story.
Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited
Universal Link | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Their romance is forbidden. Their love is a secret.
They’re the Romeo and Juliet of football.
Blurb
Neal Fisher knows heartbreak. It’s the clock ticking down in the Super Bowl. It’s missing the most important field goal of his life. It’s losing everything: his thirteen year career as an NFL kicker, his future, and his pride.
Jamie Wright knows love. It’s everything on the line as the crowd holds their breath. It’s a perfect kick as the ball soars through the goal posts. It’s NFL fame and glory laid out before him.
Neal is on his way out, and Jamie–if he can withstand the pressure of tryouts–is on his way in. The one person Jamie should avoid is the veteran kicker, and the last thing Neal wants is to sink Jamie’s chances. But a chance meeting and a wild and undeniable chemistry proves to be irresistible.
Neal thought he knew heartbreak. Jamie thought he knew love.
They were both wrong.
Their romance is forbidden. Their love is a secret.
But if they trust each other, maybe their growing relationship won’t end in tragedy. It might even be the beginning of football’s greatest love story.
Jamie had always thought if he made it to the NFL, he’d have the grace under pressure that Neal Fisher possessed in spades. But Jamie was beginning to realize that life was way more complicated than that. Sometimes you hit things you couldn’t handle, and it wasn’t because you weren’t strong or tough or smart. Because Neal was; he was all of those things. But he was also human.
“I think I believe you,” Jamie said, tossing the football in the air and beginning to imitate Neal’s movements. He’d been right about being awful at it, as he lost it on the third toss, and laughed as it fell to the ground.
“That it’d help you?” Neal wondered, keeping his own ball in the air with that precise sort of concentration that Jamie recognized all too well from all those years watching it on TV.
“That you suck at this,” Jamie said with a laugh, as Neal glanced over at him in surprise, his ball falling to the grass.
“Thanks,” Neal said wryly, “I think I actually had a good run going there, and you distracted me.”
Jamie shrugged, feeling unrepentant. “I thought we were supposed to be able to block the world out,” he teased.
Neal stared at him, somehow the air between them growing hotter and tighter with the tension that seemed to bloom between them. “You’re . . . well, you’re a little distracting,” Neal finally admitted softly.
Jamie grinned widely, feeling joy spread through him. He’d known it wasn’t just him; but it was so sweet to hear it. “Oh, so if I did this . . .” He reached up and tugged his t-shirt off. He was hardly an Instagram model or anything, but he’d worked hard for the beginnings of a decent six-pack. Neal’s eyes, all those shades of green, pinned him in place.
Yeah, they’d met at a pool party and maybe neither of them had been totally clothed, but Jamie could feel the weight of Neal’s gaze on him now.
“Don’t like to play fair, huh?” Neal wondered. His voice soft and hushed. Secret. Like nobody would ever know what they did here, and Jamie thought he was right; nobody ever would. They were in this bubble, isolated from the world.
“Nope,” Jamie teased. “Not when it comes to you, anyway. Besides, if I pull a hamstring checking out your ass, turnabout’s fair play, right?”
Neal’s smile was slow and wide, and it lit up his entire face. Even his eyes, banishing that last bit of sadness from them. Though Jamie could attest that sadness had been slowly fading away, anyway. But it felt good to be the one responsible for putting that kind of smile on Neal’s face. For making him happy.
“Absolutely,” Neal said. “Now, I wanna see some kicks. Show me what you got, big boy.”
“Oh, I was a kid, and now I’m a big boy, huh?” Jamie laughed.
A lifelong Oregonian, Beth Bolden has just recently moved to North Carolina with her supportive husband and their sweet kitten, Earl Grey. Beth still believes in Keeping Portland Weird, and intends to be just as weird in Raleigh.
Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published twenty novels and six novellas.
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I loved this book so much. It was an amazing sports romance
If not playing fair removes the sadness in his eyes, I’d do it too!
this sounds like a great read.
Fun to learn about, cheers on your new book.
Congrats on your new book release!
I’ll be reading this one!
I would love to read this one. Thanks
This sounds fab! Thanks for sharing and much success.