Dumb Jock

Jeff Irwin is short, timid, and studious. A bit of a social outcast, he lives quietly in the shadows of the popular kids at his school, his life ruled by his ever-present fear of rejection or failure. Enter high school football hero Brett Willson and the chance for Jeff to embark upon the challenge of educating the world's dumbest jock. But what develops between Brett and Jeff proves far more challenging than any tutoring session. In 1983, rural Michigan isn't ready to embrace love between two men, never mind two teenage boys. If they're going to make a go of it, Jeff will have to come out of his shell-and Brett will have to prove he's more than just a dumb jock.

Jeff Irwin and Brett Willson raised a fine son, Adam, in their unconventional, judgment-free family. But being the son of two dads has its challenges. Although Adam loves them, he's determined to prove he's not gay, like they are. To this end he's become the star pitcher of his high school baseball team, a true jock. Then Adam is suspended after he gets into a fight at school, and his dads find out his grades are slipping. Determined to put him back on track, they hire him a tutor: a short, nerdy kid named Trevor. Despite his resistance, soon enough Adam's worst nightmare comes true when he finds himself attracted to Trevor. This gives him a choice: follow his heart or become just another dumb jock.

At age sixteen, Todd Hoffman is a social outcast. He lives with his mother in a rundown mobile home and doesn't wear the nice clothes or drive fancy cars like the other students. He has one outlet: he secretly writes fan fiction about a boy falling in love with another boy he's crushing on, and posts it online. When Galen Caulfield, Todd's real life object of affection, notices him and asks him out, Todd feels like he's living his fantasy. Soon enough he realizes that fantasy and reality are two very different propositions. Galen is the high school soccer team captain, clearly out of Todd's league. On top of that, he's popular, good-looking, and confident, so everyone thinks he's straight. Now it's up to Todd to decide whether Galen is the boy of his dreams or just another dumb jock.

Evan Drake needs to be a role model to his younger brother Brandon, and although he's a star on his high school basketball team, there's more to him than meets the eye. He's interested in many things, including drama and singing, and when he joins drama club, he meets Noah Sheridan, and he's pretty interested in him, too. Noah is a super smart, cute but nerdy kid who has written a high school play about two gay students who attended Boyne City High twenty years ago, and who, in real life, fell in love with each other. When the drama department elects to use the play for their high school musical, Noah urges Evan to audition for the lead role. Evan ultimately decides he wants to be in the play, but when he shows up to audition, it sends shockwaves throughout the school. His teammates are furious, and so is his best friend Bryan. As Evan and Noah grow closer, Bryan gets more traitorous, and it seems he wants nothing more than to see his former friend broken down.

Greg is not the person Bryan first took him for. As their romance grows, an ex threatens to destroy Bryan's relationship with Greg.

The final book of the series reunites the cast of characters, all connected by a remarkable couple. A couple not ready to say good-bye.