Title: Following The Rules
Series: The Script Club #1
Author: Lane Hayes
Narrator: Alexander Cendese
Publisher: Lane Hayes
Release Date: May 14, 2021
Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
Genre: Romance, Nerd/Jock, MM Romance, Bisexual Awakening, Best Friend’s Brother,
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Synopsis
The geek, the jock, and a new set of rules…
Topher-
My friend’s brother needs an academic assistant and I need a job. Problem…jocks are my weakness. Seriously. I lose my ability to speak coherently around muscle-bound hotties. Oh yeah, I lose my inhibitions too—not a good look for a guy with a genius IQ. So what am I going to do about Simon?
Simon-
Finishing college isn’t high on my list of priorities, but my future in professional football is looking bleak. I need a plan B or C, and I could use some help navigating life as an undergrad. Topher is perfect. He’s also a little strange…but in a good way. And I like the way I feel when I’m around him—as though anything is possible. Maybe if we follow our hearts, we’ll find what we’re looking for. But that means changing the rules…
Following the Rules is a MM, bisexual awakening romance starring a lovable nerd, a cool jock, and some extracurricular fun.
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After a few rounds of gin rummy and one missed class, I insisted we head back to the house for the next one.
“We have twenty minutes.” I tapped my watch as Simon pulled away from the curb. “That should give us enough time to—wait. Where are you going? You’re turning the wrong way.”
“Yeah, I know. We’re skippin’ out.”
I knitted my brow. “I don’t know what that phrase means.”
Simon chuckled. “It means no school today. I’m playing hooky.”
“I can’t let you do that. It’s irresponsible and…bad. Turn right here, please.”
“No can do,” he singsonged. “Relax, Christopher. I don’t need to know how to psychoanalyze my dreams, I need food. You must be hungry too. You didn’t eat any of your grandma’s coffee cake. That was tasty, by the way. She’s cool. Was she really drinking scotch at ten a.m.?”
I swiped my clammy palms on my knees and stared helplessly out the window as we whizzed through traffic. “Yeah, she’s amazing and terrible at the same time and—if you make a right at Green Street and another right, we can make it with a minute to spare.”
“Food, Christopher…food. We can either go to that burger joint on Lake or swing by my parents’ house and raid the fridge. Mom told me she made spaghetti last night.”
I licked my lips nervously. “Oh, my God.”
“Trust me on this one…her pasta is freaking legendary. What sounds better to you? A burger or—” He slowed at a red light and glanced sideways at me. “Hey, no hyperventilating. Give me your hand.”
“I can’t. It’s shaking. Missing one class is bad, missing two is…” I rubbed my shoulder to ease the growing tension. “I’m not comfortable with this.”
“I can see that.” He traced my jawline tenderly and tilted my chin toward him. “Take a deep breath. That’s good. Listen, I’ll email my professors with an excuse if it makes you feel better. And I won’t mention anything about drinking scotch with Gran.”
“You didn’t drink anything.” I mumbled something under my breath about bad influences.
Simon chuckled. I felt the warmth of his smile before he refocused on the traffic, dropping his hand and lacing his fingers with mine.
“She’s a great influence. And honestly, I needed a mental health reminder. Sometimes you need to take a few hours away from your regularly scheduled day to regain your sense of perspective. Trust me, you’d be doing me a huge favor if you ate my mom’s spaghetti and just hung out with me for a while. You can tell me about black holes in outer space and other myths.”
“Black holes are not a myth,” I assured him haughtily, twisting to face him. “They’re the most intense gravitational mass known to man. Nothing can escape them. No particles, no light, nothing. And for your information, there are four types of black holes, and they’re found all across the universe.”
“You don’t say.” Simon squeezed my fingers affectionately and urged me to continue.
He hummed occasionally to let me know he was listening, but he didn’t take his eyes from the road and he didn’t let go of my hand. I talked because cold facts had always comforted me.
But it was him this time. The sound of his voice, the feel of his strong hand in mine. And there was something empowering in knowing he felt the same about me. Like he needed scientific static to drown out his doubts and worries. It was a curious balance and not one I fully understood. I just knew that we each had something the other needed.
That was enough for now.
Lane Hayes loves a good romance! An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to well-told love story with beautifully written characters. Her debut novel was a 2013 Rainbow Award finalist and subsequent books have received Honorable Mentions, and were winners in the 2016, 2017, and 2018-2019 Rainbow Awards. She loves red wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband in a not quite empty nest.
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