For Puck's Sake

A touch so intimate, a kiss so deep… Egon Wolf is on a hockey scholarship but failing at everything else. Knowing he's going to lose his ride if he doesn't get his academic act together, he seeks out a tutor. Rakesh Aahnu is a dual major and dangerous when bored. What he enjoys more than anything is the challenge of making straight men fall for him before walking away. Just because he can. Both Egon and Rakesh are about to discover that life has a way of throwing you in the sin bin when you least expect it. And when faced with an unfamiliar play? All you can do is shiver. Shiver is an LGBT+ story intended for mature listeners.

Every game begins with a good starting line. Ethan I've been secretly married for eight years. Why is it a secret? Because having an open marriage splashed all over headlines isn't a good look. We'd constantly be under the spotlight, our lives and relationships judged. That's not the kind of hockey player I want to be known for, especially because we play for different teams. Although most of my relationships outside of my marriage are passing, I've been pining over my best friend and teammate for years. Years! Just as I decide that maybe it's time to see where this leads, management throws an unexpected play in our faces. It might be over before it begins, and I'm not sure what to do about it. Creed Since the day I was swapped to Buffalo, I've been in love with Ethan Wilder. He's an intense player, breaking records every year. But he's also fun, sweet, thoughtful, and gorgeous. He's everyone's perfect dream. When he tells me he wants to be more than friends, I almost jump him right there in the locker room. Things between us heat up quickly, and I've never been happier. Everything is perfect. Except for our starting line. We've been through four right wingers in the last three seasons, but no matter who management brings on board, they just don't gel with me and Ethan. Now they've thrown us a trick play that I'm not sure we're going to be able to work around-on the ice or off. It's not just the starting line we need to worry about. This complication could put the entire team-and our new relationship-on ice. This is an LGBT+ (MMM) story intended for mature listeners.

The entire game can be determined by a lucky shot. PrettyInLace Even a gay athlete has an appearance to uphold. There are a handful out in every sport and while every trashy magazine wants to get the scoop on what the gays are up to, looking for a scandal and a way to ruin us, every one of us is constantly on our best behavior. Acting a certain way, dressing a certain way, speaking a certain way. If the world knew the real me, it'd shudder. Lace. Pearls. Dresses. Collars. All I want is to be someone's pretty little doll that they dress up and tell me how pretty I am. I want to be loved for the real me, not the image I'm forced to show to the world just so I can keep my spot on the ice. The only place I find that escape is in an online role-playing game where I can be the sexy femme mage and get my flirt on. Find the man of my dreams. And I do. He's a big, hot druid ready to sweep me off my feet. Now, if only I could find the courage to tell him who I am and trust that he won't share it with the rest of the world. I'm not ready to end my career yet. DemiDefenseKip I'm known for my defensive plays. Aggressive. Precise. Quick. Strong. On the ice, I'm an icon that the world loves to put on a pedestal and worship. I've carefully cultivated everything about my public appearance to capitalize on my short career. Considering I'm a noted queer athlete-a title that never strays too far from any article-I'm truly living a charmed life. What the world doesn't know is that it's not just my sexuality that makes having a relationship in the spotlight difficult. It's also because I'm demisexual. Finding someone interested in me, and not my jersey or bank balance, has proven especially challenging. So how does someone with a recognizable face the world over find love? If you figure it out, let me know. This is an LGBT+ story with mature content.

Always protect the heart of the ice. Max This wasn't supposed to happen to me. I'm supposed to be at the top of my career. Untouchable. Worshiped. Finally proving to all the jerks in my life that I made it. I'm at the top. Then a video that shouldn't exist leaks and everything comes crashing down. I'm about to lose it all and I can't seem to get out of my own way. My agent banishes me to a place that technology can't touch while he tries to salvage my career. I'm caught between rage and deep depression, lashing out at everyone and everything around me. I have myself to blame but right now, all I want is to drown in my misery. Even when something unexpected and good comes along, all I can do is push and push until I'm once more drowning all alone. Deryke I don't know what's come over me. Why does this disaster of a hockey player suddenly call to my heart and everything inside my body and mind? I mean, the world knows what's in his pants and I've never been even slightly turned on by that! Why now? Why him? Even when he's bratting so hard I want to break him, I can see that he acts the way he does because he's hurting somewhere deep inside. He won't let me in, but for some unknown reason, I can't let Maximus Latham go. He needs me. He needs someone to believe in him and not disappear the minute he messes up. He needs someone to love him for him, not for being the hockey god he is. Except I'm not sure I can reach him in time before he self-destructs. But damned if I'm not going to try. The Crease is an LGBT+ story. For mature listeners.

It's time to score. Zak When you fight for so long, sometimes it's just easier to give in. I want to give in to the god before me. Sent to me from the heavens, Owen is the very definition of divine perfection. But he doesn't know my truth. If he did, he'd know that I don't belong in his world. The shame of seeing the disgust on his face when he figures it out keeps me running from him. Even though fate or destiny or something cruel keeps throwing us together. Maybe he's the motivation I need to get my shit in order. But can I do it before he figures out I'm nothing but a street rat? Owen The person who was made for me turned up at the New Year's Eve party I didn't want to go to. We've been serendipitously thrown together a handful of times since and though I know Zak wants me, he keeps walking out my door and refusing to call. I can't figure out why and it's driving me insane. When I can't take it anymore, I chance him thinking that I'm a stalker and show up at the address I dropped him off at last. Zak doesn't live there but I finally learn his secret. Now all I have to do is figure out how to convince Zak that I'll give him the world if he'll let me. Should be as easy as winning that elusive Stanley Cup. This is an LGBT+ story intended for mature listeners.

All it takes is just one look. Adak After a series of relationships where I've been made to feel inadequate because of my asexuality, I've made the sole focus of my life my coaching career. I love hockey-the chill of the ice, the fast-paced, high-stress game. I love the fans and the atmosphere. The energy. Now that I'm coaching in the NHL, I feel a sense of serenity and comfort with life. All that's left is to get my team to the Stanley Cup. A series of unfortunate injuries has riddled the Bobcats into a serious funk. The frustration that my boys feel echoes through me, and after one of the most horrible plays I've ever witnessed, I turn my back on the ice-only to catch his eyes. Suddenly, I know what I've been missing. In a sea of over 15,000 faces, I found the one I've been waiting my entire life for. There's sadness in his eyes that's only overcome with the fear behind it. Nothing will stop me from making Oren mine and giving him the life and love he deserves. Nothing. Oren My life is shit. I'm the pariah of my family, for hell knows why. All I want is to get away. But I tried once-at nineteen, I ran, and my father, with his buddies on the police force, dragged me home. I've since been dragged down into submission. But then I meet his eyes, and everything inside me just… shifts. Adak takes a chance on me, and I think that perhaps my father has finally met a wall he can't barrel through to keep control. That is until he starts blasting his hate everywhere. I wouldn't blame Adak if he chose to leave. This is his career on the line. His image and reputation. Am I worth it? This is an LGBT+ story with content for mature listeners.