Perfect Catch

by N.R. Walker

*19,000 word (72 pages) short story. LGBT romance. Calvin Lynch and Troy Hoffman have been best mates since they were fourteen years old. They're both hard-working tradesmen, both love weekends away fishing, both gay, but have never been single at the same time. Until now. What is supposed to be a weekend away fishing with a group of mates, changes at the last minute when friends bail out in an attempt to give Cal and Troy some alone time. With more than just hooks on the line, can these two see what's been right in front of them the whole time? The Perfect Catch is a short story about falling for your best friend hook, line, and sinker.

Genres: M M Romance, Friends To Lovers, Romance, Contemporary, Novella, Short Stories, LGBT

78 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2016

About the author

Author also writes as A. Voyeur

N.R. Walker is an Australian author, who loves her genre of gay romance. She loves writing and spends far too much time doing it, but wouldn't have it any other way.

She is many things; a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer. She has pretty, pretty boys who she gives them life with words.

She likes it when they do dirty, dirty things...but likes it even more when they fall in love. She used to think having people in her head talking to her was weird, until one day she happened across other writers who told her it was normal.

She’s been writing ever since...

https://www.facebook.com/N.R.WalkerAu...

Reviews

[~ Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ & semicolons ~]

Originally reviewed as part of:



This was one of my favorite stories in the anthology.

~4.25~

BFFs-to-lovers; Aussies; tentative HEA; steam: moderate-high

Slowww burn with plenty of sexy times! I wish Walker wrote this kind of steam all the time, because she's damn good at it. I really enjoyed this story of two manly guys who've been best friends forever but have never gotten together. One camping trip changes everything.

I really wanted (no, NEEDED!) an epilogue, but the MCs have great chemistry, which made me feel good about their HEA.

[Exina]

Cal and Troy are best friends since the eighth grade. Everyone sees except the two of them that they are completely in love with each other. So their friends decide to give them a weekend alone in hope that they’d work things out.

Away from town, just the two of them, finally they confess their feelings for each other.

The fishing setting is not my thing, but Perfect Catch is an N.R. Walker-ly sweet story, with some sexy time.

[Gigi]

I was in a warm/fuzzy NR Walker mood and I realized I'd never read this one.

NR Walker delivers on the fluff! Sweet and sexy and a great addition to her fabulous work.

[Jewel]

I loved this best-friends-to-lovers story. NR Walker just does them so right! Perfect Catch was just gorgeous.

[☆ Todd]

I 'should' have loved this one, but instead, it just left me feeling mostly "meh."

Zero idea why, but there it is... :- /

[Pauline]

Not the best thing I’ve read by the author by far but still a cute little bffs-to-lovers novella that felt like a warm hug. Nothing special but nice enough 😌

[Mirjana **DTR - Down to Read**]

***4.5 Stars***

"There was only you. It was always you. Since I was fourteen years old and you told me you liked boys too. It's been you."

It's friends to lovers and N.R. Walker...need I say more?

Oh, I do? Okay...

READ THIS!!! DO IT!!

It's the perfect sweet and sexy fun-sized read. It'll put a smile on your face from beginning to end.

"...if we're going to do the whole best friends-to-lovers thing, we'd better go about it properly, yeah?"

"I thought we crossed that line already?"

"We frotted the line."

"Then we better cross it more thoroughly."

[Lieve]

A friends-to-lovers trope . Just the thing I was looking for : short, sweet and fluffy!

[patrícia]

N.r. Walker is the author who wraps me in the warmest, fluffiest blanket—every single time.

Two best friends pining for years, finally putting their stupidity aside and getting together? Awwww. And honestly… I’d love a weekend like that too—on a boat, no phone, just peace, rest, a good book, and even fishing for dinner. *Sigh*

Sure, this needed to be longer and more realistic but that doesn't stop me from loving them. It’s nothing deep or life-altering, far from it, but it’s good. It warms the heart.

“Are we in sync now?”
I nodded. “Yeah.” I pressed my lips to his. “Finally.”
He smiled, the eye crinkling kind of smile. “Finally.”

I want to come with you inside me,” he whispered.
Oh fuck. Hearing those words from him… I positioned the head of my cock at his hole and leaned over him as I slowly slid inside him.
Troy’s eyes widened and his breath fluttered as I breached him. He felt so good, but it was more than physical. This was so much more. I was overcome with ecstasy and emotion. Every nerve in my body was singing, it felt so good―it was more than physical. I knew why. It was my heart telling me my soul had finally met its match.
And by the way Troy looked at me, I knew he felt it too.
I pushed all the way into him, slowly and deeply. I nudged his nose with mine and ghosted my lips over his. “This is… you are… everything,” I whispered against his mouth.

The end <3

[Mug]

it was okay, albeit forgettable

[Audi♡]

"Every nerve in my body was singing, it felt so good―it was more than physical. I knew why. It was my heart telling me my soul had finally met its match."

Besties to lovers will always make me goofy smile.

[~Kristin~]

~Perfect Catch by NR Walker~
**4.5 Stars**
This friends to lovers story was wonderful, these two were childhood best friends that had always had feelings for the other, but the timing was always off and they never confessed their true feelings. The build up was slow and the tension was high, but when they finally clicked into place it was fantastic, and wonderfully hot! It was a little sappy and emotional, but when it's done right...I'm a total sucker for it and eat it up. Loved this couple..plain and simple.

[BWT]

This was a sweet, slow burn best friends to lovers romance that made me smile and say, "Awww!"

I first read this story in the It Was Always You anthology and enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

Told from Calvin Lynch's POV, he's been in love with his best friend, Troy Hoffman, since they were fourteen but hasn't ever approached him about it. He finally has the chance to see what could happen between them during a fishing weekend, but is still scared to ruin the best friendship he's ever had.

My heart was in my throat, but if he was putting it all on the line, then I could too. “I’ve been in love with you since then too. I love you, Troy, and like I told you last night, I’m not going anywhere.”

If you're interested in reading a sweet, no angst romance with some hot sexy times, make sure to check out this easy read.

This review has been cross-posted at Gay Book Reviews.

[alyssa]

3.3*

[Elsa Bravante]

3.5
No ha estado mal, muy dulce, una de las mejores historias de la antología It Was Always you.

[⋆｡°✮ Lucy InTheSky ✮°｡⋆]

A short, sweet story of two lifelong friends Cal and Trey finally getting together after years of friendship.

🔵 Best friends to lovers
🟢 Both MMCs gay
🟣 Pining
🟡 Teenage crush
🟠 Cal's POV
🌶️ Good smut; t/b

Cal and Trey get their moment of truth on a fishing trip, where they're suddenly faced with each other alone, without all their friends and get intimate, both realising their feelings of love are mutual.

The story has no angst, a lot of awkward cute first moments, good sex and talks about deciding for monogamy.

"But this, this was what I needed.
He was warmth and Old Spice. His arm around me was perfection. And I knew, I knew in my heart, there would never be anyone else for me. This is what I longed for. He was what was missing from my life."



I expected Cal to come forward and express his love first, but that didn't happen, so after they got together I wanted to at least hear about how friends and family reacted to everything, since they all knew Cal and Trey secretly loved each other.

The ending was abrupt, left me hanging in the air wondering about many outcomes. No epilogue.

It's a nice story, nothing dramatic or intensely steamy, it does have its moments, but left me a bit unmoved.

[Elsbeth]

This story was originally part of this anthology:



It may become one of my favorite comfort reads. Troy and Cal were awesome!!

review posted at "It was Always You"

I just love ms Walker’s writing. Her characters are always so swoonworthy. I loved this one the most. Troy and Cal go on a camping trip to do some fishing cause that’s what friends do. They are so comfortable with each other. They were like a left and a right hand. For years they secretly have been pining for each other but have never been in sync. One of them was always seeing someone else. But when they get it right, boy.....

“I know. And that’s what I’m scared of,” he said. He looked away, out the kitchen window, like looking at me was too hard.

“Scared of what?”

His gaze shot to mine. “Of losing what we have,” he said. “Of risking it all. You’ve been my best friend forever, and I don’t know what I’d do without you, and that scares me.”

[Mariah]

3.5 short& sweet

[Daniel]

2.25 stars ...

That was pretty much
a waste of time.
Boring and predictable. 🤷‍♂️

[Meep]

Lovely friends to lovers with a real sense of the friendship and that friendship and familiarity continuing.

Quite a lot of blushes but really liked these guys. A nice light read with lots of connection, exactly what I was after.

Only complaint is I'd love a little more of the fic ;)

[MaDoReader]

Uno de los que no están mal de la Walker, me refiero a que no hay coma diabético ni WTF de esos característicos, y eso se agradece.
Muy monos ;)

[Ula'ndi Hart]

Overall book rating: 4 .25
Audio Book: N/A
Book Cover: 4

I know it’s short..but boy was it good!! Such a great feel-good story!

Did I want more???



I just loved both Troy and Cal from the start and I loved every page of the story. I think it packed a punch.

And it didn’t leave you wondering about what will happen when they get back to reality!



Why did I wait so long before reading this again???? LOVED it!

[Daphne]

Another great short that packed a punch. I can always count on this author to write something that I enjoy reading and this story is no different. Troy and Cal are long-time friends who never had the timing right - until this camping trip with a timely rainstorm and a ten for two. There's not a lot of umph here, the story is pretty straightforward, but sometimes that's just what the doctor ordered.

Side note: if you love the Aussie slang, this one is full of it with the brekky and utes etc.

[Asia]

moje kochane chlopaki normalnie... z ta ich niepewnoscia, czy to bedzie warte ryzyka, nie chcacy zniszczyc swojej przyjazni...ciagle ważacy czy jednak warto ja ryzykowac ...ciocia Asia uwielabia i basta!:D

[Pavellit]

Cal and Troy's story is my favorite one from the anthology . The simplicity is the key. And such a romantic, erotic and masterly build up storyline.
They have known each other for ten years, but life haven’t put hem on the same page. There's been never really a time when they have been single at the same time, until now. Until a camping trip.

'Because it was getting to the point where I couldn’t keep pretending I wasn’t in love with my best friend. I didn’t have a choice anymore. I had to either tell him or walk away.'

Mmmmm. This camping trip. The smell of them in the rain. And that nervous, heart-stopping moment.

'He was warmth and Old Spice. His arm around me was perfection. And I knew, I knew in my heart, there would never be anyone else for me. This is what I longed for. He was what was missing from my life.'

***4.5***

[Mies]

50% cringe conversations and 50% cringe porn.

[Maria]

Again with the tent in woods! Aussie friends to lovers story. It's short and every page counts. Our MC's have tapped danced around each other for years. It takes a fishing trip, a rainstorm, wet clothes and an air mattress to finally see the light. Very enlightening!

[Jennifer☠Pher☠]

That was so sweet and so easy.

Exactly what I needed after a very emotional read.

Perfect Catch indeed.

[Chappy]

What a "perfect" little story. Troy and Calvin have been best friends forever...now if only one of them has the courage to make the first move.

[namericanwordcat]

3.5 Stars

Awwwww. This is a super sweet and super hot friends to lovers romance with two best friends who finally take the risk of telling each other how they feel.

This is a feel good love story with a great setting.