Secrets

by R.J. Scott

Benji is the skater in the league who brings down the height average. Coming in at five eight, he's used to players chirping at him all night about his height.

Including the sexy defenseman for the Carlisle Rush, Avery Lester, the defenseman with the stunning eyes and cute smile.

When Benji makes a single inappropriate comment about Avery's ass, everything goes to hell. Add in Avery’s heroics during a hate crime, and things just go from bad to worse.

Abruptly it's not his height Benji has to worry about, but the chance that his closely guarded secret is shared all over the Internet.

Can love find a way, or will keeping secrets tear Benji and Avery apart?

Secrets was part of the Changing On The The Second Period Anthology

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Sports, Contemporary, Hockey, Short Stories, Novella

67 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 4, 2017

About the author

RJ Scott writes heartwarming, passionate MM/gay romance stories where every man finds his happily ever after. When not writing, she enjoys reading books, watching movies, spending time with her family, following Formula 1 (Forza Ferrari!), and cheering on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Email her here: rj@rjscott.co.uk

Find RJ here: Amazon | BookBub | Facebook - Also, Never miss a release

Reviews

[ButtonsMom2003 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great short story!

I love books by RJ Scott but I haven't read many of her short stories. Secrets was part of Changing on the Fly: The Second Period, a charity anthology that was out in October 2017. I purchased a copy but I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I never made time to read it. When I saw that RJ released her story as a single title I knew I had to read it.

The blurb tells you everything you need to know about the story except how mixed up Benji felt about his feelings for Avery. Benji only does hookups; he never kisses or stays all night with them – it's just one and done. He has rules and those include no texting and no calls. When Avery breaks those rules Benji is angry. He's also angry because he doesn't know how to handle what he's feeling for Avery. He afraid for both of their careers if word gets out that they are gay.

This might be a short story but it punched me in the gut and I loved reading about Benji and Avery. It takes a lot of talent to write a short story with such impact.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

I enjoyed this "enemies" to lovers quickie. It was sweet and a little hearttugging, with both Benji and Avery feeling it was necessary to hide their true selves. I hate how true it probably still is for athletes in the real world, that have to do the same.
But I liked how they both had people in their corners for support. The ending was left open-ended, I'm not sure if there's another book for them, or if their happy for now is where we leave them. Either way I'm fine with it!

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars. Ok story but it felt unfinished. I’m guessing there’ll be another book, maybe?

[Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Fuck you, squirt.”
“Wow, your vocab is severely limited,” I said. He looked at me, and I swear he growled.
“Fuck you,” he said again, like he didn’t get the irony in that one.
“Not if I fuck you first,” I said, without thinking, because he was up in my space, and I could see his startling eyes, and I couldn’t think of any other way to get to him. — Avery Lester and Benjy Harding

Warnings: minor homophobia

Secrets kinda feels like you are reading a potential couple balancing on a knife point or perhaps a skate blade. One wrong word or action. Even slightly different temperaments or personalities. And this couple would not happen. It is largely held together by Averey, not Benjy. Benjy is alternately self-destructing and destroying all hope of his potential happiness. Of their potential happiness. And quite frankly it is nearly painful to read. The story is about coming to terms with position and self. And learning where they stand in the world. All based around two men from different teams who cannot help themselves in a community that is not quite ready to accept them yet.

Benjy Harding (26 years old) aside from the unusual spelling has a shorter-than-expected stature (core to the set-up) & a bizarre if not impossible path to Hockey. He was training as a high-level figure skater. They are two different skill sets and different styles of skates. I don't think it would show as RJ suggests. It is a convenient way to deal with his speed and agility. 22-year-old Avery Lester is just shy soft and sweet despite his rough-housing defender position. He is likened to a puppy at one point and that is just accurate. The key to the end point drama revolves around him and his innate sweetness.

This works but it's not fantastic. There are a couple of editing errors but it is perma-free so I am more than willing to forgive. There are references to other works by RJ most notably a book that has always appealed to me Changing Lanes. Hockey is a sport that still struggles greatly with hetronormality and the red-blooded expectation from fans (as far as I understand). It makes it catnip for mm sports romance. As short as this is it hits most of the tropes. But I do appreciate some of the choices made by RJ Scott for the characters that makes them feel different.

“What are you thinking about?” Avery asked in that soft, not-at-all-violent tone. This was the man behind the mask. We all had two sides. One on the ice, where you bled for your team, where victory was the goal, and pain didn’t matter. Out there we were gladiators who fought hard using every skill we worked so hard to perfect. Then there was the real side, the one you tucked away for postseason or retirement. — Benjy Harding

A representative gif: (because of course Benjy is called a Smurf occasionally)

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Ok, so I'll be 100% honest here and admit that I have never read a RJ Scott book before, despite being one of the first authors that I started following. Why? No idea... But when I saw this story being offered for free on her newsletter I decided it was about time to read something. Short stories like this always give you an insight to the author's style, so it was kind of perfect.

And let me tell you - this was really good! Obviously there's only so much you can do with 18k words, but I really enjoyed it! And what's more, it's given me the little push that I wanted to start reading her Hockey series with VL Locey!

This one tells the story of two young and closeted hockey players who start hooking up and end up falling in love. Very standard and straight forward story, told from only one character's point of view, and with the expected themes of homophobia in a sports environment. But I really liked the author's style.

[DC · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up. I’ve read better by this author. This story, well Benjy mainly, annoyed the heck out of me. What a jerk! Avery was very sweet and obviously needed a friend, but Benjy treated him like dirt. And for someone who didn’t like being judged, Benjy was sure stuck in a world of stereotypes: hockey players don’t do this, hockey players don’t do that, hockey players are good at…, well, you get the picture. So all hockey players think and act the same. Hmm, then what was he so afraid of? Rusty and Candy (and Avery’s teammates) sure weren’t so bad!
This story also ended a bit too abruptly. It would have been nice to have some bit of an epilogue instead of leaving us guessing as to what happens to these two.
And why is Benjy spelled “Benji” in the blurb and most reviews, but in the story itself, it is “Benjy”?

[Heather York · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again not only does RJ Scott give us a fun and dramatically enticing romance that I loved but she sets it in the hockey world, a sport I don't follow and yet I still found myself getting engulfed in Benji and Avery's journey, on the ice and off. Secrets may be short in quantity but its long on quality. Would I have liked to seen more of their story? Sure, I never want an RJ Scott tale to end but truth is I loved it just as is. It takes talent for an author to pack a full-length novel level of emotion into a short story and that's what Secrets holds: heart.

[Kat Moreid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this as a freebie. I'm off two DNF books, very atypical of me, and the MC's internalized need to keep his sexuality a secret got me more depressed than it usually would. It's sad that is still an issue, having to hide who you are or at least a huge part of who you are and lie to pretend you are like everyone else, the 'normal' people. I need a nice fluffy, low angst story to get me out of this funk. This story does perk up and I did enjoy it. Probably will enjoy it a little more when I'm not in a funk.

[Claire Louisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second time reading this and it was just as enjoyable. A short slightly angst romance between two hockey players who are both hiding their sexuality from their teams because the hockey world is not a place for gay players. I'm hoping that everything turns out for the vest somewhere in the series. But for now, they have each other.

[Manuela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a sweet and short read and I want so much more about Benji and Avery. I love reading about hockey players even though I am not a fan for the game. Once Avery is going after what he wants and Benji stops being hung up over hook ups those two are so cute together. Light reading, just too short.

[Tess · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the characters

I love sports MM stories especially hockey ones and this is no exception. I want to visit these guys again.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

RJ has done it again. A beautifully written well rounded story. A tough situation that sends the men into the spotlight and hopefully a life still in hockey

[Mrs C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

Short sweet n sexy read. If you love sports, enemies to lovers trope, then you'll enjoy this story. I would definitely recommend anything Rj Scott writes.

[P3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and Sweet

Great short read. RJ Scott is becoming one of my favourite go to author because she writes believable stories. Check out her books.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Ken Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short 4-chapter story in the pro hockey trope. Contrasts are worked well, the slight age difference plays out, enough angst to make for a good tale. And the heat is well written.