A lovely winter treat with two friends realizing they were truly meant for each other.

Skip (Christopher) Keith is a nice but very lonely guy who didn’t have a great childhood and now doesn’t have any family. Fortunately, he coaches his recreational soccer league and has a small group of friends because of it. He’s known his best friend, Richie Scoggins, since they went to tech school together. Skip is great at calming Richie down, and Richie makes sure Skip enjoys life. Richie works for his dad’s junkyard, but he doesn’t really have a great life either. His dad’s new wife and step-brothers make life challenging for Richie, but misplaced loyalty to his dad keeps him working there.

One night, Skip and Richie get carried away while in a car and the results completely change their relationship. Now they have to figure out whether this can be permanent or not. Neither had been with another guy before, and coming out to their family and friends could definitely have negative consequences. The majority of the story was built around Skip and Richie getting to know each other better even though they were already really good friends. This included plenty of sex, but also plenty of conversations. There was plenty of drama with Richie’s family and some fun with Skip’s job providing tech support.

It was a sweet story with relatively low angst for this author. I shed a few happy tears when these two recognized their love for each other with some heartfelt comments.

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.

BLURB

Through a miserable adolescence and a lonely adulthood, Skipper Keith has dreamed of nothing but family. The closest he gets is the rec league soccer team he coaches after work—and his star player and best friend, Richie Scoggins.

One brisk night in late October, a postpractice convo in Richie’s car turns into a sexual encounter neither of them expected—nor want to forget. Soon Skip and Richie are living for the weekends and their winter league soccer games—and the games they enjoy off the field. Through broken noses, holiday decorating, and the killer flu, they learn more about each other than they ever dreamed possible. Every new discovery takes them further beyond the boundaries of the soccer field and into the infinite possibilities of the best relationship of Skipper’s life.

Skipper can’t dream of a better family than Richie—but Richie’s got real family entanglements he can’t shake off. Skipper needs to convince Richie to stay with him beyond winter ball so the relationship they started on the field might become their happy future in real life!