Out in the Deep End

by Lane Hayes

Dear Author,
My water polo team is the most LGBT friendly team on campus. Literally half the team is queer and it’s ok, you can be jealous. One of the reasons I was hella excited to come here, ha! But I don’t care about the rest of the team right now, because all I can think about is this new freshman with the mad skills. Zev.
He has this gorgeous lob shot and makes our intense practices seem effortless. I swear if I hadn’t just played an entire game, I would have gotten hard at the backhanded skip shot he scored last week. Seriously. It was amazing. And why does Zev have to be just as stunning out of the water? He’s all dark hair and heavy brows and these hazel eyes that make me stutter like a fool.
I don’t know why he’s warmed up to everyone on the team but me. I’m the main driver, and he’s a leftie, so we should clearly work together… I mean, aside from the fact I want into his pants.
Fuck it.
This is California, and it’s college— it’s pretty much the definition of fun. So what happens when we’re assigned roommates for the three-day tournament in Long Beach?

Photo Description:
Two fierce competitors lunge up out of a pool of placid water, only their bare torsos showing. Their athletic bodies are bronzed and toned, and each of them wears a swim cap. They face each other, reaching up with arms extended aggressively. One player holds a ball in his left hand while the other, facing him, moves to block with his right hand. Their actions send sprays of water, foaming about them.

This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.

Genres: M M Romance, Sports, Contemporary, College, Romance, Short Stories, Enemies To Lovers

41 pages, ebook

First published June 21, 2015

About the author

Lane Hayes loves a good romance! She’s the bestselling author of the Out in College, Starting From, Better Than, A Kind Of, Right and Wrong, and Leaning Into Series! Lane loves red wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). All things she can find in sunny SoCal where she lives with her amazing husband in a not quite empty nest.

Reviews

[~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

~3.5~

This is a very enjoyable read about two water polo players who discover they have more in common than just the sport during an away team tournament.

Adam has no idea why the new freshman player, Zev, is so standoffish with him, but Adam is the life of the party and decides he just doesn't care.

Except he does, because Zev's ass in those tight shorts is something to behold.



Water polo is hot ... all those slick, wet bodies in nothing but speedos rubbing up against each other.

And this story includes some steam ... some, but not much. Most of the sexy action is briefly summarized.

Zev's coming out at the end is also way too easy, considering he proclaimes himself "not gay" 48 hours before.

Likewise, the ending is abrupt and rather unsatisfying. I expected several more chapters when I read "The End." I wasn't ready. This is a tentative HFN at best.

FUN, though ... this story is FUN and easy, perfect for a quick summer read.

[✦❋Arianna✦❋ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!!

[*J* Too Many Books Too Little Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

[☆ Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was very cute, with both MC's making me root for them.

And the whole gay'ish water polo team trope was new to me. And hot.

Adam, sophomore:



And sooooo many, many fit collegiate team mates. Mmmm...



But the way that it ended, I felt hopeful, but would have liked a bit more. Maybe make a dinner date or something, I don't know.

This short story as a full-length book would definitely be a winner for me, but it came off as a little abrupt.

One more romp in the hay and some more cuddling after would've probably gotten it another star from me.

But a few good looks around the locker room or a hot shower scene would've probably done the same. *wink*

But, sadly, those didn't happen, so 3.5 *cute-and-fun* stars for this one.

[Dalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Sweet and sexy story about water polo players.

[* A Reader Obsessed * · Rating 4 out of 5]

College setting?
Hunky athletes?
OFY and a virgin?

What's not to like? Exactly.

You really can't really go wrong with such a set up. A little bit of angst, a lot of heat, nice fireworks. Seriously too short, but I immensely enjoyed what I got.

[~Kristin~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars
I adore the Love is an Open Road series. This was a great story, with sweet, funny and incredibly hot swimmers...who could ask for more. This prompt would make a wonderful full length book.

[Jewel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually the first thing by Lane Hayes I've read. It was very enjoyable, short and sweet and full of first time exploration (for one of our guys, anyway). I look forward to reading other stuff by this author.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice -- but I have never been a huge fan of enemies-to-lovers theme (the transition needs to be VERY convincing for me to like it!) to begin with and this one fell short in making me believed of Zev's change of heart. What can I say, maybe I just don't buy the whole "I treat you like leper because I like you" stuff. Also the ratio of 'sex vs. story' was not balanced enough for me :)

I liked Adam's 'voice' though.

[Trisha Harrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, sexy story. The ending was a little bit of a letdown. But apart from that I really enjoyed it.

I would love to read more of these two.

[aksana · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 Stars

[Ele · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars*

Funny, sexy and light story with some angry sex and a HFN. I liked the characters and I loved the hypochondriac Justin. I 'd like to see more of them.

[BWT · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This was a quick, enjoyable, sexy read.

Pretty much what I expect from Lane Hayes.

But I like you, Adam. A lot. I’m going to have a hard time pretending I don’t want to shove you against a locker-room wall and fuck your brains out after practice, but I’ll try. If I manage to not get a boner in my Speedo when I see you in the pool, I’ll call it progress. When we’re at practice or a game or a team event, we’ll keep things kosher, but I don’t see why we can’t be together in between. I want to walk you to class, help you study for humanities quizzes, and try to stump you at trivia questions. I want to know you. All of you.

[Anke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice little story. The sports stuff wasn't too much, it kept me interested although I know next to nothing about it. Perhaps the development was a bit too smooth, but, well, this is a short story, right?

[Didi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another cute entry with water polo athletes as the main pairing. Sunny disposition golden boy versus dark brooding and handsome.
Lighthearted and feel-good reading.

[Elsbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet OFY story about two water-polo guys!!!

“I want to know you. All of you. This weekend was great, and coming out to the team was a big step, but I know it won’t always be simple. In a way, I feel like I’m learning how to swim in the deep end. I’m treading water pretty well, but I’m not sure how I’ll handle going under. I could be a disaster. Are you ready for that, or am I in the deep end without a life preserver?”

This story is a free story from Goodreads M/M Romance Group (MM Romance Group - Love is an Open Road Stories 2015)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Picture and prompt;
PHOTO DESCRIPTION:
Two fierce competitors lunge up out of a pool of placid water, only their bare torsos showing. Their athletic bodies are bronzed and toned, and each of them wears a swim cap. They face each other, reaching up with arms extended aggressively. One player holds a ball in his left hand while the other, facing him, moves to block with his right hand. Their actions send sprays of water, foaming about them.



STORY LETTER:
Dear Author,

My water polo team is the most LGBT friendly team on campus. Literally half the team is queer and it’s ok, you can be jealous. One of the reasons I was hella excited to come here, ha! But I don’t care about the rest of the team right now, because all I can think about is this new freshman with the mad skills. Zev.

He has this gorgeous lob shot and makes our intense practices seem effortless. I swear if I hadn’t just played an entire game, I would have gotten hard at the backhanded skip shot he scored last week. Seriously. It was amazing. And why does Zev have to be just as stunning out of the water? He’s all dark hair and heavy brows and these hazel eyes that make me stutter like a fool.

I don’t know why he’s warmed up to everyone on the team but me. I’m the main driver, and he’s a leftie, so we should clearly work together… I mean, aside from the fact I want into his pants.

Fuck it.

This is California, and it’s college― it’s pretty much the definition of fun. So what happens when we’re assigned roommates for the three-day tournament in Long Beach?

Sincerely,

Onyx

STORY INFO:
Genre: contemporary
Tags: college, athletes, water polo, first time, coming out, humorous, slow burn/UST, rivals to lovers
Word Count: 14,072

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

That cover though ;)

I had the pleasure of talking Lane into writing this, beta reading it, and making the cover.

So thank you Lane for letting me harass you <3

This is such a Lane Hayes story - fun, easy, smile-worthy, and with a nice dash of sexiness.

[BevS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this little water polo tale of Adam and Zev. Thanks Lane.

[Maygirl7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cute story that left me smiling. Zev's quick turnaround to coming out seemed a bit too easy though.

[Meags · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

Too short! Want more! *grabby hands*

This was my first Lane Hayes story, but it won't be my last.

[AliciaJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awww, that was sweet! And hopefully we'll see more of Zev and Adam in a future book (hint hint). ;)

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet piece of fluff but I don't see these two making it.

[Zaza · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

Quand je veux une lecture feel-good, légère et sexy, bien souvent je me tourne vers Lane Hayes. Si j'ai lu toute la série "Out in college", je n'avais pas encore découvert cette toute petite nouvelle qui pourrait faire office de prequel (d'ailleurs c'est peut-être le cas ^^'). J'avais adoré cette série, avec ces mecs jeunes, beaux, athlétiques, sympas et bien dans leur peau, et là, on retrouve cette dynamique sexy et légère, avec deux jeunes étudiants qui jouent dans la même équipe universitaire de water-polo. Le water-polo, ses speedos, ses torses ruisselants d'eau pleine de chlore ... Bref, vous voyez le tableau ! 😍🔥💦

Pour remettre les choses dans leur contexte, il faut noter que cette nouvelle a été écrite dans le cadre du M/M romance group sur goodreads. C'est une sorte de défi/commande proposée aux auteurs sur goodreads, avec un petit pitch écrit sous forme de lettre, ainsi qu'une photo en guise d'inspiration. Et ensuite les auteurs choisissent le pitch qui leur parle le plus et écrivent une nouvelle. Et donc voilà comment est née cette histoire ! 😊

C'est une très courte nouvelle donc (41 pages !), où on assiste aux émois (et ébats !) de Zev et Adam. C'est frais, léger, fun et sexy, le genre de petite parenthèse qui fait passer un bon moment ! 🥰

[Eugenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it well enough...reminded me of going to water polo games to ogle the college boys!

[Bitchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute, and I thought the story went well with the prompt!

As always, thanks to everyone who took part in bringing us this event!

[Emily Seelye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, nice story, but too short.

[Molli B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a weird one. I loved the subject matter (Californian water polo college dudes! Yes, please!), but I found the writing frenetic and choppy, which made the first-person narrator sound (and feel) frantic. I don't feel like I really got to know either guy very well—yeah, I know it's just a short story, but it was really exposition heavy, so I feel like there wasn't a lot of good time to bond with the characters over their actions.

I don't know...it all just happened so fast! They went from animosity to sex in the span of a heartbeat without good transitions and lots of...choppiness. Maybe it was just my mood? But I couldn't ever really get into the groove of the writing, and that took away a lot of enjoyment. I feel like I spent the whole 14k very perplexed and unsettled. It's almost like this was a solid outline that the author was intending to go back and fill in. IDK.

Anyway, enjoyable enough but not my favorite story of the event.

[Keveen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS

Well. Um. That was.

Ugh Lane Hayes.

This short one was so good. It felt detailed even if it was short. I really loved the plot and the story. Adam and Nate were very interesting characters and everything was interesting. Even the super duper short scenes with the teammates were good. I wish this was a long one. The sex scenes were good although there was no anal, that's why I wanted it to be long!.

Overall, a great but short read.

[Barb ~rede-2-read~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. Lane Hayes is one of my favorite writers and finding this among the Love is an Open Road stories was a real treat. Then finding out it's GFY with two sexy athletes, some hot sex scenes and the hope of a HEA? Made my day.

Thanks for giving us this terrific freebie, Lane!

[Finnegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about water polo players that pushed all my buttons. A very likeable MC, sexy young men all around, enemies-to-lovers...

I did not even mind the lack of smut, because it would not have fit into the story.

Thanks to the author for contibuting to this year's DRitC event